1990s Fun Facts!!

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.