At A Glance

31 August 1989 at a glance

Day of the week
31 August 1989 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx.
Top Film of 1989
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1989 was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Bestselling Novel of 1989
“Clear and Present Danger” by Tom Clancy was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1989.
Top-Rated TV Show
“The Cosby Show” (NBC) and “Roseanne” (ABC) were joint No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1989–90 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 August is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 August 1989 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 August 1989 was New Moon.

On this day: 31 August

  • 1991 Kyrgyzstan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
  • 1993 Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania.
  • 1994 Russia completes removing its troops from Estonia.
  • 1996 Saddam Hussein's troops seize Irbil after the Kurdish Masoud Barzani appealed for help to defeat his Kurdish rival PUK.
  • 2006 Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

Famous people born on August 31

  • Richard Gere, American actor and producer (born 1949)
  • Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (born 1985)
  • Jalen Brunson, American basketball player (born 1996)
  • Caligula, Roman emperor (born 12)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1989 in the United States

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

  • March 24 – Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of oil after running aground.
  • March 29 – The 61st Academy Awards, the first since 1971 with no official host are held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Barry Levinson's Rain Man winning four awards out of eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
  • April 19 – Trisha Meili is attacked while jogging in New York City's Central Park; as her identity remains secret for years, she becomes known as the "Central Park Jogger."

Life in the US in 1989

President

George H. W. Bush

Gas (per gallon)

$1.00

Loaf of Bread

$0.73

Average House

$107,600

Weekly Wage

$390

Or

Browse by Year

Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

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

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

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →