Events 1990’S
1990
- Nelson Mandela is released from prison in South Africa and becomes the leader of the ANC.
- Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
- East and West Germany are reunited after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
- Margaret Thatcher resigns from her position as Prime Minister in the United Kingdom.
- One of the most completed T. Rex fossils is found in South Dakota and it is named “Sue” after the paleontologist that discovered it.
1991
- The Internet becomes available for unrestricted commercial use.
- Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia become independent from the former Yugoslavia.
- The lead singer of the band Queen, Freddie Mercury, dies from AIDS.
- Operation Desert Storm takes place in Iraq and Kuwait.
- Boris Yeltsin becomes Russia’s first elected President.
1992
- The European Union is created when the Maastricht Treaty is signed.
- Democrat Bill Clinton is elected as the United States President.
- The Mall of America opens in Minnesota.
- Euro Disney is opened in France.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina declare independence.
1993
- Czechoslovakia separates into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- The Hubble Telescope is repaired in space by a crew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
- NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is signed into law.
- Intel introduces the Pentium Microprocessor.
- Russia and the United States sign the START II Treaty.
1994
- Nelson Mandela becomes the President of South Africa after being elected in the country’s first multi-racial elections.
- The 1994 FIFA World Cup is held in the United States and Brazil wins the title.
- The 1994 Major League Baseball season is cancelled when the Players Association goes on strike.
- Genocide and Civil War take place in Rwanda with an estimated 500,000 or more people killed.
- The Channel Tunnel is completed and opens, connecting France and England.
1995
- The American Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian Mir Space Station for the first time.
- The online auction website Ebay is founded.
- The Java Programming Language is released.
- The first Trans-Pacific hot air balloon solo flight is completed by Steve Fossett.
- The World Trade Organization ( WTO ) is created.
1996
- Princess Diana and Prince Charles get divorced.
- The internet search engine “Ask Jeeves” is created.
- The Summer Olympics are held in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Kofi Annan becomes the Secretary General of the United Nations.
- Bill Clinton is elected for a second term as the United States President after he defeats Bob Dole.
1997
- Madeleine Albright is appointed as the first female Secretary of State in the United States.
- Scotland creates its own Parliament.
- The first Harry Potter book is published by author J.K. Rowling.
- Scientists at the Roslin Institute unveil “Dolly” the first successfully cloned sheep.
- The Hale-Bopp comet makes its closest approach to Earth.
1998
- The search engine Google is founded.
- Apple Computers reveals the iMac computer.
- The United States has a budget surplus for the first time in thirty years.
- Ireland and the United Kingdom sign the Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement.
- Central American countries are devastated by Hurricane Mitch.
1999
- President Bill Clinton faces impeachment proceedings.
- The file-sharing service Napster is created.
- The Dow Jones closes above 11,000 for the first time.
- Helen Clark becomes the first female Prime Minister elected in New Zealand.
- Eleven countries begin to use the Euro as their currency.