The world in
What happened in 1987?
24 events across 10 world regions, each with its sources.
Europe
- Singing Revolution
The Singing Revolution refers to the events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term originated from spontaneous mass patriotic singing demonstrations on the nights of 10–11 June 1988 at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, and was coined a week later in an article by Estonian artist Heinz Valk. The Soviet Union had annexed the Baltics around 1940 and subsequently suppressed local languages, religions, and culture, carried out large-scale deportations and political repression.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Cold War
After World War II, the Western Bloc led by the United States and the Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union engaged in a nearly half-century-long political, economic, and military confrontation. Although the two superpowers never fought directly, they competed globally through proxy wars, an arms race, and the Space Race. The Cold War began in the late 1940s and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Signing of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR
On December 30, 1922, the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR was signed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, officially establishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Plenipotentiary delegates from the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian Soviet republics signed the treaty, along with a declaration serving as its preamble. The treaty legally formalized the political union of the Soviet republics that had existed since 1919, creating a new federal government with centralized functions in Moscow. Legislative power was vested in the Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee, while executive power lay with the Council of People's Commissars.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of the Sanctuary of Delphi
The sanctuary of Delphi emerged as one of the most influential religious centers of the ancient Greek world, with its origins traceable to at least the 6th century B.C. Centered on the oracle of Apollo and revered as the 'navel of the world', it held profound religious and political influence over numerous city-states, embodying Panhellenic unity and sacred identity.
- Establishment of Etna Park
Etna Park became a regional natural park in Sicily, Italy, in the late 20th century, encompassing the area of Mount Etna.
West Asia
- Iran–Iraq War begins
In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, igniting the Iran–Iraq War. The eight-year conflict stemmed from long-standing border disputes and Iraqi fears that Iran’s Islamic Revolution might spread to its Shiite population. The war caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, becoming the deadliest conventional war between regular armies of developing countries.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Anfal Campaign
From February to September 1988, the Iraqi Ba'athist regime launched the Anfal campaign, systematically targeting rural Kurds in northern Iraq. Ordered by Saddam Hussein and led by Ali Hassan al-Majid, its goals were to eliminate Kurdish rebel groups and Arabize strategic areas of Kirkuk Governorate. An estimated 50,000 to 180,000 civilians were killed, and the campaign is widely considered genocide, most notoriously marked by the chemical attack on Halabja in March 1988.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- South Lebanon conflict erupts
The South Lebanon conflict erupted in 1985, with Israel and its allied South Lebanon Army fighting Hezbollah-led forces in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon. Seen as an extension of the Lebanese Civil War, the conflict persisted until Israel's withdrawal in 2000.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Opening of the Kocatepe Mosque
The Kocatepe Mosque opened in 1987 in Ankara, Turkey, becoming the largest mosque in the city and one of the largest in the world, with architectural inspiration drawn from 16th-century master architect Sinan’s works.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Sub-Saharan Africa
- Battle of Cuito Cuanavale begins
On 14 August 1987, FAPLA and Cuban forces launched an offensive near Cuito Cuanavale against South African and UNITA troops, marking the start of the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. The largest engagement of the Angolan Civil War and the biggest conventional battle in Africa since World War II, it began with a failed FAPLA push towards Mavinga. Fighting continued until March 1988, with counteroffensives around the Tumpo River.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Beginning of the South African Border War
In 1966, the South African Border War broke out across Namibia, Zambia, and Angola. It was fought between the South African Defence Force and the People's Liberation Army of Namibia, the armed wing of SWAPO. The conflict, closely tied to the Angolan Civil War, became one of Africa's largest wars since World War II.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Chadian–Libyan War
Between 1978 and 1987, Libya conducted a series of military campaigns in Chad, fighting alongside Libyan allies against the French-backed Chadian government. Libya repeatedly intervened in the Chadian civil war, and France also intervened militarily to support the Chadian government. The conflict ended with the victory of pro-French forces.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Dja Faunal Reserve Designated as World Heritage Site
In 1987, the Dja Faunal Reserve in southeastern Cameroon was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its species diversity and lack of disturbance. The area is largely primary tropical rainforest and habitat for threatened mammals.
South Asia
- Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan mujahideen, who received aid from multiple countries. The war lasted nearly a decade, ending with the Soviet withdrawal in February 1989. American and British support for the mujahideen escalated the Cold War, ending a brief period of relaxed Soviet–US relations.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Outbreak of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War
In December 1978, Vietnam launched a large-scale invasion of Cambodia, toppling the Khmer Rouge regime, which marked the outbreak of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. Border clashes had occurred in preceding years. The war was part of the Third Indochina War and intertwined with the Sino-Soviet split in the Cold War.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North America
- Montreal Protocol
On 16 September 1987, the Montreal Protocol was agreed in Montreal, Canada. Building on the 1985 Vienna Convention, it aims to protect the ozone layer by phasing out ozone-depleting substances. Apart from the Geneva Conventions, it is the only treaty signed by all UN member states.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of the University of Greenland
The University of Greenland is the only university in Greenland, located in the capital Nuuk. Most courses are taught in Danish, with a few in Greenlandic, and exchange lecturers sometimes use English. The institution is small, with around 650 students and 14 academic staff in 2015.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
North Africa
- Toyota War
The Toyota War, the final phase of the Chadian–Libyan conflict in 1987, derived its name from the extensive use of Toyota pickups by Chadian forces. The war resulted in a heavy defeat for Libya, which lost about 7,500 men and $1.5 billion in military equipment, while Chad suffered around 1,000 deaths.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Outbreak of the Western Sahara War
In 1975, after Spain withdrew from Western Sahara, Morocco and Mauritania took over administration under the Madrid Accords, leading to armed conflict with the Polisario Front. Morocco organized the Green March, with tens of thousands of citizens and around 20,000 troops entering Western Sahara, meeting resistance from the Polisario Front. Fighting was minor at first but evolved into a prolonged guerrilla war. The Polisario Front fought both Morocco and Mauritania, seeking independence. Mauritania withdrew in 1979, but the war persisted until a 1991 ceasefire.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central & South America
- Nicaraguan Revolution
The Nicaraguan Revolution was a revolutionary movement in Nicaragua from 1961 to 1990, led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, aiming to overthrow the Somoza family dictatorship and, after its success in 1979, to carry out social and economic reforms.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Brimstone Hill Fortress designated as World Heritage Site
Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fortress, located on the island of St. Kitts, was designed by British military engineers and built and maintained by enslaved Africans. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas, blending British and Caribbean architectural styles.
East Asia
- Launch of Reform and Opening-up
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in December 1978, China began implementing a policy centered on economic reform, known as 'reform and opening-up'. Proposed under Deng Xiaoping's leadership, it aimed to introduce market mechanisms and expand foreign economic exchanges.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Oceania
- Establishment of Purnululu National Park
Purnululu National Park was established in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The park is renowned for the Bungle Bungle Range, with its beehive-shaped karst sandstone towers rising about 250 metres above the semi-arid savannah, featuring distinctive black and orange banding formed by cyanobacteria. Covering approximately 239,723 hectares, it is a World Heritage Site.
Central Asian steppe
- Establishment of the Daursky Nature Reserve
In 1987, Russia established the Daursky Nature Reserve in southern Zabaykalsky Krai near the Mongolian border to protect the Daurian steppe ecosystem. The reserve later became part of the World Heritage Site 'Landscapes of Dauria'.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Around 1987
These are known only to the century, not to the year. They are listed separately so a rough date is never mistaken for an exact one.
- Beginning of the Digital Revolution
- Guatemalan Maya genocide
- Establishment of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park
- Construction of Grimeton Longwave Radio Station
- Construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway begins
- Construction of the 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright Begins
- Construction of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Centre of Heaven and Earth'
- Establishment of the Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains