Timeline May 1988

Events in May 1988 9

• 1912 – 1988 Kim Philby (1912-1988) Died 11 May 1988, aged 76 Kim Philby was a British intelligence officer who spied for the Soviet Union for decades as part of the Cambridge Five spy ring. He defected to the Soviet Union in 1963 after his cover was compromised. He died in Moscow, where he had lived in exile.
• 1929 – 1988 Chet Baker Chesney Henry Baker (23 December 1929 -- 13 May 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose cool, lyrical playing and vulnerable, intimate singing made him one of the most distinctive voices in jazz history. He rose to fame almost overnight in 1952 playing with Charlie Parker and then with Gerry Mulligan's pianoless quartet, whose recording of 'My Funny Valentine' became one of the most celebrated in jazz. Baker's beauty -- often compared to James Dean -- made him a cultural icon as much as a musician. His life was ravaged by heroin addiction: he lost his teeth, served prison time in Italy, disappeared for years and made a series of miraculous comebacks. He died in 1988 falling from an Amsterdam hotel window. He was 58.
• 1986 – 1988 Prime Minister (cohabitation) Under Mitterrand After the right wins the 1986 legislative elections, Socialist President François Mitterrand appoints Chirac Prime Minister — the first "cohabitation" of the Fifth Republic, with power shared across the political divide.
• 1988 1988 World Snooker Championship Steve Davis Title 5 Winner: Steve Davis; Runner-up: Terry Griffiths. Score: 18–11.
• 1988 Chet Baker dies in Amsterdam On 13 May 1988, Chet Baker's body is found on the pavement below the window of his room at the Hotel Prins Hendrik in Amsterdam. He is 58. The cause of death is blunt force trauma consistent with a fall. Whether he fell, jumped or was pushed has never been definitively established. He had cocaine and heroin in his system. He leaves behind a body of recordings of incomparable beauty, three former wives, several children, and a myth as large as any in jazz -- the beautiful boy who fell and kept falling, and who played like an angel throughout.
• 1988 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan begins Soviet troops begin leaving after nearly nine years of war The Soviet Union began withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan under the Geneva Accords, ending direct military involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War. The withdrawal was completed by February 1989. The war had cost tens of thousands of Soviet lives and left Afghanistan devastated.
• 1988 UK Parliament enacts Section 28 Law bars "promotion" of homosexuality by local authorities The British government enacted Section 28 of the Local Government Act, prohibiting local authorities and schools from "promoting" homosexuality. The law was widely criticized by LGBT rights campaigners and sparked large protests. It remained in force in England and Wales until its repeal in 2003.
• 1988 First NBA MVP award Jordan is named NBA Most Valuable Player for the first time, beating out Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
• 1988 Reagan and Gorbachev hold Moscow summit Superpower leaders exchange INF Treaty ratifications US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in Moscow and exchanged instruments of ratification for the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The summit symbolized the easing of Cold War tensions. Reagan famously walked through Red Square with Gorbachev during the visit.