As Ashworth College celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year, we look back to what else was going on in the year 1987. From education to science, sports and pop culture, it was a different world 30 years ago. For example, there were about 13 million students enrolled in college in 1987, today there are over 20 million!
World events:
The political scandal of the Iran-Contra affair became public. The scandal centered around the United States selling weapons to Iran, a violation of an arms embargo in place, in order to support a militant group in Nicaragua.
While President Ronald Reagan, and his administration were at the center of the Iran-Contra scandal, the same year President Reagan also gave his famous “Tear Down this Wall” speech calling for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to remove the wall that divided Berlin, Germany.
Syrian Astronaut: Syria sent its first – and only – space traveler into orbit.
A supernova was seen. The star explosion was the first one viewed by the naked eye since 1604.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its largest one-day percentage decline on what became known as Black Monday. On this day stock markets around the world crashed, meaning many stocks lost significant value in a short amount of time.
Disney Corporation and the French government agreed to create a Disney amusement park in France. Euro Disney, now called Disneyland Paris, was the second resort opened outside of the United States (the first was Tokyo Disney Resort).
National events:
A toddler named Jessica McClure fell into a well in Texas. People across the United States intently watched their televisions during the three-day rescue which ended with Baby Jessica, as the little girl became known, was returned safely to her parents.
Vancouver and Chicago became the first host cities outside of Seattle for Starbucks Coffee stores, setting the stage for the brand to become a national obsession.
The National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights took place. Today the march is marked as the first official National Coming Out Day, a day intended to bring awareness to the LGBTQ community.
In film and television:
The world was introduced to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie on The Simpsons. The cartoon made its first appearance on the Tracy Ullman Show.
The popular series thirtysomething first aired. The series looked at the lives of people Baby Boomers in their 30s during the late 80s. The show is largely credited with making the catchphrase “thirtysomething” popular.
Several television and film stars were born in 1987, including Hillary Duff, Zac Efron, Blake Lively, Ellen Page and Miles Teller.
In music:
Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since then, 43 other women have been inducted.
The band U2 released its critically-acclaimed album Joshua Tree.
In sports:
The Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), Washington Redskins (NFL), Minnesota Twins (MLB), and Edmonton Oilers (NHL) were all crowned champions in their respective sports.
Mixed martial artist and gold medal winner Rhonda Rousey was born. Other athletes born in 1987 include Luis Suarez, Andy Murray and Lionel Messi.
Other notable events:
Disposable contact lenses became available for commercial sale, allowing lens wearers to ditch the nightly routine of saving their contacts.
The world's first conference on artificial life was held in New Mexico at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
1987 vs. 2017 - Miscellaneous costs comparisons:
World population: approximately 5 billion in 1987 vs approximately 7.5 billion today
US postage stamp: $0.24 in 1987 vs $0.49 today
Gas: $0.89/gallon in 1987 vs $2.37/gallon today
1 pound of bacon: $0.89 in 1987 vs $5.10/pound today
Ford Mustang: $9,200 in 1987 vs $25,185+ today
Cost of a Super Bowl ad: $600,000 in 1987 vs $5,000,000+ today
Ashworth College online in 1987
Ashworth College originated as a family-owned school offering one course in real estate appraisal. The course became so popular that our founders realized they had filled a common need for exceptional career-focused distance learning. Today, Ashworth College Online offers over 125 programs including online career certificate, associate degree, bachelor's degree programs. With more than 300,000 alumni across the United States and around the world, Ashworth is proud of its services and network.
