At A Glance

8 January 1986 at a glance

Day of the week
8 January 1986 was a Wednesday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Richie.
Top Film of 1986
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1986 was Top Gun.
Bestselling Novel of 1986
“It” by Stephen King was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1986.
Top-Rated TV Show
“The Cosby Show” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1986–87 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 8 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 8 January 1986 fell in the Year of the Ox.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 8 January 1986 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 8 January

  • 1973 Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched.
  • 1975 Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
  • 1981 A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".
  • 1982 Breakup of the Bell System: In the United States, AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
  • 1994 Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.

Famous people born on January 8

  • Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (1935–1977)
  • David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (1947–2016)
  • Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (1942–2018)
  • Damiano David, Italian singer-songwriter (born 1999)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1986 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1986 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 12 – STS-61-C: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang Díaz.
  • January 20 – The first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring Martin Luther King Jr., is observed.
  • February 25 – People Power Revolution: President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines goes into exile in Hawaii after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the first Filipino woman president, first as an interim president. Salvador Laurel becomes her vice president.
More events of 1986 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1986

President

Ronald Reagan

Gas (per gallon)

$0.86

Loaf of Bread

$0.66

Average House

$88,000

Weekly Wage

$346

Or

Browse by Year

The 1940s
1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
The 1950s
1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
The 1960s
1960196119621963196419651966196719681969
The 1970s
1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
The 1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
The 1990s
1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
The 2000s
2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
The 2010s
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
The 2020s
20202021202220232024

Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Hayden Panettiere21 August 1989Actress & singerView their day →Alan Ritchson28 November 1982ActorView their day →Anne Hathaway12 November 1982ActressView their day →Dakota Johnson4 October 1989Actress & modelView their day →Macklemore19 June 1983RapperView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Julia Stiles28 March 1981ActressView their day →Taylor Swift13 December 1989Singer-songwriterView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →