/born

Born in 1985

People born in 1985 turn 41 in 2026. A dollar in 1985 buys what $3.13 buys in September 2026, and about 4.87 billion people were alive. Every figure below links to the source it came from.

Your birthday in 1985

1985

What things cost in 1985

U.S. average1985in today’s dollarslatest
One dollar$1.00$3.13CPI-U
Gallon of regular gasoline APU000074714$1.20$3.76$4.48
Dozen large eggs APU0000708111$0.80$2.52$2.27
Pound of white bread APU0000702111$0.55$1.73$1.83
Pound of ground beef APU0000703112$1.24$3.88$6.79
Pound of ground coffee APU0000717311$2.58$8.08$9.33
Pound of bananas APU0000711211$0.37$1.15$0.66
Kilowatt-hour of electricity APU000072610$0.08$0.25$0.20
Median price of a new house sold MSPUS$84,275$263,981$410,700
Median household income MEHOINUSA646N$23,620$73,987$87,460
Federal minimum wage STTMINWGFG$3.35$10.49$7.25

1985 figures are annual averages of the published monthly (or quarterly) values. “Today’s dollars” uses the Consumer Price Index for September 2026; “latest” is the most recent published price. Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, via FRED.

Who was in charge in 1985

United States
Ronald Reagan (President)
United Kingdom
Elizabeth II (Queen); Margaret Thatcher (Prime minister)
Soviet Union
Konstantin Chernenko, then Mikhail Gorbachev (General Secretary); Konstantin Chernenko, then Andrei Gromyko (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Nikolai Tikhonov, then Nikolai Ryzhkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers)
People's Republic of China
Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Hu Yaobang (General Secretary); Li Xiannian (President)
France
François Mitterrand (President); Laurent Fabius (Prime minister)
East Germany
Erich Honecker (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph (Chairman)
West Germany
Richard von Weizsäcker (President of West Germany); Helmut Kohl (Chancellor of West Germany)
Japan
Hirohito (Emperor)
Republic of India
Zail Singh (President); Rajiv Gandhi (Prime minister)

From Wikipedia’s List of state leaders in the 20th century (1951–2000) (revision 1371751893), each name checked against Wikidata. Every country in 1985 →

No. 1 songs of 1985

  1. “Like a Virgin” — Madonna (4 weeks)
  2. “I Want to Know What Love Is” — Foreigner (2 weeks)
  3. “Careless Whisper” — Wham! featuring George Michael (3 weeks)
  4. “Can't Fight This Feeling” — REO Speedwagon (3 weeks)
  5. “One More Night” — Phil Collins (2 weeks)
  6. “We Are the World” — USA for Africa (4 weeks)
  7. “Crazy for You” — Madonna (1 week)
  8. “Don't You (Forget About Me)” — Simple Minds (1 week)
  9. “Everything She Wants” — Wham! (2 weeks)
  10. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” — Tears for Fears (2 weeks)
  11. “Heaven” — Bryan Adams (2 weeks)
  12. “Sussudio” — Phil Collins (1 week)
  13. “A View to a Kill” — Duran Duran (2 weeks)
  14. “Everytime You Go Away” — Paul Young (1 week)
  15. “Shout” — Tears for Fears (3 weeks)
  16. “The Power of Love” — Huey Lewis and the News (2 weeks)
  17. “St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)” — John Parr (2 weeks)
  18. “Money for Nothing” — Dire Straits (3 weeks)
  19. “Oh Sheila” — Ready for the World (1 week)
  20. “Take On Me” — a-ha (1 week)
  21. “Saving All My Love for You” — Whitney Houston (1 week)
  22. “Part-Time Lover” — Stevie Wonder (1 week)
  23. “Miami Vice Theme” — Jan Hammer (1 week)
  24. “We Built This City” — Starship (2 weeks)
  25. “Separate Lives” — Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin (1 week)
  26. “Broken Wings” — Mr. Mister (2 weeks)
  27. “Say You, Say Me” — Lionel Richie (2 weeks)

Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with issue dates in 1985, from List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1985 (Wikipedia revision 1303397535).

Famous people born in 1985

  • 7 January – Lewis Hamilton, Formula One racing driver source
  • 5 February – Cristiano Ronaldo, footballer. source
  • 24 October – Wayne Rooney, footballer source
  • May 2 – Kyle Busch, racing driver (died 2026) source
  • September 17 — Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player source
  • May 17 – Matt Ryan, football player source
  • January 14 – Michelle Wu, politician, mayor of Boston, Massachusetts (2021–present) source
  • July 5 – Megan Rapinoe, soccer player source
  • March 13 – Matt Jackson, pro wrestler source
  • September 3 – Yūki Kaji, voice actor source
  • January 28 – J. Cole, Hip-Hop musician and record producer source
  • June 27 - Nico Rosberg, Formula One racing driver source
  • 5 December – Shikhar Dhawan, cricketer. source
  • 5 July – Nick O'Malley, musician source
  • 19 April – Niki Zimling, footballer source

What happened in 1985

  • January 14 – Hun Sen is confirmed as prime minister, having been acting PM since the death of his predecessor Chan Sy. source
  • January 28 – The charity single record "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. source
  • January 7 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union. source
  • January 1 – The Internet's Domain Name System is created. source
  • February 4 – The border between Gibraltar and Spain reopens for the first time since Francisco Franco closed it in 1969. source
  • February 13 – An arson attack on the Regent of Manila, a resort hotel in Pasay, occurs, burning it for four days and killing at least 27 people including more than ten foreigners. Between October 1984 and this month, 65, mostly foreign tourists, die in eight hotel fires in Baguio and Metro Manila; the incident being the sixth. source
  • February 25 – Tears for Fears release their second studio album, Songs from the Big Chair, which includes the hit singles "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." source
  • 1 January – Value added tax (KDV) introduced. source
Everything that happened in 1985 →