- January 11
- In Lithuania, 300,000 demonstrate for independence. [1] [42]
- January 12
- Romania bans Communist party (first Warsaw Pact member to do so). [1]
- January 14
- Perez de Cuellar says he has lost all hope for peace in the Persian Gulf. [1]
- January 15
- Thousands storm the Stasi headquarters in Berlin in an attempt to view their government records. [42]
- January 16
- Two Bank of Credit and Commerce members plea guilty to money laundering. [1]
- January 17
- The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Four Seasons, Four Tops, Hank Ballard, Platters and Kinks inducted into Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [1]
- January 18
- South Africa says it is reconsidering ban on African National Congress. [1]
- January 20
- Soviet troops occupy Baku, Azerbaijan, under the state of emergency decree issued by Gorbachev, and kill over 130 and wound over 700 protesters for national independence. [42]
- January 21
- The East German political party, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, changes its name to the Party of Democratic Socialism to minimize negative association with German Democratic Republic. [37]
- January 22
- Robert Tappan Morris, Junior is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm. [5] [42]
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- January 24
- Japanese MUSES-A (Hiten) launched towards moon. [1]
- January 25
- Avianca Flight 52 runs out of fuel and crashes into Cove Neck, Long Island, after a miscommunication between the flight crew and JFK Airport officials. 73 die. [1] [42]
- Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is transferred to a Miami Florida jail. [1]
- (to January 26) The Burns' Day storm kills 97 in northwestern Europe. [1] [42]
- January 26
- Annular eclipse visible over Antarctica and South Atlantic. [1]
- January 27
- Dissolution of Polish communist party. [1]
- The city of Tiraspol in the Moldavian SSR briefly declares independence. [42]
- January 28
- Independent on Sunday begins publishing in London, England. [1]
- East German agreement to form all-party government. [1]
- January 31
- First McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Russia opens in Moscow, world's biggest McDonald's. [1] [42]
- February 1
- Nintendo ships the Super Mario Bros. 3 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. (It becomes the best-selling video game of all time, grossing US$500 million, selling 17.28 million cartridges.) [9]
- February 2
- In South Africa, President F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to legally function again and promises to free Nelson Mandela. [1] [42]
- February 4
- Ten Israeli tourists murdered near Cairo, Egypt. [1]
- February 5
- Manuel Fraga becomes the president of Galicia (Spain). [42]
- February 7
- Karachi police kill 22 anti-nationalistic demonstrators. [1]
- The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly of power. [1] [42]
- Oil tanker American Trader leaks 1.1 million litres of crude oil from a gash in the hull, causing an oil slick 22km long polluting Bosa Chica, a southern California nature reserve. [522]
- February 9
- Namibia's constitution ratified. [1]
- February 10
- South Africa President F.W. de Klerk announces Nelson Mandela will be free February 11th. [1] [42]
- February 11
- Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison, near Cape Town, South Africa, after 27 years behind bars. [1] [42] [46.237]
- Enix releases the Dragon Quest IV game for the Famicom in Japan. On the first day in stores, 1.3 million copies are sold, for about US$75 each. [9]
- February 13
- 50 killed at Inkatha-UDF battle in Natal, South Africa. [1]
- US, France, and England give consent to German reunification. [1] [37][42]
- February 14
- Perrier recalls 160 million bottles of sparkling water after traces of benzene, a carcinogen, are found in some. [1]
- Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system. [1]
- February 15
- The United Kingdom and Argentina restore diplomatic relations, after severing them eight years ago. The UK had severed ties in response to Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands, a British Dependent Territory, in 1982. [42]
- IBM unveils its new RISC-based workstation line, the RS/6000. Development work had been done under code name "America" for the RISC chip research, and "RIOS" for systems using the America technology. The architecture of the systems is given the name POWER, standing for Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC. [4]
- February 19
- Police kill eight demonstrators for multi-party system in Nepal. [1]
- February 26
- USSR agrees to withdraw all 73,500 troops from Czechoslovakia by July, 1991. [1] [42]
- The Sandinistas are defeated in the Nicaraguan elections. [42]
- February 27
- Exxon Corp and Exxon Shipping are indicted on five criminal counts for the grounding and oil spill of the Exxon Valdez. [1] [42]
- February 28
- Dutch police seize 3,000kg of cocaine. [1]
- In Southern California, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurs. [53]
- March 1
- Benin nullifies its constitution. [1]
- Luis Alberto Lacelle sworn in as President of Uruguay. [1]
- In Texas, near-stock ZR-1 and L-98 Corvettes set a dozen land speed records. Average speed for all runs is 170- to 175-MPH. [8]
- The Royal New Zealand Navy discontinues its daily rum ration. [42]
- A fire at the Sheraton Hotel in Cairo, Egypt, kills 16 people. [42]
- March 4
- In Pakistan, a magnitude 6.1 earthquake occurs. At least 11 people killed, about 40 injured and many homes and buildings damaged. [53]
- March 6
- American SR-71 sets a transcontinental record, flying 2,404 miles in 1:08:17. [1] [42]
- March 7
- Three passengers killed and 162 injured as subway train derails in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. [1]
- March 8
- The German Parliament, Bundestag issues a resolution concerning the border with Poland which, "will at no time, either today or in the future, be questioned through territorial claims on the part of the Germans." [37]
- March 9
- Police seal off Brixton in South London after another night of protests against the poll tax. [42]
- In Canada, Newfoundland Premier Clyde Wells confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the Meech Lake Accord. [42]
- March 10
- Lieutenant General Avril resigns as President of Haiti, eighteen months after seizing power in a coup. [1] [42]
- March 11
- Lithuanian Parliament declares incorporation into the Soviet Union was illegal, and declares independence. [1] [10] [42] [1138.917]
- Patricio Aylwin is sworn-in as the first democratically-elected Chilean president since 1970. [42]
- March 13
- Nicholoas Braithwaite elected premier of Grenada. [1]
- March 15
- Fernando Collor de Mello sworn in as President of Brazil. [1]
- The Soviet Union announces that Lithuania's declaration of independence is invalid. [42]
- Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying. Daphne Parish, a British nurse, is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment as an accomplice. [42]
- Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union. [1] [42]
- March 18
- First free elections in German Democratic Republic; Conservatives beat Communists. [1] [42]
- Twelve paintings, collectively worth US$100+ million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by two thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest art theft in US history, and the paintings (as of 2007) have not been recovered. [1] [42]
- March 20
- South West Africa changes name to Namibia. [285.82]
- Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering. [42]
- March 21
- After 75 years of South African rule, Namibia becomes independent; Sam Nujoma first president. [1] [42]
- Namibia issues its first postage stamps. [1367.1183]
- March 22
- Anchorage Alaska jury finds Captain Hazelwood innocent of Valdez oil spill. [1]
- March 23
- Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince William Sound and pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill. [1]
- March 24
- Indian troops leave Sri Lanka. [1]
- The government of Australian prime minister Bob Hawke is re-elected for a fourth term. [42]
- March 25
- In New York City, a fire due to arson at an illegal social club called "Happy Land" kills 87. [1][42]
- In Costa Rica, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurs. Felt throughout Costa Rica and southwestern Nicaragua, and parts of Panama. [53]
- March 27
- Bus accidentally touches high voltage wire in Karagpur, India; 21 die. [1]
- The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba. [42]
- March 28
- Michael Jordan scores 69 points, fourth time he scores 60 points in a game. [1]
- March 31
- A massive anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, turns into a riot; 471 people are injured, and 341 arrested. [1] [42]
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