1988 Facts for Kids

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s – 1980s – 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years:	1985 1986 1987 – 1988 – 1989 1990 1991

1988 was a special year because it was a leap year starting on Friday in the Gregorian calendar. This means it had 366 days instead of the usual 365. Many interesting things happened around the world in 1988, from new music and movies to important events and famous people being born.

People Born in 1988
People Who Passed Away in 1988
Important Events of 1988
- Music and Entertainment News
- World Events
Popular Movies of 1988
Hit Songs of 1988
New Books of 1988
Images for kids
See also

People Born in 1988

Many well-known people were born in 1988. Here are a few:

January 12 – Chris Casement, a footballer from Northern Ireland.
February 20 – Rihanna, a famous singer from Barbados.

Rihanna, a famous singer born in 1988.
February 29 – Lena Gercke, a model from Germany.
April 29 – Jonathan Toews, a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks.
July 16 – Sergio Busquets, a Spanish footballer.
August 25 – Alexandra Burke, a British singer.
October 15 – Mesut Özil, a German footballer.

Mesut Özil, a German footballer.
November 19 – Patrick Kane, an American professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks.
December 14 – Vanessa Hudgens, an American actress.

Vanessa Hudgens, an American actress.

People Who Passed Away in 1988

Some notable people also passed away in 1988, leaving behind their legacies:

January 5 – Pete Maravich, a famous basketball player.
February 1 – Heather O'Rourke, an American actress.
March 10 – Andy Gibb, a singer.
September 1 – Luis Walter Alvarez, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.

Luis Walter Alvarez, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
December 6 – Roy Orbison, a well-known singer.

Roy Orbison, a famous singer.

Important Events of 1988

Many interesting things happened around the world in 1988:

Music and Entertainment News

The music label Ankst was started.
Peter Ruzicka became the director of the Hamburg State Opera and State Philharmonic Orchestra.
On February 13, Michael Jackson bought a ranch in Santa Ynez, California. He named his new home "Neverland."
On March 12, music producer Jimmy Iovine gave a large donation of $5 million to the Special Olympics. This money was raised from the "A Very Special Christmas" album.
On July 1, the group Quartetto Cetra performed their very last concert.
On September 16, rapper Eazy-E released his first album, Eazy-Duz-It.
On November 1, the band Bad Religion released their album Suffer. This album is seen as one of their most important works in punk music history.
On November 24, the popular TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 first aired.
The song "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" became very popular again because of TV commercials. These ads showed claymation raisin figures dancing to the song, which were called The California Raisins. Their version of the song reached No. 84 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

World Events

Hurricane Gilbert was a very strong storm that hit the Caribbean, Mexico, and parts of south Texas.
On December 7, a powerful earthquake struck Armenia, causing a lot of damage.