Mikhail Gorbachev becomes general secretary of the Communist Party in the U.S.S.R.. Under Gorbachev's leadership, economic reforms and policies such as ``glasnost'' (openness), lead to a major easing of the cold war with Western powers.

The first version of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act is signed into law in order to control the U.S. national deficit.

The musical Les Miserables, based on the novel by Victor Hugo, premieres in London. Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues appears at the Neil Simon Theater in New York City.

Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and makes peace overtures to the U.S. However, American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government

Anne Tyler's book, The Accidental Tourist, is published and four years later is made into a movie starring William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.

The manufacturer of the Dalkon Shield, a form of intra-uterine birth control, earmarks over $600 million to settle a class-action suit brought by its users.

In organized crime, John Gotti is suspected of masterminding the murder of Paul Castellano in a bid for control of the Gambino crime family, which has ruled the streets of New York City for much of the century.