After nearly 15 years of civil war, opposing factions in Angola agree to a cease-fire to end a conflict that had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. The cease-fire also helped to defuse U.S.-Soviet tensions concerning Angola. Angola was a former Portuguese colony that had attained independence in 1975. Even before that date, however, various […]
Continue ReadingNew Kids On The Block Land At The Top Of The Pops
While hairstyles and fashions may come and go, and while musical styles may evolve over time, one thing that repeats itself in music history with great regularity is the ascendancy of boy bands as a pop-cultural force. In the late 1980s, this cyclical process yielded New Kids on the Block—another in a long line of […]
Continue ReadingChina Issues Warrant For Tiananmen Dissident
In the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, China issues a warrant for a leading Chinese dissident who had taken refuge in the U.S. embassy in Beijing. The diplomatic standoff lasted for a year, and the refusal of the United States to hand the dissident over to Chinese officials was further evidence […]
Continue ReadingTiananmen Square Massacre Takes Place
Chinese troops storm through Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, killing and arresting thousands of pro-democracy protesters. The brutal Chinese government assault on the protesters shocked the West and brought denunciations and sanctions from the United States. In May 1989, nearly a million Chinese, mostly young students, crowded into central Beijing to protest for […]
Continue ReadingNatural Gas Explosion Kills 500 In Russia
In a freak and tragic accident, a natural-gas pipeline explodes in Russia’s Ural Mountains just as two trains pass it. The explosion occurred near the town of Ufa in what was then the Soviet Union and was the result of poor judgment by pipeline workers. They were aware that the pressure in the pipeline dropped […]
Continue ReadingCrackdown At Tiananmen Begins
With protests for democratic reforms entering their seventh week, the Chinese government authorizes its soldiers and tanks to reclaim Beijing’s Tiananmen Square at all costs. By nightfall on June 4, Chinese troops had forcibly cleared the square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents. On April 15, the death of Hu Yaobang, […]
Continue ReadingDead Poets Society Released In Selected Theaters
On this day in 1989, the boys’ prep school drama Dead Poets Society, starring Robin Williams, is released in selected U.S. theaters. Set in 1959 at a fictional all-male preparatory school called Welton Academy, the film starred Robin Williams as John Keating, a charismatic English teacher who encourages his students to “seize the day” (“carpe […]
Continue ReadingSex, Lies And Videotape Wins Top Prize At Cannes
Sex, lies and videotape, the debut feature from the 26-year-old writer-director Steven Soderbergh, wins the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival on this day in 1989. Born in Georgia on January 14, 1963, and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Soderbergh took university-level film courses and began making short films while still in high school. […]
Continue ReadingLori Ann Auker Disappears From A Parking Lot
Lori Ann Auker, a 19-year-old pet shop worker, disappears from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. After failing to show up for work, her car was found the next day in the parking lot of the Susquehanna Mall where The Pet Place was located. Police had no clues as to what had happened to her when she arrived […]
Continue ReadingSunday Silence Wins Preakness By A Nose
On May 20, 1989, Sunday Silence edges by Easy Goer to win the closest race in the 114-year history of the Preakness Stakes by a nose. Sunday Silence had already beaten Easy Goer in the Kentucky Derby by two-and-a-half lengths, putting the horse one victory away from winning the first Triple Crown since 1978. Come […]
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