Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

Decades: 1960s 1970s 1980s - 1990s - 2000s 2010s 2020s

Years: 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

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Contents

1 Events and trends 1.1 Technology 1.2 Science 1.3 War, peace and politics 1.4 Economics 1.5 Culture 1.6 Others 2 People 2.1 World leaders 2.2 Entertainers 2.3 Sports figures 3 See also 4 External links

Events and trends

Technology

• 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; revolutionises astronomy

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
• End of apartheid in South Africa and election of ANC government of Nelson Mandela
• Genocide in Rwanda kills one million people, in 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

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
• Chuck Palahniuk publishes Fight Club and becomes an influential author of Generation X
• Grunge music gains widespread mainstream acceptance in the early part of the decade
• 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 as the media gives feminist movements a boost with The Spice Girls, the WNBA, women's boxing, Sex and the City and others showcasing feminine talent
• The Vieques controversy
• Crime levels peak in the U.S. late in the decade and begin to taper off

People

World leaders

• Prime Minister Bob Hawke (Australia)
• Prime Minister Paul Keating (Australia)
• Prime Minister John Howard (Australia)
• 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)
• 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
• 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

• Sandra Bullock (Speed, A Time to Kill)
• Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns)
• Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask)
• Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves, JFK, Waterworld)
• Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen)
• Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic)
• Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List, The English Patient)
• Mel Gibson (Braveheart)
• Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act, Ghost, Ghosts of Mississippi, Hollywood Squares)
• Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Toy Story, The Green Mile)
• Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Titus)
• Helen Hunt (Mad About You, Twister, As Good as It Gets)
• Samuel L. Jackson (Goodfellas Pulp Fiction)
• Nicole Kidman (My Life, Eyes Wide Shut)
• Demi Moore (Ghost, Striptease, A Few Good Men)
• Michelle Pfeiffer (The Age of Innocence, Batman Returns)
• Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman, Notting Hill)
• Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
• Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld)
• Kate Winslet (Titanic)
• Mike Myers (Wayne's World, Saturday Night Live)
• Dana Carvey (Wayne's World)
• Phil Collins
• Harrison Ford (actor)
• Bret Hart
• Ashley Judd
• Michael Keaton
• Shawn Michaels
• Liam Neeson
• Jack Nicholson
• Meg Ryan
• Adam Sandler (actor)
• M. Night Shyamalan
• Stone Cold Steve Austin
• Mira Sorvino
• Billy Bob Thornton
• Uma Thurman
• The Undertaker
• Bruce Willis (the Die Hard series)
• U2 (Achtung Baby)

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 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)
• 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)
• Brian Lara (Trinidadian cricketer)
• Mario Lemieux (Canadian ice hockey player)
• Tony Lockett (Australian Australian Rules Football player)
• Jonah Lomu (New Zealand rugby union player)
• Mark McGwire (U.S. baseball player)
• Karl Malone (U.S. basketball player)
• Mark Messier (Canadian ice hockey player)
• Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lankan cricketer)
• 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)
• Tony Hawk (American Extreme sport athlete)

See also

• 1990s music groups

External links

• 90s memories and memorabilia