On this day

May 27, 1988

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from May 27, 1988

Soviet Moves to Curtail Communist Party's Power

By Philip Taubman, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: The Communist Party Central Committee has approved proposals made public today that would curtail the power of the party and limit the term of party and Government officials, in most cases to 10 years.

Foreign Desk1374 words
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Our Towns; Move the Suburb At Least 3 Feet To the Right

By Michael Winerip

LEAD: Anyone who understands the suburbs knows the whole idea is to get yourself a house on a grassy lot, have the place surveyed, throw up a fence as big as the the zoning board will allow, get a couple of frosties out of the 'fridge and then spend the rest of your life keeping the world's fools on the other side of that monster fence.

Metropolitan Desk923 words
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S.E.C. Votes to Seek New Powers

By Nathaniel C. Nash, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a series of legislative proposals today that would give it the power to regulate stock-index futures and to close the nation's stock and options exchanges in the event of another market crisis.

Financial Desk988 words
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Next Problem: No Place to Send Its Tainted Fuel

By Matthew L. Wald

LEAD: New York State intends to dismantle the Shoreham Nuclear Power Station, but Shoreham will probably still stand well into the next century, experts say, because there is no place to dispose of its radioactive fuel rods and reactor parts.

Metropolitan Desk1294 words
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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of May 25, 1988, covering May 27, 1988.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Faith by George Michael

    Faith

    George Michael

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    28
  2. 2
    Album cover for Dirty Dancing by Soundtrack

    Dirty Dancing

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    37
  3. 3
    Album cover for Bad by Michael Jackson

    Bad

    Michael Jackson

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    36
  4. 4
    Album cover for More Dirty Dancing by Soundtrack

    More Dirty Dancing

    Soundtrack

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    11
  5. 5
    Album cover for Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby by Terence Trent D'Arby

    Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby

    Terence Trent D'Arby

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    32

Notable Births

Celso Borges

1988Celso Borges, Costa Rican footballer[†]

Celso Borges Mora is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Liga FPD club Alajuelense. With 163 international appearances, he is the most capped player in Costa Rica's history.

Vontae Davis

1988Vontae Davis, American football player (died 2024)[†]

Vontae Ottis Davis was an American professional football player who played as a cornerback for the Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Dolphins in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. He made two Pro Bowls in his career.

Irina Davydova

1988Irina Davydova, Russian hurdler[†]

Irina Andreyevna Davydova is a Russian athlete who competes in the 400 metres hurdles with a personal best time of 53.77 seconds.

Garrett Richards

1988Garrett Richards, American baseball pitcher[†]

Garrett Thomas Richards is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers.

Tyler Sash

1988Tyler Sash, American football player (died 2015)[†]

Tyler Jordan Sash was an American football safety for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Giants in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL draft.

Notable Deaths

Hjördis Petterson

1988Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (born 1908)[†]

Hjördis Olga Maria Petterson was a Swedish actress. She appeared in more than 140 films. She was born in Visby, Sweden and died in Stockholm. She had one child with her first husband, composer Olle Lindholm.

Ernst Ruska

1988Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906)[†]

Ernst August Friedrich Ruska was a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986 for his work in electron optics, including the design of the first electron microscope.

Historical Events

Somaliland War of Independence

1988Somaliland War of Independence: The Somali National Movement launches a major offensive against Somali government forces in Hargeisa and Burao, then the second- and third-largest cities of Somalia.[†]

The Somaliland War of Independence was a rebellion waged by the Somali National Movement (SNM) against the ruling military junta in Somalia led by General Siad Barre lasting from its founding on 6 April 1981 and ended on 18 May 1991 when the SNM declared what was then northern Somalia independent as the Republic of Somaliland. The conflict served as the main theater of the larger Somali Rebellion that started in 1978. The conflict was in response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the main clan family in Somaliland, the Isaaq, including a declaration of economic warfare on the clan-family. These harsh policies were put into effect shortly after the conclusion of the disastrous Ogaden War in 1978.

Historical Context for May 27, 1988

In 1988, the world population was approximately 5,141,992,542 people[†]