The Year 1987 in Review: Fun Facts, Trivia, and Historic Highlights

This quick read is a collection of fun facts, trivia, and historic events from the year 1987. Discover the year’s top news stories, most influential people, sports facts, computer and Internet trivia, entertainment news, and much more.

1. In 1987, Ronald Reagan was the 40th U.S. president, and George H. W. Bush was the nation’s vice president.
2. The 100th U.S. Congress convened on January 3, and both chambers had a Democratic majority.
3. The U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 5.8%, the nation’s inflation rate was 3.65%, and the average retail price for a gallon of gas was 95 cents.
4. The median household income in the U.S. was $24,350, the average price for a new house was $92,000, and the average monthly rent was $395.
5. At the grocery store, Van Camp’s baked beans cost 59 cents for a 16-ounce can, four grapefruits were 99 cents, and Folger’s coffee was $1.99 for an 11.6-ounce can. Armour bacon was $1.69 for a one-pound package, Jif peanut butter cost $1.99 for an 18-ounce jar, and strawberries were $1.49 a pint.
6. On January 1, Oklahoma defeated Arkansas in the Orange Bowl, 42-8.
7. On January 1, Arizona State beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, 22-15.
8. On January 1, Nebraska defeated Louisiana State University (LSU) in the Sugar Bowl, 30-15.
9. On January 3, Aretha Franklin became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
10. On January 21, blues musician B. B. King donated his collection of 7,000 records to the University of Mississippi.
11. On January 22, R. Budd Dwyer, a convicted Pennsylvania politician, shot and killed himself on live national television during a press conference.
12. On January 25, the New York Giants won Super Bowl XXI by beating the Denver Broncos, 39-20.
13. On February 6, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak left the company as a full-time employee because he was “frustrated” with the “shifting priorities” at the computer giant.
14. On February 20, David Hartman, the anchor of ABC’s Good Morning America, resigned after 11 years on the show.
15. On March 9, Chrysler Corporation announced that it was purchasing American Motors Corporation for $1.5 billion.
16. On March 23, the soap Bold & Beautiful premiered on CBS.
17. At the 59th Academy Awards on March 30, Platoon won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Oliver Stone (Platoon) won an Oscar for Best Director. Paul Newman (The Color of Money) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God) won an Oscar for Best Actress.
18. On April 5, the sitcom Married with Children debuted on Fox.
19. On April 12, Texaco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the Texas Court of Appeals upheld “a $10.5 billion suit brought on by the Pennzoil Company.”
20. On May 2, Alysheba was the winning horse in the 113th running of the Kentucky Derby.
21. On May 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Rotary International must admit women.
22. On May 15, the final episode of The Late Show with Joan Rivers was broadcast on Fox following Rivers' dismissal by the television network.
23. On May 24, an estimated 500,000 people celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. Vintage Everyday remarks that “the masses came on trains, buses, taxis, boats, bicycles, skates, strollers, wheelchairs, and on foot. With the bridge closed to vehicles, a sea of thousands of walkers marched onto the bridge from both ends of the 1.7-mile span.”
24. On May 24, Al Unser won the 71st Indianapolis 500.
25. On May 31, the Edmonton Oilers clinched the 24th Stanley Cup by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games.
26. On June 12, President Reagan challenged Mikhail Gorbachev—the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—to “tear down” the Berlin Wall.
27. On June 15, American computer scientist Steve Wilhite at CompuServe introduced the GIF image standard.
28. On July 1, New York City radio station WFAN-AM began America’s first 24-hour, all-sports radio format.
29. On July 26, Stephen Roche (Ireland) won the 74th Tour de France.
30. On August 4, in a 4-0 decision, the FCC voted to repeal the Fairness Doctrine, “prompting key proponents in Congress to renew vows to place into law the 38-year-old policy requiring broadcasters to air all sides of important public issues.”
31. At the 39th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20, The Golden Girls (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and L.A. Law (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. Michael J. Fox (Family Ties) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Rue McClanahan (The Golden Girls) won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
32. On October 4, The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring John Lone, Joan Chen, and Peter O'Toole, debuted at the Tokyo Film Festival. (In 1988, The Last Emperor won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture.)
33. On October 15 and 16, the Great Storm of 1987, a “violent extratropical cyclone” with hurricane-force winds, ravaged many parts of the UK. MetOffice.gov.uk confirms that “With winds gusting at up to 100 mph, there was massive devastation across the country, and 18 people were killed. About 15 million trees were blown down. Many fell onto roads and railways, causing major transport delays.”
34. On October 16, 338,500,000 shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, setting a record.
35. On October 19, Black Monday occurred on Wall Street as the Dow plunged “an astonishing 22.6%.” It was the biggest one-day percentage loss in Wall Street history and even bigger than the 1929 stock market crash that took place just before the Great Depression. By the closing bell, the Dow stood at 1,738.74, down 508 points.
36. On October 24, 2,800 members of the National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians ended a 118-day strike against NBC.
37. On October 25, the Minnesota Twins won the 84th World Series by beating the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
38. On November 5, a monstrous iceberg—twice the size of Rhode Island—broke loose from Antarctica, “dramatically altering the frozen shoreline where famed explorer Richard E. Byrd established his Little America base camp nearly six decades ago.”
39. On November 14, the musical La Cage aux Folles closed on Broadway after 1,761 performances.
40. On December 15, digging began on the Channel Tunnel, a 31.35-mile rail tunnel that linked the island of Great Britain with the European mainland.
41. In 1987, Howard Schultz bought Starbucks, a Seattle-based coffee bean business, and began building an empire of coffee bars.
42. Red M&M’s made a return after an absence of 11 years. (In 1976, Red Dye No. 2, a food coloring utilized in various products ranging from ice cream to cosmetics, was removed from the market following claims by Soviet scientists that it might be associated with cancer. As a result of this ban, red M&Ms were unavailable from 1976 until 1987.)
43. Beverly Hills Cop II was a popular film, 60 Minutes was a top-rated TV show, and Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time was a best-selling book.
44. That’s What Friends Are For, written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager, won a Grammy for Song of the Year.
45. Actress Rita Hayworth and actor and dancer Fred Astaire both passed away.
46. In 1987, over 12 million microwaves were sold in the U.S., and Snapple iced tea beverages were launched.
47. Dairy Queen purchased the Orange Julius chain, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia announced a new ice cream flavor—Cherry Garcia.
48. Banana Republic’s 1987 Holiday Catalog (No. 34) was the last holiday catalog that the retailer ever published.
49. Campbell’s introduced its line of instant dry soups, Campbell's Cup, which competed with Lipton's best-selling Cup-a-Soup.
50. The alligator became the official state reptile of Florida, and North Carolina adopted milk as the official state beverage.
51. Finally, the USPS issued their first “special occasion” stamps, which included “Happy Birthday” and “Get Well” stamps.

References:

1. https://popculturemadness.com/1987-history-trivia-fun-facts/
2. https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/1987
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_in_the_United_States
4. https://www.infoplease.com/year/1987
5. https://www.computerhope.com/history/1987.htm
6. https://www.foodreference.com/html/html/food-history-1986.html
7. https://www.ranker.com/list/companies-founded-in-1987/reference
8. https://www.mclib.info/Research/Local-History-Genealogy/Historic-Prices
9. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1987/

Disclaimer: In writing and editing this article, Gregory DeVictor has made every effort to ensure historical accuracy and not to mislead his audience. In addition, the contents of this article, including text, graphics, and captions, are for general informational purposes only.

© 2026 Gregory DeVictor