At A Glance

2 December 1988 at a glance

Day of the week
2 December 1988 was a Friday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi.
Top Film of 1988
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1988 was Rain Man.
Bestselling Novel of 1988
“The Cardinal of the Kremlin” by Tom Clancy was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1988.
Top-Rated TV Show
“The Cosby Show” (NBC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1988–89 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 2 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 2 December 1988 fell in the Year of the Dragon.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 2 December 1988 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 2 December

  • 1988 Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.
  • 1988 Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.
  • 1989 The Peace Agreement of Hat Yai is signed and ratified by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, ending the over two-decade-long communist insurgency in Malaysia.
  • 1990 Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory.
  • 1991 Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.

Famous people born on December 2

  • Aaron Rodgers, American football player (born 1983)
  • Britney Spears, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (born 1981)
  • Learner Tien, American tennis player (born 2005)
  • Monica Seles, Serbian-American tennis player (born 1973)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1988 in the United States

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

  • January 1 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
  • January 4 – Nick Jr. begins as a block of Nickelodeon programming for younger children.
  • March 9 – Blackstone Financial Management is founded as a global asset management company in New York City by eight co-founders, led by Larry Fink. In 1992, it would change its name to BlackRock.

Life in the US in 1988

President

Ronald Reagan

Gas (per gallon)

$0.90

Loaf of Bread

$0.70

Average House

$99,700

Weekly Wage

$374

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 →