WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO APRIL 1989
Find out what all happened January to April 1989

Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), is introduced in Scotland. (1. April 1989)

Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so (29. January 1989)

People's Daily publishes the People's Daily editorial of April 26 which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests (26. April 1989)

Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of petroleum after running aground. (24. March 1989)

Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. (14. February 1989)

United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, Hawaii, rips open during flight, blowing 9 passengers out of the business-class section. (24. February 1989)

Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce their discovery of cold fusion at the University of Utah. (23. March 1989)

Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang. (21. April 1989)

A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors. (19. April 1989)

A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954. (3. February 1989)

The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe. (6. February 1989)

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

The United States becomes a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. (1. March 1989)

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

The Egyptian Flag is raised on Taba, Egypt announcing the end of the Israeli occupation after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the peace negotiations in 1979. (19. March 1989)

Venezuela is rocked by the Caracazo riots. (27. February 1989)

Beginning of Japanese Heisei period. (8. January 1989)

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations. (2. April 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)

The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan closes. (30. January 1989)