At A Glance
17 December 1988 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 17 December 1988 was a Saturday.
- Irish Chart Song in 1988
- The Irish chart song for 1988 was “Groovy Kind of Love” by Phil Collins.
- Top Film of 1988
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1988 was Rain Man.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 17 December is Sagittarius.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 17 December 1988 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 17 December 1988 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 17 December
- 1969 Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
- 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
- 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
- 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
- 2005 Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.
Famous people born on 17 December
- Sarah Paulson, American actress (born 1974)
- Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress (born 1975)
- Bill Pullman, American actor (born 1953)
- Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (1936–2025)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
Events of 1988 in Ireland
A selection from Wikipedia's '1988 in Ireland'. Not a complete list.
- 27 January – The Irish internet country code top-level domain.ie was registered.
- 29 February – The first edition of the Irish Daily Star newspaper went on sale.
- 19 March – Five thousand people gathered for an anti-apartheid rally at the General Post Office in Dublin.
Life in Ireland in 1988
Taoiseach
Charles Haughey
Petrol (per litre)
£1.22/gal
Loaf of Bread
£0.52
Average House
£29,500
Weekly Wage
£75
Or
Browse by Year
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)
About The Day You Were Born
Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.
About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →
