Historical eventOctober 71985

Achille Lauro hijacking

Four men from the Palestine Liberation Front hijack the MS Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt.

Everything on October 7Original source

In context

When
Monday, October 7 198541 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1980s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1985.

What came beforeAI-assisted

The Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), a splinter group of the Palestine Liberation Organization, had conducted several maritime attacks in the early 1980s. The group sought to draw international attention to Palestinian grievances through hijackings and armed operations.

Catalyst / how it startedAI-assisted

Four PLF members boarded the Italian cruise ship MS Achille Lauro on October 7, 1985, as it sailed off the Egyptian coast near Port Said. They were armed with guns and grenades and took approximately 400 passengers and 80 crew members hostage.

Who was involvedAI-assisted

The four hijackers were members of the Palestine Liberation Front, a faction led by Muhammad Zaidan (also known as Abu Abbas). The ship carried mostly American, British, German, and Italian passengers, along with its Italian crew.

TimelineAI-assisted

October 7: Four PLF gunmen hijacked the MS Achille Lauro off Egypt's coast. October 8: The hijackers killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and threw his body overboard. October 9: The ship docked in Port Said, Egypt; the hijackers negotiated safe passage and left the vessel.

What happened

Four men from the Palestine Liberation Front hijack the MS Achille Lauro off the coast of Egypt.

October 7 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1985Achille Lauro hijacking
  2. 20042004 Sinai bombings
  3. 2006Anna Politkovskaya
  4. 2008Qantas Flight 72
  5. 20082008 TC3
  6. 2016Hurricane Matthew
  7. 2022Ales Bialiatski
  8. 2022Creeslough explosion
  9. 2023Hamas
  10. 2023Al-Qassam Brigades
  11. 2023Palestinian nationalism

Also in 1985

  • May 11Bradford City stadium fireFifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.
  • September 11Moimenta-Alcafache train crashMoimenta-Alcafache train crash, the worst railway accident to occur in Portugal.
  • September 13Super Mario Bros.Super Mario Bros., one of the most influential and best-selling video games in history, was first released in Japan for the Nintendo Ente…
  • September 14Penang BridgePenang Bridge, the longest bridge in Malaysia, connecting the island of Penang to the mainland, opens to traffic.
  • September 17HIV/AIDSFour years after AIDS was first identified in the United States, Ronald Reagan publicly acknowledged AIDS (video featured) for the first…
  • July 13Live AidThe Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Moscow and Sydney.
  • July 13Vice President of the United StatesVice President George H. W. Bush becomes the Acting President for the day when President Ronald Reagan undergoes surgery to remove polyps…
  • May 25BangladeshBangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.

Everything we record for 1985 →

Sources

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“Achille Lauro hijacking”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/achille-lauro-hijacking-1985-october-7, accessed October 24, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Achille Lauro hijacking happen?

October 7 1985 — 41 years ago, on a Monday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints. Panels marked AI-assisted were filled where the sources left a heading empty.

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