On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1989, the world population was approximately 5,234,431,732 people[ā ]
1989Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer[ā ]
Rory Daniel McIlroy is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career. A five-time major champion, he is one of six men to achieve a modern career grand slam and the first European to do so.
1989James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player[ā ]
James van Riemsdyk, often known by his initials JVR, is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Between 2012 and 2018, he played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, before joining the Philadelphia Flyers until 2023.
1989IranāContra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.[ā ]
The IranāContra affair, also referred to as the IranāContra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply IranāContra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitated by senior officials of the Ronald Reagan administration. As Iran was subject to an arms embargo at the time of the scandal, the sale of arms was deemed illegal. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendment, passed by Congress in a 411-0 vote and signed into law by Reagan, further funding of the Contras by legislative appropriations was prohibited by Congress, but the Reagan administration continued funding them secretively using non-appropriated funds.
1989Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-30 to deploy the Venus-bound Magellan space probe.[ā ]
Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.
LEAD: The Bush Administration is preparing to propose a major relaxation of antitrust laws, with the goal of permitting companies like Motorola, A.T.&T. and I.B.M. to work together to produce high-technology equipment, starting with high-definition television sets.
LEAD: The Bush Administration said today that the performance of the nation's schools was ''merely average'' and ''stagnant,'' with no improvement despite increases in spending.
LEAD: As soon as the artist and rock guitarist Samoa got a glimpse of Room 208 of the New Leonard Beach Hotel here, it was obvious to him what he had to do: tattoo it. So he did.
LEAD: The former chairman of Piedmont Airlines emerged yesterday as a possible bidder for Eastern Airlines during a hearing in Federal Bankruptcy Court.
LEAD: rrPolitical bosses have fallen on hard times.
LEAD: In his most detailed response to the efforts of the New York City Charter Revision Commission, Mayor Edward I. Koch said he has ''some doubts'' about a proposal that would radically alter the shape of a government he has led for more than 11 years.
LEAD: Despite repeated efforts by central banks to knock it down, the pesky dollar is proving surprisingly resilient this year because it has become one of the safest bets in the huge, $400 billion foreign exchange market.
LEAD: A Federal appeals court here today ordered the Army to make an exception to its ban on homosexuals and allow a former sergeant who is gay to re-enlist.
LEAD: Frustrated by huge backlogs for delivery of new planes from manufacturers like the Boeing Company and the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, many airlines have decided to buy used jetliners. And despite growing concern about structural problems in aging aircraft, demand is higher than ever, causing prices to skyrocket.
LEAD: Legislators reacted angrily today to Gov. Mario M. Cuomo's veto of a tuition increase for New York's State University and City University systems, saying that the Governor would either have to find more money for higher education or bear the responsibility for the cuts in programs that would occur.
LEAD: The Soviet experimental attack submarine that sank in the Norwegian Sea last month was equipped with a rescue sphere that malfunctioned when five trapped crew members tried to escape, an American official and Soviet publications say.
LEAD: In a move that would increase its influence on Wall Street, the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company has agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in CS First Boston Inc., the two companies announced yesterday.