WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO OCTOBER 1989
Find out what all happened January to October 1989

The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision. 51 people are killed. (20. August 1989)

Prince Akihito is sworn in as the emperor of Japan after the death of his father Hirohito (7. January 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)

A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. (26. July 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)

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)

1,645 Australian domestic airline pilots resign after the airlines threaten to fire them and sue them over a dispute. (23. August 1989)

Financially troubled Eastern Air Lines filed for bankruptcy. (9. March 1989)

Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose is banned from baseball for gambling by Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti. (24. August 1989)

Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan. (15. February 1989)

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

The Tiananmen Square protests are violently ended in Beijing by the People's Liberation Army. (4. June 1989)

Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Neptune, the second to last planet in the Solar System at the time. (25. August 1989)

A solar flare from the Sun creates a geomagnetic storm that affects micro chips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market. (16. August 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)

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)

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

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

The Montreal Protocol Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force. (1. January 1989)

Cedar Point opens Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what is known as the "coaster wars". (6. May 1989)