Killer Killed (Jan. 24): Serial killer Theodore Robert Bundy is executed in the electric chair at the Florida State Prison for slaying a 12-year-old girl. Investigators believe Bundy may have killed several dozen women.

	Brown

Political Strides (Feb. 10): Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first black person to lead a major American political party.

Soviet Retreat (Feb. 15): The last Soviet troops pull out of Afghanistan after nine years of war against anti-communist Muslim rebels.

A Big Spill (March 24): The supertanker Exxon Valdez runs into a reef in Alaska's ecologically sensitive Prince William Sound. Eleven million gallons of oil gush from the vessel, spoiling more than 1,000 miles of extraordinary shoreline. Close to 600,000 birds and 5,500 otters are killed from the worst spill in U.S. history.

	North

Taking the Fall (May 4): Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, a national security aide to President Reagan, is convicted in federal court on three of 12 counts related to the sale of arms to Iran so the money could be given to rebels in Nicaragua. His conviction will be thrown out on appeal.

Speaker Silenced (May 31): For the first time in 200 years of democracy, a House speaker resigns. Jim Wright steps down over a yearlong ethics investigation. He is accused of improperly accepting use of an apartment, a condominium and a job for his wife. Wright denies the charges, although he later says he made "errors in judgment."

Protest on the Square (June 3): The Chinese army rolls into Tiananmen Square to break up a pro-democracy demonstration that started in April. The gathering had begun with students asking for political reform, but the crowd swelled to 2 million. After martial law is imposed, the crowd thins. But several thousand students remain when they are attacked with automatic weapons and tanks. The death toll is estimated at 2,500.

Let It Burn (June 21): The Supreme Court rules, 5-4, that burning the American flag is an expression of free speech protected by the Constitution.

S&L Crisis (Aug. 9): President Bush signs landmark legislation to bail out the ailing savings and loan industry, a $166 billion rescue plan.

Banned for Life (Aug. 24): Pete Rose, who in 1985 set a major-league baseball record of 4,192 career hits, is banned from the sport for life for gambling on baseball games.

Bay Area Quake (Oct. 17): An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale rocks the San Francisco area. Almost 70 die, half of them crushed when freeways collapse.