August 1988

Saturday 06:

"Police riot" in New York City's Tompkins Square Park

Sunday 07:

Rioting in New York City's Tompkins Square Park

Monday 08:

General Ne Win, ruler of Burma since 1962, suddenly resigns.

Tuesday 09:

Wayne Gretzky is traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings in one of the most controversial transactions in hockey history.

Wednesday 10:

Japanese American Internment: US President Ronald Reagan signs the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, providing $20,000 payments to Japanese-Americans who were either interned or relocated by in the United States during World War II.

Wednesday 17:

Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and US Ambassador Arnold Raphel are killed in a plane crash.

Saturday 20:

Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Monday 22:

The Australian koala, the first platinum coin, is issued

Thursday 25:

The historical center of Lisbon is destroyed by a fire.

Friday 26:

Merhan Karimi Nasseri arrives at Charles de Gaulle International Airport.

Sunday 28:

At an air show in Ramstein, West Germany, three stunt fighters collide; 69 people die.