1988

Facts and Events That Happened in This Year

Dec 31

The Fog Bowl, a heavy, dense fog rolled over Soldier Field in Chicago during the second quarter of the Bears vs. Eagles NFC Divisional Playoff Game.

Dec 22

Two robbers who wore police uniforms robbed an armored truck of $3 million in New Jersey.

Dec 21

Antonov An-255 Mriya, the largest airplane in the world, flew for the first time.

Dec 12

Rain Man, directed by Barry Levinson, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, premiered in New York.

Dec 7

A 6.9 earthquake in Spitak, Armenia, killed 25,000-50,000 people and left up to 500,000 homeless.

Dec 1

The first-ever World AIDS day started in effort to raise awareness of the AIDS global epidemic.

Nov 15

The Soviet Union's uncrewed Buran space shuttle completed its first and only space flight.

Nov 3

George H. W. Bush was elected as the 41st President of the United States of America.

Nov 2

The Morris Worm, the first computer virus made to be caught over the internet, disabled 6,000 computers in 24 hours.

Oct 5

The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil was ratified.

Sep 19

Bon Jovi's album 'New Jersey' was released.

Sep 19

Israel launched its first satellite, Ofek-1, from the Palmachim Air Base.

Sep 12

An extreme category 5 hurricane called Gilbert hit Jamaica, with the eye of the storm being 15 miles wide.

Sep 8

Yellowstone National Park closed for the first time in US history due to ongoing fires.

Aug 22

Australia began selling its first platinum coin, featuring a Koala.

Aug 20

The Iran-Iraq war ended in a stalemate after nearly eight years of conflict.

Jul 15

American action film 'Die Hard' was released in the US.

Jul 9

Donald Trump became Mike Tyson's advisor.

Jul 8

The Island Express train derailed on the Peruman Bridge in India.

Jun 3

The movie 'Big' starring Tom Hanks, premiered in the US.

Apr 30

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson got married.

Apr 28

Flight attendant Clarabelle 'C.B.' Lansing was blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243.

Apr 14

The Soviet Union agreed to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

Mar 31

Toni Morrison won a Pulitzer Prize Award for her novel 'Beloved.'

Feb 29

Svend Robinson became the first Canadian MP to come out of the closet publicly.

Feb 5

The Comic Relief charity created ''Red Nose Day" in the United Kingdom, and raised £15 million ($19 million).

Jan 31

Doug Williams became the first African-American quarterback to play in the Super Bowl.