It’s the Year Taylor Swift Was Born—and Here Are 13 Other Historical Milestones From 1989
Taylor Swift performing.
1989 is synonymous with Taylor Swift at this point. It’s the year she was born and since her rise to fame, Swift has made it a part of her brand and personality. She even named her fifth studio album 1989, which was also the album where she dove fully into being a pop girlie and not a country-crossover artist. And with the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) coming on Oct. 27, this Swift era is making a strong comeback.
But Taylor Swift’s birth isn’t the only thing to happen in 1989. And while that was probably met with a big, “Duh!” it’s true. But it’s not until you go digging into the historical events of 1989 that you find out that it was actually a major turning point in international politics and in technological advances (yes, we are talking about the Game Boy).
On a serious note, 1989 was also the year that the World Wide Web (WWW) was invented by Tim Berners-Lee, a British Scientist working at CERN. Without 1989, you wouldn’t be reading Parade on your phone right now.
With that said, here are 14 historical milestones that happened in 1989, including Miss Swift’s birth.
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14 historical events that happened in 1989
1. Jan. 20, 1989 — George H. W. Bush is sworn into office
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After Ronald Reagan’s two terms as president of the United States, President George H. W. Bush won against Michael Dukakis to become the 41st president of the United States. Dan Quayle was Bush’s vice president.
2. Jan. 24, 1989 — Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed
Infamous serial killer Ted Bundy murdered 30 women between the years of 1974 to 1978 and was sentenced to the death penalty three times over before his death. Bundy lasted two minutes in the electric chair before dying in Florida State Prison.
3. March 21, 1989 — Madonna’s album Like a Prayer releases
After Madonna released the music video for “Like a Prayer” on MTV, religious groups (with the Vatican among them) protested the video and called for a national boycott of Pepsi, who sponsored Madonna at the time. Because of this, Pepsi canceled its campaign with the pop star.
4. April 12, 1989 — Michael Jackson is named "King of Pop"
After Michael Jackson received the Heritage Award for Career Achievement at the Soul Train Heritage Awards, Elizabeth Taylor named him “the true king of pop, rock and soul.”
5. April 15, 1989 — Hillsborough disaster
97 people died and 766 were injured at Hillsborough Football Stadium, Sheffield, England, during the FA semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest.
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6. April 15, 1989 — Tiananmen Square protests begin
Student-led protests began in the spring of 1989 due to division in China’s Communist Party and the move to allow private companies and foreign investment, which led to corruption. These protests really kicked off after the death of leading politician, Hu Yaobang, who was a part of these changes. Many protesters wanted more political openness and had traveled abroad, experiencing new ideas and better standards of living.
The United States issued sanctions on China due to how they handled the protests and the international community criticized the government’s actions.
Later in the year, anywhere from hundreds to thousands of people were killed in the Tiananmen Massacre and Chinese authorities ban the mention of the protests to this day, per Amnesty International.
7. June 23, 1989 — Batman premieres
The film, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, ended up becoming the highest-grossing movie of 1989.
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8. July 31, 1989 — Nintendo releases the Game Boy
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The well-known gaming console came out in Japan in April and in North America in July of 1989. The North American release also launched Super Mario Land and Tetris.
9. Nov. 9, 1989 — Germans start demolishing the Berlin Wall
As BBC reported, half a million protesters gathered in East Berlin five days prior and by Nov. 9, the Berlin Wall crumbled. The wall famously divided Communist East Germany and West Germany.
10. Nov. 17, 1989 — The Little Mermaid premieres
The movie, a part of the Disney Renaissance of the early 90s, grossed over $84 billion domestically during its initial release.
11. Dec. 3, 1989 — Cold War ends
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George H. W. Bush declared the Cold War was over at the Malta Summit. This came after multiple communist regimes started faltering and after the Berlin Wall opened a month prior, the shift in the Cold War was prominent.
12. Dec. 13, 1989 — Obviously, Taylor Swift was born
Need we say more? Taylor Swift is the reason for this list and she fittingly comes in at number 12 of important historical moments to happen in 1989. Other famous people born this year include actors Elizabeth Olsen (Feb. 16, 1989) and Daniel Radcliffe (July 23), along with soccer player Alex Morgan (July 2, 1989) and wouldn't you know it—Mr. Travis Kelce as well (October 5, 1989).
13. Dec 17, 1989 — The Simpsons premieres its first episode
Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons premieres on Fox TV with the episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." It first started as a cartoon short on The Tracy Ullman Show and premiered as a Christmas special on Dec. 17. It started airing regular episodes in January 1990 and is still airing episodes today.
14. Dec. 22, 1989 — Romania gets rid of Communist dictator
After a 23-year rule, Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was taken out of office after a deadly battle in Romania in December 1989. As BBC wrote, this protest “led to the remarkable collapse of of one of Europe’s most repressive communist regimes-and arguably its most menacing dictator.” Ceausescu and his wife were executed by firing squad on Christmas Day, 1989.
Next up, take a trip down a different type of memory lane by looking at Taylor Swift's eras, from day 1 to Midnights.
