1989

Year 1989 () was a (link displays 1989 ).

The year is historically notable for the wave of revolutions that swept the, starting in. Collectively known as the, they were the death knell for the and for ic  as a basis for government in most of the world, and ushered in a new era of  , , and  dominance that lasts to this day.

January

 * - ends with the death of  (aka ) in .  becomes, beginning the  period the following day.
 * - The : A  crashes on approach to, leaving 47 dead.


 * - n troops begin withdrawing from.
 * - Assistant AFP Police Commissioner Colin Winchester gunned down in driveway of Canberra home
 * - George Bush names to be his Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and  as Secretary of Energy.
 * - - s occur in,.
 * - The : Patrick Edward Purdy kills 5 children, wounds 30 and then shoots himself in.
 * - The votes to legalize.
 * - succeeds  as the 41st.
 * - The Soviets begin to airlift supplies to Afghanistan as they pull out.
 * - Serial killer is executed in 's.
 * - American medalist  is sentenced to 17 years in prison for killing 2 teenagers in a drunk driving accident.

February

 * - Joan Kirner becomes Victoria's first female Deputy Premier, after the resignation of Robert Fordham over the VEDC (Victorian Economic Development Co-operation) Crisis.
 * - : The last armored column leaves, ending 9 years of military occupation.
 * - Satellite television service is launched in Europe.
 * - A military coup overthrows, dictator of since 1954.
 * - After a, resigns his party's leadership and the presidency of.
 * - The City Council bans the sale or possession of semiautomatic weapons.
 * - is elected chairman of the, becoming the first  to lead a major.
 * - is consecrated as the first female bishop of the.
 * - agrees to pay  $470 million to the n government for damages it caused in the.
 * - ian leader encourages s to kill  author.
 * - The first of 24 s is placed into orbit.
 * - : The officially announces that all of its troops have left.
 * - : Investigators announce that the cause of the crash was a hidden inside a radio-cassette player.
 * - After protracted testimony, the U.S. rejects, 11-9, President Bush's nomination of  for Secretary of Defense.
 * -  places a US $3-million bounty on the head of  author.
 * -, a bound to  from , rips open during flight, sucking 9 passengers and crew out of the first class section.
 * - After 44 years, is raised to the  castle tower.
 * - is rocked by the.

March

 * - The, an international on s, is ratified by the.
 * - A is imposed in, where protests continue over the alleged intimidation of the  minority.
 * - starts his term of office as.
 * - starts his term of office as.
 * - The, , and the  amalgamate to form  political party the  (GL, GreenLeft).
 * - Twelve nations agree to ban the production of all s (CFCs) by the end of the century.
 * - abducts and murders two 8 year old girls in Myllypuro suburb in ,
 * - wins the  defeating  on the final by 2-0 in,.
 * - . and announce plans for a merger, forming.
 * - The in  leaves 5 dead and 94 injured.
 * - The first ACT elections are held.
 * - breaks off  with the  over 's .
 * - A strike forces financially troubled into.
 * - A  caused the collapse of the Hydro-Quebec power grid. Six million people were  for nine hours. Some areas in the northeastern U.S. and in Sweden also lost power, and s seen as far as.
 * - : U.S. President bans the importation of certain guns deemed  into the.
 * - Christian General declares a 'War of Liberation' to rid  of  forces and their allies.
 * - In, a 4,400-year-old is found in the.
 * -  weeps on national television as he admits marital infidelity.
 * - of the   suffers an almost fatal injury when another  player accidentally slits his throat in one of the most gruesome sports injuries of all time.
 * - Asteroid approaches the Earth at a distance of 700,000 kilomters.
 * - and  announce that they have achieved  at the.
 * - A 300 m (1,000 ft) diameter misses the  by 500,000 km (400,000 miles).
 * - : In 's the  spills 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of  after running aground.
 * - The first free elections for the parliament go against the.

April

 * - 's new tax, the, is introduced in.
 * - In, defeats  (with  in the neutral corner) to become the WWF Champion.
 * - is elected mayor of.
 * - In, celebrates its 40th anniversary.
 * - National Safety Council of Australia chief executive is arrested after defrauding investors to the tune of $235 million.
 * - The sinks in the, killing 41.
 * - demonstrators are massacred by  soldiers in 's central square during a peaceful rally; 20 citizens are killed, many injured.
 * - Costa Pegios born today.
 * - The, one of the biggest tragedies in an , claims the life of 96 supporters.
 * - The  comic strip is syndicated for the first time.
 * - The Hillsborough disaster claims its 95th victim when 14-year-old Lee Nichol dies in hospital from his injuries.
 * - is savagely attacked while jogging in 's ; as her identity remains secret for years, she becomes known as the "Central Park Jogger."
 * - Seven crew members die after a gun turret explodes on the U.S. battleship.
 * - debates modernising short range missiles; although the  and  are in favour,  chancellor  obtains a concession deferring a decision.
 * - Students from, , , and begin protesting in.
 * - begins selling the  in.
 * - The term of as the 8th  of  ends.
 * -, of , becomes the 9th  of.

May

 * - at  opens to the public for the first time.
 * - The first crack in the -  dismantles 150 miles of barbed wire fencing along the border with Austria.
 * - deposes  as Federal Opposition Leader.
 * - The ACT Legislative Assembly meets for the first time.
 * - A freight train crashes on Duffy Street in.
 * - visits, the first Soviet leader to do so since the.
 * - Australia's first private tertiary institution,, opens on the Gold Coast.
 * - : meets the demonstrators in.
 * - : The Chinese government declares martial law in.
 * - The Days in Leningrad region  open.
 * - The win the : The Calgary Flames of the  (NHL) win their first and only Stanley Cup with a 4-2 victory over the.
 * - Thirteen days after a Southern Pacific train derails, a Calnev pipeline explodes at the same section of Duffy Street in San Bernardino, California.
 * - : The 10 m (33 ft) high  statue is unveiled in by student demonstrators.

June

 * - The (now known as ) is opened in.
 * - The dies.
 * - The takes place in  on the army's approach to the square, and the final stand-off in the square is covered live on television.
 * - : A explosion near,  kills 645 as 2 trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
 * - 's victory in the first partly free parliamentary elections in post-war is the first of many anti-  in  and  in 1989 (almost all of them peaceful).
 * - 176 people are killed in.
 * - is elected president of.
 * - removes  photography exhibition.
 * - The wreck of the German battleship , which was sunk in 1941, is located 600 miles west of.
 * -  is arrested in  after slapping a motorcycle  officer.
 * - A crowd of 250,000 gathers at in  for the historic reburial of, the former Hungarian prime minister who had been executed in 1958.
 * - British police arrest 250 citizens for celebrating the at.
 * - 's first universities established since independence in, and the , open.

July

 * -, resigns.   A new government is formed under.
 * - The television show  premieres.
 * - : U.S. President travels to Poland and Hungary, pushing for U.S. economic aid and investment.
 * - France celebrates the 200th anniversary of the.
 * - - At the annual G-7 Summit, leaders call for restrictions on gas emissions
 * -  crashes in, killing 112; 184 on board survive.
 * - opposition leader  is placed under house arrest.
 * - A federal indicts  student  for releasing a, making him the first person to be prosecuted under the.

August

 * - U.S. Congressman (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in.
 * - purchased  for an amount circa 800 million USD
 * - : takes off on a secret 5-day military mission.
 * The  is the first asteroid directly imaged by  from.
 * - A accident near, Australia kills 13.
 * - The is released in North America.
 * - Leading presidential hopeful is assassinated near  in.
 * - president  nominates Solidarity activist  to be, the first non-communist in power in 42 years.
 * - In, shoot their wealthy parents to death in the family's den.
 * - Fifty-one people die when the collides with a  on the  adjacent to.


 * - Two million indigenous people of, and , then still occupied by the , join hands to demand freedom and independence, forming an uninterrupted 600 km human chain called the.
 * - removes border restrictions with.
 * - All of 's 1,645 domestic airline pilots resign over an airline's move to sack and sue them over a dispute.
 * - is shot in the  section of, , sparking racial tensions between s and s.
 * - Record-setting player  agrees to a lifetime ban from the sport following allegations of illegal gambling, thereby preventing his induction into the.
 * - Indonesia's first privately owned television station, Rajawali Citra Televisi, begins broadcasting.
 * - passes the planet  and its moon.

September

 * - U.S. President holds up a bag of  purchased across the street at  in his first televised speech to the nation.
 * - The n (the last under ) returns the  with a much-reduced majority.
 * - holds  to a 0-0 draw in, qualifying for the . The game became famous after  sustained a deep cut to his forehead early in the game. He received stitches but played on the entire game. By the end of the game, the front of Butcher's white shirt and shorts where almost entirely covered in blood.
 * - The Hungarian government opens the country's western borders to refugees from the.
 * - Agreement of cooperation between  and County  is signed in Leningrad, by the chairmen  and
 * - was sworn in as State President of.
 * - makes landfall in, causing $7 billion in damage.
 * - : An IRA bomb explodes at the School of Music in, , leaving 11 dead and 22 injured.

October

 * - U.S. televangelist John Nunes is found guilty of embezzling $158 million.
 * - An official news agency in the reports the landing of a  in.
 * - In, , protesters demand the legalization of opposition groups and democratic reforms.
 * - The plunges 190.58 points, or 6.91 percent, to close at 2,569.26 most likely after the  market collapsed. This mini-crash became known as the.
 * - The, measuring 7.1 on the , strikes the - region of Northern California, killing 63.
 * - The leader of, , is forced to step down as leader of the country after a series of health problems.
 * - The are freed after 14 years.
 * - The pavilion opens at
 * - The of the  issue the  on the Environment, making  one of the Commonwealth's main priorities.
 * - The is officially declared by president  (replacing the Hungarian People's Republic).
 * - The for the  ends.

November

 * ("November 1989" – :, ;  ;  , , )
 * - and  celebrate their One Hundredth Birthdays.
 * -  devastates the  province of.
 * - wins the governor's seat in, becoming the first elected  governor in the.
 * - becomes the first  mayor of.
 * - : The government of  resigns, although  leader  remains head of state.
 * - In, convicted murderer (the "Night Stalker") is sentenced to death.
 * - : East Germany opens checkpoints in the, allowing its citizens to freely travel to for the first time in decades (the next day celebrating  began tearing the wall down).
 * - After 45 years of Communist rule in, leader  is replaced by Foreign Minister , who changes the party's name to the . This is the latest of several events this week which signal the beginning of the end for communism in.
 * - becomes the first n woman to fly non-stop around the world.
 * - holds its first free presidential election since.
 * - Disney's is released in theaters.
 * - Six priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter are shot in,.
 * - n President announces the scrapping of the.
 * - adopts the  at the twenty-fifth session of its General Conference.
 * - : The begins - In  a peaceful student demonstration in  is severely beaten back by riot police. This sparks a revolution aimed at overthrowing the Communist government (it succeeds on ).
 * - : - The number of peaceful protesters assembled in,  swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million.
 * - celebrates its  statehood.
 * - In West, a bomb explodes near the motorcade of President  and kills him.
 * - : - With other Communist regimes falling all around it and with growing street protests, the  announces they will give up their  on political power (elections held in December bring the first non-communist government to  in more than 40 years).
 * - board member  is killed by a terrorist bomb (the  claims responsibility for the murder).

December

 * - : 's parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the Communist-dominated its monopoly on power.  , the Politburo and the Central Committee resign 2 days later.
 * - : In a meeting off the coast of, U.S. President and Soviet leader  release statements indicating that the  between their nations may be coming to an end.
 * - The (or Montreal Massacre):, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the  in.
 * - The final episode of the long-running BBC science fiction series  was broadcast on in the.
 * - announces the establishment of Mongolia's democratic movement, that peacefully changes the second oldest communist country into a democratic society.
 * - holds its first free election in 16 years.
 * - Drug baron is killed by n police.
 * - In, , an uprising begins against the regime, sparking the.
 * - holds its first free election in 29 years;  wins the election.
 * - The first full length episode of , "", premieres on.
 * -  is launched in an attempt to overthrow nian dictator.
 * - After a week of bloody demonstrations,  takes over as president of, ending 's  , who flees his palace in a helicopter to escape inevitable execution.
 * - Two tourist coaches collide on the Pacific highway north of, Australia, killing 35.
 * - and his wife  are executed after their unsuccessful escape attempt.
 * - governors announce a major interest rate hike, eventually leading to the peak and fall of the .
 * - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits, , killing 13 people.
 * - is elected president of.
 * - Riots break-out after decides to forcibly repatriate ese refugees.

Undated

 * goes into receivership with the largest debt in Australian history.
 * Homosexual Acts between consenting adults decriminalized in.
 * opened to n civilian visitors.
 * Retirement of the propeller-driven anti-submarine planes from carrier service in the French Navy.
 * The first national park, in Schiermonnikoog, is established in.
 * , Chelyabinsk, commissioned.
 * The wreck of the discovered off  by.
 * establishes the to help creative children and prevent cruelty to animals.
 * introduces the, about the collapse of the.
 * The, is founded in by David and Diana Wilson.
 * The unknown Swede is discovered by a photographer when rollerskating on Venice Beach, California
 * The last is seen.
 * The is established.
 * 's construction is completed in.
 * The millionth is sold. It had just been introduced three years earlier.

Fictional
The following are references to year 1989 in fiction: (unknown).

World in Conflict (Game) - Soviet Union invades Europe and United States

January - February

 * -, Canadian actress
 * -, American actor
 * -, British actor
 * -, British singer
 * -, Argentine actress
 * -, American singer
 * -, Filipino actress and singer
 * -, American figure skater
 * -, American actor and rapper
 * -, American actor
 * -, English actress
 * -, English actress
 * -, Taiwanese pool player
 * -, Canadian actress
 * -, British singer
 * -, American actor and singer
 * -, American actress
 * -, American actress
 * -, British singer
 * -, American singer

March - April

 * -, American actress
 * -, American actor
 * -, American actress
 * -, British performer
 * -, English footballer
 * -, British singer/television presenter
 * -, English er
 * -, American actress/singer
 * -, Japanese singer
 * -, American actress
 * -, Russian-born actress
 * -, Czech tennis player
 * -, Dutch darts player
 * -, American reality television star

May - June

 * -, Hungarian swimmer
 * - college ice hockey player
 * -, American singer
 * -, American actress
 * -, er
 * -, American model
 * -, Season 5 Contestant
 * -, Beauty Queen
 * -, Ghanaian-born American soccer player
 * -, American actress
 * -, English actor
 * -, American actress and singer
 * -, American race car driver
 * -, British actor
 * -, Brazilian supermodel

July - August

 * -, American actor
 * -, Japanese singer
 * -, British actor
 * -, British actor
 * -, Canadian actor
 * -, Canadian actress
 * -, Bulgarian tennis player
 * -, Italian footballer
 * -, Canadian professional hockey player
 * -, Canadian professional hockey player
 * -, American singer/songwriter
 * -, Mexican singer and actress
 * -, American rapper and actor
 * -, American actress and singer
 * -, American reality television star

September - October

 * -, German members in the band
 * -, Brazilian footballer
 * -, British actor
 * -, American singer and  finalist
 * -, British actress
 * -, American figure skater
 * -, American golf player
 * -, Desperate Housewives star ( Danielle Van De Kamp)
 * -, British singer
 * -, American Gymnast

November - December

 * -, Mexican-American singer
 * -, Japanese singer
 * -, American acrobat
 * -, American actor
 * -, British singer


 * -, Canadian actress and singer
 * -, American musician
 * -, British actor
 * -, British actor
 * -, English actress
 * -, American actress
 * -, American singer and  winner
 * -, Ukrainian chess player
 * -, American actress
 * -, American skateboarder

Unknown dates

 * , Afghani actress
 * , American actress/singer
 * , English actress
 * For musicians born in 1989, see .

January - March

 * -, American chemist (b. )
 * -, British mathematician (b. )
 * -, (b. )
 * -, abbott of (b. ?)
 * -, American radio reporter (b. )
 * -, Estonian statesman and diplomat (b. )
 * -, American musician (b. )
 * -, Spanish artist (b. )
 * -, American serial killer (executed) (b. )
 * -, American artist (b. )
 * -, American actor and author (b. )
 * -, American historian (b. )
 * -, Japanese artist, e.g.  (b. )
 * -, American actor and director (b. )
 * -, British musician
 * -, American baseball player (b. )
 * -, American musician (b. )
 * -, German astronomer (b. )
 * -, Austrian zoologist, recipient of the (b. )
 * -, British actor (b. )
 * -, American musician (b. )
 * -, American photographer (b. )
 * -, American politician (b. )
 * -, English actor (b. )
 * -, American author and environmentalist (b. )
 * -, American businessman (b. )
 * -, English French horn player (b. )
 * -, American author (b. )
 * -, American actor and director (b. )

April - June

 * -, British actor (b. )
 * -, (b. )
 * -, baseball player and umpire (b. )
 * - Princess (b. )
 * -, Italian physicist, laureate (b. )
 * -, American entertainer (b. )
 * -, Italian film director (b. )
 * -, Crown Princess of Korea (b. )
 * -, fashion editor at LIFE (b. )
 * -, American singer (b. )
 * -, Canadian business tycoon (b. )
 * -, Trinidadian writer and journalist (b. )
 * -, American actor (b. )
 * -, English economist, laureate (b. )
 * -, American comedian and actress (b. )
 * -, American musician (b. )
 * -, British RAF Fighter pilot (b. )
 * - Ayatollah, (b. )
 * -, NHL official
 * -, American cartoonist (b. )
 * -, American restaurateur (b. )
 * -, American geneticist, recipient of the (b. )
 * -, American actor and director (b. )
 * -, Danish politician (b. )
 * -, Japanese singer (b. )
 * -, British philosopher (b. )
 * -, Dutch filmmaker (b. )

July - September

 * -, American actor (b. )
 * -, Hungarian dictator (b. )
 * -, American voice actor (b. )
 * -, prolific English stage and screen actor and director (b. )
 * -, English footballer (b. )
 * -, Austrian conductor (b. )
 * -, baseball player (suicide) (b. )
 * -, Polish president (b. )
 * -, American politician (b. )
 * -, Finnish bass (b. )
 * -, American writer (b. )
 * -, American bull rider (b. )
 * -, English pianist (b. )
 * -, British actor (b. )
 * -, American congressman (b. )
 * -, American physicist, laureate (b. )
 * -, American race car driver (b. )
 * -, American political figure (b. )
 * -, French-Gabonese politician (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * -, Indian-born conservationist (assassinated) (b. )
 * -, Brazilian singer (b. )
 * -, Canadian jurist (b. )
 * -, American fashion editor (b. )
 * -, co-founder of the (murdered) (b. )
 * -, English naturalist, artist, and explorer (b. )
 * -, baseball player (b. )
 * -, American President of Yale University and (b. )
 * -, New Zealand-born classicist and historian (b. )
 * -, American author and musician (b. )
 * -, Cuban musician (b. )
 * -, American politician (b. )
 * -, American composer (b. )
 * -, (b. )
 * -, English writer, pacifist, and ornithologist (b. )

October - December

 * -, English comedian (b. )
 * -, American racehorse (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * -, American journalist and author (b. )
 * -, American geophysicist (b. )
 * -, children's writer and winner of 5 s (b. )
 * -, American chemist, laureate (b. )
 * -, Mexican singer and actor (b. )
 * -, American civil rights activist (b. )
 * -, Fiji physician and politician (b. )
 * -, Russian pianist (b. )
 * -, Canadian minister and librarian (b. )
 * -, Beninese political figure (b. )
 * -, American cartoonist (b. )
 * -, Fiji Governor General (b. )
 * -, Comorian politician (b. )
 * -, English cricketer (b. )
 * -, Cameroonian politician (b. )
 * -, American dancer and choreographer (b. )
 * -, English conductor (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * -, Canadian mass murderer (b. )
 * -, Russian war hero (b. )
 * -, Russian physicist and activist, recipient of the (declined) (b. )
 * -, stage and film veteran (b. )
 * -, Italian actress (b. )
 * -, German bass (b. )
 * -, Irish writer, laureate (b. )
 * -, Romanian dictator (executed) (b. )

Unknown dates

 * (none)

Nobel prizes

 * -, the 14th
 * -, the 14th
 * -, the 14th
 * -, the 14th
 * -, the 14th

Templeton Prize

 * (Joint Award)
 * (Joint Award)