At A Glance

17 December 1989 at a glance

Day of the week
17 December 1989 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Do They Know It's Christmas?” by Band Aid II.
Top Film of 1989
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1989 was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Star sign
The star sign for 17 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 December 1989 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 December 1989 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 17 December

  • 1969 Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
  • 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
  • 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
  • 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
  • 2005 Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.

Famous people born on 17 December

  • Sarah Paulson, American actress (born 1974)
  • Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress (born 1975)
  • Bill Pullman, American actor (born 1953)
  • Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (1936–2025)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1989 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1989 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 5 February – At 6pm, the world's first commercial DBS system, Sky Television goes on air. Three new services – Sky News, Sky Movies and Eurosport – with the fourth being Sky Channel.
  • 27 April – Security Service Act for the first time places MI5 on a statutory basis.
  • 5 May – The Vale of Glamorgan constituency in South Wales is seized by the Labour Party in a by-election after 38 years of Conservative control.
More events of 1989 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1989

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

85p

Loaf of Bread

53p

Average House

£59,587

Weekly Wage

£250.00

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Theo James16 December 1984Actor & musicianView their day →Pac22 August 1986WrestlerView their day →Robert Pattinson13 May 1986Actor & film producerView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Charlie Hunnam10 April 1980ActorView their day →Juno Temple21 July 1989ActressView their day →Rebecca Hall3 May 1982Actress & filmmakerView their day →Lewis Hamilton7 January 1985Racing driverView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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