During a visit to the Berlin Wall, President Ronald Reagan challenged Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
Incorrect track assignments resulted in the crash of an Amtrak passenger train into three Conrail engines in Maryland. 15 were killed and 180 were injured.
A freak blizzard blanketed the entire east coast — from Florida to Maine — with snow. Over 20 inches of snow fell in a 24-hour period in North Carolina. The storm caused 41 deaths.
7 died and 111 were injured when the Los Angeles area was rocked by a 6.1-Richter-Scale earthquake.
The worst Stock Market crash since 1929 took place on October 19th as the Dow slipped 508 points — down nearly 23%.
Congress overrode President Reagan's veto of the Clean Water Act.
The Tower Commission blamed President Reagan for failing to understand the impact of selling arms to Iran and diverting the proceeds to Contra rebels. The commission also laid blame on Chief Of Staff Donald Regan, who the president fired the next day. After three months of Iran-Contra hearings conducted by a Congressional committee, Reagan was blamed for failing his constitutional duties as president in allowing aides to carry out the operations, whether or not they did so with his knowledge.
TV Evangelist Jim Bakker, who with his wife Tammy hosted the popular PTL Club, was convicted of 24 counts of fraud and defrocked by the Assemblies Of God church.
28 died and 53 were injured when a Continental passenger jet broke into three pieces attempting to take off during a heavy snowstorm in Denver.
Vice President George Bush declared his intention to seek the GOP nomination for the presidency. Democratic front-runner Gary Hart withdrew from the primary race after a sex scandal.
Greg Lamonde became the first American to win the Tour De France.
Popular movies included Fatal Attraction, Broadcast News, Moonstruck and The Last Emperor.
The angst-ridden yuppie drama Thirtysomething debuted on ABC-TV. The Cosby Show was still number one.
Hit tunes included I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2, Faith by George Michael, At This Moment by Billy Vera & The Beaters (reissued after being featured in an episode of Family Ties) and Open Your Heart by Madonna.
