The year you were born

Born in 1986

If you were born in 1986, you share a birth year with Halley’s Comet’s last visit to Earth’s skies, the first close look at Uranus and the start of the Mir space station. Here is what else happened, with a source for every line.

Turning 40 in 2026

What happened in 1986

  1. 24 JanuarySpace

    Voyager 2 flew past Uranus, the first human-made object ever to do so.

    Source: NASA: Voyager 2

  2. 9 FebruarySpace

    Halley’s Comet reached its closest point to the Sun. It will next return to Earth’s skies in 2061.

    Source: NASA Science: 1P/Halley

  3. 19 FebruarySpace

    The Soviet Union launched the first module of the Mir space station.

    Source: NASA: Mir space station at 35

  4. 1986Space

    The European spacecraft Giotto photographed the nucleus of Halley’s Comet, one of the first spacecraft ever to picture the solid core of a comet.

    Source: NASA Science: 1P/Halley

  5. All yearPolitics

    Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister (1979 to 1990), the first woman to hold the job.

    Source: GOV.UK: Past Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher

  6. 24 July to 2 AugustSport

    Edinburgh hosted the Commonwealth Games: 1,662 athletes from 26 nations took part in 163 events.

    Source: Commonwealth Sport: 1986 Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh

  7. 1986Prizes

    Elie Wiesel won the Nobel Peace Prize as “a messenger to mankind”.

    Source: The Nobel Peace Prize 1986

  8. 1986Prizes

    Wole Soyinka won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

    Source: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986

  9. NovemberFlight

    A British Airways Concorde flew around the world: 28,238 miles in 29 hours and 59 minutes.

    Source: British Airways: Concorde

  10. ChristmasMusic

    The UK Christmas Number 1 was Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson.

    Source: Official Charts: every Christmas Number 1

Halley’s Comet will not be back until 2061, the year a 1986 baby turns 75. Mir’s story started a decade earlier: the Soviet Union approved the plan in 1976 (see Born in 1976). The round-the-world Concorde flight is one for aircraft fans; the Concorde page on aeroplanes.im has the aircraft’s story.

A 1986 party idea

Make it a space-and-sport night: one quiz round on Halley’s Comet and Voyager 2, one on the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Everything you need for the answers is in the list below.

More ideas on the party ideas page.

Want it ready to print? The Year You Were Born 1986, a printable party pack with a quiz, a certificate and a time capsule (paid download, $4.99) is built from the same checked facts.

Sources

Every line above was checked against these pages on 3 November 2026. Dates are as the source gives them.

  1. NASA: Voyager 2
  2. NASA Science: 1P/Halley
  3. NASA: Mir space station at 35
  4. GOV.UK: Past Prime Ministers, Margaret Thatcher
  5. Commonwealth Sport: 1986 Commonwealth Games, Edinburgh
  6. The Nobel Peace Prize 1986
  7. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986
  8. British Airways: Concorde
  9. Official Charts: every Christmas Number 1