Events in History in 1989
- Feb 6 Solidarity union leader Lech Wałęsa begins negotiating with Polish government
- 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
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1989 in History Pictures
Soviet Union Leaves Afghanistan
Last Soviet troops withdraw from their war in AfghanistanFebruary 15Goddess of Democracy
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese protest around a 10-meter replica of the Statue of Liberty they called the Goddess of DemocracyJune 2Tiananmen 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 4France'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
Historical Marriages in 1989
- Feb 20 Future police violence victim Rodney King (23) weds Crystal Lynnette Waters; divorce in 1996
- May 28 Delta Burke (Designing Women) weds Gerald McRaney (Major Dad)
- Jun 18 John Wayne Bobitt marries Lorena L Gallo
More Weddings in History