WHAT ALL HAPPENED NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER 1989
Find out what all happened November to December 1989

Cold War: Fall of the Berlin Wall. Communist-controlled East Germany opens checkpoints in the Berlin Wall allowing its citizens to travel to West Germany. This key event led to the eventual reunification of East and West Germany, and fall of communism in eastern Europe including Russia. (9. November 1989)

Romanian Revolution: Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania, in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés. (16. December 1989)

Deutsche Bank board member Alfred Herrhausen is killed by a Red Army Faction terrorist bomb. (30. November 1989)

Riots break-out after Hong Kong decides to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees. (29. December 1989)

Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife flee Bucharest with a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers. (22. December 1989)

Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, First-Deputy Prime-Minister Elena Ceaușescu are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial. (25. December 1989)

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people. (28. December 1989)

Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years. (17. December 1989)

Cold War: In a meeting off the coast of Malta, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the cold war between NATO and the Soviet Union may be coming to an end. (3. December 1989)

The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. (6. December 1989)

The longtime leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria Todor Zhivkov is removed from office and replaced by Petar Mladenov. (10. November 1989)

Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany. (22. December 1989)

Cold War: East Germany's parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the Communist Party the leading role in the state. (1. December 1989)

Avianca Flight 203, a Boeing 727, explodes in mid-air over Colombia, killing all 107 people on board and three people on the ground. The Medellín Cartel will claim responsibility for the attack. (27. November 1989)

In West Beirut, a bomb explodes near the motorcade of Lebanese President René Moawad, killing him. (22. November 1989)

1989 Philippine coup attempt: The right-wing military rebel Reform the Armed Forces Movement attempts to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino in a failed bloody coup d'état. (1. December 1989)

United States invasion of Panama: The United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega. This is also the first combat use of purpose-designed stealth aircraft. (20. December 1989)

Hans-Adam II, the present Prince of Liechtenstein, begins his reign on the death of his father. (13. November 1989)

Velvet Revolution: The number of protesters assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia swells from 200,000 the day before to an estimated half-million. (20. November 1989)

Cold War: Velvet Revolution – In the face of protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces it will give up its monopoly on political power. (28. November 1989)