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Events from the year 1989 in the United Kingdom.
[edit] Incumbents
[edit] Events
- January 8 - the Kegworth air disaster - A British Midland Boeing 737 crashes onto the M1 motorway on the approach to East Midlands Airport killing 44 people.
- 25 January - John Cleese wins libel case after the Daily Mirror described him as having become like his character Basil Fawlty in the sitcom Fawlty Towers. [1]
- February 12- Belfast lawyer, Pat Finucane is murdered by the Ulster Freedom Fighters.
- February 14- Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran encourages Muslims to kill The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie
- February 20- IRA bomb the Tern Hill Barracks in Shropshire, injuring 50 soldiers of the Parachute Regiment
- March 4- Purley rail crash- 2 trains collide at Purley, Surrey killing six people.
- March 7 - Iran breaks off diplomatic relations with the UK over Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses
- March 20- Chief Superintendent Harry Breen and Superintendent Bob Buchanan of the Royal Ulster Constabulary are killed by the IRA.
- April 6 - The government announces an end to the legislation which effectively guarantees secure work for more than 9,000 dockers over the remainder of their working lives.
- April 14 - Ford unveils the latest version of its small Fiesta hatchback, which is being built at the Dagenham plant in England and the Valencia plant in Spain.
- April 15- 94 fans are killed in a crush during at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield during the FA Cup semi-final between Nottingham Forest FC and Liverpool FC. Around 300 others have been taken to hospital.
- April 18 - The Hillsborough disaster claims its 95th victim when 14-year-old Lee Nichol dies in hospital as a result of his injuries.
- May 24 - Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, is awarded £600,000 in High Court damages against the satirical magazine Private Eye.
- July 19 - The BBC programme Panorama accuses Lady Porter, Tory Leader of Westminster City Council of gerrymandering
- July 25- The Princess of Wales opens the Landmark Aids Centre in London.
- August 1- Charlotte Hughes of Marske-by-the-Sea in Cleveland, believed to be the oldest living person in England, celebrates her 112th birthday.
- August 20- Marchioness disaster- A pleasure cruiser collides with a barge in the River Thames killing 30 people
- September 22- Deal barracks bombing- The IRA bomb the Royal Marine School of Music in Deal, Kent killing 11 soldiers.
- October 11- The newly-named Rover Group (Austin Rover until earlier this year) launches its new medium-sized hatchback, the 200 Series, which replaces the small four-door saloon of the same name, and gives buyers a more modern and upmarket alternative to the ongoing Maestro range.
- October 19- The Guildford Four are released from prison after the High Court quashes their convictions for the 1975 terrorist atrocity.
- December 5- Margaret Thatcher defeats Anthony Meyer in a leadership election for the Conservative Party
- After spending most of the decade closed down, Whiteleys in London re-opens as a shopping centre.
- Remains of The Rose and Globe Theatre discovered in London. [2]
- Mathematician Roger Penrose's book The Emperor's New Mind published. [2]
[edit] Births
[edit] Deaths
- January 7 - Frank Adams, mathematician (b. 1930)
- 27 January - Thomas Sopwith, aviation pioneer and yachtsman (b. 1888)
- March 6 - Harry Andrews, actor (b. 1911)
- April 12 - Gerald Flood, actor (b. 1927)
- 19 April - Daphne du Maurier, novelist (b. 1907)
- May 19 - C.L.R. James, writer and journalist (b. 1901)
- May 20 - John Hicks, economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- June 27 - Alfred Ayer, philosopher (b. 1910)
- 11 July - Laurence Olivier, actor, director and producer (b. 1907)
- 29 August - Peter Scott, ornithologist, conservationist and painter (b. 1909)
- October 4 - Graham Chapman, comedian (b. 1941)
- December 5 - John Pritchard, conductor (b. 1921)
- 19 December - Stella Gibbons, novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer (b. 1902)
[edit] References
