January 10, 1985: Anton Karas dies

January 15, 1985: Tancredo Neves elected President of Brazil, who would die three months later before taking office

January 28, 1985: Cyndi Lauper and Glenn Francis at the recording of the charity single "We Are The World"

The following events occurred in January 1985:

January 1, 1985 (Tuesday)

• The Internet's Domain Name System was established.^[1]
• Greenland withdrew from the European Economic Community as a result of an agreement.^[2]
• Vodafone launched the UK's first mobile phone network.^[3]
• VH-1, a new music video channel, began broadcasting on American cable television, aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV. The first video played was Marvin Gaye's "The Star-Spangled Banner".^[4]
• Eastern Air Lines Flight 980, a Boeing 727 flying at night in poor weather, crashed into Bolivia's Mount Illimani at an altitude of 19,600 feet (6,000 meters), killing all 19 passengers and 10 crew. The lost remains of the plane and those on board were not found for a further 31 years.^[5][6]
• The city of Cork, in Ireland, began a year of celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of its charter, received from John, King of England.^[7]
• The UCLA Bruins won the 1985 Fiesta Bowl college football game at Tempe, Arizona, United States.^[8]
• The 1985 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships concluded in Finland, with Canada in first place.^[9]
• Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins was named The Sporting News NFL Player of the year, and Louis Lipps of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who led the NFL in punt returns, was named NFL Rookie of the Year.
• Died: Sigerson Clifford, 71, Irish poet, playwright, and civil servant^[10]

January 2, 1985 (Wednesday)

• Died: Gabriel Elorde, 49, Filipino world super featherweight boxing champion, of lung cancer.^[11]

January 3, 1985 (Thursday)

• The 99th United States Congress was opened.
• US Senator Bob Dole became the Republican Leader of the United States Senate and Senate Majority Leader in succession to Howard Baker.^[12]

January 4, 1985 (Friday)

• Ad Rutschman, head football coach of Linfield College (Oregon), was named NAIA Division II Football coach of the year for the second time in three seasons.
• Born: Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer, in Bafra^[13]

January 5, 1985 (Saturday)

• Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres revealed details of Operation Moses at a press conference, resulting in its termination by the Government of Sudan. In seven weeks of operation, the covert, cooperative operation by the Israel Defense Forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States Embassy in Khartoum, mercenaries, and Sudanese state security forces had evacuated about 8,000 Jewish refugees from Sudan to Israel via Brussels, Belgium.^[14]
• At ceremonies held in Nenana and Seward, Alaska, ownership of the Alaska Railroad was officially transferred to the U.S. state of Alaska.^[15]
• The Asian Basketball Confederation Championship concluded in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the Philippines emerging overall champions.^[16]
• Princess Margaret underwent treatment at Brompton Hospital in London, where part of her left lung would be surgically removed.^[17]
• Died: Robert Surtees, 78, US Academy Award-winning cinematographer^[18]

January 6, 1985 (Sunday)

• The 1984–85 Four Hills Tournament, held at the four traditional venues of Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, concluded with an overall win for German ski jumper Jens Weißflog.^[19]
• Ardea, a US-registered 38-foot (11.6 m) fishing vessel, dragged her anchor and was wrecked in King Cove off the coast of Afognak Island in Alaska′s Kodiak Archipelago. Her crew were saved.^[20]

January 7, 1985 (Monday)

• Film star Yul Brynner, suffering from terminal lung cancer, appeared on the US television programme Good Morning America, and vowed to make a public service announcement to deter others from smoking.^[21]
• Born: Lewis Hamilton, English racing driver, 7-time Formula One world champion, in Stevenage;^[22][23] Wayne Routledge, English footballer, in Sidcup, Greater London^[24]

January 8, 1985 (Tuesday)

January 8: Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft

• The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft. It was the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or Soviet Union.^[25]
• Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast who won the hearts of the US at the 1984 Summer Olympics, was named The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year.
• Died: Grace Morley, 84, American museologist^[26]

January 9, 1985 (Wednesday)

• France passed a law relating to the protection and development of mountain regions.^[27]
• 46-year-old Richard Peña of Granada Hills, California, fell 350 feet (110 m) to his death after climbing over the guardrail at the First Trailview Overlook on West Rim Drive in Grand Canyon National Park. Peña's final words were, "You gotta take some chances in life."^[28]
• The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Contadora Group of countries issued a joint declaration noting the decisions and achievements of their conference.^[29]

January 10, 1985 (Thursday)

• British inventor Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair C5, the world's first mass-produced velomobile. Critics considered it unsafe and impractical, and it proved a commercial failure.^[30]
• Madhav Singh Solanki, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, introduced an increase of 18% in the proportion of government positions reserved for people from "backward" classes. The change indirectly led to rioting the following month and Solanki's eventual resignation.^[31]
• The 1985 PGA Tour golf championship opened with the Bob Hope Classic.^[32]
• Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins, who shattered many NFL passing season records in the 1984 NFL season, was named the Bert Bell Award winner as the NFL's outstanding player of 1984.
• John McEnroe was voted Volvo Grand Prix Tennis player of the year by tennis journalists.
• The town of Karlskoga, Sweden, was covered in sulfuric acid gas following a gas leak.^[33]
• Died: Anton Karas, 78, Austrian zither player and composer^[34]

January 11, 1985 (Friday)

• One of the biggest music festivals ever held, "Rock in Rio", began in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The audience for the ten-day event was estimated at 1.5 million, with performers including Iron Maiden, Nina Hagen, The B52's, Go Go's, Queen, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, AC/DC, Gilberto Gil, Elba Ramalho, Barão Vermelho and Paralamas do Sucesso.^[35]
• Died: Sir William McKell, 93, Australian politician, 12th Governor-General of Australia^[36]

January 12, 1985 (Saturday)

• The Embassy World Darts Championship, held at the Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent, England, was won by Eric Bristow, his fifth world title.^[37]

January 13, 1985 (Sunday)

• Awash rail disaster: Africa's worst-ever rail disaster occurred when a passenger train fell into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 people and injuring over 500 others.^[38][39]
• The 1985 Mercantile Credit Classic snooker tournament was won by Willie Thorne, and would be his only ranking title.^[40]

January 14, 1985 (Monday)

• Hun Sen, acting prime minister of Cambodia since the death of his predecessor Chan Sy, was confirmed in the office.^[41]
• The US 34-foot (10.4 m) fishing vessel K-Jo sank off Marmot Island in Alaska's Kodiak Archipelago, with the loss of one of her three crew. The two survivors were rescued two days later.^[42]

January 15, 1985 (Tuesday)

• Tancredo Neves was elected president of Brazil by the Congress, ending 21 years of military rule. It would be the last election to be held under the electoral college system.^[43]
• A car bomb, planted by the Belgian terrorist organization Cellules Communistes Combattantes, went off outside a NATO building near Brussels, resulting in the deaths of two firemen and injuries to others, including a US serviceman.^[44]
• Mike Castle was inaugurated as the Governor of the US state of Delaware, in succession to his mentor, Pete du Pont.^[45]
• An HH-53 helicopter of the 6594th Test Group of the United States Air Force crashed while attempting to rescue a British merchant seaman from the ship Asian Beauty, off the coast of Hawaii. All seven crew members were killed after a main rotor blade broke while the helicopter hovered over the ship.^[46]

January 16, 1985 (Wednesday)

• In Burlington, Vermont, United States, William J. Murray announced that he would contest the impending mayoral election as a "Libertarian", against incumbent mayor Bernie Sanders.^[47]

January 17, 1985 (Thursday)

• The Israeli government established the Bejski Commission to investigate the 1983 Israel bank stock crisis.^[48]
• Cyclone Eric made landfall in Fiji, causing wind damage and extensive flooding. About 30,000 persons were made homeless.^[49] Eric brought $40 million (USD) in damage and took 25 lives.^[50]
• A heavy snowfall caused the roof of the Palasport di San Siro arena in Milan, Italy, to collapse, forcing the venue to close permanently.^[51]
• The UK-registered cargo ship Byron I, en route from Poland to India, was wrecked at Kalilimenes, Crete, Greece.^[52]

January 18, 1985 (Friday)

• A Chinese Antonov An-24 turbo-prop airliner flying from Shanghai to Beijing via Nanjing crashed during an emergency landing at Jinan, China, south of Beijing. Only three of the 41 people on board survived.^[53]
• The 1985 IAAF World Indoor Games opened in Paris, France, with 319 athletes from 69 countries participating.^[54]
• Died: Anwar Shemza, 56, Indian-born artist and writer^[55]

January 19, 1985 (Saturday)

• A spell of particularly cold weather began to affect the north-central United States.^[56]
• The submarine USS Augusta (SSN-710) was commissioned into the United States Navy.^[57]
• Czech-Canadian stuntman Karel Soucek, who had ridden over Niagara Falls in a barrel in July 1984, was mortally injured while attempting to make a 180-foot (55 m) barrel drop into a water tank in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the Houston Astrodome. The barrel clipped the side of the water tank. Soucek would die of his injuries early the following morning.^[58]
• Died: Eric Voegelin, 84, German-born American political philosopher^[59]

January 20, 1985 (Sunday)

• Ronald Reagan was privately sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. The ceremony was moved indoors because of the unusually cold weather.^[60]
• São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport began operations in São Paulo, Brazil.^[61]
• In the Super Bowl XIX American football championship game, the first to be televised in the United States by ABC as well as other major channels, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins 38–16 to win their second Super Bowl.^[62]
• The city of Chicago in the United States experienced record low temperatures of −27 °F (−33 °C).^[56]
• Died: Karel Soucek, 37, Czech-Canadian stuntman^[58]

January 21, 1985 (Monday)

January 21: Borobudur Buddhist temple

• Nine bombs exploded at the Borobudur Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, damaging nine historic stupas. No one was killed.^[63]
• Galaxy Airlines Flight 203, a Lockheed L-188 Electra carrying 71 people, crashed immediately after takeoff from Reno-Cannon International Airport in Reno, Nevada, United States. The sole survivor was a 17-year-old boy who was thrown clear of the aircraft, landing in a city street still strapped into his seat.^[64]
• The South Korean fishing trawler Chil Bo San No. 6 was abandoned by its 29 crew when it began to sink in the Bering Sea approximately 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi) northwest of Adak Island in the Aleutian Islands. The crew were rescued by another South Korean ship.^[65]
• The southeastern United States experienced unprecedentedly low temperatures, with record lows in places such as Nashville, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama and Charleston, South Carolina.^[56]

January 22, 1985 (Tuesday)

• The Japanese diesel-electric Yūshio-class submarine JDS Akishio was launched in Kobe.^[66]
• Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Quarterback Joe Namath of the New York Jets, quarterback Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys, running back O. J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills, center Frank Gatski of the Cleveland Browns and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.

January 23, 1985 (Wednesday)

• A debate in the British House of Lords was televised, as an experiment by the UK government in the televising of Parliament.^[67] Former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1st Earl of Stockton) was among the speakers.

January 24, 1985 (Thursday)

January 24, 1985: Launch of STS-51-C

• Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Discovery, on its third flight, was successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A in Florida, USA, carrying five astronauts and two satellites.^[68]

January 25, 1985 (Friday)

• Born: Tina Karol, Ukrainian singer, in Orotukan, USSR^[69]

January 26, 1985 (Saturday)

• A few minutes after midnight, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the province of Mendoza, Argentina. Six people were killed and about 100 injured, with about 23,000 homes destroyed.^[70]
• The Governor General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen, announced the 1985 Australia Day Honours. Those honoured included painter Lloyd Rees and lawyer Mahla Pearlman.^[71]
• Frank Miller was elected leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party at the party convention, replacing Bill Davis. The following month Miller would become Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario.^[72]
• Died:
  • Kenny Clarke (nicknamed Klook), 71, American jazz drummer and bandleader^[73]
  • David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech, 66, British politician, diplomat and TV executive, died of injuries received in a car crash the previous evening.^[74]

January 27, 1985 (Sunday)

• Space Shuttle program: The space shuttle Discovery successfully landed after its third flight.^[68]
• The 1984 New York Film Critics Circle Awards ceremony took place in New York City, United States.^[75]
• Asia's Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was re-established in Tehran.^[76]
• The 59th Railway Cup Hurling Championship opened with semi-final matches at St. Brendan's Park, Birr, Ireland, and St. Patrick's Park, Newcastle, Ireland.^[77]
• Born: Eric Radford, Canadian skater, in Winnipeg^[78]

January 28, 1985 (Monday)

• Various US and European musicians, under the group name "USA For Africa", met in Los Angeles to record the song "We Are the World", written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, with the aim of raising money for victims of the Ethiopian famine, a cause brought to the world's attention by Irish musician Bob Geldof. Performers included Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Tina Turner, Sheila E., Harry Belafonte, Lindsey Buckingham, Kim Carnes, Dionne Warwick, Waylon Jennings and Stevie Wonder.^[79]
• The 12th annual American Music Awards ceremony took place. Multiple winners included Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner and Prince.^[80]
• In Nagano, Japan, twenty-five people were killed when a charter bus carrying students on a ski tour plunged into a river.^[81]
• Born: J. Cole, American hip-hop musician and record producer, in Frankfurt, West Germany^[82][83]

January 29, 1985 (Tuesday)

• The Federal Cabinet of Australia secretly endorsed the decision to provide refuelling facilities to United States aircraft monitoring MX missile tests in the Pacific. Strong anti-American and anti-nuclear reactions later forced Prime Minister Bob Hawke to withdraw the offer.^[84]

January 30, 1985 (Wednesday)

• US President Ronald Reagan nominated Margaret D. Tutwiler as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.^[85]

January 31, 1985 (Thursday)

• During a parliamentary debate, P. W. Botha, President of South Africa, offered to release African National Congress deputy leader Nelson Mandela from prison if Mandela renounced violence.^[86]
• The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1985 opened in Bormio, Italy (continuing until February 10).^[87]
• Born: Kalomira, Greek singer, in West Hempstead, New York, United States, as Carol Sarantis^[88]
• Died: Tatsuzō Ishikawa, 79, Japanese novelist, first winner of the Akutagawa Prize

References