1989

Last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan
Japan becomes world's top lender
Berlin Wall torn down
Tiananmem Square protest in China, thousands killed
Solidarity candidates gain victory in 1st post-war free elections in Poland
Emperor Hirohito of Japan dies
Mikhail S. Gorbachev named Soviet President
W. Botha resigns as South Africa's President
Deng Xiaoping resigns from China's leadership
Czech Parliament ends Communists' dominant role
Romanian uprising overthrows Communist government; President Ceausescu and wife executed
Wreck of Nazi battleship Bismark discovered
Salman Rushdie sentenced to death by the Ayatolla Khomeini for his book The Satanic Verses
Dalai Lama wins Nobel Peace Prize
US planes shoot down two Libyan fighters over international waters in Mediterranean
Ruptured tanker Exxon Valdez sends 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound
Army Gen. Colin R. Powell is first black Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
Voyager 2 spacecraft explores Neptune and its moons
Nadia Comaneci defects to US
Troops invade Panama
US bans the import of assault weapons
James Michener's Caribbean
Global positioning by satellite
High-definition television
Song - ""Look Away"
Films - "Sex, Lies, and Videotape", "Rainman", "Field of Dreams", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Batman"
Salvador Dali, Lucille Ball, Abbie Hoffman, Daphne duMaurier, Gilda Radner, Fran Allison, Laurence Olivier, Mel Blanc, Huey Newton, Amanda Blake, Ferdinand Marcos, Irving Berlin, Bette Davis, and Alvin Ailey die