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1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. It is the year in the 20th century that has the most Roman numerals (11).
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January
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February
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March
March 8 - U.S. presidential candidate George Herbert Walker Bush defeats Robert Dole in numerous Republican primaries and caucuses on "Super Tuesday." The bipartisan primary/caucus calendar, designed by Democrats to help solidify their own nominee early, backfires when none of the 6 competing candidates are able to break out of the pack in the day's Democratic contests. Jesse Jackson, however, wins several Southern state primaries.
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April
April 28 - Aloha Flight 243 loses several yards of its upper fuselage while in flight; extraordinarily, the craft lands with only 1 fatality.
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May
May 14 - Wimbledon win the English FA Cup after beating Liverpool 1-0 at Wembley. The south-west Londoners had pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the history of English football, as they had been top division members for just 2 years and had joined the Football League only 11 years earlier. Liverpool, meanwhile, had won a total of 30 major trophies including 17 league titles.
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June
June 11 - The name of the General Public License (GPL) is mentioned for the first time.
June 28 - Four workers are asphyxiated at a metal-plating plant in Auburn, Indiana, in the worst confined-space industrial accident in U.S. history (a fifth victim dies two days later).
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July
July 6 - The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires, killing 165 oil workers and 2 rescue mariners.
July 6 - The first reported medical waste on beaches in the Greater New York area - including hypodermic needles and syringes possibly infected with the AIDS virus - washes ashore on Long Island. Subsequent medical waste discoveries on beaches in Coney Island and in Monmouth County, New Jersey force the closure of numerous New York-area beaches in the middle of one of the hottest summers in the American Northeast on record.
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August
August 6 - August 7 - Tompkins Square Park Police Riot in New York City: A riot erupts in Tompkins Square Park when police brutally attempt to enforce a newly-passed curfew for the park. Bystanders, artists, residents, homeless people and political activists are caught up in the police action that takes place on the night of August 6th and the early morning of August 7th.
August 8 - Thousands of protestors in Burma (now Myanmar) are killed during demonstrations against the government in the 8888 Uprising.
August 28 - A fire destroys part of Chiado quarter, in Lisbon's historical center.
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September
September 5 - With US$2 billion in federal aid, the Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the United States's largest thrift, American Savings and Loan Association.
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October
October 5 - In Omaha, Nebraska, in the only vice presidential debate of the 1988 U.S. presidential election, Republican vice presidential nominee Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana insists he has as much experience in government as John F. Kennedy did when he sought the presidency in 1960. His Democratic opponent, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, replies, "Senator, I knew Jack Kennedy. I served with Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." The positive audience response to Bentsen's remark solidifies the reputation of Quayle (who still becomes Vice President) as a political lightweight.
October 13 - In the second U.S. Presidential Debate, held at UCLA, Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis is asked by Bernard Shaw of CNN if he would support the death penalty if his wife were raped and murdered. Dukakis's bloodless reply, voicing opposition to capital punishment in all circumstances, is later believed to be a main reason for his eventual loss to his Republican opponent, George Herbert Walker Bush.
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November
November 11 - In Sacramento, California, police find a body buried in the lawn of 60-year-old boardinghouse landlady Dorothea Puente (seven bodies were eventually found and Puente was convicted of 3 murders and sentenced to life in prison).
November 16 - The Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR declares that Estonia is "sovereign" but stops short of declaring independence.
November 23 Former Korean president Chun Doo Hwan publicly apologizes for corruption during his presidency, announcing he will go into exile.
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December
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Unknown date
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Births
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January
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February
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March
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April
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May
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June
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July
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August
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September
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October
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November
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December
For musicians born in 1988, see 1988 in music.
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January
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February
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March
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April
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May
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June
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July
July 18 - Nico, singer-songwriter, fashion model, actress, Warhol socialite (b. 1938)
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August
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September
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October
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November
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December
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Nobel prizes
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Templeton Prize
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Right Livelihood Award
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Heads of state in 1988
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