WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO DECEMBER 1989
Find out what all happened April to December 1989

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

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

General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority. (5. August 1989)

Surinam Airways Flight 764 crashed on approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Suriname because of pilot error, killing 176 of 187 aboard. (7. June 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)

The Tank Man halts the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. (5. June 1989)

Denmark introduces the world's first legal modern same-sex civil union called "registered partnership". (1. October 1989)

Several hundred East Germans cross the frontier between Hungary and Austria during the Pan-European Picnic, part of the events which began the process of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. (19. August 1989)

Colombian drug barons declare "total war" on the Colombian government. (24. August 1989)

The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation. (3. June 1989)

Ali Khamenei is elected as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death and funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. (4. June 1989)

The O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, the world's longest guided busway, opens. (20. August 1989)

Hungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany. (11. September 1989)

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

East German Prime Minister Willi Stoph, along with his entire cabinet, is forced to resign after huge anti-government protests. (7. November 1989)

A death squad composed of El Salvadoran army troops kills six Jesuit priests and two others at Jose Simeon Canas University. (16. November 1989)

David Dinkins becomes the first African American to be elected mayor of New York City. (7. November 1989)

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