WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO DECEMBER 1989
Find out what all happened January to 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)

A massacre is carried out by an Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 64 ethnic Tamil civilians. (2. August 1989)

On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle. (28. June 1989)

Tadeusz Mazowiecki is chosen as the first non-communist Prime Minister in Central and Eastern Europe. (25. August 1989)

Iran-Contra Affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions were later overturned. (5. July 1989)

Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres suffers a near-fatal injury when another player accidentally slits his throat. (22. March 1989)

The deadliest tornado in world history strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless. (26. April 1989)

Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect. (2. May 1989)

The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. (1. February 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)

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)

The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: 14 bus passengers are killed when an Arab assaulted the bus driver as the bus was driving by the edge of a cliff. (6. July 1989)

Leading presidential hopeful Luis Carlos Galán is assassinated near Bogotá in Colombia. (18. August 1989)

In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy was found near the Pyramid of Cheops. (18. March 1989)

Radio Caroline, the offshore pirate station in the North Sea, is raided by British and Dutch governments. (19. August 1989)

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

The Hungarian Republic is officially declared by president Mátyás Szűrös, replacing the communist Hungarian People's Republic. (23. October 1989)

Denmark introduces the world's first legal modern same-sex civil union called "registered partnership". (1. October 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)

A group of six members of the guerrilla group Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) of Peru, shoot dead eight transsexuals, in the city of Tarapoto. (31. May 1989)