What Happened in May 1988

Historical Events

Event of Interest

May 2 Jackson Pollock's "Search" sold for $4,800,000

Painter Jackson Pollock — Painter
Jackson Pollock

Event of Interest

May 2 Reds manager Pete Rose is suspended for 30 days for pushing an ump

MLB Player and Manager Pete Rose — MLB Player and Manager
Pete Rose

May 3 4,200 kg Colombian cocaine in seized at Tarpon Springs Florida
May 3 Jasper Johns' "Diver" sold for $4,200,000
May 4 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
May 5 Eugene A Marino installed as 1st African American archbishop
May 6 Graeme Hick scores 405 for Worcs v Somerset 35 fours 11 sixes
May 6 Doughnutgate incident: NJ Devils' coach Jim Schoenfeld tells referee Don Koharski to 'eat another doughnut you fat pig!,' he is suspended
May 7 114th Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens on Winning Colors wins in 2:02.2
May 7 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
May 8 "Oba Oba" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 46 performances

Election of Interest

May 8 Francois Mitterrand elected President of France

21st President of France Francois Mitterrand — 21st President of France
Francois Mitterrand

May 8 Juli Inkster wins LPGA Crestar Golf Classic

Event of Interest

May 8 Mike Tyson crashes his $183,000 Bently on Varick St in New York City

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson — Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Mike Tyson

May 8 Amateur referees work NJ Devil-Boston Bruin playoff games, as NHL referees walk-off, due to a restraining order brought by Devils

Event of Interest

May 9 Australia's new parliament house is opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Canberra

Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II — Queen of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II

May 9 Belgium: 8th government of Martens forms
May 10 Edgar Degas' "Danseresje of 14" sold for $10,120,000
May 11 France performs nuclear test
May 11 KV Mechelen of Belgium win 28th European Cup Winner's Cup against Ajax of Netherlands 1-0 in Strasbourg

Event of Interest

May 11 Mario Andretti records fastest Indianapolis 500 lap (221.565 mph)

Racing Car Driver Mario Andretti — Racing Car Driver
Mario Andretti

May 11 NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Edmonton Oilers beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1
May 12 "Carrie" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 5 performances
May 14 "Mail" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 36 performances
May 14 1st non-pitcher (Jose Oquendo) in 20 years to get a decision in a baseball game, he & St Louis Cards lose to Braves 7-5 in 19 inn
May 14 Carrollton bus collision: a drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. The crash and ensuing fire kill 27.
May 14 NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Boston Bruins beat New Jersey Devils, 4 games to 3
May 15 "Carrie" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 5 performances
May 15 "Gospel at Colonus" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 61 performances

Event of Interest

May 15 2nd American Comedy Award: Robin Williams & Tracey Ullman

Actor and Comedian Robin Williams — Actor and Comedian
Robin Williams

May 15 USSR begins withdrawing its 115,000 troops from Afghanistan
May 16 US Surgeon General C Everett Koop reports nicotine as addictive as heroin
May 16 US Supreme Court rules trash may be searched without a warrant
May 18 In just Oakland's 39th of the season, pitcher Dave Stewart breaks record with his 12th balk en route to 16
May 19 Red Sox retire Bobby Doerr's #1
May 19 Carlos Lehder Rivas, of Colombia's Medellin drug cartel, is convicted in Florida for smuggling more than 3 tons of cocaine into US
May 20 Howard Stern fans disrupt WMMR's & John DeBella's "Louie Louie" parade

Event of Interest

May 20 Mike Schmidt hits his 535th HR, moving into 8th place

MLB Third Baseman Mike Schmidt — MLB Third Baseman
Mike Schmidt

May 21 "Da'Butt" by EU hits #35

Event of Interest

May 21 "Fat" by Weird Al Yankovic hits #99

Parody Singer and Comedian Weird Al Yankovic — Parody Singer and Comedian
Weird Al Yankovic

May 21 113th Preakness: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard Risen Star wins in 1:56.2
May 21 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Golf Major

May 22 34th LPGA Championship won by Sherri Turner

LPGA Golfer Sherri Turner — LPGA Golfer
Sherri Turner

May 22 Károly Grósz succeeds party leader Janos Kádár in Hungary
May 23 Maryland stops sale of cheap pistols on Jan 1, 1990
May 23 41st Cannes Film Festival: "Pelle erobreren" directed by Bille August wins the Palme d'Or
May 24 John Moschitta set record for fast talking: 586 words per minute
May 24 Porntip Nakhirunkanok, 19, of Thailand, crowned 37th Miss Universe
May 24 Power outage in Boston Garden in NHL's Stanley Cup finals
May 24 Section 28 passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality. Repealed 2001/2004
May 25 32nd European Cup: PSV Eindhoven beats Benfica (0-0, 6-5 on penalties) at Stuttgart
May 26 Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers sweep Boston Bruins in 4 games
May 27 Senate ratified a treaty eliminating medium-range nuclear missiles
May 29 Graeme Hick scores his 1,000th run of 1st-class cricket season
May 29 Pakistan President Zia ul-Haq dismisses government and disbands parliament

Famous Birthdays

May 1 Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier (silver, bronze medals 2014 Olympics), born in Umeå, Sweden
May 2 Lara Liang, Russian-Taiwanese-American singer (Nan Quan Mama), born in California
May 5 Jessica Dubroff, American aviator (d. 1996)
May 5 Brooke Hogan, American singer
May 5 Skye Sweetnam, Canadian singer and songwriter

Adele

May 5 Adele [Adele Laurie Blue Adkins], English singer (Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You), born in Tottenham, London

May 7 Natalie Mejia, member of the American R&B/Pop group Girlicious
May 9 Skye Regan, Canadian Actress and Writer
May 9 John Ryan Fitzpatrick, Canadian race truck driver
May 12 Marcelo [Vieira da Silva Júnior], Brazilian football player (Real Madrid, Brazil national team), born in Rio de Janeiro
May 15 Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (Hope Morrison-Home and Away, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2018)
May 17 Nikki Reed, American actress
May 18 Ryan Cooley, Canadian television actor
May 20 Carla Humphries, Filipina actress
May 21 Jonathan Howson, English footballer
May 23 Morgan Pressel, American golfer
May 24 Billy Gilman, American singer
May 26 Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
May 28 David Perron, Canadian ice hockey player
May 31 Hope Partlow, American Singer

Famous Weddings

May 21 Actress Jane Powell weds actor Dickie Moore
May 28 Actress Genie Francis (General Hospital) weds actor Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek TNG)

Wedding of Interest

May 28 Journalist Harry Reasoner (65) weds Lois Harriett Weber

Wedding of Interest

May 28 Senator Bernie Sanders (46) weds social worker Jane O'Meara

US Senator Bernie Sanders — US Senator
Bernie Sanders

Famous Deaths

May 1 Ben Lexcen, Australian yacht designer (Australia II 1983 America's Cup), dies of heart disease at 52
May 1 Carroll Righter, American columnist and astrologer to the stars, dies prostate cancer at 88
May 1 Paolo Stoppa, actor (Garibaldi, Visit, Freedom Fighters), dies
May 3 Lev Pontryagin, Russian mathematician, dies at 79
May 3 Walther Vanbeselaere, Flemish art historian, dies at 79
May 5 George Rose, British actor and singer (Beacon Hill, Holocaust), dies at 68
May 5 Tamara Pos, Suriname/Dutch activist
May 5 Michael Shaara, American author (b. 1928)
May 8 Robert A Heinlein, sci-fi writer (Friday), dies of heart failure at 80
May 10 Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (Long River), dies at 85

Kim Philby

May 11 Kim Philby, British spy and Soviet mole who was a member of the "Cambridge Five", dies at 76

May 12 Paul Osborn, American playwright (Mornings at 7), dies at 86
May 13 Chet Baker, jazz trumpeter, fell to death out of a hotel window at 59
May 14 Willem Drees, Dutch statesman of the Labour Party (PvdA) and Prime Minister of the Netherlands, dies at 101
May 15 Andrew Duggan, American character actor (Secret War of Harry Frigg, Winds of War), dies of cancer at 64
May 15 Greta Nissen, actress (Ambassador Bill), dies
May 16 Kay Baxter, best bodybuilder in the world (1983-85), dies in car crash at 42
May 16 Louise Wood, director of Girl Scouts of USA (1961-72), dies at 78
May 16 Charles Keeping, English illustrator (b. 1924)
May 18 Daws Butler, cartoon voice (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound), dies at 71
May 19 Virginia Farmer, actresss (Cyrano de Bergerac), dies at 90
May 20 René Defossez, Belgian composer, dies at 82
May 21 Dino Conte Grandi, Italian delegate to league of nations, dies at 92
May 21 Bruno Frei [Benedikt Freistadt], Austrian Marxist journalist, dies at 91
May 22 Dennis Day, tenor/comedian (Jack Benny Show, Danny Boy), dies at 71
May 22 Giorgio Almirante, Italian fascist (member of parliament (1948-87)), dies at 73
May 23 David Schoenbrun, CBS broadcast bureau head (Wash, Paris), dies at 73
May 24 James "Hamish" Hamilton, British publisher (Salinger/Mitford), dies at 87
May 24 Tom Burtt, cricketer (NZ slow left-armer in 11 Tests 1947-53), dies
May 25 Ernst Ruska, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
May 27 Florida Friebus, American actress (Bob Newhart Show), dies of a stroke at 79
May 27 Melvin J "Cy" Oliver, US jazz composer/orchestra leader, dies at 77
May 27 Renato Salvatori, actor (Burn, Luna, 2 Women), dies
May 30 Ella Raines, American actress (Uncle Harry, Runaround, Impact, Brute Force), dies of throat cancer at 67

1987
On This Day
1989