On this day

December 15, 1989

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

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Headlines from December 15, 1989

New Toyota Target: The Midwest

By Doron P. Levin, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: The Toyota Motor Corporation thought particularly long and hard before opening a dealership last year in this isolated and economically depressed southeastern Kansas town of 9,000 people. For one thing, communities like this and indeed the Midwest as a whole are the last bastion of the Big Three domestic auto makers, far less penetrated than other regions by Toyota and other

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Market Place; Making 'Junk Bonds' Respectable

By Anise C. Wallace

LEAD: With more potential sellers in the ''junk bond'' market than buyers, some institutions with large junk portfolios are using a version of financial magic to turn their holdings into marketable securities with investment-grade ratings.

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U.S. Plans to Ground Air Fleet That Can Direct Nuclear War

By Michael R. Gordon, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: The Pentagon plans to halt the round-the-clock flights of an airborne command post that for three decades has been a grim symbol of America's preparation to wage nuclear war even if the President and other political leaders were killed in a surprise attack, Pentagon officials said today.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 13, 1989, covering December 15, 1989.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Storm Front by Billy Joel

    Storm Front

    Billy Joel

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    7
  2. 2
    Album cover for Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli

    Girl You Know It's True

    Milli Vanilli

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    39
  3. 3
    Album cover for Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson

    Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814

    Janet Jackson

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    11
  4. 4
    Album cover for Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul

    Forever Your Girl

    Paula Abdul

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    74
  5. 5
    Album cover for Hangin' Tough by New Kids on the Block

    Hangin' Tough

    New Kids on the Block

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    69

Notable Births

1989Nichole Bloom, American actress and model[†]

Nichole Sakura is a Japanese-American actress best known for her roles as Cheyenne Thompson in the NBC sitcom Superstore (2015–2021), Amanda in Shameless (2014-2016), and as Emily Davis in the horror video game Until Dawn developed by Supermassive Games.

Notable Deaths

Edward Underdown

1989Edward Underdown, English actor and jockey (born 1908)[†]

Charles Edward Underdown was an English theatre, cinema and television actor.

Historical Events

Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

1989Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating the abolition of capital punishment is adopted.[†]

The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, is a subsidiary agreement to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was created on 15 December 1989 and entered into force on 11 July 1991. As of December 2024, the Optional Protocol has 92 state parties. The most recent country to ratify was Zambia, on 19 December 2024.

Historical Context for December 15, 1989

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