On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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LEAD: Bursts of gunfire sounded through this exultant but tense capital today and into the night as secret police officers loyal to the ousted dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, held out and harassed the new provisional government claiming power in what had been the most rigorously controlled state in Eastern Europe.
LEAD: Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, the Panamanian leader in hiding since American troops invaded last week to overthrow and capture him, took refuge today in the residence of the Vatican's representative here and requested political asylum, the American military commander said.
LEAD: The White House expressed satisfaction tonight that Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega was ''under the control of diplomatic authorities.''
LEAD: Because of holiday production requirements, The Times is printed today in two sections.
LEAD: Across the Rumanian countryside and on the deserted streets of the capital, bands of civilians posted themselves at intersections today, stopping the few cars that passed in a haphazard - at times almost comical - search for weapons.
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 20, 1989, covering December 25, 1989.
Milli Vanilli
Billy Joel
Janet Jackson
Phil Collins
Paula Abdul
1989Benny Binion, American poker player and businessman (born 1904)[â ]
Lester Ben Binion, better known as Benny Binion, was an American casino operator who established illegal gambling operations in the DallasâFort Worth area. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing a rumrunner, Frank Bolding. In the 1940s, he relocated to Nevada, where gambling was legal, and opened the successful Binion's Horseshoe casino in downtown Las Vegas.
1989Elena CeauČescu, Romanian politician, First Lady of Romania (born 1916)[â ]
Elena CeauČescu was a Romanian communist politician who was the wife of Nicolae CeauČescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania. She was also the Deputy Prime Minister of Romania. Following the Romanian Revolution in 1989, she was executed alongside her husband on 25 December.
1989Nicolae CeauČescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (born 1918)[â ]
Nicolae CeauČescu was a Romanian politician who was the second and last communist leader of Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 until his execution in 1989. Widely regarded as a dictator, he was the country's head of state from 1967 to 1989, serving as President of the State Council from 1967 and as the first president from 1974. He was overthrown and executed in the Romanian Revolution on 25 December 1989 along with his wife Elena CeauČescu, as part of a series of anti-communist uprisings in Eastern Europe that year.
1989Betty Garde, American actress (born 1905)[â ]
Katharine Elizabeth Garde was an American stage, radio, film and television actress.
1989Frederick F. Houser, American judge and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of California (born 1905)[â ]
Frederick Francis Houser was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 34th lieutenant governor of California under Governor Earl Warren from 1943 to 1947.
1989Billy Martin, American baseball player and manager (born 1928)[â ]
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known as a scrappy infielder who made considerable contributions to the championship Yankee teams of the 1950s, he then built a reputation as a manager who would initially make bad teams good, before ultimately being fired amid dysfunction. In each of his stints with the Yankees he managed them to winning records before being fired by team owner George Steinbrenner or resigning under fire, usually amid a well-publicized scandal such as Martin's involvement in an alcohol-fueled fight.
1989Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (born 1910)[â ]
Robert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and film director. He is most known for his war and military-themed works, inspired by his experiences as a U.S. Army infantryman during World War II. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Battleground (1949), a semi-autobiographical account the Battle of the Bulge. He was nominated for a second Oscar for Go for Broke! (1951), a film about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
1989Romanian Revolution: Deposed President of Romania Nicolae CeauČescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.[â ]
The Romanian revolution was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily within the Eastern Bloc. The Romanian revolution started in the city of TimiČoara and soon spread throughout the country, ultimately culminating in the drumhead trial and execution of longtime Romanian Communist Party (PCR) General Secretary Nicolae CeauČescu and his wife Elena, and the end of 42 years of Communist rule in Romania. It was also the last removal of a MarxistâLeninist government in a Warsaw Pact country during the events of 1989, and the only one that violently overthrew a country's leadership and executed its leader; according to estimates, over one thousand people died and thousands more were injured.
In 1989, the world population was approximately 5,234,431,732 people[â ]