Timeline October 1988

Events in October 1988 10

• 1902 – 1988 John Houseman (1902-1988) Died 31 October 1988, aged 86 John Houseman was a Romanian-born American actor and producer who co-founded the Mercury Theatre with Orson Welles. He won an Academy Award for his role as a law professor in the 1973 film The Paper Chase. He later reprised the role in a long-running television series.
• 1988 1988 Summer Olympics XXIV Olympiad - Seoul The last Games for the USSR and East Germany. Winner: Soviet Union.
• 1988 Samsung sponsors Seoul Olympics Samsung is a major domestic sponsor of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics — the event that introduces South Korea to the world as a modern industrial nation. The Olympics boost Samsung's domestic profile and give the company its first significant international visibility. Seoul 1988 is the beginning of South Korea's global cultural emergence, with Samsung as one of its leading corporate ambassadors.
• 1988 Philip Morris acquires Kraft $12.9 billion deal creates a food and tobacco giant Philip Morris Companies acquired Kraft Foods for $12.9 billion, then the largest non-oil acquisition in US corporate history. The deal combined one of the world's largest tobacco companies with a major food manufacturer. Kraft was later spun off as an independent company in 2007.
• 1988 Bentsen tells Quayle "You're no Jack Kennedy" Vice-presidential debate produces a defining political moment During the US vice-presidential debate, Senator Lloyd Bentsen rebuked Senator Dan Quayle's comparison of himself to John F. Kennedy with the retort "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." The line became one of the most quoted moments in American political debate history. It came during the campaign that saw George H. W. Bush elected president.
• 1988 U2 release Rattle and Hum American roots Album and film exploring American music.
• 1988 George Harrison forms the Traveling Wilburys Supergroup With Dylan, Petty, Orbison and Jeff Lynne.
• 1988 Roy Orbison joins the Traveling Wilburys Supergroup With Harrison, Dylan, Petty and Lynne.
• 1988 Tom Petty joins the Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 A supergroup with Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne.
• 1988 Sega Mega Drive launches in Japan 16-bit console begins Sega's rivalry with Nintendo Sega released the Mega Drive, known outside Japan as the Genesis, beginning a new generation of 16-bit home video game consoles. The system launched in North America the following year and became a major rival to Nintendo. It helped popularize franchises including Sonic the Hedgehog.