WHAT ALL HAPPENED MARCH TO SEPTEMBER 1988
Find out what all happened March to September 1988

Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica; it turns towards Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula 2 days later, causing an estimated $5 billion in damage. (12. September 1988)

Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty. (20. August 1988)

A fire at Illinois Bell's Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered the 'worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history' and still the worst to occur on Mother's Day. (8. May 1988)

Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz TM-5 after 9 days on the Mir space station. (7. September 1988)

The Troubles: Eight British Army soldiers are killed and 28 wounded when their bus is hit by a Provisional Irish Republican Army roadside bomb in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom (see Ballygawley bus bombing). (20. August 1988)

The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma. (8. August 1988)

Japanese American internment: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese Americans who were either interned in or relocated by the United States during World War II. (10. August 1988)

Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet. (20. March 1988)

The St Jean Bosco massacre takes place in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (11. September 1988)

The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. (25. March 1988)

Iran–Iraq War: a ceasefire is agreed after almost eight years of war. (20. August 1988)

President of Pakistan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash. (17. August 1988)

Yellowstone National Park is closed for the first time in U.S. history due to ongoing fires. (8. September 1988)

Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are killed by Special Air Service on the territory of Gibraltar in the conclusion of Operation Flavius. (6. March 1988)

The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. 167 oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life. (6. July 1988)

Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted. (24. May 1988)

Halabja poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5000 people and injuring about 10000 people. (16. March 1988)

Johnson South Reef Skirmish: Chinese forces defeat Vietnamese forces in Johnson South Reef, disputed Spratly Islands. (14. March 1988)

In Israel, John Demjanuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II. (25. April 1988)

The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire. (4. May 1988)