On this day in history, three U.S. presidents in three different years take significant steps toward ending the Cold War. Beginning on May 28, 1988, President Ronald Reagan met Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev for a four-day summit in Russia. Upon his election in 1980, Reagan had abandoned Nixon, Ford and Carter’s attempts to diffuse […]
Continue ReadingReagan-Gorbachev Summit In Moscow Ends
President Ronald Reagan ends his first trip to Moscow, and his fourth summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, on notes of both frustration and triumph. Although there were no breakthroughs or agreements on substantive issues, the “Great Communicator,” as Reagan was known in the United States, was a hit with Soviet audiences. The May […]
Continue ReadingReagan Arrives In Moscow For Summit TalksReagan Arrives In Moscow For Summit Talks
President Ronald Reagan travels to Moscow to begin the fourth summit meeting held in the past three years with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Though the summit produced no major announcements or breakthroughs, it served to illuminate both the successes and the failures achieved by the two men in terms of U.S.-Soviet relations. In May 1988, […]
Continue ReadingGorbachev Consolidates Power
In an attempt to consolidate his own power and ease political and ethnic tensions in the Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev dismisses the Communist Party leaders in those two republics. Since coming to power in 1985, Gorbachev had faced numerous problems with his efforts to bring about domestic reform in […]
Continue ReadingSoviets Begin Withdrawal From Afghanistan
More than eight years after they intervened in Afghanistan to support the procommunist government, Soviet troops begin their withdrawal. The event marked the beginning of the end to a long, bloody, and fruitless Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. In December 1979, Soviet troops first entered Afghanistan in an attempt to bolster the communist, pro-Soviet government threatened […]
Continue ReadingKim Philby Dies
Kim Philby, a former British Secret Intelligence Service officer and double agent for the Soviet Union, dies in Moscow at the age of 76. Philby was perhaps the most famous of a group of British government officials who served as Russian spies from the 1930s to the 1950s. Philby came from a privileged and respected […]
Continue ReadingWoman Convicted For Tampering With Excedrin
Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules in an effort to kill her husband. Stella and Bruce Nickell married in 1976, shortly after seven people were killed […]
Continue ReadingCher Wins Best Actress Oscar For Moonstruck
On this day in 1988, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the actress and singer Cher collects the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Moonstruck (1988). Cherilyn Sarkasian, who was born on May 20, 1946, first became famous as the taller, female half of the 1960s singing duo Sonny and Cher, […]
Continue ReadingLemieux Wins NHL Scoring Title, Stops Gretzky Streak
Mario Lemieux wins the Art Ross Trophy as the National Hockey League’s top scorer on this day in 1988. Lemieux’s 168 points bested Wayne Gretzky, who had dominated the league as the top scorer for an amazing seven seasons. Lemieux (in French, “le mieux” means “the best”) was born October 5, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec, […]
Continue ReadingDoug Williams Leads Redskins To Super Bowl Victory
On January 31, 1988, in San Diego, California, Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins becomes the first African-American quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, scoring four of Washington’s five touchdowns in an upset 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. Denver was favored to win the game, and they started strong, […]
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