On this day

January 21, 1989

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from January 21, 1989

F.B.I. INTENSIFYING COMMODITY INQUIRY ON CHICAGO TRADES

By Kurt Eichenwald, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: Capitalizing on fears in the commodity markets after subpoenas were served on 50 to 100 floor traders, Federal investigators are pressing those implicated in possible fraud to name others, lawyers and other sources said today.

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THE 41st PRESIDENT; NO REVERSAL, BUT CHANGES

By R. W. Apple Jr., Special To the New York Times

LEAD: President Bush swore his oath with the same 35 words that George Washington uttered two centuries ago, resting his left hand on the same Bible that George Washington used, and he spoke of the orderly transfer of power that the inaugural ceremony so compellingly symbolizes.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of January 18, 1989, covering January 21, 1989.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown

    Don't Be Cruel

    Bobby Brown

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    27
  2. 2
    Album cover for Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses

    Appetite For Destruction

    Guns N' Roses

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    74
  3. 3
    Album cover for Open Up And Say...Ahh! by Poison

    Open Up And Say...Ahh!

    Poison

    Last week
    9
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    36
  4. 4
    Album cover for New Jersey by Bon Jovi

    New Jersey

    Bon Jovi

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    16
  5. 5
    Album cover for Hysteria by Def Leppard

    Hysteria

    Def Leppard

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    75

Notable Births

DoğuƟ Balbay

1989DoğuƟ Balbay, Turkish basketball player[†]

DoğuƟ Balbay is a Turkish former professional basketball player. He is 6 ft 1 in tall and he plays at the point guard position.

Kayla Banwarth

1989Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player[†]

Kayla Banwarth is an American former volleyball player and coach. She played as a libero for the United States women's national volleyball team. Banwarth won gold with the national team at the 2014 World Championship, and bronze at the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

1989FĂ©rĂ©bory DorĂ©, Congolese footballer[†]

Férébory Doré is a Congolese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Maltese club Mosta. Between 2010 and 2017, he made 37 appearances scoring 10 goals for the Congo national team.

Sergey Fesikov

1989Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer[†]

Sergey Vasilyevich Fesikov is a Russian professional swimmer. He was part of the Russian 4 × 100 m freestyle relay teams that finished in ninth and third place at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, respectively.

Justin Houston

1989Justin Houston, American football player[†]

Justin Donovan Houston is an American professional football linebacker. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, earning first-team All-American honors in 2010. Houston was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, he was also named to the All-Pro team in 2014. He also played for the Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

1989Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer[†]

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an Armenian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Inter Milan.

Zhang Shuai

1989Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player[†]

Zhang Shuai is a Chinese professional tennis player. She has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 2, achieved in July 2022 and a singles ranking of No. 22 reached in January 2023. She is a two-time Grand Slam tournament champion in women's doubles, having won the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, both alongside Samantha Stosur.

Notable Deaths

Carl Furillo

1989Carl Furillo, American baseball player (born 1922)[†]

Carl Anthony Furillo, nicknamed "the Reading Rifle" and "Skoonj", was an American baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), spending his entire career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, primarily as a right fielder.

Billy Tipton

1989Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (born 1914)[†]

Billy Lee Tipton was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and talent broker. He is notable for having been posthumously outed as a transgender man.

Historical Context for January 21, 1989

In 1989, the world population was approximately 5,234,431,732 people[†]