Three decades ago, the Winter Olympics took place in Calgary and the Summer Olympics were held in Seoul, candidates Michael Dukakis and George Bush competed for the 1988 U.S. presidential election, NASA’s Space Shuttle program resumed launches following the 1986 Challenger disaster, a passenger aircraft was brought down by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, and much more. Photographers were also busy documenting the lives of Brad Pitt, George Michael, Michael Jordan and many others. Take a step into a visual time capsule now, for a brief look at the year 1988.
Michael Jordan had arguably the greatest individual season of his career with the Bulls in 1988-89. Michael Jordan had a barnstorming regular season to back up his MVP winning 87-88 season. In terms of advanced statistics, this is the greatest 82-game campaign in NBA history.
The space shuttle Discovery lifts off its launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center in September of 1988. This was the first shuttle launch since the Challenger disaster in 1986.
Prince poses with Sheila E. (left) and Cat Glover, during his Love Sexy ’88 Tour at Feijenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1988.
Irish Catholic boys mill around a car they have just set on fire in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Axl Rose and Slash of Guns N’ Roses perform a set at The Limelight in New York City on January 31, 1988.
The Olympic torch towers above the Olympic stadium in Seoul on September 17, 1988, during the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympic Games in Seoul. A colorful, three-hour spectacle mixing ancient Korean rituals with space-age technology kicked off 16 days of athletic competition.
A portrait of the actor Brad Pitt in London in October of 1988.
The comics impresario Stan Lee, center, poses with The Hulk, portrayed by Lou Ferrigno (right) and Thor, portrayed by Eric Kramer in a special movie for NBC, “The Incredible Hulk Returns,” on May 9, 1988, in Los Angeles, California. Lee said the secret of successfully transferring comic-book characters to television was to avoid making it a carbon copy.