1988 Tranniversary: James
Red Ribbon, World AIDS Day
In politics, Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, becomes the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century.Republican Ronald Reagan completed his second term as US president and George HW Bush, Vice President under Ronald Reagan, defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis In May of 1988 as a bloody climax to two years of fighting between the Indian government and Sikh separatists, Indian army troops fight their way into the besieged Golden Temple compound in Amritsar–the holiest shrine of Sikhism–and kill at least 500 Sikh rebels.
Also in May, 1988, The 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev orders the withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from Afghanistan which was finalized in February of 1989 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov. In July of 1988 Iran Air Flight 655 traveling from Tehran to Dubai was shot down by the United States Navy USS Vincennes killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard. On Dec. 21, Pan Am flight 103, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, after a bomb set by Lybian radicals was detonated. All 259 people on board were killed, and 11 individuals on the ground also died.
In LGBTQ news in 1988, Ryan White, the Indiana teenager who was a national spokesperson for AIDS education, testified about the stigma he had endured as a result of having AIDS before the President’s Commission on AIDS. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative government passes Section 28, a clause that bans the "promotion of homosexuality" by local government.[1] In the United States, National Coming Out Day was founded. Drug counselor David Purchase set up the nation’s first needle-exchange program to combat the spread of HIV on a sidewalk in Tacoma, Washington. World AIDS Day is observed for the first time
The Summer Olympic Games were held in Seoul, South Korea. These were the last Olympic Games held during the Cold War, as well as for the Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games in 1992. The Soviet Union (also known as the USSR) utterly dominated the medal count, taking home 55 gold and winning 132 medals overall. Nadia Comăneci scored a record seven perfect 10s in one Olympic Games. American diver Greg Louganis won back-to-back titles on both diving events. Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany won six gold medals. South Korea ranked fourth overall.
In film and movie star news, the top grossing films were “Rain Man”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Coming to America”. Top grossing actors included Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise and top actresses were Bette Midler and Michelle Pfeiffer. Cher won Oscar for best actress for her portrayal of Loretta Castorini in “Moonstruck”. Michael Douglas won best actor for his role in “Wall Street”, the film “The Last Emperor” won Best Picture.
In music Casey Kasem retired from the “American Top 40” show that he began in 1970. In 1988, when Shadoe Stevens took over as the host of the show, the number one music hit was Steve Winwood’s, “Roll With It”.