TV show host Matt Edmondson

Events in 1985 and 27-12

Events in the world in the birth year of Matt Edmondson

• Soviet leader Chernenko dies at 73 and is replaced by Mikhail Gorbachev, 54 (March 11). Under the slogans of glasnost and Perestroika, Gorbachev initiates a broad program of reform and liberalization. Background: Rulers of Russia since 1533
• Two Shi'ite Muslim gunmen capture TWA airliner with 133 aboard, 104 of them Americans (June 14); 39 remaining hostages freed in Beirut (June 30).
• PLO terrorists hijack Achille Lauro, Italian cruise ship, with 80 passengers, plus crew (Oct. 7); American, Leon Klinghoffer, killed (Oct. 8); Italian government toppled by political crisis over hijacking (Oct. 16).
• Reagan and Gorbachev meet at summit (Nov. 19); agree to step up arms control talks and renew cultural contacts (Nov. 21). Background: nuclear disarmament
• Terrorists seize Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner after takeoff from Athens (Nov. 23); 59 dead as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta (Nov. 24).

Birthday Matt Edmondson (27-12) in history

• Day 27-12 year 1831: Naturalist Darwin embarked on a voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.
• Day 27-12 year 1900: Prohibitionist Carry Nation smashed her first saloon.
• Day 27-12 year 1932: Radio City Music Hall in New York City opened.
• Day 27-12 year 1945: The World Bank was created with an agreement signed by 28 nations.
• Day 27-12 year 1949: The Netherlands transferred sovereignty to Indonesia after more than 300 years of Dutch rule.
• Day 27-12 year 1979: The Soviet Union took control of Afghanistan, installing Afghan politician Babrak Karmal as president.
• Day 27-12 year 1996: Rwanda's first genocide trial opened for the 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis.
• Day 27-12 year 2001: The U.S. announced plans to hold Taliban and al-Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.