On this day

December 20, 1987

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from December 20, 1987

TEXACO IN ACCORD ON REORGANIZATION

By Stephen Labaton

LEAD: Texaco Inc. will file a plan of reorganization tomorrow with a Federal Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, permitting the company to emerge from bankruptcy in the spring after a substantial restructuring, executives from Texaco and the Pennzoil Company said yesterday.

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LONG LIVE BABE'S MOMENTS

By Dave Anderson

LEAD: MORE than half a century after his last home run and nearly four decades after his death, Babe Ruth is still making headlines, still creating debate. Just as his 714 homers and his 94-46 record with a 2.28 earned run average as a left-handed pitcher certify him as the best player in baseball history, his enduring esteem as a newsmaker is another reason why he remains the most celebrated baseball player in history.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 16, 1987, covering December 20, 1987.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Dirty Dancing by Soundtrack

    Dirty Dancing

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    14
  2. 2
    Album cover for Bad by Michael Jackson

    Bad

    Michael Jackson

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    13
  3. 3
    Album cover for Faith by George Michael

    Faith

    George Michael

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    5
  4. 4
    Album cover for Whitesnake by Whitesnake

    Whitesnake

    Whitesnake

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    36
  5. 5
    Album cover for A Momentary Lapse Of Reason by Pink Floyd

    A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

    Pink Floyd

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    13

Notable Births

Malcolm Jenkins

1987Malcolm Jenkins, American football player[†]

Malcolm Jenkins is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, earning consensus All-American honors, and winning the Jim Thorpe Award as a senior. He was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft and played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2014 to 2019.

Historical Events

MV Doña Paz

1987In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait of the Philippines, killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).[†]

MV Doña Paz was a Japanese-built and Philippine-registered passenger ferry that sank after it collided with the oil tanker Vector on December 20, 1987. Built by Onomichi Zosen of Hiroshima, Japan, the ship was launched on April 25, 1963 as the Himeyuri Maru with a passenger capacity of 608. In October 1975, the Himeyuri Maru was bought by Sulpicio Lines and renamed the Don Sulpicio. After a fire aboard in June 1979, the ship was refurbished and renamed Doña Paz.

Historical Context for December 20, 1987

In 1987, the world population was approximately 5,049,746,397 people[†]