https://www.history.com/topics/1980s/hiv-aids-crisis-timeline

1984

March 1 – A study in the American Journal of Medicine examines a cluster of 40 patients with KS and other opportunistic illnesses, tracing their sexual contacts. It describes an unidentified flight attendant, “Patient O” (the O standing for “outside Southern California,” where the study was focused), who was known to have hundreds of sexual partners a year. The report states this man had sexual contact with eight of the men in the study, and was the first patient in the study to show the onset of HIV/AIDS symptoms. Misconceptions around the study (and a misreading of Patient O”) give rise to the myth of Patient Zero, a promiscuous or even malicious gay man who single-handedly and knowingly touched off the AIDS pandemic in the United States.

April 23 – The Department of Health and Human Services announces the discovery of a retrovirus they call HTLV-III, the cause of AIDS. They also announce the development of a blood test and raise hopes that a vaccine could be developed in the next two years.

July 13 – The CDC recommends avoiding injection drug use and reducing needle sharing as ways of preventing transmission.

1985

March 2 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration licenses the first blood test for HIV, and blood banks begin screening the country’s blood supply.

April 22 – The Normal Heart, an autobiographical play about the early days of the crisis by Larry Kramer, opens off-Broadway.

July 25 – Rock Hudson, a legendary actor from the Golden Age of Hollywood whose homosexuality was an open secret in the industry, announces he has AIDS. Media coverage of AIDS increases dramatically in the following months.

August 27 – Ryan White, a teenager who contracted AIDS through donated blood, is barred from attending his middle school in Russiaville, Indiana due to his condition. The ensuing legal battle makes White a national figure, highlighting the stigma of the disease and the misconceptions surrounding how it is spread and who can contract it.

September 17 – President Ronald Reagan mentions AIDS publicly for the first time. He calls it a “top priority” and rebuffs accusations that his administration has not taken it seriously.

October 2 – Rock Hudson dies of an AIDS-related illness. He bequeaths $250,000 to create the American Foundation for AIDS Research.