1990s
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| Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium | |
| Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century | |
| Decades: 1960s 1970s 1980s - 1990s - 2000s 2010s 2020s | |
| Years: | |
| Contents |
Events and trends
The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. The 90s were marked with rapid progression of globalization and global capitalism following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. While optimism and hopes were high following the collapse of Communism, the backlash of the Cold War's effect was only beginning, precipitating the rise of Terrorism in 3rd world regions that were once the frontlines for American and Soviet foreign politics, particularly in Asia.
Technology
- The World Wide Web was born at CERN
- Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology
- Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity
- Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K)
- Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM PCs
- Development of free operating system Linux is started
- Breakthrough of compact disc technology, later branching into DVD
Science
- Detection of extrasolar planets orbiting stars other than the sun
- Cloning (of Dolly the sheep) achieved
- Human Genome Project begun
- DNA identification of individuals finds wide application in criminal law
- Hubble Space Telescope launched; revolutionizes astronomy
- Protease Inhibitors introduced allowing HAART therapy against HIV; drastically reduces AIDS mortality
War, peace and politics
- Reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990
- Gulf War and United Nations embargo on Iraq in 1991
- Break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 - the end of the Cold War, United States as sole world superpower. Debate over Military actions in Somalia lead to questions of the United States' role as a policing officer of the world. (see also, Black Hawk Down).
- The bombing of the World Trade Center by an explosive-filled van leads to awareness of international terrorism as a rising threat.
- End of apartheid in South Africa and election of ANC government of Nelson Mandela
- Genocide in Rwanda kills one million people, in 1994
- The birth of the "Second Republic" in Italy, with the Mani Pulite investigations of 1994
- Peace process begins in Northern Ireland
- Balkan war in former Yugoslavia
- Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia
- North Yemen and South Yemen merge to form Yemen
- A decade of women presidents in the Republic of Ireland
- European Union is declared in 1992
- The United Kingdom hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in July 1, 1997
- U.S. president Bill Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment trial in 1998, which lasts the entire year
- Anti-globalization protests
- The Second Congo War start in 1998 in central Africa and includes 5 different cultures and 7 different nations. It goes on until 2002
Economics
- Development of GATT, the World Trade Organization and other global economic institutions
- After 1992 the booming of the US stock market, in reference to which Alan Greenspan coined the memorable phrase "irrational exuberance", which eventually stretched into the dot-com boom / dot-com bubble
Culture
- Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation born in the late 1960s and early 1970s (then college-age)
- Grunge music gains widespread mainstream acceptance in the early part of the decade; alternative rock gains popularity as a result
- Rap music gains widespread mainstream acceptance in the late part of the decade
- Black becomes a dominant color in fashion, along with several dark colors (see Goth, the Matrix, and Regis Philbin)
- Trance, techno electronic music becomes widely popular in Europe/USA
- Dogme 95 becomes the leading European artistic film movement by the end of the decade
- Video games become more advanced. The more influential game systems include the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sony Playstation, and the Sega Dreamcast, being one of the first to jumpstart the online gaming craze of the 2000s.
- Extreme sports reached a new height in popularity, and by 1995, were given their own annual tournament on ESPN, the X-Games
- Cartoons aimed at an adult audience become popular. Among the most successful are The Simpsons (1989-), Ren & Stimpy (1991-1995), Beavis & Butthead (1993-1997), South Park (1997-), and Family Guy (1999-)
Others
- Global human impact on the environment widely accepted
- Divorce and scandal rock the British Royal House of Windsor
- Assassination of Selena Quintanilla
- O.J.'s trial, called by many the trial of the century
- You go, girl! becomes a popular phrase in the media as feminism is more widely accepted and publicised in the media with The Spice Girls, the WNBA, women's boxing, Sex and the City and others showcasing modern femininity.
- The Vieques controversy
- The Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168.
- Waco massacre prompts a nationwide debate in the U.S. about the freedom of association right of the Michigan Militia, Montana Militia and other radical groups
- Crime levels in the U.S. peak late in the decade and begin to taper off
- Princess Diana dies in a car accident in 1997. Debates of accident vs assassination rage.
People
World leaders
- Prime Minister Bob Hawke (Australia)
- Prime Minister Paul Keating (Australia)
- Prime Minister John Howard (Australia)
- President Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (Brazil)
- President Itamar Franco (Brazil)
- President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil)
- Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Canada)
- Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (Canada)
- "Paramount Leader" Deng Xiaoping (People's Republic of China)
- President Jiang Zemin (People's Republic of China)
- President Lee Teng-hui (Republic of China on Taiwan)
- President Franjo Tuđman (Croatia)
- Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Denmark)
- President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)
- President François Mitterrand (France)
- President Jacques Chirac (France)
- Chancellor Helmut Kohl (Germany)
- Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (Germany)
- Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (India)
- President Mohammad Khatami (Iran)
- President Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
- Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Israel)
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel)
- Emperor Akihito (Japan)
- President Yasser Arafat (Palestinian Authority)
- Pope Pope John Paul II
- President Boris Yeltsin (Russia)
- Taoiseach Charles Haughey (Republic of Ireland)
- Taoiseach Albert Reynolds (Republic of Ireland)
- Taoiseach John Bruton (Republic of Ireland)
- Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (Republic of Ireland)
- President Boris Yeltsin (Russia)
- President Frederik Willem de Klerk (South Africa)
- President Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
- President Kim Dae-jung (South Korea)
- President Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union)
- Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom et al.)
- Prime Minister John Major (United Kingdom)
- Prime Minister Tony Blair (United Kingdom)
- President George H.W. Bush (United States)
- President Bill Clinton (United States)
- President Slobodan Milošević (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Entertainers
- Adam Sandler
- Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Titus)
- Ashley Judd
- Billy Bob Thornton
- Bret Hart
- Bruce Willis (the Die Hard series, Pulp Fiction)
- Dana Carvey (Wayne's World)
- Demi Moore (Ghost, Striptease, A Few Good Men)
- Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen)
- Harrison Ford
- Helen Hunt (Mad About You, Twister, As Good as It Gets)
- Jack Nicholson
- Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld)
- Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask)
- Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman, Notting Hill)
- Kate Winslet (Titanic)
- Kurt Cobain
- Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic)
- Liam Neeson
- M. Night Shyamalan
- The Undertaker
- Meg Ryan
- Mel Gibson (Braveheart)
- Michael Jackson
- Michael Keaton
- Michelle Pfeiffer (The Age of Innocence, Batman Returns)
- Mike Myers (Wayne's World, Saturday Night Live)
- Mira Sorvino
- Nicole Kidman (My Life, Eyes Wide Shut)
- Phil Collins
- Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
- Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List, The English Patient)
- Samuel L. Jackson (Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction)
- Sandra Bullock (Speed, A Time to Kill)
- Shawn Michaels
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns)
- Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Toy Story, The Green Mile)
- U2 (Achtung Baby)
- Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction)
- Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act, Ghost, Ghosts of Mississippi, Hollywood Squares)
Sports figures
- Andre Agassi (U.S tennis player)
- Sergey Bubka (Ukrainian track and field athlete)
- Roger Clemens (U.S. baseball player)
- Linford Christie (English track and field athlete)
- Dale Earnhardt (U.S. racing driver)
- Brett Favre (U.S. American football player)
- Paul Gascoigne (English football (soccer) player)
- Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopian track and field athlete)
- Ryan Giggs (Welsh soccer player)
- Jeff Gordon (U.S. racing driver)
- Steffi Graf (German tennis player)
- Wayne Gretzky (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Hicham El Guerrouj (Moroccan track and field athlete)
- Tony Hawk U.S. extreme sport athlete)
- Evander Holyfield (U.S. boxer)
- Miguel Induráin (Spanish cyclist)
- Andrew Johns (Australian Rugby League player)
- Michael Johnson (U.S. track and field athlete)
- Michael Jordan (U.S. basketball player)
- Michelle Kwan (U.S. figure skater)
- Brian Lara (Trinidadian cricketer)
- Matthew Le Tissier (English football (soccer) player)
- Mario Lemieux (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Tony Lockett (Australian Australian Rules Football player)
- Jonah Lomu (New Zealand rugby union player)
- Greg Maddux (U.S. baseball player)
- Mark McGwire (U.S. baseball player)
- Karl Malone (U.S. basketball player)
- Mark Messier (Canadian ice hockey player)
- Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lankan cricketer)
- Michael Owen (English soccer player)
- Cal Ripken Jr. (U.S. baseball player)
- Patrick Roy (Canadian ice hockey player)
- David Robinson (U.S. basketball player)
- Pete Sampras (U.S tennis player)
- Barry Sanders (U.S. American football player)
- Michael Schumacher (German racing driver)
- Monica Seleš (Yugoslavian tennis player)
- Ayrton Senna (Brazilian racing driver)
- Emmitt Smith (U.S. American football player)
- John Stockton (U.S. basketball player)
- Sachin Tendulkar (Indian cricketer)
- Alberto Tomba (Italian skier)
- Mike Tyson (U.S. boxer)
- Courtney Walsh (Jamaican cricketer)
- Shane Warne (Australian cricketer)
- Steve Waugh (Australian cricketer)
- Larry Walker (U.S. baseball player)
See also
External links
- 90s memories and memorabilia (http://www.doyouremember.co.uk/)ca:Dècada del 1990
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