Hands Across America
The Hands Across America event takes place.
40th anniversary in 2026
In context
- When
- Sunday, May 25 198640 years ago
- Category
- Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Era
- 20th century · 1980s
- Anniversary
- 40th in 2026
- Recorded from
- Wikipedia “On this day” feed
At a glance
Dates: From 1986.
What happened
The Hands Across America event takes place.
May 25 through the years
Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.
- 1986Hands Across America
- 20092009 North Korean nuclear test
- 2011The Oprah Winfrey Show
- 2011Oprah Winfrey
- 2012SpaceX Dragon 1
- 2012SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2
- 2013Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
- 2013Naxalism
- 2018General Data Protection Regulation
- 2018Republic of Ireland
- 2020George Floyd
Also in 1986
- September 131986 Kalamata earthquakeA magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes Kalamata, Greece with a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing at least 20 and ca…
- September 5Pan Am Flight 73Pan Am Flight 73 from Mumbai, India with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.
- November 17Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628The flight crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628 are involved in a UFO sighting incident while flying over Alaska.
- October 20Aeroflot Flight 6502Aeroflot Flight 6502 crashed on approach to Kurumoch Airport in Samara, Russia (then Kuybyshev in the Soviet Union), killing 70 people on…
- June 14Mindbender (Galaxyland)The Mindbender derails, killing three riders and severely injuring one at the Fantasyland (known today as Galaxyland) indoor amusement pa…
- November 5USS RentzUSS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao, China; the first US naval visit to China since 1949.
- July 9New Zealand ParliamentThe New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.
- January 18AerovíasAn Aerovías Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes on approach to Mundo Maya International Airport in Flores, Petén, Guatemala, killing all 94 pe…
Sources
- Wikipedia article (text, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 for adapted text · how we source this
Cite this page
“Hands Across America”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/hands-across-america-1986-may-25, accessed October 27, 2026.
Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.
Questions about this entry
When did Hands Across America happen?
May 25 1986 — 40 years ago, on a Sunday.
Where does this text come from?
Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.
How do I cite this page?
Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.
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Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.