What Happened in 1988

Major Events

  • Feb 4 Panamanian General Manuel Noriega indicted by US federal grand jury for drug trafficking and racketeering
  • May 15 USSR begins withdrawing its 115,000 troops from Afghanistan
  • May 24 Section 28 passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality. Repealed 2001/2004
  • Aug 8 Ceasefire between Iran and Iraq takes effect after 8 years of war
  • Aug 11 Al-Qaeda formed at a meeting between Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Dr Fadl in Peshawar, Pakistan
  • Aug 19 Iran and Iraq begin a cease-fire in their 8-year-old war (11 PM EDT)
  • Sep 3 Estimated by this date 50,000 Kurdish civilians and soldiers killed by Iraq, many using chemical weapons, in aftermath of Iran-Iraq War
  • Oct 1 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, effectively head of state of the Soviet Union
  • Oct 5 Chile votes in a referendum 56-44 against extending Augusto Pinochet's regime by 8 years thus ending the dictator's 16½ years in power
  • Dec 1 Benazir Bhutto named Prime Minister of Pakistan, the 1st female leader of a Muslim country
  • Dec 7 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia kills 25,000-50,000 people and leaves up to 500,000 homeless
  • Dec 7 PLO delegation lead by Yasser Arafat proclaims the State of Palestine, recognizing the existence of the State of Israel for the first time
  • Dec 21 Lockerbie disaster: A terrorist bomb destroys Pan Am Flight 103 mid-air, over Scotland; killing all 259 passengers and crew on board, and 11 people on the ground [1]
  • More 1988 Events

1988 in Film & TV

1988 in Sport

  • Dec 31 "The Fog Bowl", a heavy, dense fog rolls over Soldier Field in Chicago during second quarter of the Bears vs Eagles NFC Divisional Playoff Game, cuts visibility to 15-20 yards (Bears win 20-12)

Did You Know?

The Morris worm, the first internet-distributed computer worm to gain mainstream media attention is launched from MIT, strikes Pentagon, SDI research lab and six universities

November 2, 1988


More People Born in 1988

Fun Fact About 1988

WYHY radio offers $1M to anyone who can prove Elvis is still alive

July 14, 1988


More 1988 Deaths

Famous Weddings in 1988

  • Jan 1 Actor Michael Biehn (31) weds film producer Gina Marsh
  • Jan 9 English Earl of St Andrews George Windsor marries Canadian academic Sylvana Tomaselli
  • Jan 17 American magazine publisher Bob Guccione (57) weds South African dancer and actress Kathy Keeton (48), until her death in 1997

Famous Divorces in 1988


More 1988 Weddings