1989 CE

An earthquake strikes the San Francisco Bay Area, killing 63 people; the proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; the Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, causing a large oil spill; the fall of the Berlin Wall begins the downfall of Communism in Eastern Europe, and heralds German reunification; the United States invades Panama to depose Manuel Noriega; the Baltic Way led to the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the Soviet Union; the stands of Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, where the Hillsborough disaster occurred; students demonstrate in Tiananmen Square, Beijing; many are killed by forces of the Chinese Communist Party.; the state funeral procession of Hirohito

In the 1980s, the 20th century.

1989 at a glance

World population: about 5.23 billion Our World in Data
United States: Ronald Reagan, then George H. W. Bush (President) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
United Kingdom: Elizabeth II (Queen); Margaret Thatcher (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
Soviet Union: Mikhail Gorbachev (General Secretary); Mikhail Gorbachev (Chairman of the Supreme Soviet); Nikolai Ryzhkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
People's Republic of China: Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Zhao Ziyang (General Secretary); Jiang Zemin (General Secretary; Paramount Leader); Yang Shangkun (President); Li Peng (Premier) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
France: François Mitterrand (President); Michel Rocard (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
East Germany: Erich Honecker, then Egon Krenz, then Manfred Gerlach (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph, then Hans Modrow (Chairman) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
West Germany: Richard von Weizsäcker (President of West Germany); Helmut Kohl (Chancellor of West Germany) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
$1 in 1989: $2.72 in September 2026 dollars BLS CPI-U
Gallon of gas (U.S. average): $1.02 ($4.48 in September 2026) BLS
Most weeks at No. 1 in 1989: “Miss You Much” by Janet Jackson, 4 weeks Wikipedia rev. 1362809491

Who led every country in 1989 →Born in 1989? What it cost, who led, what was No. 1 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

February 3 – After a stroke, State President of South Africa P. W. Botha resigns as Leader of the National Party.source
February 6 – The Government of the People's Republic of Poland holds formal talks with representatives of Solidarity movement for the first time since 1981.source
15 February – 1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election: Sri Lanka holds their 9th parliamentary elections, with the ruling United National Party winning with a total of 125 seats.Sri Lanka source
February 20 – In Canada's Yukon Territory, the ruling New Democrats narrowly maintain control of the Yukon Legislative Assembly, winning 9 seats vs. the Progressive Conservative Party's 7.source
February 23 - The Muslim rebels set up an interim government in Pakistan. After three weeks of fractious debate, an assembly of 440 delegates elects an interim government with Sibghatullah Mojadedi, considered a moderate, as president. Rasul Sayaf, a hard-line fundamentalist from the Ittehad-i-Islami rebel group, is elected prime minister. Afghan Shi`ite guerrillas, most of whom are in Iran, boycott the assembly after the Pakistan-based rebels, the majority of whom are Sunnites, refused to give them the representation they sought. The Shi`ites constitute only 17% of the Afghan population but make up 40% of the refugees, who provide many of the guerrillas. The rebel government is officially recognized by Saudi Arabia on March 9, and Bahrain, Malaysia, and The Sudan also announce their recognition. The U.S. and Pakistan, the rebels' main backers, withhold recognition until a functioning administration is established, but the U.S. names a special presidential envoy to the Afghanistan resistance, with the rank of ambassador.Afghanistan source
March 1 – The Berne Convention, an international treaty on copyrights, is ratified by the United States.source
March 7 – Iran breaks off diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom over Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.source
March 15 – Israel hands over Taba to Egypt, ending a seven-year territorial dispute.source
1 April – Iraqi parliamentary election are held, as a result the Ba'ath Party won 207 of the 250 seats.Iraq source
April 5 – The Polish Government and the Solidarity trade union sign an agreement restoring Solidarity to legal status, and agreeing to hold democratic elections on June 4 (Polish Round Table Agreement), which initiates the 1989 revolution and the overthrow of communism in Central Europe.source
1 May: 1989 Paraguayan general electionParaguay source
June 4 – 1989 Polish legislative election: Solidarity's victory in the first round is the first of many anti-communist revolutions of 1989 in Central and Eastern Europe.source
June 18 – In the first Greek legislative election of the year, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, led by Prime Minister of Greece Andreas Papandreou, loses control of the Hellenic Parliament.source
July 12 – In the Republic of Ireland, the Taoiseach Charles Haughey returns to power after Fianna Fáil forms a coalition with the Progressive Democrats.source
July 28 – At the Iranian presidential election, electors overwhelmingly elect Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as President of Iran and endorse changes to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, increasing the powers of the president.source
August 7 – The presidents of five Central American countries agree that the U.S.-backed contras fighting the government of Nicaragua should be disbanded and evicted from their bases in Honduras by December 5.source
August 23 – Singing Revolution: Two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania join hands to demand freedom and independence from Soviet occupation, forming an uninterrupted 600 km human chain called the Baltic Way.source
31 August - The separatist group Patani Malays People's Consultative Council is founded.Thailand source
September 6 – 1989 South African general election, the last held under the apartheid system, returns the National Party to power with a much-reduced majority.source
September 6 – In the 1989 Dutch general election, the Christian Democratic Appeal, led by Ruud Lubbers wins 54 seats, and is ultimately able to form a government on November 7 after entering into coalition with the Labour Party.source
September 20 – F. W. de Klerk is sworn in as the seventh and last State President of South Africa. Soon afterwards he determines to suspend the South African nuclear weapons program.source
21 September – Palestinian president Yasser Arafat holds a press conference with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, after having a meeting with him, where he endorses open talks with Israel, urges citizens to resist the most recent crackdown on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and answers and debates with Israeli journalists.Palestine source
September 28 – The Parliament of Greece indicted former Prime Minister of Greece Andreas Papandreou and four of his ministers in connection to the Koskotas scandal.source
October 1 – Civil union between partners in a same-sex relationship becomes legal in Denmark under a law enacted on June 7, the world's first such legislation.source
October 13 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, leader of the Labour Party, resigns as Prime Minister of Norway. She is succeeded by Jan P. Syse, Leader of the Conservative Party, on October 16.source
October 17 - Egypt and Libya re-establish diplomatic relations that had been cut off in 1977.Libya source
19 November – 1989 North Korean local electionsNorth Korea source
November 28 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces they will give up their monopoly on political power (elections held in December bring the first non-Communist government to Czechoslovakia in more than forty years).source
December 10 – Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announces the establishment of Mongolia's democratic movement, that peacefully changes the second-oldest Communist country into a democracy.source
December 14 – Chile holds its first free election in sixteen years, electing Patricio Aylwin as president. This marks the first time that all Ibero-American nations, except Cuba, have elected constitutional governments simultaneously.source
December 17 – Brazil holds the second round of its first free election in 29 years; Fernando Collor de Mello is elected to serve as president from 1990.source
December 31 – Poland's president signs the Balcerowicz Plan, ending the Communist system in Poland in favor of a capitalist system, leading to abandonment of the Warsaw Pact.source

Conflict & Security

January 13 – Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is expelled to Senegal from Zaire after using a fake Zairean passport in an attempt to return to Uganda. Amin is eventually expelled from Senegal and subsequently returns to Zaire after the Saudi government refuses to allow him in Saudi Arabia.source
February 2 – Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet Union armoured column leaves Kabul, ending nine years of military occupation since 1979.source
March 9 – Revolutions of 1989: The Soviet Union submits to the jurisdiction of the World Court.source
March 14 – General Michel Aoun declares a "War of Liberation" to rid Lebanon of Syrian forces and their allies.source
March 14 – Gun control: U.S. President George H. W. Bush bans the importation of certain guns deemed "assault weapons" into the United States.source
April 27 – A major demonstration occurs in Beijing as part of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.source
May 19 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: Zhao Ziyang meets the demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.source
May 19 – 1989 Ürümqi unrest: Uyghur and Hui Muslim protesters riot in front of the government building in Ürümqi, China.source
19 May – First Intifada: The Palestinian leader Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, was arrested by Israel. Yassin was later on sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in attacks against Israelis.Palestine source
May 24 – Assassinations of Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson: A terrorist organization, Zarate Willka Armed Forces of Liberation, kills two American missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they return to their apartment, in La Paz, Bolivia.source
May 26 – Arsenal F.C. defeat Liverpool F.C. by 2 goals to nil at Anfield, in the final game of the season, to win the Football League First Division.source
May 29 – An attempted assassination of Miguel Maza Marquez, director of the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS) in Bogotá, Colombia is committed by members of the Medellín Cartel, who kill four and injure 37.source
June 4 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre: A violent military crackdown takes place on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.source
June 5 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: An unknown Chinese protester, "Tank Man", stands in front of a column of military tanks on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, temporarily halting them, an incident which achieves iconic status internationally through images taken by Western photographers.source
July 6 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack, the first Palestinian suicide attack on Israel, takes place.source
The Kabul regime successfully pushes back rebel forces from the strategic city of Jalalabad. Jalalabad, 70 km west of the Pakistani border, is the country's third largest city.Afghanistan source
8 August –the Victory Arch monument is opened to the public in honor of the Iraqi soldiers who fell during the Iran–Iraq War, which concluded a year earlier.Iraq source
11 August- In Dhaka, the Bangabandhu Bhaban, the residence of Sheikh Hasina was attacked with gunfire and bombs by activists of Bangladesh Freedom Party.Bangladesh source
August 31 – In the aftermath of the Chadian–Libyan conflict of 1978–87, representatives of Libya and Chad agree to let the International Court of Justice determine ownership of the Aouzou Strip, which has been occupied by Libya since 1973.source
3 September – El Espectador offices in Bogotá are bombed, killing at least one person and injuring over 80.Colombia source
September 26 – Vietnam announces that it has withdrawn the last of its troops from the State of Cambodia, ending an eleven-year occupation.source
20 October–27 October – The South Asian Games take place in Islamabad.Pakistan source
November 1 – The President of Nicaragua ends a ceasefire with U.S.-backed contras that has been in effect since April 1988.source
November 17 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – A peaceful student demonstration in Prague, Czechoslovakia, is severely beaten back by riot police. This sparks a revolution aimed at overthrowing the Communist government (it succeeds on December 29).source
November 20 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution – The number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia, swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million.source
December 1 – A military coup attempt begins in the Philippines against the government of Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino. It is crushed by United States intervention ending by December 9.source
December 2 – The Second Malayan Emergency concludes with a peace agreement. The Malayan Communist Party disbands and Chin Peng remains in exile in Thailand until his death in 2013.source
December 3 – Cold War: Malta Summit – Concluding a 2-day meeting off the coast of Malta, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the Cold War between their nations may be coming to an end. Gorbachev implies criticism of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.source
December 20 – The United States invasion of Panama ("Operation Just Cause") is launched in an attempt to overthrow Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.source
December 22 – After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu takes over as President of Romania, ending the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu, who flees his palace in a helicopter after the palace is invaded by rioters. Most of the army has joined with the rioters in Bucharest.source
2–3 February: 1989 Paraguayan coup d'étatParaguay source
Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil WarSri Lanka source

Exploration & Expansion

21 February – Tradewinds starts its first flight, which is formed in 1975 as a hotelier.Singapore source
8 March – PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat visits Pakistan and lays the cornerstone for a Palestinian embassy in Islamabad.Palestine source
April 9 – Moshe Ziffer (born 1902), Austro-Hungarian (Galicia)-born Israeli sculptor.Israel source
15 April – Malacca Town became a historical city and also a sister city of Kuala Lumpur.Malaysia source
May 14 – Mikhail Gorbachev visits China, the first Soviet leader to do so since Nikita Khrushchev in the 1960s, ending the Sino-Soviet split.source
May 14 — Mikhail Gorbachev visits China, ending the Sino-Soviet split.Soviet Union source
8 July – The opening of Formosa Fun Coast in Bali Township, Taipei County.Taiwan source
July 9–12 – U.S. President George H. W. Bush travels to Poland and Hungary, pushing for U.S. economic aid and investment.source
23 August – Two million indigenous people of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, then still occupied by the Soviet Union, joined hands to demand freedom and independence, forming an uninterrupted 600 km human chain called the Baltic Way.Estonia source
September 10 – The Hungarian government opens the country's western border (with Austria) to refugees from East Germany.source
September 30 – Nearly 7,000 East Germans who had come to Prague are allowed to leave for the West on special refugee trains.source
October – Cold War: Perestroika – Nathan's Famous opens a hot dog stand in Moscow.source
November 1 – The border between East Germany and Czechoslovakia is reopened.source
November 3 – East German refugees arrive at the West German town of Hof after being allowed through Czechoslovakia.source
November 16 – The first American cosmetics shop in the Soviet Union, an Estée Lauder outlet, opens in Moscow.source
December 11 – The International Trans-Antarctica Expedition, a group of six explorers from six nations, reaches the South Pole.source
1989 Tournament of the Americas in Mexico City.Mexico source

Religion & Belief

February 11 – Barbara Harris is the first woman consecrated as a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (and also the first woman to become a bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion).source
February 24 – The Satanic Verses controversy: Iran places a $3,000,000 bounty on the head of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.source
March 31 – The famous alleged Marian apparition in Agoo, La Union to Judiel Nieva, a teenager who later become a transgender took place. It was said that the Blessed Virgin appeared on a guava tree, delivering messages and prophecies to Judiel. It became a highly sensational event for many Filipino Catholics as millions of pilgrims came to Agoo to see the phenomena like the "sun dancing", a statue of the Virgin Mary crying tears of blood, etc. The events in Agoo drew the attention of Catholic hierarchy in Rome, which conducted a thorough investigation on the events. In 1993, the events of Agoo apparitions are declared "non constat de supernaturalitate" (condemned) by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and the judgment of Bishop Salvador L. Lazo of San Fernando diocese who was its Ordinary during the phenomena.Philippines source
2 April – 1989 Palestinian presidential election: The Central Council of the Palestine National Council, the governing body of the PLO, elects Yasser Arafat as President of Palestine.Palestine source
April 26 – Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzudin Shah Ghafarullahu-lahu, Sultan of Perak, becomes the 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, succeeding Baginda Almutawakkil Alallah Sultan Iskandar Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail.source
June 1–10 – Pope John Paul II visits Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.source
September 19 – The Catholic Church calls for removal of the Carmelite convent located near the former Auschwitz concentration camp, whose presence has offended some Jewish leaders.source
30 October - Apparently as a reaction to the laying of the foundation of Ram temple adjacent to the disputed structure in Ayodhya in India, Hindu shops were looted and set on fire in Chittagong, in spite of a curfew. Hindu men and women were attacked and molested.Bangladesh source
1 November – The National Youth Council is formed as a division of the People's Association to work on youth matters.Singapore source
November 5 – Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir is attacked by Maronite demonstrators loyal to Michel Aoun and who reject the nomination of Rene Moawad as president of the country. One of the demonstrators asks the Patriarch to kiss the picture of General Aoun raised above his head, and many follow him saying: "Kiss the picture, kiss the picture". The Patriarch refuses. The scene is hysterical and tragic to the point that Archbishop Bechara Boutros al-Rahi leaves the Patriarch's side and heads to the church of the Patriarchate because he can no longer bear the sight.source
December 1 – In a meeting with Pope John Paul II, General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev pledges greater religious freedom for citizens of the Soviet Union.source
December 1 — In a meeting with Pope John Paul II, Mikhail Gorbachev pledges greater religious freedom for Soviet citizens.Soviet Union source
December 6 – Egon Krenz resigns as Chairman of the State Council of the German Democratic Republic, and is replaced by Manfred Gerlach, the first non-Communist to hold that post.source
22 December – Army units defect to the side of the demonstrators while the Ceaușescus flee and the Council of the National Salvation Front announces that it has overthrown the government.Romania source
Ólafur Skúlason became the twelfth Bishop of Iceland, succeeding Pétur Sigurgeirsson in the position.Iceland source
The founding of the kibbutz Neot Smadar.Israel source

Economy & Finance

January 15: Minister of Finance Maílson da Nóbrega launches Plano Verão and a new currency in the country, the Cruzado Novo (NCz$), which is equivalent to 1,000 Cruzados.Brazil source
February 13: National Intelligence Centre (Mexico) and the National Human Rights Commission (Mexico) are founded.Mexico source
February 21 – Moshe Unna (born 1902), German-born Israeli politician.Israel source
March 1 – The Political Party of Radicals, Pacifist Socialist Party, Communist Party of the Netherlands and the Evangelical People's Party amalgamate to form the Dutch political party GroenLinks (GL, GreenLeft).source
March 4 – Time Inc. and Warner Communications announce plans for a merger, forming Time Warner. (Now Warner Bros. Discovery)source
March – Poland begins to liberalise its currency exchange in a move towards capitalism.source
Six retired senior figures in the Romanian Communist Party, including Gheorghe Apostol and Silviu Brucan, write an open letter to Nicolae Ceaușescu. They call for the relaxation of Ceaușescu's demand for increased exports, the release of more food for internal consumption, the investment in new technology for the industries, the halt of a vastly expensive program of prestige projects of doubtful economic value and for the dictator to put an end to systematization.Romania source
April 1 – Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax (the poll tax) is introduced in Scotland. It will be introduced in England and Wales the following year.source
April 14 – The U.S. government seizes the Irvine, California, Lincoln Savings and Loan Association; Charles Keating (for whom the Keating Five are named) eventually goes to jail, as part of the massive 1980s savings and loan crisis which costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $200,000,000 in bailouts, and many people their life savings.source
April 23 – Zaid al-Rifai resigns as Prime Minister of Jordan in the wake of riots over government-imposed price hikes that began on April 18.source
April 25 – Noboru Takeshita resigns as Prime Minister of Japan in the wake of a stock-trading scandal.source
April 25: Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita announces his resignation following a stock-trading scandal.Japan source
May 29 – Amid food riots and looting set off by inflation, the Government of Argentina declares a nationwide state of siege.source
The Soviet Union issues its first Visa card in a step to digitalise its banking system.source
7 June - Short Brothers sold to Bombardier Aerospace.Northern Ireland source
August 9 – The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, a measure to rescue the United States savings and loan industry, is signed into law by President Bush, launching the largest federal rescue to date.source
17 September – Central Bank announces that rescheduled foreign debts have been repaid.Turkey source
September 23 – Nintendo Company Ltd. celebrates its 100th anniversary.source
October 13 – Friday the 13th mini-crash: The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 190.58 points, or 6.91 percent, to close at 2,569.26, most likely after the junk bond market collapses.source
December 25 – Bank of Japan governors announce a major interest rate hike, eventually leading to the peak and fall of the economic bubble.source
December 29 – Nikkei 225 for Tokyo Stock Exchange hits its all-time intra-day high of 38,957.44 and closing high at 38,915.87.source
Dražen Petrović Joins the National basketball association for the Portland Trail BlazersCroatia source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 1 – The New York Times discloses involvement of West German company Imhausen and Salzgitter AG in building a chemical weapon plant in Rabta, Libya.source
January 11 – The Lexus and Infiniti luxury car brands are launched at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit with the unveiling of the 1990 Lexus LS and Infiniti Q45 sedans.source
February 5 – Eurosport, a multiple-language sports broadcasting station in Europe, begins broadcasting, from Issy-les-Moulineaux, Île-de-France, France.source
8 March – Proton Saga Knight, the first Rally, Race, Research (R3) sports car was launched at Batu Tiga Circuit, Shah Alam.Malaysia source
8 March – The establishment of EVA Air.Taiwan source
April 21 – The Nintendo Game Boy has its first official release in Japansource
April 25 – Motorola introduces the Motorola MicroTAC personal cellular telephone, the world's smallest mobile phone at this time.source
April 26: The Dragon Ball Z anime series starts on Fuji TV.Japan source
May 2 – The first crack in the Iron Curtain: Hungary dismantles 240 km of barbed wire fencing along the border with Austria.source
May 3 – Cold War: Perestroika – The first McDonald's restaurant in the USSR begins construction in Moscow. It will open on January 31, 1990.source
May 25 – The Calgary Flames defeat the Montreal Canadiens four games to two to win the franchise's first Stanley Cup in ice hockey.source
June 3 – The world's first high-definition television (test) broadcasts commence in Japan, in analogue.source
June 4 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.source
July 17 – The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber makes its first flight, in the United States.source
August 8 — The Ministry of Gas Industry changes Gazprom, an energy production and sales organization to a state-run enterprise.Soviet Union source
August 24 – Indonesia's first commercial television network, RCTI (stands for Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia), is established, and went on air for the first time.source
August – Gazprom, an energy production and sales organization in Russia, becomes state-run enterprise, changing from the Soviet Ministry of Gas Industry.source
A group of 15 former top officials and military officers, having formed what they call a third force to try to bridge the gap between Kabul and the guerrillas, issues a manifesto calling for an end to both Soviet and U.S. interference. Calling themselves the National Salvation Society, most of them served the deposed King Zahir Shah, and the government does not oppose the group because it might help lure the 74-year-old former monarch home from exile in Italy. The king is still a popular figure in Afghanistan, and his return might lend Najibullah the legitimacy he seeks at home and abroad. The king's return might also fracture the squabbling rebel alliance, since the leaders of the seven Pakistan-based rebel groups range from bitter antimonarchists to former palace advisers.Afghanistan source
4 November – The sixth section of the MRT system is opened from Marina Bay to Tanah Merah.Singapore source
November 9 – Cold War and Fall of the Berlin Wall: East German official Günter Schabowski accidentally states in a live broadcast press conference that new rules for traveling from East Germany to West Germany will be put in effect "immediately". Late this evening, East Germany opens checkpoints in the Berlin Wall, allowing its citizens to travel freely to West Germany for the first time in decades. In the first week, travel visas will be issued to around 25% of the East German population. One of several significant events on 9 November in German history.source
November – The first commercial dial-up Internet connection in North America is made, by The World STD.source
December 22 – The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is reopened.source
HAVK Mladost became champion of Yugoslavia in water polo.Croatia source
Music group Café Tacuba is founded.Mexico source

Science & Discovery

19 January – Planetarium Sultan Iskandar in Kuching, Sarawak, the first planetarium in Malaysia was officially opened.Malaysia source
5 February – SES' Astra 1A satellite starts broadcasting, beginning SES's dominance of the European satellite communication market.Luxembourg source
February 14 – The first of 24 Global Positioning System satellites is placed into orbit.source
March 12 – Tim Berners-Lee produces the proposal document that will become the blueprint for the World Wide Web.source
March 22 – Asteroid 4581 Asclepius approaches the Earth at a distance of 700,000 km.source
March 23 – Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce that they have achieved cold fusion at the University of Utah.source
23 March - Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989Germany source
May 13 — Mikhail Gorbachev visits China, the first Soviet leader to do so since the 1960s.China source
July 12 – Lotte World, a major recreation complex in Seoul, South Korea, is opened to the public, containing the world's largest indoor amusement park.source
July 31 – Nintendo releases the Game Boy portable video game system in North America.source
August 1 – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is created through Republic Act No. 6734 also known as the Organic Act.Philippines source
August 8 – STS-28: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.source
August 9 – The asteroid 4769 Castalia is the first directly imaged by radar from Arecibo Observatory.source
August 25 – Voyager 2 makes its closest approach to Neptune and its largest moon Triton.source
October 9 – An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.source
October 9 — Voronezh UFO incidentSoviet Union source
October 18 – NASA launches the uncrewed Galileo orbiter on a mission to study the planet Jupiter, via Atlantis mission STS-34.source
October 21 – The Commonwealth Heads of Government issue the Langkawi Declaration on the Environment, making environmental sustainability one of the Commonwealth of Nations's main priorities.source
November 10 – Gaby Kennard becomes the first Australian woman to fly solo around the world.source
December 2 – The Solar Maximum Mission scientific research satellite, launched in 1980, crashes back to earth.source
17 December – 1989 Intercontinental Cup.Colombia source
The science-fiction film Shaani is released.Pakistan source

Health & Medicine

January 4 – Dvora Netzer (born 1897), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli politician.Israel source
February 1 – In Australia, Joan Kirner becomes Victoria's first female Deputy Premier, after the resignation of Robert Fordham over the VEDC (Victorian Economic Development Co-operation) Crisis.source
1 February – The Malaysian National Speed Limit was enforced.Malaysia source
February 2 – An ailing State President Pieter Willem Botha steps down from the leadership of the National Party, but remains state president.South Africa source
February 7: Last public performance by singer Misora Hibari held in Kitakyushu.Japan source
March 1 – A curfew is imposed in Kosovo, where protests continue over the alleged intimidation of the Serb minority.source
March 22 – Clint Malarchuk of the NHL Buffalo Sabres suffers a near-fatal injury when another player accidentally slits his throat.source
May 20 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: The Chinese government declares martial law in Beijing.source
May 20 — Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The Chinese government declares martial law in Beijing.China source
Transhumanism: Genetic modification of adult human beings is tried for the first time, a gene tagging trial.source
August 8 – Prime Minister of New Zealand David Lange resigns for health reasons and is replaced by Geoffrey Palmer.source
October 3 – The government of East Germany closes the country's border with Czechoslovakia to prevent further emigration to the West.source
December 21 – Nicolae Ceaușescu addresses an assembly of some 110,000 people outside the Romanian Communist Party headquarters in Bucharest. Unprecedentedly, most of the crowd turns against him.source
31 December – Singapore Indoor Stadium was officially opened in an inaugural ceremony by the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.Singapore source
The Atlantis Primal Therapy Commune moves to Colombia from Ireland.Colombia source
VeniceArrhythmias, a biannual international workshop on cardiac arrhythmias, is founded.Italy source

Crime & Justice

January 29 – The two longest-imprisoned German WWII war criminals in Western Europe, Ferdinand aus der Fünten and Franz Fischer (collectively known as The Breda Two), were released from Dutch prison.source
February 17 – South African police raid the home of Winnie Mandela and arrest four of her bodyguards.source
March 3 – Jammu Siltavuori abducts and murders two eight-year-old girls in the Myllypuro suburb of Helsinki, Finland.source
April 6 – National Safety Council of Australia chief executive John Friedrich is arrested after defrauding investors to the tune of $235,000,000.source
9 April - Munir Hussain, a wealthy industrialist, kills his wife Sharmin Rima after only four months of marriage. The murder and subsequent trial generates widespread public comment.Bangladesh source
10 April – Lone gunman wearing an Israeli army-issue uniform shot down four Arabs outside Jerusalem's Old City with a sub-machine gun. Sicarii claims responsibility for the shooting.Palestine source
April 19 – Central Park jogger case: Trisha Meili is seriously assaulted and raped whilst jogging in New York City's Central Park; the convictions of five teenagers for the crime are vacated in 2002 (the jogger's identity remains secret for years, hence she is referred to as the "Central Park Jogger").source
May 4 – Oliver North is convicted in the United States on charges related to the Iran–Contra affair. His conviction is vacated on appeal in 1991.source
July 26 – A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert Tappan Morris for releasing a computer virus, making him the first person to be prosecuted under the United States' 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.source
July 27 – In the largest prison sentence to date, Thai financial scammer Mae Chamoy Thipyaso and her accomplices are each sentenced to 141,078 years in prison.source
July 28 – Satur Ocampo, leader of the National Democratic Front and chief rebel negotiator in peace talks, and his wife Carolina Malay, both former journalists, are arrested. They have been charged in court on July 24 for allegedly leading the execution of suspected military spies in Quezon.Philippines source
July 31 – In Lebanon, Hezbollah announces that it has hanged U.S. Marine Lt. Col. William R. Higgins in retaliation for Israel's July 28 kidnapping of Hezbollah leader Abdel Karim Obeid. The same day, the United Nations Security Council passes United Nations Security Council Resolution 638, condemning the taking of hostages by both sides in the conflict.source
August 5 – Park Avenue Joe is finally declared the winner after finishing in a dead heat with Probe in the Hambletonian Stakes for parimutuel and prize money purposes, based on the two heat and runoff format, based on average finish.source
August 19–21 – In response to the murder of a judge, a provincial police chief, and presidential candidate Galán, the authorities of Colombia arrest 11,000 suspected Colombian drug traffickers.source
August 20 – In Beverly Hills, California, Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot their wealthy parents to death in the family's den.source
August 23 – Murder of Yusef Hawkins in a shooting in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, sparking racial tensions between African Americans and Italian Americans.source
September 14 – Standard Gravure shooting: Joseph T. Wesbecker, a pressman on disability for mental illness, enters his former workplace in Louisville, Kentucky, kills eight people and injures twelve before committing suicide after a history of suicidal ideation.source
September 19 – Burkinabé ministers Jean-Baptiste Boukary Lingani and Henri Zongo executed following their arrest the previous day.source
October 15 – Walter Sisulu is released from prison in South Africa.source
23 November – During the XIV Congress of the RCP, first shift workers from Timișoara Mechanical Works try to organize a revolt against the communist regime. Their movement is quelled by the Securitate organs.Romania source
December 6 – École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders fourteen young women at the École Polytechnique de Montréal.source
December 23 – Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu are captured in Târgoviște.source
December 25 – Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu: Deposed Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife are summarily tried and executed outside Bucharest.source
December 25 — Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife are captured and executed in the Romanian revolution.Soviet Union source
Davor Šuker was the highest scoring player in Yugoslavia's First Federal League, with 18 goals for NK Osijek.Croatia source
The last known use of the Capital punishment in LaosLaos source
Sultan of Pahang: Sultan Ahmad ShahMalaysia source

Disasters & Accidents

January 4 – Gulf of Sidra incident (1989): Two Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are engaged and shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcats.source
February 14 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470,000,000 to the Indian government for damages in the 1984 Bhopal disaster, a gas leak that killed 3.7 thousand.source
February 16 – Pan Am Flight 103: Investigators announce that the cause of the 1988 crash was a bomb hidden inside a radio-cassette player.source
February 24 – United Airlines Flight 811, a Boeing 747, suffers uncontrolled decompression after leaving Honolulu International Airport; nine passengers are blown out of the cabin to their deaths.source
March 4 – The Purley station rail crash in London leaves five people dead and 94 injured.source
March 17 – The Civic Tower of Pavia, built in the eleventh century, collapses.source
March 24 – Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels of oil after running aground.source
April 7 – The Soviet submarine K-278 Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea, killing 41.source
April 15 – The Hillsborough disaster, one of the biggest tragedies in European football, claims the lives of 94 Liverpool F.C. supporters in Sheffield, England, a further three dying later.source
April 19 – The USS Iowa turret explodes on the U.S. battleship Iowa, killing 47 crew members.source
May 12–25 – San Bernardino train disaster: Southern Pacific freight locomotive SP 7551 East derails in a residential area of San Bernardino, California, killing four and destroying seven houses. On May 25, as a direct result of the derailment, the Calnev Pipeline explodes, killing an additional two people and destroying eleven more houses and 21 cars.source
30 May – A car bomb containing 220 lbs of dynamite explodes in Bogotá. It kills 5, not including the intended target Miguel Maza Márquez, and injures over 100.Colombia source
June 7 – Surinam Airways Flight 764 crashes in Paramaribo, Suriname, killing 176.source
June 8 – The wreck of German battleship Bismarck, which was sunk in 1941, is located about 600 mi west of Brest, France.source
July 10 — 300,000 Siberian coal miners go on strike, demanding better living conditions and less bureaucracy.Soviet Union source
July 19 – United Airlines Flight 232 (Douglas DC-10) crashes in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 112; 184 on board survive.source
August 7 – U.S. Representative Mickey Leland (D-TX) and fifteen others die in a plane crash in Ethiopia.source
August 13 – 1989 Alice Springs hot air balloon crash: An accident near Alice Springs, Australia kills thirteen people.source
August 20 – Marchioness disaster: Fifty-one people die when a pleasure boat collides with a dredger on the River Thames adjacent to Southwark Bridge in London.source
September 8 – Partnair Flight 394 crashes into the North Sea with the loss of 125 lives. The accident was due to the structural failure of the rudder of the Convair 580 caused by the use of counterfeit aircraft parts.source
10 September - A Romanian cruiser carrying 179 people collides with a Bulgarian tugboat on the Danube, near Galați. Only 18 people are rescued from the cruiser.Romania source
September 19 – UTA Flight 772 explodes over Niger, killing all 171 people on board (the Islamic Jihad Organization claims responsibility).source
September 19 - UTA Flight 772 is blown up over Niger, killing all 170 passengers and crew on board. Libya was accused of involvement in the bombing, and later compensated the victims' families, although Libya did not accept responsibility.Libya source
19 October - Vandellòs I nuclear accident: a fire breaks out in one of the nuclear plant's generators killing 31 employees and firefighters and exposing 130,000 people to radiation.Spain source
22 October – 1989 De Meer nail bombsNetherlands source
October 23 – The Phillips disaster, a chemical plant explosion, in Pasadena, Texas, kills 23 and injures 314 others.source
26 October – The crash of China Airlines Flight 204 in Hualien County.Taiwan source
October 28 – Aloha Island Air Flight 1712, a Twin Otter 300, crashed into mountainous terrain at night during an approach to Molokai Airport killing all 20 occupants on board.source
November 9 — Soviet power in Eastern Europe collapses with the Fall of the Berlin Wall.Soviet Union source
11 November - An Islamist mob attacked Hindu shops and temples in Narsingdi. More than 25 Hindu-owned shops were set on fire and images in three temples were smashed.Bangladesh source
November 27 – Colombian domestic passenger flight Avianca Flight 203 is bombed by the Medellín drug cartel in an (unsuccessful) attempt to kill presidential candidate for the 1990 elections César Gaviria Trujillo. All 107 people on board as well as three people on the ground are killed.source
December 12 – Hong Kong begins the forcible repatriation of Vietnamese boat people, starting with a group of 59 who are flown to Hanoi.source
December 22 – Two tourist coaches collide on the Pacific highway north of Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia, killing 35 people.source

Climate & Environment

February–March - Beginning of the 1989–1990 Dutch farmers' protestsNetherlands source
March 13 – A geomagnetic storm causes the collapse of the Hydro-Québec power grid. 6,000,000 people are left without power for nine hours. Some areas in the northeastern U.S. and in Sweden also lose power, and aurorae are seen as far as Texas.source
5 April – The National Disaster Office (ONAD) declares a yellow alert status (2nd of the 4 levels) due to seismic activity from the Galeras stratovolcano.Colombia source
April 26 – The Daulatpur–Saturia tornado, the deadliest tornado ever recorded, kills an estimated 1,300 people in the Dhaka Division of Bangladesh.source
26 April - A tornado struck Manikganj District destroying around 90 percent of homes in 153 villages. The death-count was almost 600.Bangladesh source
May 1 – Andrés Rodríguez, who seized power and declared himself President of Paraguay during a military coup in February, wins a landslide victory at a general election marked by charges of fraud.source
May 2 – The coalition government of Prime Minister of the Netherlands Ruud Lubbers collapses in a dispute about a pollution cleanup plan.source
May 15 – The last golden toad is seen in Costa Rica; the species is subsequently classified as extinct.source
June 15 – At the 1989 Irish general election, Fianna Fáil, led by Taoiseach Charles Haughey, fails to win a majority.source
September 10–11 – Norway's ruling Labour Party loses eight seats in the parliamentary elections, its worst showing since 1945.source
10 September – The landfall of Typhoon Sarah.Taiwan source
September 17–22 – Hurricane Hugo devastates the Caribbean and the southeastern United States, causing at least 71 deaths and $8,000,000,000 in damages.source
October 1–13 – Typhoons Angela (Rubing), Dan (Saling), and Elsie (Tasing) impact the country in two weeks.Philippines source
October 17 – The 6.9 Mw Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Coast with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Sixty-three people are killed and the 1989 World Series in baseball is postponed for ten days as a result of the earthquake.source
November 4 – Typhoon Gay devastates Thailand's Chumphon Province.source
4 November - Typhoon Gay makes landfall in Chumphon Province after having surprised forecasters in its development.Thailand source
December 28 – The Ml Newcastle earthquake affected New South Wales, Australia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 13 people dead and 160 injured.source
Dražen Petrović, Toni Kukoč, Dino Rađa, Stojko Vranković, Zoran Čutura, Zdravko Radulović were members of the Yugoslavian team which won EuroBasket 1989.Croatia source
Sultan of Kelantan: Sultan Ismail PetraMalaysia source

Culture & Society

14 January – Estonian Olympic Committee is re-established. Now Estonian athletes can compete under Estonian flag.Estonia source
February 14 – The Satanic Verses controversy: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran (died June 3), issues a fatwa calling for the death of Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers for issuing the novel The Satanic Verses (1988).source
February 24 – Singing Revolution: After 44 years, the Estonian flag is raised at the Pikk Hermann tower in Tallinn.source
February 24 – The state funeral of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) in Tokyo is attended by leaders and representatives of 160 nations.source
March 1 – After 74 years, Iceland ends its prohibition on beer; celebrated since as bjórdagur or beer day.source
March 20 – Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke weeps on national television as he admits marital infidelity.source
March 29 – The 61st Academy Awards are held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Rain Man winning Best Picture, and Jodie Foster wins her first award for Best Actress.source
April 21 – Students from Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an and Nanjing begin protesting in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.source
May 15 – Australia's first private tertiary institution, Bond University, opens on the Gold Coast.source
May 17 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: More than 1,000,000 Chinese protesters march through Beijing demanding greater democracy, leading to a crackdown.source
May 29 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: The 10 m high Goddess of Democracy statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.source
June 16 – A crowd of 250,000 gathers at Heroes Square in Budapest for the historic reburial of Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian Prime Minister who had been executed in 1958.source
June 22 – The University of Limerick and Dublin City University are raised to the status of universities, the first established in Ireland since independence in 1922.source
June 22 – British police arrest 260 people celebrating the summer solstice at Stonehenge.source
July 14 – France celebrated the bicentennial of the French Revolution, notably with a monumental show on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, directed by French designer Jean-Paul Goude. President François Mitterrand acted as host for invited world leaders.source
August 19 – The Pan-European Picnic, a peace demonstration, is held at the Austro-Hungarian border.source
September 22 – Doe v. University of Michigan: A Michigan court rules against the hate speech law at the University of Michigan, claiming it unconstitutional.source
September 27 – The constitutional amendments were approved by Assembly of Socialist Republic of Slovenia which changed the anthem from Naprej zastava slave to Zdravljica and League of Communists of Slovenia ended the monopoly power and reintroduced Parliamentary democracy to the republic.source
October 7 – The communist Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party votes to reorganise itself as a socialist party, to be named the Hungarian Socialist Party.source
15 October – 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off).Colombia source
November 7 – David Dinkins becomes the first African-American mayor of New York City.source
November 10 – After 45 years of Communist rule in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Communist Party leader Todor Zhivkov is replaced by Foreign Minister Petar Mladenov, who changes the party's name to the Bulgarian Socialist Party.source
November 13 – Hans-Adam II becomes Prince of Liechtenstein on the death of his father, Prince Franz Joseph II.source
November 17 – Walt Disney Pictures 28th animated film, The Little Mermaid and United Artists's All Dogs Go to Heaven are both released in theatres.source
December 17 – The first full-length episode of the animated series of The Simpsons, created by Matt Groening made its debut on FOX in the United States with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".source
December 19 – Romanian Revolution: Workers in the cities go on strike in protest against the Communist regime. On December 20 about 100,000 occupy Timișoara.source
Mohammedan SC won Bangladesh Federation Cup title.Bangladesh source
Académica do Mindelo won the Cape Verdean Football ChampionshipCape Verde source
Kormakitis FC, a Cypriot association football club based in Kormakitis, was founded.Cyprus source
The Iraqi University is established.Iraq source
1–8 July 1989: 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in PyongyangNorth Korea source
Agenda Diplomática magazine is first published.Peru source

Births

29 January – Maria Kakiou, rhythmic gymnastGreece source
5 July - Dejan Lovren, footballerCroatia source
1 September – Mohammed Assaf, Palestinian pop singer and winner of the 2nd season of Arab idol.Palestine source
3 September – Rayan al-Kildani, Iraqi Assyrian politician.Iraq source

Deaths

January 7 – Emperor Hirohito dies; his son Akihito ascends as the 125th Emperor of Japan, followed by the change in the era name from Shōwa to Heisei on the following day.source
January 7 – Hirohito, 87, longest reigning Emperor of Japan (since 1926), cancer.source
January 24 – Ted Bundy, 42, American serial killer, executed.source
April 9 – Tbilisi massacre: Georgian demonstrators are massacred by Soviet Army soldiers in Tbilisi's central square during a peaceful rally; 20 citizens are killed, many injured. This causes further protests.source
April 15 – Hu Yaobang, the former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, dies. The public reaction to his death spawned a chain of events which led to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.source
15 April – 94 fans are killed in a crush during the FA Cup semi-final at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield during the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest FC and Liverpool F.C. Around 300 others have been hospitalized. Several of those injured are in a serious condition and there are fears that the death toll (already the worst of any sporting disaster in Britain) could rise even higher. The youngest victim is a 10-year-old boy, the oldest is 67-year-old Gerard Baron, brother of the late former Liverpool player Kevin Baron.England source
4 May – Adnan Khayr Allah, Iraqi military officer and politician. (b.1940)Iraq source
June 3 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 86 or 89, Iranian religious leader, Supreme Leader of Iran, heart attack.source
June 4 – 1989 Iranian supreme leader election: Ali Khamenei is elected Supreme Leader of Iran after announcing the death of Ruhollah Khomeini the day before.source
June 5 – State funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini: Eight people are killed and hundreds injured in a human crush during the viewing of the body of Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini at the Musalla in Tehran, two days after his death at the age of 89 in Tehran.source
6 July – Tel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405 attack: The first Palestinian Arab suicide attack is carried out inside Israel's borders on a crowded Egged bus when a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member seizes the steering wheel from the driver and pulls the bus over a steep precipice into a ravine in the area of Qiryat Ye'arim. 16 passengers are killed.Palestine source
July 11 – Laurence Olivier, 82, English actor and director (Hamlet, Wuthering Heights, Rebecca), renal failure.source
July 21 – Philippine Airlines Flight 124 crashes on approach at Ninoy Aquino International Airport while attempting to land and overrun the runway, everyone survives in the crash but eight people are killed on the ground.source
July 27 - Korean Air Flight 803 crashes on approach to Tripoli International Airport, 74 of the 199 people on board the plane were killed, as well as six people on ground.Libya source
August 18 – Leading Colombian presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá.source
September 28 – Ferdinand Marcos, 72, Filipino dictator, politician and statesman, President of the Philippines, cardiac arrest.source
9 November - Nenad Petrović, chess problemist (born 1907)Croatia source
November 16 – Six Jesuit priests are murdered by U.S. trained Salvadoran soldiers.source
December 25 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, 71, presidentsource