October 16, 1987

Eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure is rescued from a well, where she'd been trapped for 58 hours. The drama is watched by millions on television.

October 19, 1987

The largest stock-market drop in Wall Street history occurred on "Black Monday", October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508.32 points, losing 22.6% of its total value. That fall far surpassed the one-day loss of 12.9% that began the great stock market crash of 1929 and foreshadowed the Great Depression.

November 28, 1987

Fifteen-year-old African-American Tawana Brawley claims to have been raped by six white men. Al Sharpton sees a chance for publicity and becomes her unofficial spokesman going so far as to falsely accuse the prosecutor with the crime. A grand jury finds that she lied about the case and another jury awards the
prosecutor a judgment against Sharpton that he has yet to collect.

December 29, 1987

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves Eli Lilly's antidepressant drug Prozac (fluoxetine) for use.

1987 No Specific Dates

- Condom commercials begin to appear on TV for the first time.
- US budget reaches the trillion dollar mark.
- Jessica Hahn is implicated in the Jimmy Bakker scandal.
- Gary Hart scandal with model Donna Rice destroys his career.
- World Population reaches 5 billion.
- Les Miserables is awarded 8 Tony awards.

February 21, 1988

In one of the most memorable moments of the Awesome80s, Jimmy Swaggart tearfully claimed, "I have sinned against you" in a scripted program designed to elicit sympathy from his followers after it is revealed that the TV minister had been hooking up with hookers.

February 24, 1988

Jerry Falwell's attempts to win $200,000 from Hustler magazine over a cartoon ended in failure when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court's judgment on free speech grounds.

March 16, 1988

Iran-Contra defendants John Poindexter and Oliver North are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

April 4, 1988

Arizona Governor Evan Mecham is removed from office following impeachment (and a voter-lead recall) for diversion of state money and for generally embarrassing residents of the state nearly every time he opened his mouth.

April 14, 1988

Soviet Union announces it will withdraw troops from Afghanistan, which will end the nine year old conflict.

June 28, 1988

The Defense Attache of the U.S. Embassy in Greece was killed when a car bomb was detonated outside his home in Athens.

July 3, 1988

The Navy's U.S.S. Vincennes mistakenly shoots down an Iranian airliner killing 290 people.

July 6, 1988

Long Island beaches close due to medical waste coming ashore.

August 1988

Iran-Iraqi war ends.

August 20, 1988

Fires in Yellowstone National Park burn over 160,000 acres in one day.

September 10-17, 1988

Hurricane Gilbert in the Caribbean & Gulf of Mexico leaves 260 dead.

September 27, 1988

Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson is stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for banned steroids.

September 29, 1988

NASA resumes Space Shuttle flights, which have been grounded since the Challenger disaster

November 8, 1988

George Bush Sr. wins the presidency by a comfortable margin over Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

November 15, 1988

First and only flight of the Soviet space shuttle.

December 7, 1988

An earthquake in Armenia leaves over 25,000 dead.

December 21, 1988

Pan American Airlines Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, by a bomb believed to have been placed on the aircraft in Frankfurt, West Germany, by Libyan terrorists. All 259 people on board were killed in
addition to 11 on the ground.

1988 No Specific Dates

- US advertising is permitted on Soviet TV.
- The first plutonium pacemaker is made.
- Sonny Bono becomes Mayor in Palm Springs.
- Robin Givens files for divorce from Mike Tyson.