Major Events
- Feb 6 Poland’s Communist government begins “Round Table” talks with the Solidarity trade union and it’s leader Lech Wałęsa in an attempt to ease growing social unrest
- Feb 15 Soviet military occupation of Afghanistan ends as the last Soviet troops cross the Soviet-Afghan border
- Apr 21 Thousands of Chinese crowd into Beijing's Tiananmen Square cheering students demanding greater political freedom
- May 13 Approx 2,000 students begin hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, China
- May 16 Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping meet in Beijing and formally end a 30-year rift
- Jun 2 10,000 Chinese soldiers are blocked by 100,000 citizens in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, protecting students demonstrating for democracy
- Jun 3 Beginning of the Tiananmen Square Massacre as Chinese troops open fire on pro-democracy supporters in Beijing
- Jun 4 Eastern Europe's first partial free elections in 40 years held in Poland, Solidarity Party comes to power
- Jun 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre: Chinese troops clear the square of student protesters, unofficial figures place death toll near 1,000
- Nov 10 Germans begin demolishing the Berlin Wall
- Dec 3 Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush, declare the Cold War over
- Dec 22 After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
- More 1989 Events
1989 in Film & TV
- Jan 13 British comedy sketch show series "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie debuts on BBC1
- Feb 10 To gain deregulation WWF admits pro wrestling is an exhibition & not a sport, in a NJ court
- May 19 "Do the Right Thing", directed by Spike Lee, starring Danny Aiello and Ossie Davis premieres at the Cannes Film Festival
- Jun 23 Movie "Batman" premieres directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson
- Sep 16 14th Toronto International Film Festival: "Roger & Me" directed by Michael Moore wins the People's Choice Award
- Dec 13 "Driving Miss Daisy" directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy is released (Best Picture 1990)
- Dec 17 "The Simpsons" created by Matt Groening, premieres on Fox TV as a full animated series with the episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"
1989 in Music
- Nov 12 George Forrest's musical "Grand Hotel" opens at Martin Beck Theater, NYC; runs for 1018 performances and wins 5 Tony Awards
1989 in Sport
- Feb 10 To gain deregulation WWF admits pro wrestling is an exhibition & not a sport, in a NJ court
- Apr 15 Hillsborough disaster, 96 are crushed to death and 766 injured at the Hillsborough Football Stadium in Sheffield, England, during a FA semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest
- Jul 2 American jockey Steve Cauthen wins Irish Derby on Old Vic to become the first rider in history to sweep the world's 4 major Derbies (Kentucky, Epsom, French, Irish)
- Oct 15 Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe as NHL's all time top scorer
- Nov 24 Sachin Tendulkar scores a Test Cricket fifty aged 16 years 214 days, a record
- Dec 29 Wayne Gretzky and Martina Navratilova, named athletes of decade by the Associated Press
- Dec 31 Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year
Did You Know?
World Wide Web (WWW) is first launched in the public domain by CERN scientist Tim Berners-Lee
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Elizabeth Olsen
Lily James
Chris Brown
Daniel Radcliffe
Brie Larson
Nicholas Hoult
Labrinth [Timothy Lee McKenzie]
Lucy Hale
Avicii
Taylor Swift
Yani Tseng
Agnieszka Radwańska
Alex Morgan
Victoria Azarenka
Thomas Müller
Michelle WieMore People Born in 1989
Fun Fact About 1989
Wine merchant William Sokolin breaks a bottle of 1787 Château Margaux, possibly belonging to Thomas Jefferson, worth $500,000 at the Four Seasons restaurant in New York
Hirohito
Ted Bundy
Ayatollah Khomeini
Huey P. Newton
Ferdinand Marcos
Nicolae Ceausescu
Lucille Ball
Laurence Olivier
Bette Davis
Tiny Grimes
Irving Berlin
Bill Terry
Sugar Ray Robinson
Secretariat
Billy Martin
Doug HarveyMore 1989 Deaths
Articles About 1989
Soviet Union Leaves Afghanistan
Last Soviet troops withdraw from their war in AfghanistanFebruary 15
Goddess of Democracy
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese protest around a 10-meter replica of the Statue of Liberty they called the Goddess of DemocracyJune 2
Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 was a savage crackdown on student protesters in Beijing. Many were shot dead by soldiers or crushed to death by tanks.June 4
France's Biggest-Ever Bank Robbery
Its vault was thought to be impregnable, but the bank had not reckoned on the ingenuity of a determined thief who died on this day, with the loot still missing.June 8
Romanian Revolution
Romanians confront the security forces of the regime in BucharestDecember 22
Famous Weddings in 1989
- Jan 1 American actor and director Leonard Nimoy (57) weds American actress Susan Bay (45), until his death
- Jan 7 MLB pitcher Greg Maddux (22) weds Kathy Ronnow
- Jan 21 "Falcon Crest" actor Lorenzo Lamas (31) weds actress Kathleen Kinmont (23) at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas
Famous Divorces in 1989
- Feb 14 Robin Givens is granted a divorce from Mike Tyson in the Dominican Republic
- Feb 16 Actress Jane Fonda and activist Tom Hayden separate after 16 years of marriage
- Mar 1 "Baywatch" actor David Hasselhoff (37) divorces actress Catherine Hickland (33) after nearly 5 years of marriage
More 1989 Weddings
Daniel Day-Lewis
George Michael
Jessica Tandy
Deng Xiaoping
François Mitterrand
George H. W. Bush
Helmut Kohl
Margaret Thatcher
Mikhail Gorbachev