- January 20
- Arizona committee opens hearing on impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham. [1]
- January 21
- US accepts immigration of 30,000 US-Vietnamese children. [1]
- January 23
- 45th Golden Globes: The Last Emperor, Sally Kirkland, Michael Douglas. [1]
- Experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completes first nonstop, round-the-world flight without refueling. [1]
- January 25
- 15th American Music Awards: Anita Baker, Paul Simon and Whitney Houston. [1]
- Vice President George H.W. Bush and Dan Rather clash on CBS Evening News as Rather attempts to question Bush about his role in the Iran-Contra affair. [1]
- January 26
- Phantom of the Opera opens at Majestic Theater in New York City, New York for 4,000+ performances. [1]
- January 27
- US Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves nomination of Judge Anthony M Kennedy to US Supreme Court. [1]
- January 29
- Spectrum Holobyte introduces the Tetris computer game in the US. This is the first entertainment software imported to the US from the Soviet Union. The game was written by Vagim Gerasimov and Alexi Paszitnov at the Computer Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow. [4]
- United Airlines Boeing 747SP circles world in 36 hours 54 minutes 15 seconds. [1]
- January 31
- Barge sinks near Anacortes, Washington, USA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil. [1]
- February 3
- The Democrat-controlled United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to support the Nicaraguan Contras. [82]
- February 5
- Arizona House of Representatives votes to impeach Republican Governor Evan Mecham. [1]
- Panamanian General Manuel Noriega indicted by US grand jury on drug charges. [1]
- February 10
- Three-judge panel of 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California strikes down Army's ban on homosexuals (later overturned by appeal). [1]
- February 12
- Anthony M. Kennedy is appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. [82] (February 11 [1])
- February 14
- At the Cal Neva Club casino in Reno, Nevada, Cammie Brewer wins the largest slot machine jackpot of US$6.8 million on a Megabucks machine, after playing about US$20. [87.20]
- February 15
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- February 16
- First documented combat action by US military advisors in El Salvador. [1]
- February 17
- US Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins, serving with a United Nations group monitoring a truce in southern Lebanon, is kidnapped by Lebanese terrorists. [1] [82]
- February 18
- Anthony M Kennedy sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice. [1]
- February 20
- Peter Kalikow purchases New York Post from Rupert Murdoch for US$37.6 million. [1]
- February 21
- During a live TV broadcast, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart confesses to an unspecified sin, then announces he would be leaving his ministry for an unspecified length of time. [1] [82]
- February 24
- The Supreme Court of the United States sides with Hustler magazine (voting 8-0) by overturning a lower court decision to award Jerry Falwell US$200,000 for defamation. [1] [82]
- February 29
- New York City Mayor Koch calls President Ronald Reagan a "WIMP" in the war on drugs. [1]
- March 1
- Courtney Gibbs Eplin, age 21, of Texas, crowned 37th Miss USA. [1]
- Pontiac announces the end of the Fiero automobile. [1]
- March 2
- 30th Grammy Awards: "Graceland", Joshua Tree, Jody Watley win. [1]
- March 4
- West Point Bullion Depository is redesignated as a Mint. [706.70]
- March 6
- 18th Easter Seal Telethon raises US$35,200,000. [1]
- In the Gulf of Alaska, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurs. [53]
- March 8
- U.S. presidential candidate George Herbert Walker Bush defeats Robert Dole in numerous Republican primaries and caucuses on "Super Tuesday." [82]
- Two U.S. Army helicopters collide in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing 17 servicemen. [82]
- March 13
- 14th People's Choice Awards: Fatal Attraction, Bill Cosby win. [1]
- March 15
- Dmitri F Polyakov, Russian Secretary-General/top spy for US, executed. [1]
- Eugene Marino of Atlanta, Georgia, USA appointed first African American archbishop. [1]
- NASA reports accelerated breakdown of ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons. [1]
- March 16
- Federal grand jury indicts Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North and Navy Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter in Iran-Contra affair on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. [1] [82]
- US sends 3000 soldiers to Nicaragua's neighbor Honduras. [1]
- March 17
- Apple Computer files a copyright infringement suit against Microsoft, claiming copyright infringement by Windows 2.0 of graphical display technology used in the Macintosh. (A judge rules against Apple, but the case drags on for seven years, ending when the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case.) [4]
- March 21
- 23rd Academy of Country Music Awards: Randy Travis and Hank Williams Jr. [1]
- March 22
- US Congress overrides Reagan's veto of sweeping civil rights bill. [1]
- March 26
- U.S. presidential candidate Jesse Jackson defeats Michael Dukakis in the Michigan Democratic caucuses, becoming the temporary front-runner for the party's nomination. [82]
- March 29
- US Congress discontinues aid to Nicaraguan contras. [1]
- March 31
- The San Francisco Assay Office is renamed San Francisco Mint. [664.15]
- April 4
- Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office. [82]
- April 7
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- April 9
- US imposes economic sanctions on Panamá. [1]
- April 10
- 8th Golden Raspberry Awards: Leonard Part 6 wins. [1]
- April 11
- The Last Emperor (directed by Bernardo Bertolucci) wins nine Oscar awards. [82]
- April 12
- Harvard University patents genetically engineered mouse (first for animal life). [1]
- Former pop singer Sonny Bono is elected mayor of Palm Springs, California. [1] [82]
- April 14
- USSR, US, Pakistan, and Afghanistan sign Afghanistan treaty (Geneva Accords). The Soviet Union commits itself to withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan. [1] [82]
- The USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) strikes a naval mine in the Persian Gulf. [82]
- April 18
- United States Navy retaliates for the Roberts mining with Operation Praying Mantis, in a day of strikes against Iranian oil platforms and naval vessels. [82]
- April 20
- US accuses Renamo of killing 100,000 Mozambiquians. [1]
- April 23
- US Federal smoking ban begins during domestic airline flights of two hours or less. [1]
- April 26
- First TNN Viewers Choice Awards-Randy Travis wins in five categories. [1]
- April 28
- Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 Flight 243 roof partially tears off in flight; kills stewardess. [1] [82]
- April 30
- Largest banana split ever, at 4.55 miles long, is made in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. [1]
- May 3
- 4,200kg Colombian cocaine is seized at Tarpon Springs, Florida. [1]
- May 4
- A major explosion at an industrial solid-fuel rocket plant in Henderson, Nevada, causes damage extending up to 10 miles away, including Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport. [82]
- May 14
- Near Carrollton, Kentucky, a drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group from Radcliff, Kentucky. The resulting fire kills 27. [82]
- May 15
- Second American Comedy Awards: Robin Williams and Tracey Ullman. [1]
- May 16
- US Surgeon General C Everett Koop reports nicotine as addictive as heroin. [1] [82]
- US Supreme Court rules trash may be searched without a warrant. [1] [82]
- May 19
- Carlos Lehder Rivas, of Colombia's Medellín drug cartel, is convicted in Florida for smuggling more than three tons of cocaine into US. [1]
- May 20
- Apple Computer contracts with Quantum Computer Services to create AppleLink - Personal Edition. (The service is later renamed America Online.) [4]
- May 21
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- May 27
- US Senate ratifies a treaty eliminating medium-range nuclear missiles. [1]
- May 31
- U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses 600 Moscow State University students, during his visit to the Soviet Union. [82]
- June 6
- US Presidential candidate George Bush makes campaign promise to support reparations for WW II. [1]
- June 9
- US Attorney General Edwin Meese orders Joseph Doherty deported to the United Kingdom. [1]
- June 13
- US Supreme Court refuses to hear Yonkers argument they aren't racist. [1]
- June 17
- Microsoft releases MS DOS 4.0. [1]
- June 22
- Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures animated and live-action feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit? to theaters. It cost US$50.6 million to make, and another US$30 million for marketing. This film marks the first-ever on-screen meeting of Donald Duck and Daffy Duck. The film is based on the book Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary Wolf. (This becomes Disney's third blockbuster movie for the year. North American theater gross receipts: US$154.2 million; worldwide: US$330 million.) [6]
- June 28
- Four workers are asphyxiated at a metal-plating plant in Auburn, Indiana (a fifth victim dies two days later). [82]
- June 29
- The United States Supreme Court upholds the law allowing special prosecutors to investigate suspected crimes by executive branch officials. [82]
- July 3
- US navy ship USS Vincennes in the Straits of Hormuz shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 Airbus 300 civilian jetliner flying to Dubai, killing all 290 on board. [82] [731.19] (July 4 [1])
- July 8
- Stevie Wonder announces he will run for mayor of Detroit in 1992. [1]
- July 14
- Volkswagen closes its Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania plant after 10 years of operation (the first factory built by a non-American automaker in the U.S.). [82]
- July 17
- Highest temperature ever recorded in San Francisco, California: 103 degrees F (39 degrees C). [1]
- July 20
- The Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia nominates Michael Dukakis for U.S. President and Lloyd Bentsen for Vice President. [1] [82]
- July 22
- 500 US scientists pledge to boycott Pentagon germ-warfare research. [1]
- July 27
- Radio Shack announces the Tandy 1000 SL computer. [1]
- July 29
- FDIC bails out First Republic Bank, in Dallas, Texas with $4 billion. [1]
- Judge orders NASA to release unedited tape from Challenger cockpit. [1]
- Last US Playboy Club (Lansing, Michigan) closes. [1]
- August 1
- Deep Rover one-man research submarine unveiled at Crater Lake, Oregon. [1]
- August 4
- US Congress votes $20,000 to each Japanese-American interned in WW II. [1]
- Hertz car rental company will pay out US$23 million in consumer fraud case. [1]
- August 5
- Mario Biaggi (Representative-Democrat-New York), convicted of racketeering, resigns seat. [1]
- August 6
- (to August 7) A riot erupts in Tompkins Square Park (New York City) when police attempt to enforce a newly-passed curfew for the park. Bystanders, artists, residents, homeless people and political activists are caught up in the police action. [82]
- August 8
- Renovated New York City Central Park Zoo reopens after four years. [1]
- US Secretary of State George Shultz narrowly escapes assassination attempt in Bolivia. [1]
- August 9
- Just one day after 8/8/88 New York lottery's daily number is 888. [1]
- August 11
- Meir Kahane renounces US citizenship to stay in Israeli Parliament. [1]
- August 12
- Richard Thornburgh becomes US Attorney General. [1]
- August 17
- New York City first case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (9-year-old Bronx boy). [1]
- August 18
- American FDA approves Minoxidil as a hair loss treatment. [1]
- Largest house (130 rooms) on Long Island, New York sells for $22 million. [1]
- The Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana nominates George H.W. Bush for President and James "Dan" Quayle for Vice President of the United States of America. [1] [82]
- August 31
- Five-day power blackout of downtown Seattle, Washington, USA begins. [1]
- September 1
- Nintendo releases the Super Mario Bros. 2 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. (Total sales: 7.46 million.) [9]
- September 5
- Jerry Lewis' 23rd Labor Day telethon raises record US$41,132,113. [1]
- With US$2 billion in federal aid, the Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the United States' largest thrift, American Savings and Loan Association. [82]
- September 7
- Security and Exchange Commission accuses Drexel of violating security laws. [1]
- September 26
- New York City's Rockefeller Center is declared a national landmark. [1]
- September 27
- US Senate votes for major federal tax code changes. [1]
- September 28
- Bronx Museum for the Arts opens in New York. [1]
- September 29
- NASA resumes space shuttle flights, grounded after the Challenger disaster, with the 26th Space Shuttle mission, Discovery 7. Challenger disaster, with Space Shuttle Discovery. [1] [82]
- September 30
- IBM announces shipment of three millionth PS/2 personal computer. [1]
- October 4
- Pillsbury stock soars $18.37 to $57.37 on takeover bid. [1]
- October 8
- Fire in Seattle's Space Needle causes evacuation, $2,000 damage. [1]
- October 12
- NeXT launches its first public debut of the NeXT Computer at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, California. [5]
- October 17
- Phillip Morris announces US$11 billion tender offer for Kraft. [1]
- October 19
- Three Americans win Nobel Prize in physics; three West Germans win chemistry Nobel Prize. [1]
- US Senate passes bill curbing ads during children's TV shows. [1]
- October 20
- Man armed with explosives blows self up in 125 Steet subway station (New York City). [1]
- October 26
- The Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette reaches a top speed of 254.76 MPH at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio. making it the fastest street car. [8]
- October 28
- Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen gives US$10 million to University of Washington library. [1]
- October 29
- 2,000 US anti-abortion protesters arrested for blocking clinics. [1]
- October 30
- Philip Morris buys Kraft Foods for US$13.1 billion. [82]
- Two gambling clubs and one player share US$61.38 million California lotto jackpot. [1]
- November 2
- Robert Tappan Morris Jr. unleashes a "worm" program on the ARPAnet computer network (Internet). Over two days, it crashes 10-20 percent of all connected computers. [1] [5] [15]
- November 3
- US President Ronald Reagan signs credit-card disclosure-bill. [1]
- November 5
- Cornell confirms grad student (Robert Tappan Morris, Jr) source of worst computer sabotage. [1]
- November 8
- George Bush (Republican) beats Mike Dukakis (Democrat) for American Presidency. [1] [82]
- November 11
- In Sacramento, California, police find a body buried in the lawn of 60-year-old boardinghouse landlady Dorothea Puente (seven bodies are eventually found and Puente is convicted of three murders and sentenced to life in prison). [82]
- November 15
- 91-metre radio telescope dish at Green Bank, West Virginia collapses. [1]
- November 16
- Robin Givens sues Mike Tyson for US$125 million for libel. [1]
- November 18
- U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill providing the death penalty for drug traffickers. [82]
- November 21
- Ted Turner officially buys Jim Crockett Promotions, known as NWA Crockett, and turns it into World Championship Wrestling (WCW). [82]
- November 22
- In Palmdale, California, the first prototype B-2 Spirit stealth bomber is revealed. [82]
- November 30
- United Nations General Assembly (151-2) censures US for refusing Palestinian Liberation Organization's Arafat visa. [1]
- December 3
- New York Lotto pays US$45 million to twelve winners (numbers are 1-8-13-18-28-48). [1]
- December 5
- North Carolina federal grand jury indicts PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud and conspiracy. [1]
- Shuttle Atlantis (STS-27) launches world's first nuclear-war-fighting satellite. [1]
- December 7
- Mikhail Gorbachev cheered by Wall Street crowds upon arrival in New York City. [1]
- December 9
- The last Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant roll off the assembly line in a Chrysler factory. [82]
- December 12
- New York City Subway system adds new stations (the Z line). [1]
- December 13
- Three men end 29-hour all-466-station subway ride in New York City, New York. [1]
- December 14
- US agrees to talk to Palestine Liberation Organization (first time in 13 years). [1]
- December 17
- USS Tennessee, first submarine to carry Trident 2 missiles, commissioned. [1]
- December 19
- NASA unveils plans for lunar colony and manned missions to Mars. [1]
- December 20
- NBC signs lease to stay in New York City for 33 more years. [1]
- December 21
- Drexel agrees guilt to security felonies, pays a US$650 million fine. [1]
- December 22
- Two robbers wearing police uniforms rob armored truck of US$3 million in New Jersey. [1]
- December 28
- US second Circuit Court of Appeals affirms Yonkers is guilty of racism. [1]
- December 30
- Mercedes-Benz pays US$20.2 million fine, failed to meet 1986 US government fuel standard. [1]
- Oliver North subpoenas Ronald Reagan and George Bush as defense witnesses for upcoming trial. [1]
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