1989

**1989** (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday in the Gregorian calendar.  A wave of counter revolutions led to the end of the Eastern Bloc and the Cold War during the year.

## Events

- January 7 – Akihito becomes Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito. The Heisei period begins.
- January 8 – the Kegworth Air Disaster – A British Midland Boeing 737 crashes on approach to East Midlands Airport – 44 dead
- January 10 – Cuban troops begin withdrawing from Angola
- January 10 – Assistant Australian Federal Police commissioner Colin Winchester is shot dead in the driveway of his Canberra home.
- January 17 – A gunman kills 5 children, wounds 30 and then shoots himself in Stockton, California.
- January 20 – George Herbert Walker Bush succeeds Ronald Wilson Reagan as President of the United States of America
- January 24 – Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida's electric chair
- January 30 – American Olympic medalist Bruce Kimball is sentenced to 17 years in prison for killing two teenagers in a drunk driving accident.
- February 3 – Paraguayan leader Alfredo Stroessner is removed from office.
- February 14 – Iran issues a fatwa (death warrant) against the writer Salman Rushdie for his novel, The Satanic Verses.
- March 24 – The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs at Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. Until 2010 it is the worst oil spill in United States history.
- May - Tornadoes hit Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
- June 4 – Protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, are brutally crushed. An image of a lone protestor defying a tank is shown worldwide.
- August – First sighting of the Aurora, a supposed hypersonic aircraft
- September - Hurricane Hugo strikes the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina and North Carolina. The hurricane causes $8 billion in damage in the United States, about $10 billion in total. Many people die from this hurricane.
- October 17 – A major earthquake strikes San Francisco, California.
- October 18 – East Germany's leader Erich Honecker resigns.
- November 2 – Bad Religion releases _No Control_, which is considered one of the band's best known works in the history of punk music, along with its predecessor _Suffer_, which came out in the previous year.
- November 17 – The Berlin Wall in Germany starts to come down.
- December 17 – The television series _The Simpsons_ premieres on FOX as a full animated series with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
- December 22 – The main crossing from East into West Berlin is officially reopened.
- December 22 – In Romania, Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu is removed from office.
- December 25 – Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena are executed by a firing squad.

## Births

- January 9 – Nina Dobrev, Canadian actress
- January 23 – April Pearson, British actress
- February 3 – Vania King, American tennis player
- February 9 – Shunta Takahashi, Japanese footballer
- February 18 – Zhang Li Yin, Chinese singer
- February 21 – Corbin Bleu, American actor
- March 12 – Holger Badstuber, German footballer
- March 13 – Marko Marin, German footballer
- March 14 – Ryohei Yamazaki, Japanese footballer
- March 16 – Theo Walcott, English footballer
- March 19 – James Richman, Latvian-born investor
- March 20 – Keisuke Endo, Japanese footballer
- March 28 – David Goodwillie, Scottish footballer
- April 8 – Koki Otani, Japanese footballer
- April 23 – Nicole Vaidisova, German tennis player
- May 5 – Chris Brown, American singer
- May 11 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer
- May 17 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer
- June 2 – Freddy Adu, American footballer
- June 10 – Alexandra Stan, Romanian singer and songwriter
- June 11 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
- July 16 – Gareth Bale, Welsh footballer
- June 28 – Markiplier, American YouTube personality
- July 23 – Daniel Radcliffe, British actor
- August 15 – Joe Jonas, American singer and actor
- August 21 – Hayden Panettiere, American actress
- August 30 – Bebe Rexha, American singer and songwriter
- September 1 – Bill & Tom Kaulitz, German singers
- September 10 – Sanjaya Malakar, American singer
- September 13 – Thomas Mueller, German footballer
- September 21 – Jason Derulo, American singer
- September 21 – Emma Watkins, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
- September 23 – Brandon Jennings, American basketball player
- October 4 – Kimmie Meissner, American ice skater
- October 13 – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, American politician and activist
- October 24 – Pewdiepie, Swedish YouTube personality
- October 30 – Seth Adkins, American actor
- October 30 – Nastia Liukin, American gymnast
- November 11 – Patrick Starrr, American YouTube personality
- December 13 – Taylor Swift, American pop singer
- December 22 – Jordin Sparks, American singer
- December 28 – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress
- December 30 – Natasha Baker, English para-equestrian

### January

- January 4 - Junko furuta, Japanese schoolgirl (b. 1971)
- January 7 – Hirohito, Emperor of Japan (b. 1901)
- January 23 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter (b. 1904)
- January 24 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)

### February

- February 6 – Chris Gueffroy, last person to be shot at the Berlin Wall (b. 1968)
- February 17 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- February 26 – Roy Eldridge, American jazz musician (b. 1911)
- February 27 – Konrad Lorenz, German scientist (b. 1903)

### April

- April 12 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
- April 22 - Emilio G. Segre, Italian-American physicist (b. 1905)
- April 26 – Lucille Ball, American actress (b. 1911)
- April 30 – Sergio Leone, movie director (b. 1929)

### May

- May 20 – Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (b. 1946)

### June

- June 3 – Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran (b. 1900)
- June 30 – Hilmar Baunsgaard, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1920)

### July

- July 2 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet politician (b. 1909)
- July 10 – Mel Blanc, American actor (b. 1908)
- July 11 – Laurence Olivier, British actor (b. 1907)
- July 16 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (b. 1908)

### August

- August 12 – William Shockley, American physicist (b. 1910)

### September

- September 4 – Georges Simenon, Belgian writer (b. 1903)
- September 8 – Barry Sadler, American musician (b. 1940)
- September 22 – Irving Berlin, Russian-born composer (b. 1888)
- September 28 – Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines (b. 1917)

### October

- October 4 – Graham Chapman, English comedian (b. 1941)
- October 6 – Bette Davis, American actress (b. 1908)

### November

- November 5 – Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born pianist (b. 1903)
- November 30 – Ahmadou Ahidjo, 1st President of Cameroon (b. 1924)

### December

- December 14 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet physicist and activist (b. 1921)
- December 22 – Samuel Beckett, Irish playwright (b. 1906)
- December 25 – Nicolae Ceausescu, President of Romania (b. 1918)
- December 25 – Elena Ceaușescu, Deputy Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1916)

## Nobel Prizes

- Nobel Prize in Physics won by Norman F. Ramsey, and shared by Hans G. Dehmelt and Wolfgang Paul
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry shared by Sidney Altman and Thomas R. Cech
- Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine shared by J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus
- Nobel Prize in Literature won by Camilo José Cela, Spanish novelist
- Nobel Peace Prize won by Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
- Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences won by Trygve Haavelmo

## Movies released

- _Batman_
- _Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure_
- _Born on the Fourth of July_, nominated for eight Academy Awards
- _Dead Poets Society_, winner of the BAFTA Award for Best Film
- _Do The Right Thing_
- _Driving Miss Daisy_, nominated for nine Academy Awards
- _Ghostbusters II
- _Great Balls of Fire!_
- _Honey, I Shrunk The Kids_
- _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_, the highest-grossing movie of 1989
- _Kickboxer_
- _Kiki's Delivery Service_, an animated movie
- _Lethal Weapon II_
- _Tango & Cash_
- _The Little Mermaid_, made by Walt Disney Pictures
- _Lock Up_
- _Look Who's Talking_
- _Next of Kin_
- _National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation_
- _Road House_
- _Roger & Me_, directed by Michael Moore
- _Steel Magnolias_, winning a Golden Globe Award for Julia Roberts
- _Turner & Hooch_
- _UHF_
- _Uncle Buck_, directed by John Hughes

## Hit songs

- "All She Wants Is" – Duran Duran
- "My Brave Face" – Paul McCartney
- "Another Day in Paradise" – Phil Collins
- "Batdance" – Prince
- "Bat Attack '89 – Crime Fighters Inc
- "Beds Are Burning" – Midnight Oil
- "Blame It on the Rain" – Milli Vanilli
- "Buffalo Stance" – Neneh Cherry
- "Cartoon" – Soul Asylum
- "Compulsory Hero – 1927
- "Chained To The Wheel – Black Sorrows
- "Cry In Shame Johnny Diesel + The Injectors
- "Crying In The Chapel" – Peter Blakley
- "Do You Believe In Shame?" – Duran Duran
- "Dr. Feelgood" – Mötley Crüe
- "Eternal Flame" – The Bangles
- "Eyes Of A Stranger" – Queensrÿche
- "Hangin' Tough" – New Kids On The Block
- "Heavy Metal" – Judas Priest
- "I Drove All Night – Cyndi Lauper
- "I Feel The Earth Move – Martika
- "If I Could" – 1927
- "If I Could Turn Back Time" – Cher
- "If Tomorrow Never Comes" – Garth Brooks
- "Kickstart My Heart" – Mötley Crüe
- "Killin' Time" – Clint Black
- "Leave A Light On For Me – Belinda Carlisle
- "Like a Prayer" – Madonna
- "Listen To Your Heart" – Roxette
- "Lost in Your Eyes" – Debbie Gibson
- "Love Shack"- The B-52's
- "Miss You Much" – Janet Jackson
- "Monsters Of Rock" – Judas Priest
- "Open Letter (To A Landlord)" – Living Colour
- "Orange Crush" – R.E.M.
- "Rendez-vous chaque soir" – Dalida (inédit)
- "Right Here Waiting" – Richard Marx
- "Ring My Bell – Collette
- "She Drives Me Crazy" – Fine Young Cannibals
- "She Has To Be Loved" – Jenny Morris
- "Sometime To Return" – Soul Asylum
- "Soul Revival" – Johnny Disel + The Injectors
- "Stand" – R.E.M.
- "Stop – Sam Brown
- "Straight Up" – Paula Abdul
- "Talk It Over" – Grayson Hugh
- "The Crack-Up" – The Black Sorrows
- "The Dance" – Garth Brooks
- "The Look" – Roxette
- "The World Seems Difficult" – Mentals
- "Tucker's Daughter – Ian Moss
- "Un soir qu'on oublie pas" – Dalida (inédit)
- "Veronica" – Elvis Costello
- "When I See You Smile" – Bad English
- "We Didn't Start The Fire" – Billy Joel
- "Wild Thing" – Tone Loc
- "You Got It" – Roy Orbison
- "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" – New Kids On The Block
- "Young Years" – Dragon
- "You'll Never Know" – 1927

## New Books

- _Geek Love_ – Katherine Dunn
- _The Cardinal of the Kremlin_ – Tom Clancy
- _Chronicle of the French Revolution_ – Jean Favier et al.
- _Daddy_ – Danielle Steel
- _The Face of Battle_ – John Keegan
- _Foucault's Pendulum_ – Umberto Eco
- _The Great and Secret Show_ – Clive Barker
- _Guards! Guards!_ – Terry Pratchett
- _Hyperion_ – Dan Simmons
- _It's Always Something_ – Gilda Radner
- _Jasmine_ – Bharati Mukherjee
- _The Joy Luck Club_ – Amy Tan
- _The Legacy of Heorot_ – Larry Niven
- _Licence to Kill_ – John Gardner
- _London Fields_ – Martin Amis
- _Lot's Wife_ – Tom Wakefield
- _The Magick of Candleburning_ – Gerina Dunwich
- _The Negotiator_ – Frederick Forsyth
- _The Pillars of the Earth_ – Ken Follett
- _A Prayer For Owen Meany_ – John Irving
- _Pyramids_ – Terry Pratchett
- _Red Phoenix_ – Larry Bond
- _The Remains of the Day_ – Kazuo Ishiguro
- _The Russia House_ – John le Carré
- _The Sands of Time_ – Sidney Sheldon
- _The Satanic Verses_ – Salman Rushdie
- _Six Days in Havana_ – James A. Michener
- _Solomon Gursky Was Here_ – Mordecai Richler
- _Star_ – Danielle Steel
- _Stark_ – Ben Elton
- _The Temple of My Familiar_ – Alice Walker
- _A Time to Kill_ – John Grisham
- _Total Recall_ – Piers Anthony
- _While My Pretty One Sleeps_ – Mary Higgins Clark
- _The Wicked and the Witless_ – Hugh Cook
- _Win, Lose or Die_ – John Gardner
- _New Revised Standard Version_ of the Bible
- _Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony_ by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon
- _Snot Stew'' by Bill Wallace