Year by year · 20th century
1989
1989 in world history: 30 events, 18 deaths, 3 states founded and 3 that came to an end. 202 recorded states existed that year.
Events
Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer enters into force
The treaty phasing out chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting chemicals came into effect. Ratified by every UN member, it is widely regarded as the most successful environmental agreement ever made.
Ron Brown becomes the first Black chairman of a major US party
Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He helped Bill Clinton win in 1992 and became Secretary of Commerce before dying in a plane crash in 1996.
Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa against Salman Rushdie
Iran's leader called on Muslims to kill the author of 'The Satanic Verses' and his publishers. Rushdie spent years in hiding; translators and publishers were attacked, and he was stabbed in 2022.
Students unveil the Goddess of Democracy in Tiananmen Square
Art students erected a ten-metre statue facing Mao's portrait as a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. Troops destroyed it when they cleared the square on 4 June.
Ayatollah Khomeini dies in Tehran
Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Islamic Republic's first Supreme Leader, died aged 86. Ali Khamenei succeeded him the next day.
Solidarity sweeps Poland's semi-free elections
Solidarity won all but one of the freely contested seats. The result led to the first non-communist-led government in the Soviet bloc and began the fall of communism in Eastern Europe.
Two million people form the Baltic Way human chain
Some two million people joined hands across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the 50th anniversary of the Nazi-Soviet Pact. The 675 km chain demanded independence, regained in 1990-91.
Ferdinand Marcos dies in exile in Hawaii
Former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos died in Honolulu, three years after the People Power Revolution drove him from power. His regime was notorious for martial law and plunder.
The Berlin Wall opens
After a confused announcement that East Germans could travel freely, crowds pressed the border crossings until guards opened the gates. The fall of the Wall led to German reunification within a year.
Police attack students in Prague, sparking the Velvet Revolution
Riot police beat students at a Prague march marking the anniversary of a Nazi crackdown. Outrage fuelled mass protests that ended communist rule in Czechoslovakia within six weeks.
The Simpsons premieres as a series
Fox broadcast the first full episode of The Simpsons, a Christmas special. It became the longest-running American animated series and scripted primetime show.
The United States invades Panama
US forces launched Operation Just Cause to remove Panama's military ruler Manuel Noriega, who was wanted in the US on drug trafficking charges. Noriega surrendered on 3 January 1990.
Revolt
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests were student-led demonstrations in Beijing and other Chinese cities from April to June 1989, calling for political reform, freedom of the press and an end to corruption.
Revolt
Caracazo
The Caracazo was a wave of protests, rioting and looting that began on 27 February 1989 in Guarenas and Caracas, Venezuela, after President Carlos Andrés Pérez's austerity programme raised fuel prices and public transport fares.
Event
Hungarian Round Table Talks
The Hungarian Round Table Talks were negotiations held from June to September 1989 between the ruling communist party and the opposition.
Treaty · Peace
Taif Agreement
The Taif Agreement was negotiated by Lebanese members of parliament at Taif in Saudi Arabia and signed in October 1989 to end the Lebanese Civil War.
Event
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall on the night of 9 November 1989 was the moment when East Germany, facing mass protests and the flight of its citizens to the West, opened the crossings through the wall that had divided Berlin since 1961.
Revolution
Revolutions of 1989
The revolutions of 1989 were the wave of largely peaceful uprisings that overthrew the communist regimes of Central and Eastern Europe.
In the profiles
Republic of PanamaThe United States invades and removes Manuel Noriega
People's Republic of ChinaThe army crushes the Tiananmen Square protests on 4 June
CzechoslovakiaThe Velvet Revolution ends communist rule; Václav Havel becomes president
Republic of EstoniaThe Baltic Way human chain links Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius
Socialist Republic of VietnamThe last Vietnamese troops withdraw from Cambodia
LiberiaCharles Taylor’s invasion starts the first Liberian civil war
Wars and longer events
Died in 1989 18
Hamani Diori1916–1989
Boris Skossyreff1896–1989
Kateb Yacine1929–1989
Ruhollah Khomeini1902–1989
Ahmadou Ahidjo1924–1989
Ahmed Abdallah1919–1989
Ferdinand Marcos1917–1989
Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan1905–1989
Sourou Migan Apithy1913–1989
Gustavo Álvarez Martínez1937–1989- Nicolae Ceaușescu1918–1989
- Elena Ceaușescu1916–1989
- Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein1906–1989
- Harinder Singh Brar1915–1989
- Huỳnh Tấn Phát1913–1989
- János Kádár1912–1989
- Josiah Zion Gumede1919–1989
- Lakshman Singh of Dungarpur1908–1989
States founded 3
States that came to an end 3
All years → The 20th century →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1989. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1989
- MLA
- “1989.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1989. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “1989.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1989.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1989’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1989 (Accessed: ).