June 1989

June 1, 1989 (Thursday)

• Pope John Paul II began a 10-day trip to Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. He arrived in Norway on June 1 and left on June 3, visiting Oslo, Trondheim and Tromsø.
• A farmer discovered the burned remains of German security hacker Karl Koch in a forest near Celle, Lower Saxony, West Germany. Despite the unusual circumstances, Koch, who had sold computer data from military and aerospace companies to the KGB, was determined to have committed suicide by self-immolation on May 23.
• During the night of June 1–2, American serial killer Oba Chandler raped 36-year-old Joan Rogers and her 17- and 14-year-old daughters Michelle and Christe and then murdered them by throwing them, alive, into Tampa Bay, Florida, weighted with concrete blocks.
• Born:
• *Hadiza Aliyu, Nigerian actress and filmmaker; in Libreville, Gabon
• *Nataliya Goncharova, Russian Olympic volleyball player; in Skole, Lviv Oblast, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
• *Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan long-distance runner
• Died:
• *Irena Dubiska, 89, Polish violinist
• *Aurelio Lampredi, 71, Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer
• *Martin Zoborosky, 72, Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played one game in the National Hockey League

  June 2, 1989 (Friday)

• Sōsuke Uno succeeded Noboru Takeshita as Prime Minister of Japan.
• 18-year-old Tina Bell disappeared in Billingham, England. Her remains would be found in April 1990 on wasteland at ICI Billingham., Bell's murder would remain unsolved.
• The Uniroyal Chemical Co. announced a voluntary halt to sales in the United States of the chemical Alar, used to improve the shelf life and color of apples. Studies had linked Alar with tumor development in lab animals.
• Born:
• *Freddy Adu, American soccer player; in Tema, Ghana
• *Liviu Antal, Romanian footballer; in Șimleu Silvaniei, Romania
• *Davide Appollonio, Italian professional road bicycle racer; in Isernia, Molise, Italy
• *Dean Burmester, South African professional golfer; in Mutare, Zimbabwe
• *Austin Davis, National Football League quarterback and coach; in Meridian, Mississippi
• *Cooper Helfet, National Football League tight end; in Kentfield, California
• *Alex Love, American flyweight boxer; in Monroe, Washington
• *Willy Moon, New Zealand musician, singer and songwriter; in Wellington, New Zealand
• *Kilakone Siphonexay, Laotian Olympic sprinter; in Vientiane, Laos
• *Steve Smith, Australian cricketer; in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• *Darius van Driel, Dutch professional golfer; in Leidschendam, Netherlands
• *Shane Yarran, Australian rules footballer; in Seville Grove, Western Australia
• *Nanda Zulmi, Indonesian footballer
• Died:
• *Ted à Beckett, 81, Australian cricketer, Australian rules footballer and solicitor
• *Guido Agosti, 87, Italian pianist and piano teacher
• *Dick Mayer, 64, American professional golfer
• *Takeo Watanabe, 56, Japanese musician and composer, died of cancer.

  June 3, 1989 (Saturday)

• The world's first high-definition television broadcasts commenced in Japan, in analogue.
• Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Fergana massacre began in the Fergana Valley, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union. By the time the massacre ended on June 12, at least 97 Meskhetian Turks had been killed and over 1000 wounded by Uzbek extremists.
• Pope John Paul II arrived in Iceland, visiting Reykjavík and Þingvellir before leaving on June 4.
• The SkyDome, the world's first retractable roof stadium, opened in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Born:
• *Nicole Della Monica, Italian Olympic pair skater; in Trescore Balneario, Province of Bergamo, Italy
• *Megumi Han, Japanese actress; in Tokyo, Japan
• *Katie Hoff, American Olympic swimmer; in Abingdon, Maryland
• *Artem Kravets, Ukrainian footballer; in Dniprodzerzhynsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
• *Imogen Poots, British actress; in London, England
• *Viengsavanh Sayyaboun, Laotian footballer; in Vientiane, Laos
• *Anthony Taugourdeau, French footballer; in Marseille, France
• *Daniela Vega, Chilean actress and opera singer; in San Miguel, Santiago Province, Chile
• Died:
• *Jack Belden, 79, American war correspondent, died of lung cancer.
• *Ruhollah Khomeini, 86 or 89, Iranian philosopher, politician, revolutionary and Shia Muslim religious leader, 1st Supreme Leader of Iran, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, died from surgical complications and heart failure.

  June 4, 1989 (Sunday)

• A violent military crackdown took place on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
• The news of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini was announced to the people of Iran at 7:00 a.m. by Mohammad Reza Hayati, one of the veteran news anchors of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting tv1 and IRIB radio Iran. After hearing the news, people mourned on the streets and highways in Tehran and other cities. The text of the news of Ayatollah Khomeini's death on Radio Iran: "At 7:00 AM, this is Tehran, the voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful, inna lleh wa inna aliyeh rajiyun, the high spirit of the leader of the Muslims and the leader of the free people of the world, Imam Khomeini, has joined the kingdom of Allah." At 9:00 a.m., Ali Khamenei, the President of Iran, began reading Khomeini's last will and testament to the Assembly of Experts. In the afternoon the Assembly elected Khamenei as Supreme Leader.
• An explosion near Ufa, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, killed 575 as two trains passing each other threw sparks near a leaky natural gas pipeline. The disaster received relatively little media attention, possibly due to Soviet censorship and the other major news events of the day.
• Solidarity's victory in the first round of the 1989 Polish legislative election was the first of many anti-communist revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe.
• A giant wave struck the trimaran Rose-Noëlle, carrying four men from New Zealand on an adventure trip to Tonga, flipping it upside-down. The men would drift at sea for 119 days before winds and currents carried the wrecked yacht in a loop to Great Barrier Island.
• Pope John Paul II arrived in Finland, visiting Helsinki and Turku before leaving on June 6.
• The bodies of Joan, Michelle and Christe Rogers were found floating in Tampa Bay.
• American driver Dale Earnhardt won the 1989 Budweiser 500 stock car race at Dover Downs International Speedway in Dover, Delaware.
• The V International AIDS Conference began in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It would continue through June 9.
• At the 43rd Tony Awards, The Heidi Chronicles won the award for Best Play, while Jerome Robbins' Broadway won the award for Best Musical.
• Born:
• *Federico Erba, Italian footballer; in Rome, Italy
• *Paweł Fajdek, Polish Olympic hammer thrower; in Świebodzice, Poland
• *Eldar Gasimov, Azerbaijani singer ; in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
• *Bernard Le Roux, South African-born French rugby union player; in Moorreesburg, Western Cape, South Africa
• Died:
• *Dik Browne, 71, American cartoonist, died of cancer.
• *Vernon Cracknell, 77, New Zealand politician

  June 5, 1989 (Monday)

• An unknown Chinese protester, "Tank Man", stood in front of a column of military tanks on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing, temporarily halting them, an incident which achieved iconic status internationally through images taken by Western photographers.
• Eight people were killed, and hundreds injured, in a human crush during the viewing of Ayatollah Khomeini's body at the Musalla in Tehran.
• Born:
• *Cam Atkinson, American National Hockey League right winger; in Riverside, Connecticut
• *Mónica Castaño, Colombian beauty queen and model
• *Roxana Cocoș, Romanian Olympic weightlifter; in Bucharest, Romania
• *Ed Davis, National Basketball Association player; in Washington, D.C.
• *Megumi Nakajima, Japanese voice actress and singer; in Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
• Died: Maurice Philippe, 57, British aircraft and Formula One car designer

  June 6, 1989 (Tuesday)

• Japanese serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki murdered 5-year-old Ayako Nomoto. Over the next two days he would engage in sexual acts with the girl's corpse and take photos and videos of it.
• Officials aborted the Ayatollah Khomeini's first funeral in Tehran after a large crowd stormed the funeral procession, nearly destroying Khomeini's wooden casket in order to get a last glimpse of his body. At one point, the body almost fell to the ground, as the crowd attempted to grab pieces of the death shroud. The Ayatollah's body had to be returned for the burial preparations to be repeated, before being brought back to the cemetery a few hours later.
• Pope John Paul II arrived in Denmark, visiting Åsebakken Priory, Roskilde, Copenhagen and Øm before leaving on June 7.
• Democratic Representative Tom Foley of Washington was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican Representative Robert H. Michel by a vote of 251-164. The Speaker's chair had been vacated by the resignation of Jim Wright due to a scandal.
• In professional basketball, the 1989 NBA Finals began between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Born:
• *Bryn McAuley, Canadian actress; in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• *Robert Sacre, American-Canadian National Basketball Association player; in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  June 7, 1989 (Wednesday)

• The British government announced that it would sell the Short Brothers aerospace company, the largest employer in Northern Ireland, to the Canadian company Bombardier Inc.
• Surinam Airways Flight 764, originating from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, crashed in Paramaribo, Suriname, due to pilot error, killing 176. Among the dead were 14 members of an exhibition football team known as the "Colourful XI" and their coach; three players survived.
• Died in the crash of Surinam Airways Flight 764:
• *Ruud Degenaar, 25, Heracles Almelo
• *Lloyd Doesburg, 29, AFC Ajax
• *Steve van Dorpel, 23, FC Volendam
• *Wendel Fräser, 22, RBC Roosendaal
• *Frits Goodings, 25, FC Wageningen
• *Jerry Haatrecht, 28, Neerlandia
• *Virgall Joemankhan, 20, Cercle Brugge K.S.V.
• *Andro Knel, 21, NAC Breda
• *Ruben Kogeldans, 22, Willem II Tilburg
• *Fred Patrick, 23, PEC Zwolle
• *Andy Scharmin, 21, FC Twente
• *Elfried Veldman, 23, De Graafschap
• *Florian Vijent, 27, SC Telstar
• *Nick Stienstra, 34, RCH
• The United States Navy submarine USS Blenny, launched in 1944, was sunk as part of an artificial reef off Ocean City, Maryland. Former crewmembers of the Blenny were present for the sinking ceremony.
• Born:
• *James Hamilton, New Zealand Olympic snowboarder; in Takapuna, New Zealand
• *Seiji Kobayashi, Japanese professional baseball catcher
• *Agyemang Opoku, Ghanaian footballer; in Obuasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana
• *Mitch Robinson, Australian rules footballer
• *Sofía Sisniega, Mexican actress; in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
• Died:
• *Chico Landi, 81, Brazilian Formula One driver
• *Nara Leão, 47, Brazilian bossa nova singer, died of a brain tumor.