1988
Iran-Iraq War ends
After eight years and perhaps a million dead, Khomeini accepted a UN ceasefire, calling it drinking a chalice of poison. Iran and Iraq returned to their prewar borders. Saddam Hussein emerged with a large battle-hardened army and massive debts to Kuwait, which he would try to solve in 1990 by invading his creditor.
Lockerbie bombing
A bomb hidden in a Toshiba cassette recorder exploded in the forward cargo hold of Pan Am Flight 103 at thirty-one thousand feet over Scotland. All two hundred fifty-nine aboard and eleven on the ground died. Libyan intelligence had ordered the attack. A decade later the Libyan regime would hand over two suspects.
Geneva Accords on Afghanistan
The Geneva Accords between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Soviet and American guarantees, set the timetable for Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. It would take a year to complete. The mujahideen were not parties to the agreement and kept fighting. The world thought the Afghan war was ending. It was only changing shape.
Seoul Olympics
The Games brought a newly democratic South Korea onto the world stage, showcased its economic miracle, and marked an end to the boycotts that had diminished the previous three Olympics. Ben Johnson won the hundred-meter dash and lost it three days later to a positive drug test. The age of pharmacological scandal had arrived.
Armenian earthquake
A 6.8 earthquake hit northern Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union, in the early morning of a December day. Shoddy Soviet construction collapsed on itself, and entire towns were flattened in seconds. Twenty-five thousand people died. Gorbachev cut short a visit to the United States to fly home. The disaster became another crack in Soviet authority and unity.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1988?
Saeculum lists 5 curated events from 1988. The most significant is Iran-Iraq War ends: After eight years and perhaps a million dead, Khomeini accepted a UN ceasefire, calling it drinking a chalice of poison.
What era was 1988 part of?
1988 falls within the Modern Era (1901-2000). World wars, cold war, and the splitting of the atom.
Which regions saw notable events in 1988?
The curated events from 1988 span Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and East Asia.