1987-1988 Facts & History

[NerdiestKen]

All facts and history from the 1989 World Almanac can be read here.

[NerdiestKen]

Swaggart Admits Sin to Congregation - February 1988
Speaking on February 21, before more than 6,000 at his Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jimmy Swaggart admitted an unspecified sin and asked for forgiveness. In 1987, Swaggart denounced another TV evangelist, Jim Bakker, as a "cancer on the body of Christ" after Bakker had been linked to sexual misbehavior. Swaggart had also accused Marvin Gorman---who, like Bakker and Swaggart, was an Assemblies of God minister---of adultery. Gorman later obtained photographs of Swaggart taken by a private detective that placed Swaggart at a motel frequently used by prostitutes. Gorman handed over the evidence to the Assemblies of God. While it was not made public, the evidence was sufficient for Swaggart to admit an indiscretion, and for the local leaders of the church to bar him, February 22, from the pulpit for three months and impose a two-year period of rehabilitation. Swaggart conducted the country's most popular religious broadcast, which brought in donations of $150M a year.

[NerdiestKen]

Best-Selling Books of 1987 - Paperback Fiction
1. Red Storm Rising - Tom Clancy
2. The Hunt for Red October* - Tom Clancy
3. Wanderlust - Danielle Steel
4. It - Stephen King
5. I'll Take Manhattan - Judith Krantz
6. Garden of Shadows - V.C. Andrews
7. Windmills of the Gods - Sidney Sheldon
8. The Bourne Supremacy - Robert Ludlum*
9. The Handmaid's Tail - Margaret Atwood
10. A Perfect Spy - John la Carré

*Became a motion picture based on the best-selling book.

[NerdiestKen]

IRA Bomb Kills 8 Soldiers - August 1988
A bomb planted by the outlawed Provisional Irish Republican Army exploded west of Belfast, August 20, and killed 8 British soldiers riding in a bus. Twenty-eight were injured. Through August 1988, Britain had suffered 26 military fatalities in the violence in Northern Ireland, the highest toll since 1979.

[NerdiestKen]

Gorbachev Confronts Politburo Critic - April 1988
Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev sought and won a vote of confidence from the ruling Politburo after facing an apparaent challenge from Yegor Ligachev, the second-ranking member of the Kremlin hierarchy, according to the New York Times, April 14, At a meeting with leading Soviet editors, March 14, Ligachev reportedly praised a newspaper article that rejected Gorbachev's reforms. Gorbachev, angered, reportedly got a vote of confidence of a secret Politburo meeting in late March, at which time Ligachev was said to have received a mild reprimand. Pravda, the Communist Party newspaper, denounced the critical article, April 5.

[NerdiestKen]

Reagan Vows Strong Final Year - January 1988
President Ronald Reagan deleivered his 7th State of the Union speech, January 25, before a joint session of Congress. He promised that his presidency would be vigorous "right to the finish line," one year hence. He noted that the country was strong, prosperous, free, and at peace, and that spending, tax rates, and inflation were down while employment was at record levels. He said that democratic reforms and human rights taking hold around the world, and he urged Senate ratification of the treaty with Soviet Union that eliminated intermediate-range nuclear weapons. In a televised response to Reagan's address, Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (W. Va) said that Reagan presided over a doubling of a national debt and unprecedented trade deficits. He said that the United States had surrendered economic leadership in world markets.

[NerdiestKen]

Congress Passes Plant-Closing Bill - July 1988
Both houses of Congress gave approval to a bill that would require companies employing more than 100 workers to give 60 days' notice of any shutdown that affected 50 workers or one-third of the plant's total force. In May, President Reagan had vetoed a trade bill that had contained this provision. The Senate gave its approval, July 6, and the House followed, July 13, both by majorities large enough to override a presidential veto. The House, July 13, also gave approval to a new trade bill.

[NerdiestKen]

General Seize Power in Burma - September 1988
A year of violence and political upheaval in Burma took a new turn when a general seized power in a military coup. On September 10, the ruling party had announced it would hold elections that would end 26 years of one-party rule. However, on September 18, President Maung Maung, who had been in control for only a month, was ousted in a coup led by General Saw Maung. He was reported to be an ally of the former Burmese ruler Ne Win, who had stepped down in 1988 after a quarter-century in power. Civilians protesting the coup clashed with the army over the next few days. The government, September 23, put the death toll at 263, but foreign diplomats had a higher estimate. Saw Maung named a cabinet to run the country, September 20, and on September 21, it, in turn, elected him prime minister.

[NerdiestKen]

Reagan Vetoes Defense Bill - August 1988
On August 3, Pres. Ronald Reagan vetoed the $299.6B defense authorization bill for the 1989 fiscal year. He charged that it would weaken the country's defenses. The president particularly objected to cutbacks in authorization of funds for the Strategic Defense Initiative and the MX missile program.

[NerdiestKen]

Chicago's Mayor Dies - November 1987
Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, suffered a heart attack at his desk in City Hall, November 25, and died shortly thereafter. Washington had won the mayorality in 1983 after hard-fought campaigns in the Democratic primary and the general election. He was reelected in April 1987. At that time, his supporters also won control of the City Council, where a hostile majority has frustrated his policies during his first term. Not surprisingly, the election of his successor by council was hotly contested. The winner was Eugene Sawyer, a black was chosen, December 2 with most of his support coming from white members of the council who had opposed Washington.

[NerdiestKen]

Van Gogh Sets Another Record - November 1987
Irises (1889), by Vincent Van Gogh, set a record, November 11, for a painting sold at auction, $53.9M, including commission. The buyer was not identified. The previous record, $33.9M, had been set in March 1987 by Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Irises had been painted after the artist entered a mental asylum. Philantropist Joan Whitney Payson had bought the painting for under $85,000 in 1947. It was put up for Auction by her son, John Whitney Payson.

[NerdiestKen]

Czech Communist Leader Resigns - December 1987
Gustav Husak resigned, December 17, as secretary general of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party. Husak has risen to power in 1969 after the Soviet army crushed the reform movement known as the "Prague Spring." Husak, 74, would remain as Czech president, a largely ceremonial office. The new general secretary, Milos Jakes, was a member of the party's ruling politburo and was reportedly, like Husak, a conservative hard-liner.

[NerdiestKen]

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing Winners (as of 1988)

Horse	Rider
1919 Sir Barton 1930 Gallant Fox 1935 Omaha 1937 War Admiral 1941 Whirlaway 1943 Count Fleet 1946 Assault 1948 Citation 1973 Secretariat 1977 Seattle Slew 1978 Affirmed	Johnny Loftus Earl Sande Willie "Smokey" Saunders Charles Kurtsinger Eddie Arcaro Johnny Longden Warren Mehrtens Eddie Arcaro Ron Turcotte Jean Cruguet Steve Couthen

[NerdiestKen]

Senate Adopts Budget for 1989 - April 1988
The Senate, April 14, approved 69-26 a budget plan for the 1989 fiscal year which would go to a conference committee along with a bill approved in March by the House. Although the Senate put military spending at $294B, the same as the House, it projected more spending and higher tax income overall, primarily to deal with a new anti-drug campaign.

[NerdiestKen]

Libya, Chad End Their War - October 1988
Libya and Chad formally ended their state of war. They had fought off and on for years until their Organization of African Unity arranged a cease-fire in September 1987. France retained a 1,200-man force in southern Chad to shore up the regime. Libya continued to to occupy most of the Aozou strip in Chadian territory. It reportedly contained uranium. In announcing a resumption of diplomatic relations, October 3, the two countries agreed to cooperate with the OAU in determining soverignty over the strip.