At A Glance

31 December 1989 at a glance

Day of the week
31 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 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 1989 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 1989 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1991 All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date, five days after the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.
  • 1992 Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
  • 1994 This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC−10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively.
  • 1994 The First Chechen War: The Russian Ground Forces begin a New Year's storming of Grozny.
  • 1995 The final comic of Calvin and Hobbes is published.

Famous people born on 31 December

  • Val Kilmer, American actor (1959–2025)
  • Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer (born 2002)
  • Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
  • Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (1720–1788)

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

Or

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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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