Re-Elected:

11 June, UK: Conservative Part, led by Margaret Thatcher - first prime minister this century to win three successive elections.

Sold:

11 Nov: Van Gogh's Irises, for $53.9 million, the most expensive painting ever.

On Monday, 19 October, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by 22 percent, almost double that of the 1929 crash that set off the Great Depression. Some $870 billion in equity values simply vanished.

The high-rolling 1980s were on their way out. The drop had started the Friday before when the market declined by 108 points, influencing jittery markets worldwide. Stock prices in London fell by 12 percent, 15 percent in Tokyo, 11 percent in Hong Kong and 6 percent in Paris. Analysts determined that the main cause was the US's messy economy, with massive trade and budget deficits.

Official reassurance form President Reagan did nothing to ally fears. Prices fluctuated wildly for the rest of the weak in heavy trading. On the Thursday following "Black Monday" (as it was instantly dubbed), Reagan announced plans to hold a Congress conference on how to reduce the deficit. Although Wall Street eventually recovered, the 1990s would be a era of far more careful governmental spending.