At A Glance

21 May 1988 at a glance

Day of the week
21 May 1988 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “With a Little Help from My Friends / She's Leaving Home” by Wet Wet Wet / Billy Bragg and Cara Tivey.
Top Film of 1988
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1988 was Rain Man.
Star sign
The star sign for 21 May is Gemini.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 21 May 1988 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 21 May 1988 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 21 May

  • 1981 The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
  • 1988 Margaret Thatcher holds her controversial Sermon on the Mound before the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
  • 1991 Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
  • 1992 After 30 seasons Johnny Carson hosts his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show.
  • 1994 The Democratic Republic of Yemen unsuccessfully attempts to secede from the Republic of Yemen; a war breaks out.

Famous people born on 21 May

  • Josh Allen, American football player (born 1996)
  • Mr. T, American actor and wrestler (born 1952)
  • The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (1972–1997)
  • Karen Khachanov, Russian tennis player (born 1996)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1988 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1988 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 5 February – The first BBC Red Nose Day raises £15,000,000 for charity.
  • 3 March – The SDP amalgamates with the Liberal Party to form the Social and Liberal Democratic Party. Its interim leaders are David Steel and Robert Maclennan. The merger means that the Liberal Party has ceased to exist after 129 years.
  • 24 May – Local Government Act becomes law. The controversial Section 28 prevents local authorities from "promoting homosexuality". Local authorities are also obliged to outsource more services, and dog licences are abolished (except in Northern Ireland).

Life in 1988

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

80p

Loaf of Bread

51p

Average House

£46,788

Weekly Wage

£225.00

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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