| Date | Type | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1985-01-29 | In 1985 the University of Oxford refused to honour former student Mrs Margret Thatcher with an honorary degree. She becomes the first Oxford-educated Prime Minister not to be granted the honorary degree. The vote not to bestow the honour on Mrs Thatcher was greeted with cheers from the university students who had petitioned against it. Academics in England have shown a fear that the cuts made to education spending show a lack of support particularly for scientific research in the UK which was considered to be at crisis level. | |
| 1985-03-11 | In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of Soviet Russia, a day after the death of former leader, Konstantin Chernenko. Gorbachev made significant changes to government policy in Russia allowing for talks between the US president and Himself. These talks included reducing nuclear arms which relieved some tensions during the Cold War. His approach was not welcomed by many communist hardliners and economic problems in Russia led to increased support for Boris Yeltsin, and an attempted coup in 1991. Gorbachev survived the coup attempt but growing pressure led to his retirement on the 25th of December, 1991. |
