Jan 31, 1989 - AIDS activists block morning rush hour traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for a few hours to protest the low amount of federal funding for AIDS research.
Feb 23, 1989 - Republican Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, who supported anti-gay legislation, is outed by AIDS activist Michael Petrelis. This is thought to be the first outing of a person of note.
March 9, 1989 - Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe dies from AIDS at the age of 42.
May 24, 1989 - News reports suggest that an explosion aboard the USS Iowa in April, that killed 43 sailors, may have been an act of sabotage carried out by a sailor who was incensed that his male lover had married a woman.
June 25, 1989 - Alabama's first Gay Pride parade takes place in Birmingham with 200 participating.
July 14, 1989 - Marlon Riggs' documentary Tongues Untied premieres at L.A.'s Outfest.
July 25, 1989 - Steve Rubell of Studio 54 fame dies from AIDS at the age of 45.
Sept 11, 1989 - Liza's ninth studio album, Results, is released. Produced by the Pet Shop Boys, its most popular track is a dance remake of Losing My Mind from the 1970 Sondheim musical Follies.
Sept 14, 1989 – ACT UP disrupts the trading floor of the NYSE to protest the high price of AZT.
Oct 7, 1989 - Bette Davis dies at the age of 81.
Nov 9, 1989 - Two men are shown lying in bed together on the ABC drama thirtysomething, a first for network TV.
Dec 1, 1989 - Choreographer Alvin Ailey dies of AIDS at the age of 58.
Dec 10, 1989 - ACT UP holds a notorious demonstration inside New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral that disrupts Sunday Mass.
(To read about LGBT history from other years, double click here.)
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