Timeline January 1985

Events in January 1985 18

• 1985 1985: Alain Prost McLaren Frenchman Prost, known as The Professor for his cerebral approach, won the first of his four titles with McLaren.
• 1985 Afterburner Released Afterburner, continuing the synth-rock sound of Eliminator with hits including Sleeping Bag and Stages. The album sold over five million copies.
• 1985 – 1991 Director of the MIT Center for Cancer Research Served as director of the MIT Center for Cancer Research, succeeding Nobel laureate Salvador Luria. Under his leadership, the centre expanded its research into the molecular mechanisms of cancer.
• 1985 – 1987 Early Modelling Career Built her early career in Paris and Milan, working with photographers who would help define the supermodel era including Peter Lindbergh and Herb Ritts.
• 1985 First Published Collection Published his first collection of poems, Pen Rhythm, establishing himself on the literary scene.
• 1985 Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World Published Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, an ambitious novel alternating between a cyberpunk thriller and a surreal, walled town where residents have no shadows. It won the Tanizaki Prize and is widely regarded as a masterpiece.
• 1985 Legend and Clue Appeared in two cult films in the same year. In Ridley Scott's fantasy Legend, he played Darkness, the embodiment of evil, under hours of transformative makeup. In Jonathan Lynn's Clue, he delivered a brilliantly manic physical comedy performance as the butler Wadsworth, racing through multiple murder explanations in the film's famous triple ending.
• 1985 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Starred as Aunty Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, adding a memorable film role to her music career.
• 1985 Mother's Death Her mother was killed in a car accident. The complicated relationship with her abusive mother would become a central theme in O'Connor's music and public life.
• 1985 Olivier Award for A Chorus of Disapproval Won his first Olivier Award for A Chorus of Disapproval by Alan Ayckbourn, beginning a run of three Olivier wins in five years.
• 1985 – 1996 Personal Tragedies Endured devastating personal losses: his 14-year-old daughter Iska died of a seizure in 1985, and his second wife Ana Maria was killed in the TWA Flight 800 crash in 1996.
• 1985 The Good Father Appeared in Mike Newell's The Good Father alongside Anthony Hopkins, in one of his more prominent dramatic roles.
• 1985 Wolf Prize in Chemistry Received the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, often considered a precursor to the Nobel Prize.
• 1985 – present Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Seven-time World Champion; holds the record for the most career wins and pole positions in F1 history.
• 1985 First Rock in Rio festival Brazil hosts one of the largest music festivals ever staged The inaugural Rock in Rio festival opened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 11 January 1985, drawing over a million attendees across ten days. The lineup included Queen, AC/DC, and Iron Maiden alongside major Brazilian acts. It established a festival brand that would later expand to other countries.
• 1985 "We Are the World" recorded American musicians unite for African famine relief More than three dozen American recording artists gathered in Los Angeles on 28 January 1985 to record the charity single "We Are the World" in support of famine relief in Africa. Organized by Harry Belafonte and produced by Quincy Jones, the song raised tens of millions of dollars. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
• 1985 Bruce Springsteen sings on We Are the World USA for Africa One of the lead voices on the charity single.
• 1985 Nelson Mandela rejects conditional release Imprisoned ANC leader refuses to renounce armed struggle South African President P. W. Botha offered to release imprisoned anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela on 31 January 1985 if he renounced violence as a political tool. Mandela refused the condition, and his daughter Zindzi read his defiant response to a rally in Soweto. The episode strengthened his standing as a symbol of resistance to apartheid.