A lot happened in the year 1989, including the debut of a TV sitcom in which nothing happened. That show, of course, was Seinfeld, and we’ll be doing a deep dive into this iconic comedy over the coming weeks.
But first, to get a sense of the times and trends that helped shape this series, here’s a quick look at the world in 1989.
1989: World Events
January 1 The Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement goes into effect.
January 7 Emperor Shōwa, the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, dies in his sleep.
January 10 Harris Trust and Savings Bank of Chicago settles a government enforcement action by agreeing to pay $14 million in backpay to women and minorities, the largest such settlement ever obtained from a single employer.
January 11 President Ronald Reagan delivers his farewell address to the nation.
January 13 Bernhard Goetz is sentenced to one year in prison and fined $5,000 for shooting four young men on the New York subway in 1984.
January 16 A Hispanic Miami police officer shoots and kills a speeding black motorcyclist in the Overtown section of Miami, Florida, starting three days of rioting.
January 17 Stockton massacre: Patrick Edward Purdy kills five children, wounds 30 and then shoots himself in Stockton, California.
January 20 George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States and Dan Quayle is sworn in as the 44th Vice President of the United States.
January 24 Serial killer Ted Bundy is executed in Florida’s electric chair. Joel Steinberg is convicted of manslaughter in the beating death of a 6-year-old child he was raising.
February 14 Ayatollah Khomeini Supreme leader of Iran issues a fatwa calling for the death of Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie for releasing the novel The Satanic Verses.
February 15 The Soviet Union announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
February 21 14K Triad is arrested for International Drug Trafficking.
February 23 The US Senate rejects President Bush’s nomination for Defense Secretary former Texas Senator, John Tower.
March 10 President Bush nominates Dick Cheney for Defense Secretary.
March 15 The Bush Administration puts a ban on the import of semi-automatic assault rifles.
March 17 Dick Cheney is confirmed and sworn in as defense secretary.
March 22 US Congress passes a bill to protect the job of whistleblowers who expose government waste or fraud.
March 24 In Alaska’s Prince William Sound, the Exxon Valdez spills 240, 000 barrels of oil.
April 14 The US Government seizes the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association as part of the massive 1980s savings and loan crisis, which costs taxpayers nearly $200 billion in bailouts and many people their life savings.
April 15 – June 5 the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests: More than 1,000,000 Chinese protesters march through Beijing demanding greater democracy, leading to a crackdown.
April 17 The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct charges House Speaker Jim Wright with improperly evading limits on outside income and accepting improper gifts.
April 19 Trisha Meili better known as the “Central Park Jogger” is raped and assaulted while jogging in Central Park, which results in the infamous “Central Park Five” prosecution (later known as the “Exonerated Five” in the years after).
April 19 USS Iowa explodes while on maneuvers killing multiple sailors.
May 26 United States House of Representatives Majority Whip Tony Coelho resigns, saying he wants to spare his family from an investigation into his finances.
May 31 Jim Wright announces his resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
June 3 In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the Supreme Court gives the states new authority to restrict abortions.
June 4 Poland holds its first free elections under Communist rule in over 40 years. The result of this election begins the collapse of communism.
June 6 The United States House of Representatives elects Tom Foley as its new speaker. President Bush vetoes a minimum-wage bill passed by Congress on May 17 that would have increased the minimum wage to $4.55 an hour
June 21 In Texas v. Johnson the United States Supreme Court rules, 5 to 4, that burning the Flag of the United States is protected speech under the First Amendment.
June 26 In Penry v. Lynaugh, the Supreme Court rules, 5 to 4, that states can execute murderers as young as 16 or who are mentally challenged.
July 19 United Airlines Flight 232 crash-lands at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 112 of 296 passengers.
August 9 The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, a measure to rescue the United States savings and loan industry, is signed into law by President Bush, launching the largest federal rescue to date.
August 10 United States Army General Colin Powell becomes the first black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after being nominated by President Bush.
August 20 In Beverly Hills, California, Lyle and Erik Menendez shoot their wealthy parents to death in the family’s den.
August 23 Yusef Hawkins is shot to death in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, sparking racial tensions between African Americans and Italian Americans.
September 21 Hurricane Hugo makes landfall in South Carolina, causing $7 billion in damage.
October 1 Denmark becomes the first country to legalize same-sex civil unions.
October 17 The 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake shakes the San Francisco Bay Area. Sixty-three people are killed and the 1989 baseball World Series is postponed for ten days.
October 20 The US Senate convicts Judge Alcee Hastings of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida of perjury and conspiracy to obtain a bribe, and removes him from office. A federal jury in New York City convicts Rep. Robert García of extortion and conspiracy.
October 23 US Congress fails to override President Bush’s veto of a bill that would have restored funding for abortions for poor women who are the victims of rape or incest.
November 3 The US Senate convicts Judge Walter Nixon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi of lying under oath to a federal grand jury and removes him from office.
November 7 Lieutenant Governor Douglas Wilder wins the Virginia gubernatorial race, becoming the first African-American elected Governor in the United States. David Dinkins becomes the first African-American mayor of New York City.
November 8 US Congress passes legislation to raise the minimum wage from $3.35 to $4.25 an hour by April 1991. President Bush signs this bill on November 17.
November 9 East German official Günter Schabowski accidentally states in a live press conference that new rules for traveling from East Germany to West Germany will be put into effect immediately. This forces East Germany to open checkpoints in the Berlin Wall, allowing its citizens to pass freely to West Germany for the first time in decades.
November 16 Six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her teenage daughter, are murdered by US-trained Salvadoran soldiers.
November 17- November 28 The Velvet Revolution, or Gentle Revolution, ushers in a non-violent transition of power in Czechoslovakia.
December 7 A Miami, Florida jury convicts police officer William Lozano for the January 16 deaths of a black motorcyclist and his passenger.
December 16- 18 Mail bombings kill a federal judge in Birmingham, Alabama and a lawyer in Savannah, Georgia.
December 20 Operation Just Cause is launched in an attempt to overthrow Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega.
SCREEN TIME WITH SAM 
Seinfeld is possibly my favorite sitcom. Excited for the deep dive!
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thanks evan
you wont be disappointed
thank you that you are coming with us in london as well
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I’m really excited for London. Thank you guys for inviting me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a family vacation
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we are looking to foward you coming as well as the trip overall
thanks evan
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