January 28, 1985: Dozens of top-name musicians and bands perform at the Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London. The shows benefit African famine victims.

October 2, 1985: Rock Hudson dies of AIDS at age 59. He’s the first major star to fall victim to the disease.

October 7, 1985: PLO terrorists hijack Achille Lauro, Italian cruise ship, with 80 passengers, plus crew. One American, Leon Klinghoffer, killed.

1985: In Greater Boston: Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and Universal Buddhist Congregation established; Lecco’s Lemma hip-hop radio program begins broadcasting on WMBR; Harvard University celebrates 350th anniversary.

January 11, 1986: First African-American Lieutenant Governor since reconstruction sworn in — Douglas Wilder of Virginia.

January 12, 1986: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched with the first Hispanic-American astronaut, Dr. Franklin Chang Díaz.

January 14, 1986: Supreme Court bars racial bias in trial jury selection.

January 20, 1986: First federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. is observed.

January 28, 1986: Space shuttle Challenger explodes after launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla., killing all seven aboard.

April 26, 1986: Major nuclear accident at Soviet Union’s Chernobyl power station alarms world.