On this day

December 26, 1989

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

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Headlines from December 26, 1989

Sea's Bounty, Not the Mammoth, May Have Drawn Nomads to Alaska

By John Noble Wilford

LEAD: A PREHISTORIC tableau is etched in the popular mind. On a bleak plain, hunters wrapped in animal skins and carrying spears lean into the frigid wind as they pursue the caribou and woolly mammoth; women and children follow them. These are the first migrants crossing from Asia to North America many thousands of years ago over the connecting bridge of land where the Bering

Science Desk1641 words
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Asbestos Costs Give Schools Hard Choices

By Kirk Johnson, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: Twenty years ago, before the hazards of asbestos became known, the steel beams inside sprawling, brown-brick New Canaan High School were sprayed with it. Though tests have shown that the flame-retardant coating - harmful only if its particles are inhaled - is mostly intact and safe for now, it is to be removed anyway, at a cost of perhaps $10 million.

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Support Grows for National Education Standards

By Susan Chira

LEAD: While governors, educators, business executives and parents debate the future of public education, there is evidence that the country has already leaped ahead toward answering one big question: should the United States, like the highly literate societies of Japan and Europe, set national standards for its schoolchildren?

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'Shock Therapy' for Poland: Jolt Might Be Too Damaging

By Steven Greenhouse, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: Many economists say the crash plan proposed last week by Poland's Finance Minister is the right economic medicine to revive that nation's crumbling Communist economy. But they worry that the medicine might be too strong to be politically acceptable.

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Japan Lifts A Key Rate Half a Point

By James Sterngold, Special To the New York Times

LEAD: The Bank of Japan moved today to raise its official discount rate by half a point, to 4.25 percent, effective immediately, apparently winning a bitter tug-of-war with the Finance Ministry.

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 20, 1989, covering December 26, 1989.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Girl You Know It's True by Milli Vanilli

    Girl You Know It's True

    Milli Vanilli

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    40
  2. 2
    Album cover for Storm Front by Billy Joel

    Storm Front

    Billy Joel

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    8
  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
    12
  4. 4
    Album cover for ...But Seriously by Phil Collins

    ...But Seriously

    Phil Collins

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    4
  5. 5
    Album cover for Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul

    Forever Your Girl

    Paula Abdul

    Last week
    4
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    75

Notable Births

Yohan Blake

1989Yohan Blake, Jamaican sprinter[†]

Yohan Blake is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100 m and 200 m races for the Jamaican team behind Usain Bolt. His times of 9.75 in 100 m and 19.44 in 200 m are the fastest 100 m and 200 m Olympic sprints in history to place second.

Sofiane Feghouli

1989Sofiane Feghouli, Algerian footballer[†]

Sofiane Feghouli is a professional footballer who plays for the Algeria national team. He mainly operates as a midfielder, but can also play as a winger and as an attacking midfielder.

Tomáš Kundrátek

1989Tomáš Kundrátek, Czech ice hockey player[†]

Tomáš Kundrátek is a Czech professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing with HC Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He has previously played in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals.

Notable Deaths

Doug Harvey (ice hockey)

1989Doug Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1924)[†]

Douglas Norman Harvey was a Canadian professional hockey defenceman. Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in National Hockey League (NHL) history, Harvey was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017. Individually he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenceman seven times, and was named to the end of season NHL All-Star team as a First All-Star 10 times. He played in from 1947 until 1964, and from 1966 until 1969. Best known for playing with the Montreal Canadiens, Harvey also played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, as well as several teams in the minor leagues. He also served as the player-coach of the Rangers for one season, and served a similar role for the minor-league Kansas City Blues. He was also a coach.

Historical Events

United Express Flight 2415

1989United Express Flight 2415 crashes on approach to the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Washington, killing all six people on board.[†]

United Express Flight 2415 was a regularly scheduled flight in the northwest United States from Seattle to Pasco, Washington, operated using a BAe Jetstream 31. Late on Tuesday, December 26, 1989, Flight 2415 crashed while attempting to land at Pasco's Tri-Cities Airport, killing both pilots and all four passengers aboard.

Historical Context for December 26, 1989

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