1989

Facts and Events That Happened in This Year

Dec 25

The show trial of Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu occurred.

Dec 17

The first full-length episode of The Simpsons aired on FOX.

Dec 13

Driving Miss Daisy, directed by Bruce Beresford, was released.

Dec 3

Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush declared an end to the Cold War.

Nov 22

The Discovery Space Shuttle was launched on the fifth Department of Defense shuttle mission.

Nov 17

This day marked the beginning of The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.

Nov 12

The musical 'Grand Hotel' was first performed at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City.

Nov 9

The Berlin Wall began to fall.

Nov 7

New York City elected its first African American Mayor, David Dinkins.

Oct 3

The city planning simulation game SimCity was released for the Apple Macintosh.

Sep 22

American drama TV series 'Baywatch' premiered on NBC.

Sep 13

'Uncle Sam' became the official nickname of the United States.

Sep 5

The Joan Rivers American daytime TV talk show aired for the first time.

Aug 22

The rings of Neptune were discovered.

Aug 22

Baseballer Nolan Ryan became the first pitcher to strike out 5,000 batters.

Aug 16

A solar flare from the sun created a geomagnetic storm, which caused Toronto's stock market to halt.

Aug 8

The Space Shuttle Colombia launched from the Kennedy Space Center for a secret military mission.

Jul 5

American sitcom ''Seinfeld” debuted on NBC.

Jun 21

Burning the US flag was deemed legal.

Jun 16

Ghostbusters II was released in 2,410 movie theaters across the US.

Jun 13

James Bond's 'Licence to Kill' was released.

Jun 9

The sci-fi movie 'Star Trek V: The Final Frontier' was released in the US.

Jun 4

Up to 800 civilians and 12 soldiers died during a student protest for democracy at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China.

May 24

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas, premiered.

May 5

Mike Tyson received his second speeding ticket while drag racing his Lamborghini in Albany, New York.

May 4

NASA's Atlantis Space Shuttle ferried the Magellan space probe into orbit.

Apr 21

George W. Bush and Edward W. Rose shared ownership of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

Apr 15

The Hillsborough disaster occurred.

Apr 7

The Soviet K-278 Komsomolets nuclear submarine caught fire and sank off the coast of Norway.

Apr 5

Dolby stereo was used for the first time on David Letterman.

Apr 2

New York Times Newspaper officially declared that the Cold War was over.

Mar 27

The soap opera 'Generations' aired on NBC-TV, making it the first US African-American show of its kind.

Mar 2

Madonna featured in a Pepsi Commercial during NBC-TV's 'Cosby Show.'

Feb 24

A 150 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur embryo was found inside a fossilized egg.

Feb 15

The Soviet Union announced that all of its troops had officially withdrawn from Afghanistan.

Feb 9

Five Pharaoh sculptures were discovered in the temple of Luxor.

Jan 30

The US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, closed due to increasing security concerns.

Jan 7

Akihito succeeded his father to become the 125th Emperor of Japan.

Jan 4

George H. W. Bush declared himself President of the United States of America.