What Happened in August 1989

Historical Events

  • Aug 1 Australia beats England by 9 wickets in the 4th cricket Test at Old Trafford, taking an unassailable 3-0 series lead to regain the Ashes

Voyager 2 Spacecraft

Aug 2 NASA confirmed Voyager 2's discovery of 3 more moons of Neptune designated temporarily 1989 N2, 1989 N3 & 1989 N24

  • Aug 3 22nd San Diego Comic-Con International opens at Omni Hotel
  • Aug 3 Cincinnati Reds set MLB record for most hits in 1st inning of a game with 16 for 14 runs in an 18-1 rout of Houston Astros

Baseball Record

Aug 3 Future Baseball Hall of Fame left fielder Rickey Henderson sets AL mark of 50 stolen bases in 9 of his first 11 seasons in MLB

  • Aug 3 Jorge Velásquez wins aboard Maddie Bumpo in the 3rd at Arlington International Racecourse to become only the 5th jockey in the world to ride 6,000 career winners
  • Aug 3 Lawrence Delisle drives his 4 kids into river
  • Aug 5 First ever dead heat in harness racing's Hambletonian; Park Avenue Joe and Probe tie the 3rd and final heat; Park Avenue Joe wins series on count back
  • Aug 5 General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista Front winning a majority.
  • Aug 5 NASA Venus probe Magellan launched from Space shuttle, 1st to do so
  • Aug 6 Boston Red Sox retire Baseball Hall of Fame left fielder, 1st baseman Carl Yastrezemski's #8
  • Aug 6 Jaime Paz Zamora inaugurated as president of Bolivia
  • Aug 6 Pilot Union tells pilots okay to cross Eastern picket lines

Oh! Calcutta! - The Bare Facts

Aug 6 Revival of musical revue "Oh! Calcutta!" closes at Edison Theater, NYC, after 5959 performances: Broadway’s longest-running musical revue

  • Aug 6 Twenty former South African political prisoners, in defiance of the restriction orders, launch a campaign against apartheid laws
  • Aug 7 U.S. Congressman Mickey Leland (D-TX) and 15 others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia

Event of Interest

Aug 8 New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange resigns after 5 years on a no confidence issue

  • Aug 8 US space shuttle STS-28 launched
  • Aug 10 A's bat out of order against White Sox in 3rd inning
  • Aug 10 Australia 0-301 at end of day one, 5th Test Cricket at Trent Bridge
  • Aug 11 "Nightmare on Elm Street 5: Dream Child" premieres
  • Aug 11 Geoff Marsh & Mark Taylor complete 329 opening stand v England
  • Aug 11 Voyager 2 discovers two partial rings of Neptune
  • Aug 13 2 hot-air balloons crash at Alice Springs, Australia, 13 killed

PGA Championship

Aug 13 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Kemper Lakes GC: Payne Stewart wins first of 3 major titles by 1 from Andy Bean, Mike Reid & Curtis Strange

  • Aug 13 US space shuttle STS-28 lands

Event of Interest

Aug 14 President P. W. Botha of South Africa resigns

Event of Interest

Aug 15 F. W. de Klerk becomes President of South Africa

Sports History

Aug 15 In 2nd start since after cancer treatment, Giants Dave Dravecky breaks his pitching arm while throwing to Tim Raines

  • Aug 15 Italian swimmer Giorgio Lamberti sets world record 200m freestyle (1:46.69) in Bonn, West Germany
  • Aug 16 A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market.
  • Aug 16 Roger Kingdom of USA sets 110m hurdle record (12.92) in Zurich
  • Aug 17 32nd Walker Cup: Britain-Ireland, 12½-11½

Sports History

Aug 17 Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken plays in his 1,208th consecutive game, moves to 3rd place all-time, behind NY Yankees Lou Gehrig and Boston Red Sox/NY Yankees Everett Scott

  • Aug 18 ArenaBowl III, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit: Detroit Drive beats Pittsburgh Gladiators 39-26, George LaFrance MVP
  • Aug 18 Arturo Barrios of Mexico sets 10K record (27:08.23) in Berlin
  • Aug 18 Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as NY Yankee manager
  • Aug 18 Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia.
  • Aug 19 1st crack in the Iron Curtain when Hungary opens its borders to Austria for a pan-European picnic for a few hours
  • Aug 19 Tadeusz Mazowiecki, elected 1st non-communist president of Poland
  • Aug 20 American Janet Evans swims female 800m freestyle world record 8:16.22 in the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Japan
  • Aug 20 Dredger "Bow Belle" collides with pleasure boat "Marchioness" on the River Thames in central London; the "Marchioness" sinks in 30 seconds, drowning 51

Baseball Record

Aug 20 Howard Johnson joins Barry Bonds & Willie Mays hitting 30 HRs & steal 30 bases

  • Aug 20 Said Aouita runs world record 3,000 m (7:29.45)
  • Aug 21 Voyager 2 begins a flyby of planet Neptune
  • Aug 22 1st complete ring around Neptune discovered
  • Aug 23 LA Dodgers beat Montreal Expos, 1-0, in 22 innings (Rick Dempsey HR)
  • Aug 23 Lewis, Everett, Burrell and Heard run world record 4x200 m (1:19.38)
  • Aug 23 The Baltic Way - two million people form a human chain across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in a peaceful pro-independence demonstration against Soviet occupation [1]
  • Aug 24 British brewery Bass buys Holiday Inn hotel chain

Sports History

Aug 24 Pete Rose is suspended from baseball for life for gambling

  • Aug 25 After 12-year, 4-billion-mile journey, Voyager 2 flies over cloudtops of Neptune & its moon Triton, sending back photographs of swamps
  • Aug 25 Mayumi Moriyama becomes Japan's first female cabinet secretary
  • Aug 26 Trumbull, Conn, is 1st US team since 1983 to win Little League WS
  • Aug 27 100 march through Bensonhurst protesting racial killings
  • Aug 27 89th US Golf Amateur Championship won by Chris Patton
  • Aug 28 1st regular-season matchup of defending Cy Young Award winners
  • Aug 28 Frank Viola and NY Mets outduel Orel Hershiser and LA Dodgers 1-0
  • Aug 31 Arbitrator T Roberts orders owners to pay $105 million for collusion
1989 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Aug 2 Nacer Chadli, Belgian football player, born in Liège, Belgium
  • Aug 3 Jules Bianchi, French auto racer (Marussia Formula 1 Racing Team), born in Nice, France (d. 2015)
  • Aug 4 Jessica Mauboy, Australian singer (Young Divas), born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
  • Aug 5 Shanshan Feng, Chinese golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 2012), born in Guangzhou, China
  • Aug 8 Sesil Karatantcheva, Bulgarian tennis player
  • Aug 9 Stefano Okaka Chuka, Italian footballer, born in Castiglione del Lago, Italy
  • Aug 10 Ben Sahar, Israeli footballer
  • Aug 10 Sam Gagner, Canadian ice hockey player
  • Aug 14 Kyle Turris, Canadian ice hockey player, born in New Westminster, Canada
  • Aug 14 Meyne Wyatt, Australian actor (Redfern Now), born in Kalgoorlie, Australia
  • Aug 14 Thorsten Margis, German bobsledder (4 x Olympic gold 2018, 22; 8 x World C'ship gold 2015-21), born in Bad Honnef, Germany
  • Aug 15 Belinda [Belinda Peregrín Schüll], Mexican singer, songwriter and actress, born in Madrid, Spain
  • Aug 15 Carlos PenaVega, American actor and singer (Big Time Rush), born in Columbia, Missouri
  • Aug 15 Joe Jonas, American pop singer (Jonas Brothers), born in Casa Grande, Arizona
  • Aug 15 Tiffanie Anderson, American singer, dancer, born in Los Angeles, California
  • Aug 19 (Percy) Romeo [Miller], American rapper (Lil' Romeo) and actor, born in New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Aug 20 Judd Trump, British snooker player (World C'ship 2019; UK C'ship 2011; Masters 2019), born in Bristol, England
  • Aug 21 Hayden Panettiere, American actress (One Life to Live), born in Palisades, New York
  • Aug 26 James Harden, American basketball guard (NBA MVP 2018; NBA All-Star 2013–19; Houston Rockets), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Aug 28 Cécile McLorin Salvant, American Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist (Cécile; WomanChild), born in Miami, Florida
  • Aug 28 César Azpilicueta, Spanish footballer (Atlético Madrid, Spain), born in Zizur Mayor, Spain
  • Aug 28 Trixie Mattel [Brian Firkus], American drag queen, singer-songwriter, comedian, and television personality (The Trixie & Katya Show), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Aug 28 Valtteri Bottas, Finnish racing driver (Formula One), born in Nastola, Finland
  • Aug 29 Charlotte Richie, English actress (Ghosts) and singer, born in London, England

Bebe Rexha (34 years old)

Aug 30 American singer-songwriter (Meant To Be), born in New York City


Born in 1989

Famous Weddings

Kathryn Bigelow & James Cameron

Aug 17 Director Kathryn Bigelow (38) weds fellow director James Cameron (35)

  • Aug 23 "The Cars" lead singer and guitarist Ric Ocasek (40) weds model Paulina Porizkova (24) on the Caribbean island of St. Barts; separate in 2017, he dies before divorce finalized

Roman Polanski

Aug 30 Roman Polanski marries actress Emmanuelle Seigner


Famous Deaths

  • Aug 1 John Ogdon, English pianist/composer, dies at 52
  • Aug 2 Helmer-Rayner Sinisalo, Karelian-Soviet composer (Sampo), and educator, dies at 69
  • Aug 3 Antonia Brico, Dutch-American conductor and pianist, dies at 87
  • Aug 7 Mickey Leland, American politician (Rep-D-Texas 1979-89), dies with 15 others in plane crash in Ethiopia at 44
  • Aug 8 Irv Cottler, American session and touring drummer (Frank Sinatra; Dinah Shore), dies of a heart attack at 71
  • Aug 11 John Meillon, Australian actor (Wild Duck, Crocodile Dundee), dies of cirrhosis at 55
  • Aug 12 Samuel Okwaraji, Nigerian footballer (b. 1964)

William Shockley (1910-1989)

Aug 12 American physicist who helped invent the transistor (1956 Nobel), who was also known for his racist eugenics views, dies of prostate cancer at 79

  • Aug 13 Larkin Smith, American politician (Rep-R-Mississippi 1989), dies in a plane crash at 45
  • Aug 13 Tim Richmond, American race car driver (won 13 NASCAR races), dies of AIDS at 34
  • Aug 15 Fritz de Jong Edz, Dutch historian (director of IISG), dies at 70
  • Aug 16 Amanda Blake [Beverly Louise Neill], American actress (Gunsmoke), dies at 60
  • Aug 17 Harry Corbett, English puppeteer (Sooty), TV presenter and magician, dies at 71
  • Aug 18 Bert Oosterbosch, Dutch cyclist, dies at 32
  • Aug 18 Imry Németh, Hungarian athlete (Olympic gold hammer throw 1948, bronze 1952; WR 1959 59.88m), dies at 72
  • Aug 18 Luis Carlos Galan, Colombian presidential candidate, murdered
  • Aug 20 George Adamson [Baba ya Simba - "Father of Lions"], British conservationist (Born Free), murdered in Kenya at 82
  • Aug 21 Raul Seixas, Brazilian rock singer-songwriter ("Mosca na Sopa" - "Fly In The Soup"), dies of pancreatitis at 44
  • Aug 22 Diana Vreeland, French-American fashion editor (Harper's Bazaar, Vogue), dies at 85

Huey P. Newton (1942-1989)

Aug 22 African-American activist, revolutionary and co-founder of the Black Panther Party, shot and murdered by Tyrone Robinson in the streets of Lower Bottoms, Oakland, California at 47

  • Aug 22 Johannes "Jan" Teulings, Dutch actor (Lentelied, The Three Wishes), dies of natural causes at 84
  • Aug 22 Robert Grondelaers, Belgian cyclist (b. 1933)
  • Aug 23 Helen le Clerq, Dutch dancer and choreographer, dies at 57
  • Aug 23 Mohammed Abed Elhai, Sudanese writer and academic (b. 1944)
  • Aug 23 R.D. Laing, Scottish psychiatrist (anti-psychiatry), and writer (The Politics of Experience and The Bird of Paradise), dies of a heart attack at 61
  • Aug 23 Yusef Hawkins, shot by 30 whites in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn NY in a racially motivated attack
  • Aug 25 Gunnar Johnsen Berg, Swiss-Danish composer (Cosmogonie), dies at 80
  • Aug 25 Roman Palester, Polish composer (The Weichsel), dies at 81
  • Aug 26 Henk Heidweiler, Suriname politician and diplomat (Ambassador to United Nations, 1968-75; Ambassador to United States, 1981-84; Ambassador to Netherlands, 1984-85), dies at 60
  • Aug 26 Henk Heidweiller, Suriname politician, dies (b. 1929)
  • Aug 26 Irving Stone, American writer (Love is Eternal, Lust for Life), dies at 86
  • Aug 28 Joseph Alsop, American political newspaper columnist (Men Around the President), dies at 78
  • Aug 29 Peter Scott, British naturalist and explorer, dies at 79
  • Aug 30 Dorothy Schiff, American owner and publisher (NY Post), dies at 86
  • Aug 30 Joe Collins, American baseball first baseman (World Series 1949–53, 56; New York Yankees), dies at 66
  • Aug 30 Joe De Santis, American actor, dies at 80
  • Aug 30 Seymour Krim, American journalist, essayist, and literary critic (b. 1922)