WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO OCTOBER 1988
Find out what all happened May to October 1988

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

The Chiado area in Lisbon is partially destroyed by a fire. (25. 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)

A report by United States' Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine. (16. May 1988)

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

Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Red Army begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan. (15. May 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)

Ronald Reagan decides to tear down the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow because of Soviet listening devices in the building structure. (27. October 1988)

The Chilean opposition coalition Concertación (center-left) defeats Augusto Pinochet in his re-election attempt and a general election is called the following year. (5. October 1988)

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus. (3. July 1988)

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

Carrollton bus collision: a drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. 27 die in the crash and ensuing fire. (14. May 1988)

José Canseco of the Oakland Athletics becomes the first member of the 40–40 club. (23. September 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)

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

National League for Democracy is formed by Aung San Suu Kyi and various others to help fight against dictatorship in Myanmar. (27. September 1988)

The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more. (8. July 1988)

"Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park (20. August 1988)

The U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. (29. May 1988)

Three cars on a train carrying hexogen to Kazakhstan explode in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 and injuring about 1,500. (4. June 1988)