1984

A French-Canadian flight attendant by the name of Gaetan Dugas, linked to dozens of the earliest cases of AIDS in the United States and considered to be the man who introduced the virus to the American gay population (more commonly referred to as "patient zero"), died from complications of AIDS.  Prior to his death, Dugas admitted that he had experienced as many as 250 sexual encounters per year, and never reformed his behavior despite his diagnosis in 1981. 

Also in 1984, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Margaret Heckler, vows that an AIDS vaccine will be available for testing in two years.