2008 was declared the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations. In this year, Barack Obama won the U.S. Presidential election. Kosovo formally declared independence from Serbia. Cyclone Nargis passed through Myanmar, killing more than 138,000 people. The worst single accident in the history of mountaineering happened on K2, the second highest mountain on the planet. Eleven mountaineers from France, Ireland, Korea, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan, and Serbia among others died tragically.

In LGBTQ news, Stu Rasmussen was elected mayor of Silverton, Oregon, became the first openly transgender mayor in the USA.

 Two trans-related books came out in 2008.

Two Truths and a Lie: A Memoir , by Scott Turner Schofield

The fluidity of gender shines in these three performance scripts by a transgender man from the Deep South who described growing up in a world of debutante balls and homecoming proms.

 Transgender History, by Susan Stryker

Covering American transgender history from the mid-twentieth century to today, Transgender History takes a chronological approach to the subject of transgender history, with each chapter covering major movements, writings, and events.

In LGBTQ news, we lost several LGBTQ+ persons in 2008. Dorothy Louise Taliaferro "Del" Martin passed away at the age of 87. She and her partner Phyllis Lyon were the first gay couple to be legally married in the USA in 2004 after being together for over 50 years.Phil Reed, the first openly gay African-American New York City Council Member from 1998 to 2005, passed away at the age of 59. Jennifer Gale, an American transgender politician who unsuccessfully ran for several seats of office in Austin, Texas between 1998 and 2008, was found unresponsive in front of a Lutheran Church where she often slept. Marti Bier wrote “Jennifer [was] a trans woman living in a transphobic society. Homelessness in the trans community is a really big problem, and one that goes ignored.” She was 47.

 In Sports, the Boston Celtics won their seventeenth NBA Championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals. The New York Giants won the Super Bowl when they defeated the Patriots by the score of 17–14.The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the Baseball World Series winning four games to one. Spain defeated Germany, 1-0 in the 13th UEFA European Soccer Championship. The 29th Olympics were held in Beijing, China with over 13,000 athletes competing in 28 different sports events. China won a total of 99 medals, 48 gold, 22 silver, and 30 bronze, which became the country’s largest ever medal tally in Olympic history. While China won the most gold medals, the USA won the most overall medals at 112, including Swimmer Michael Phelps who set seven world records and won eight gold medals, surpassing Mark Spitz’s iconic haul of seven gold medals, won at the Munich Games in 1972.

In film, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” squeezed into the box office which was dominated by superhero movies including “The Dark Knight” with Christian Bale as Batman, “Iron Man” with Robert Downey Jr. and “Hancock”, starring Will Smith.Top grossing actors included Reese Witherspoon, Will Smith and Adam Sandler. In the Academy Awards, best actor went to Daniel Day-Louis in “There Will Be Blood”. Marion Cotillard won best actress in “Ma Vie en Rose”. Joel and Ethan Coen take home Best Director Oscars for “No Country for Old Men”, which also won Best Picture

The number one Billboard hit of the year was “Low” by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain and number two was “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis.