1990s

For the band, see 1990s (band).

The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999. During this time, the widespread adoption of personal computers, the Internet and the increased economic productivity led to the equity market booms around the world, and caused an influx of wealth to America, Europe and Asia.

This decade started with the United States invasion of Iraq, as well as the cementation of free-market capitalism in many economic systems worldwide. During this decade, racial prejudice lost moral acceptance, and the gender roles for women began to increase dramatically in many industrialized countries. The majority of the decade was wedged between the Cold War and the War On Terror, creating a relative time of peace in the Western World.

Economics

The Dow Jones Index of 1990's

Many countries, institutions, companies, and organizations experienced the 1990s as a prosperous time. High-income countries such as the United States, Western Europe, and South Korea experienced steady economic growth for much of the decade. However, in the former Soviet Union GDP decreased as their economies restructured to produce goods they needed and some capital flight occurred.

In many continents, oil and gas were discovered in many countries in the former Soviet bloc, leading to economic growth and wider adoption of trade between nations. These trends were also fueled by inexpensive fossil energy, with low petroleum prices caused by a glut of oil. Political stability and decreased militarization due to the winding down of the Cold War led to economic development and higher standards of living for many citizens.

• Personal incomes doubled from the recession in 1990, and there was higher productivity overall. After the 1996 Welfare Reform Act there was a reduction of poverty, and the Wall Street stock exchange stayed over the 10,500 mark from 1999 to 2001.
• After the 1992 booming of the US stock market, Alan Greenspan coined the phrase "irrational exuberance".
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) update and creation of the World Trade Organization and other global economic institutions, but opposition by anti-globalization activists showed up in nearly every GATT summit, like the demonstrations in Seattle in December 1999.
• With the creation of the E.U. there is free movement of labor between member states, such as the 1992 and 1995 free trade agreements. The EU agreed to have a single currency, and the Euro began circulation in March 1999 in 12 member states.
• The Philippines saw great economic development after The People Power revolt. The economy gains 5% from its deficit until the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which phases out trade barriers between the United States, Mexico and Canada is signed into law by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
• From 1990 until 1998 inclusive, the economy of Russia and some former USSR states was in a severe depression. Eastern European economies struggled after the fall of communism, but Poland, Hungary, Estonia and Lithuania saw healthy economic growth rates in the late 1990s.
• Except for the United Kingdom and Ireland, much of Europe had serious economic problems, such as the massive 1995 general strikes in France during its worst recession since World War II. The French economy mildly rebounds at the end of the decade.
• Democracy, economic reform and peace arrive in Latin America, while the sluggish economies of Brazil, by a new emphasis on free markets for all their citizens, and Mexico, under economist president Ernesto Zedillo elected in 1994, were their best shape by the late 1990s.
• Financial crisis hits East and Southeast Asia in 1997 and 1998 after a long period of phenomenal economic development. Japan was heavily affected, as was Indonesia when the 30-year rule of President Suharto ended in his resignation after widespread protests in May 1998. See East Asian Tigers.

World-changing events

Significant events that occurred during or after 1990 which would influence the course of history and character of the decade, include:

• The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 2 1990.
• The German reunification in october 3 1990 as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall
• The resignation of Margaret Thatcher as leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the UK followed by the election and appointment of John Major as her successor on November 28, 1990.
• The Moscow Coup and subsequent break-up of the Soviet Union on December 21 1991.

Significant events that marked the passing of the decade include:

• The resignation of President Boris Yeltsin on December 31, 1999 resulting in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's succession to the position
• World-wide New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31 1999.
• Worldwide concern about possible widespread computer malfunctions resulting from the Year 2000 problem.

Science

Hubble Space Telescope

• Detection of extrasolar planets orbiting stars other than the sun.
• Dolly the sheep is cloned.
• Human Genome Project begins.
• DNA identification of individuals finds wide application in criminal law.
• Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990; revolutionizes astronomy.
• Protease inhibitors introduced allowing HAART therapy against HIV; drastically reduces AIDS mortality.
• NASA's spacecraft Pathfinder lands on Mars and deploys a small roving vehicle, Sojourner, which analyzes the planet's geology and atmosphere.
• The Hale-Bopp comet swings past the sun for the first time in 4,200 years in April 1997.
• Development of biodegradable products, replacing products made from Styrofoam; advances in methods for recycling of waste products (such as paper, glass, aluminum).
• Genetically engineered crops are developed for commercial use.
• Discovery of dark matter, dark energy, brown dwarfs, and first confirmation of black holes.
• The Galileo probe orbits Jupiter, studying the planet and its moons extensively.
• The Global Positioning System (GPS) becomes fully operational.
• Proof of Fermat's last theorem is discovered by Andrew Wiles.
• Construction starts on the International Space Station- 1996.

Technology

Some technologies invented and improved during the 1990s:

Graphic representation of the WWW.

Hardware

• The Pentium processor is developed by Intel.
• Explosive growth of the Internet, perhaps caused by a decrease in the cost of computers and other technology.
• Advancements in computer modems, ISDN, cable modems and DSL lead to faster connection to the Internet.
• Pagers are initially popular but ultimately are replaced by mobile phones toward the end of the decade.
• Hand-held satellite phones are introduced towards the end of the decade.
• CD burner drives are introduced.
• Digital SLRs and regular Digital cameras become commercially available.
• The DVD media format is developed and popularized along with a plethora of Flash memory card standards.
• Apple introduces the iMac computer, initiating a trend in computer design towards translucent plastics and multicolor case design, discontinuing many legacy technologies like serial ports, and beginning a resurgence in the company's fortunes that continues unabated to this day.
• IBM introduces the 1-inch wide Microdrive hard drive in 170 MB and 340 MB capacities.
• The first GSM network is launched in Finland in 1991
• The first MP3 Player, the MPMan, is released in late spring of 1998. It came with 32Mb of flash memory expandable to 64Mb.
• The introduction of affordable, smaller satellite dishes and the DVB-S standard in the mid-1990s expanded satellite television services that carried up to 500 television channels.

Software

• The World Wide Web and HTML are created by Tim Berners-Lee and eventually displace the Gopher protocol.
• Microsoft introduces Windows 95 and later Windows 98 to the market, which gain immediate popularity.
• The development of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer makes surfing the World Wide Web easier and more user friendly.
• The Java programming language is developed by Sun Microsystems.
• Businesses start to build E-commerce websites; E-commerce-only companies such as Amazon.com, eBay, AOL, and Yahoo! grow rapidly.
• E-mail becomes popular; as a result Microsoft acquires the popular Hotmail.com webmail service.
• Instant Messaging and the buddy list becomes popular. AIM and ICQ are two early protocols.
• The Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K), the computer glitch disaster expected to happen on January 1, 2000.
• Microsoft Windows operating systems become virtually ubiquitous on IBM PCs.
• Development of the free Linux kernel is started by Linus Torvalds in Finland.

Computer and video games

• 3-D graphics become the standard by end of decade. Although FPSs had long since seen the transition to full 3D, other genres begin to copy this trend by the end of the decade.
• Lara Croft became the first video game sex symbol, becoming a recognisable figure in the entertainment industry throughout the late 1990s.
• The console wars, primarily between Sega (Sega Mega Drive (marketed as the Sega Genesis in North America), introduced in 1988) and Nintendo (Super NES, introduced in 1990), sees the entrance of Sony with the PlayStation in 1994, which becomes the first successful CD-based console (as opposed to cartridges). By the end of the decade, Sega's hold on the market becomes tenuous after the end of the Saturn in 1998 and the Dreamcast in 2001.
• Mario finds a rival in Sonic the Hedgehog with the release of the original game on the Genesis in 1991.
• Arcade games rapidly decrease in popularity.
• Fighting games like Capcom's Street Fighter II, Sega's futuristic Virtua Fighter and the more violent Mortal Kombat from Acclaim prompted the video game industry to adopt a game rating system, and hundreds of knock-offs are widely popular in mid-to-late1990s.
• Sony's PlayStation becomes the top selling game console and changes the standard media storage type from cartridges to compact discs in consoles.
• Doom (1993) bursts onto the world scene and instantly popularizes the FPS genre, and even how games are played, as Doom is among the first games to feature multiplayer capabilities. It is not until Quake (1996), however, that game developers begin to take multiplayer features into serious consideration when making games. Half-Life (1998) features the next evolutionary step in the genre with continual progression of the game (no levels in the traditional sense) and an entirely in-person view, and becomes one of the most popular computer games in history.
• The real-time strategy (RTS) genre is introduced in 1992 with the release of Dune II. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994) popularizes the genre, with Command & Conquer and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness in 1995 sets up the first major real-time strategy competition and popularizes multiplayer capabilities in RTS games. StarCraft in 1998 becomes the second best-selling computer game of all time. It remains among the most popular multiplayer RTS games to this day, especially in South Korea. Homeworld in 1999 becomes the first successful 3d RTS game. The rise of the RTS genre is often credited with the fall of the turn-based strategy (TBS) genre, popularized with Civilization in 1991. The Civilization franchise is the only TBS franchise that remains popular.
• Final Fantasy first debuted (in North America) in 1990 for the NES, and remains among the most popular video game franchises, with 12 new titles to date, with another in development, plus numerous spin-offs, sequels, movies and related titles. Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, especially popularized the series.
• Zelda continues its massive popularity with a series of groundbreaking games, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, released in 1998, which is considered one of the best and most groundbreaking games of all time.
• Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing games (MMORPGs) see their entrance into the computer game world with Ultima Online in 1997, although they don't gain widespread popularity until EverQuest and Asheron's Call in 1999. MMORPGs go on to become among the most popular genres in the 2000s.
• Pokémon entered the world scene with the release of the original Game Boy Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green games in Japan in 1996, later changed to Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue for worldwide release in 1998. It soon becomes popular in the U.S. and is adapted into a popular children's anime series and trading card game, among other media forms. Its popularity remains well into the 2000s with several new games and spin-offs.

Culture

Cultural trends

• Youth culture in the 1990s was characterized by environmentalism and entrepreneurship. Fashions were often individualistic, tattoos and body piercing gained popularity, and "retro" styles inspired by fashions of the 1960s and 1970s were also prevalent. Some young people became increasingly involved in outdoor activities that combined embracing athletics with the appreciation of nature.
• Jam bands grew in popularity. Along with these Jam bands came a new popularity of 1960's counter-culture.
• Following the 1980s media counter-culture lead by tabloid talk shows popularized by Oprah Winfrey in 1986, which provided high-impact media visibility for gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, and transgender people [1] the 1990s saw a further increase in gay visibility in the mainstream media. In 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diseases. US TV shows featured gay characters. Movies with gay characters saw mainstream success, and celebrities spoke openly about their sexuality. U.S. President Bill Clinton generally held a pro-gay rights viewpoint.
• The 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus discovery of America in 1992 was popularly observed, despite controversy and protests against Columbus' expeditions victimization of Native Americans. The holiday was labeled by some as racist, in view of Native American experiences of colonialism, slavery, genocide and cultural destruction.

Toyota Camry was one of the best selling vehicles in the U.S. throughout the 90's.

• 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).
• The Grunge trend explodes, with several Grunge bands gaining mainstream success, and the attendant fashion caught on widely.
• Reality television began on MTV; this would grow in importance into the 2000s.
• Blood and gore in television and video games rose dramatically, along with language and sexual content, especially during the latter half of the decade; a Parental Ratings system for television was introduced in 1997 because of related complaints.
• Video games became more advanced and popular, with several makes becoming big sellers. Simulation and God games rose in popularity in the mid-late 1990s.
• Extreme sports reached a new height in popularity, and by 1995, were given their own annual tournament on US cable network ESPN.
• Extended alcohol sales are implemented in the US to reduce alcohol abuse.
• The exploitation of the collectability of comic books results in a trend of "gimmick" packaging and storylines (most notably The Death of Superman). The comic book industry collapses as interest in print comics decreases among younger generations and casual readers. Comic books disappear as a familiar sight at the newsstands. As comics, including Japanese manga and other graphic novels become more available in bookstore chains, the role of the comic book store as a source for comics and social gathering wanes. The domination by industry giants Marvel Comics and DC Comics ends as various independents produce popular titles. The era of comic book collecting for speculative investment ends. Webcomics by amateur cartoonists become popular.
• Conversion to Block scheduling became a trendy initiative for United States schools.

The Ford Explorer, which sparked the SUV craze among families in the 1990s.

• Due to the success of the Ford Explorer, Sport Utility Vehicles became very popular among families, and effectively replaced the station wagon and minivan as the stereotypical family vehicle.
• Major 1990s slang words/phrases, mostly related to hip hop culture, included "Talk to the hand."
• Dogme 95 becomes an important European artistic film movement by the end of the decade.
• Eurodance music dominates discotheques and has numerous major mainstream hits in European (and to a lesser extent, North American) music charts.
• Mainstream "Techno", as it is dubbed by the media, became hugely popular in Europe and the U.S. From the early raves of 1990 to about 1996, electronic music gradually gained widespread recognition as a new genre in its own right. This trend reached a head in the latter part of the decade as underground parties were largely replaced by massive commercially sponsored parties, and as music media such as MTV began coverage of it.

Breakdancer in Ljubljana, Slovenia when hip-hop music swept the globe in the 1990s.

• Media consolidation leads to increased segmentation in styles of music.
• 24-hour CNN coverage during the Gulf War leads to increased awareness and coverage of world events and Infotainment shows.
• Hip-hop culture grows; by the end of the decade hip hop gained more and more popularity.
• Tupac Shakur of Death Row Records and The Notorious BIG of Bad Boy Records, wage a cultural war in the hip hop music scene, leading to the murder of both Shakur in 1996 and BIG in 1997.
• Professional wrestling experiences a huge rise in popularity.
• Electronica is hugely popular on Top 40 radio from 1990 to present and up to 1996 or 1997 in the U.S.
• Alternative rock overtakes Grunge in popularity around 1995. Nu metal, a genre popularized by the 1994 self-titled album by Korn, becomes a major genre of rock around the year 1997 along with post-grunge and "indie rock".
• Indie/hipster culture appears during the mid-1990s. Emo and "scene" culture flourishes in the late 1990s, most likely around the later part of 1998.
• Teen pop makes a comeback in the mid-1990s
• Christian music peaks in the mid to late 1990s.
• R&B Music and hip-hop influenced R&B are big in the 1990s.

Fashion

See also: 1990s in fashion

The 1990s in popular culture is typically referred to as the decade of "anti-fashion". In reality, anti-fashion was only one of many trends in fashion in the 1990s. The fashion of the 1990s was characterized by minimalist styles, and many overlapping, often contradictory trends. The most significant event was the rise of grunge fashion in 1992. In the late 1990s there was a move away from grunge. Retro clothing inspired by the 1960s and 1970s was popular for much of the 1990s.

Music

Main article: 1990s in music

Television

See also: List of years in television § 1990s

• North America
  • Sitcoms continued to be successful.
  • The Simpsons (1989 – ) becomes popular with adult audiences, eventually paving the way for many adult-oriented animated television shows throughout the next 10 years.
  • Professional wrestling became popular throughout the 1990s, mostly in the late 1990s.
  • Twin Peaks (1990 – 1991), David Lynch's surrealistic crime drama set in small town America (taking inspiration from his previous work, Blue Velvet), ran on ABC for two seasons.
  • Science fiction shows became popular after the success of The X-Files.
  • NASCAR Racing starts to become popular on TV nationally in the mid to late 1990s.
  • Pro Basketball sees high US TV ratings in the 1990s.
  • US Saturday morning children's television programming, reaches its peak popularity in the early and mid 1990s, considered by many to be a "renaissance" in American animation.
  • Anime becomes popular in the United States in the late 1990s.
  • MTV expands its range from music videos and into original television shows such as The Real World, often cited as the main inspiration for the Reality TV boom of the 2000s.
  • US Television networks increase programs aimed at twenty- and thirty-somethings.
  • Television shows involving human interaction with dangerous wildlife become popular.
  • Some American television sitcoms were aimed at the teen/preteen market.
  • The Disney Channel changes from classic Disney programming to live action programming starting in the late 1990s.
  • Johnny Carson retired as host of the Tonight Show, and Jay Leno took over as host. The Late Show with David Letterman premiered in 1993.

• • The highest-rated shows on network television:
    • 1989 – 1990: The Cosby Show and Roseanne
    • 1990 – 1991: Cheers
    • 1991 – 1992: 60 Minutes
    • 1992 – 1993: 60 Minutes
    • 1993 – 1994: 60 Minutes
    • 1994 – 1995: Seinfeld
    • 1995 – 1996: ER
    • 1996 – 1997: ER
    • 1997 – 1998: Seinfeld
    • 1998 – 1999: ER
    • 1999 – 2000: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
• United Kingdom
  • Crime dramas and situation comedies remained popular in Britain.
  • High rated programmes this decade include the launch of the National Lottery in 1994, the Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales in 1995, and her funeral two years later,
  • The 'docusoap' genre is popular in the late 1990s, making celebrities out of the people in them.
  • BSkyB obtain the rights to the English FA Premier League in 1992, producing high revenues for the league and becoming the bedrock of the subscription television service, holding a monopoly on the rights until 2007.
  • British public service television channel Channel 4 is granted independence from the Independent Broadcasting Authority, and begins showing US programmes such as Friends and ER in peak viewing time.
  • Channel 5 is launched in 1997 and becomes the country's fifth and final terrestrial channel.
  • Satellite and cable television becomes widespread. Satellite channels rise from a handful in 1990 to almost a hundred by 1999.
  • Prize limits on gameshows are lifted in 1993, leading to shows with much bigger prizes, especially the launch of Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 1998.
• Europe

In Europe, new private channels in Germany: RTL, SAT1, Pro7, VOX, VIVA, France: Canal Plus and Portugal: SIC, TVI. Eastern European television enjoys fewer government restrictions and carries more American programming.

• Middle East

Al Jazeera begins broadcasting in 1996, subsidised by a grant from the emir of Qatar and expanded their programming range across the Arabic-speaking world.

Internet

• Beginnings of MP3 music downloading; including the Napster controversy in 1999 and 2000.
• The Internet begins to affect pop culture, beginning around 1996.
• Most television stations establish an Internet presence during the later half of the decade.
• Earliest examples of Internet film.
• Bulletin Board System interest decreases heavily with introduction of the Web.
• Pornography on the Internet launches and grows rapidly (one of the few industries to experience growth during the dot.com bust of 2000)
• A concept of online social ettiquette, "Netiquette" begins to form in 1995.
• Online chat debuts in the mid 1990s, along with social networking and teen community sites such as Classmates.com and Xanga in the late 1990s.
• Popular Internet sites such as Newgrounds, Something Awful and The Best Page in the Universe began in the mid to late 90s.

International issues

Politically, the 1990s was an era of spreading democracy. The former countries of the Warsaw Pact moved from totalitarian regimes to democratically-elected governments. The same happened in other non-communist countries, such as Taiwan, Chile, South Africa, and Indonesia. Capitalism made great changes to the economies of communist countries like China and Vietnam, and even Cuba.

The improvement in relations between the countries of NATO and the former members of the Warsaw Pact ended the Cold War both in Europe and other parts of the world. In 1993, the Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat shook hands in agreement for peace, at the conclusion of peace talks sponsored by US president Bill Clinton. The outcome of these talks, known as the Oslo Accords, was an agreement by Israel to allow Palestinian self-government.

Conflicts like the Balkan Wars, the Rwandan genocide, the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia and the first Gulf War, as well as the continuation of terrorism, led some to hypothesize a Clash of Civilizations, but the decade was also a time of peace in terror-ridden Northern Ireland when the IRA agreed to a truce in 1994. This marked the beginning of the end of 25 years of violence between the two sectarian groups, Protestant and Catholic, and the start of political negotiations.

In Africa

Rwandan genocide

• End of apartheid in South Africa (1994) and election of ANC government of Nelson Mandela.
• Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia (1993).
• Military actions in Somalia in 1993 lead to questions of the United States' role as a police officer of the world. (See also Battle of Mogadishu).
• Rwandan genocide kills one million people, in 1994.
• The Second Congo War started in 1998 in central Africa and includes 5 different cultures and 7 different nations. It goes on until 2002.

In Asia

• In Japan, after three decades of economic growth put them in second place in the world's economies, the situation worsened after 1993. The recession went on into the early 2000s, bringing an end to the seemingly unlimited prosperity that the country had hitherto enjoyed. However, the rise of free market economics in China under more socialist regulation had not slowed that country's economic prosperity in the 1990s, and its economic growth continues.
• Less affluent nations such as India, Malaysia and Vietnam also saw tremendous improvements in economic prosperity and quality of life during the 1990s. Optimism and hopes were high following the collapse of Communism, and restructuring following the end of the Cold War was beginning. However, there was also the continuation of terrorism in Third World regions that were once the "frontlines" for American and Soviet foreign politics, particularly in Asia.
• South-East Asia economic crisis starting from 1997.
• The Spratly islands issue became one of the most controversial in Southeast Asia.
• The Tibetan Freedom Concert brings 120,000 people together in the interest of increased human rights and autonomy for Tibet from China.
• Portugal hands sovereignty of Macau to the People's Republic of China on December 20, 1999.
• East Timor breaks away from Indonesian control in 1999, merely a year after the fall of Soeharto from power, ending a twenty-four year guerrilla war with more than 200,000 casualties. The UN deploys a peace keeping force, spearheaded by the Australian and New Zealand armed forces. America deploys US police officers to serve with the International Police element, to help train and equip an East Timorese police force.
• Great Britain hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997.
• In May 1999, Pakistan sends troops covertly to occupy strategic peaks in Kashmir. A month later the Kargil War with India results in a political fiasco for Nawaz Sharif, followed by a military withdrawal to the Line of Control. The incident leads to a military coup in October in which the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is ousted by Army Chief Pervez Musharraf.

In Canada

• Quebec, in a rekindled wave of separatism by French-Canadian activists, almost seceded from the dominion in a provincial referendum on October 30, 1995.

In Europe

• Germany reunified on 3 October 1990 and, after integrating the economic structure and provincial governments, focused on modernization of the former communist East. People who were brought up in a communist culture struggled to become integrated with those living in democratic western Germany.
• On December 8, 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords which declared the Soviet Union dissolved and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in its place.
• The European Community becomes the European Union on January 1, 1993.
• The birth of the "Second Republic" in Italy, with the Mani Pulite investigations of 1994.

Behind the former Iron Curtain

• Break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 — the end of the Cold War, United States becomes sole world superpower. The Cold War was officially declared over on December 31, 1992.
• Dissolution of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia (1993).
• Yugoslavia erupts into war: Slovenia's Ten-Day War leads to independence in 1991, the Croatian War of Independence follows in 1992, the Bosnian War from 1992 to 1995 and the Kosovo war from 1998-9 all stem from the respective regions attempting to distance themselves from Slobodan Milosevic's increasingly nationalistic Serbia. The wars leave Yugoslavia as a federation of two states, with the province of Kosovo occupied by NATO forces.
• The First Chechen War war 1994 – 1996; Second Chechen War started in 1999, and is ongoing.

In the United Kingdom

• The United Kingdom, after a recession in 1991 – 92 following the boom of the 80s and its withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on Black Wednesday, experienced sustained economic growth that stretched into the new millennium.
• In the UK in 1994, Tony Blair becomes leader of the British Labour Party and begins the "New Labour" project moving the party to the centre of British politics, which in 1997 ends 18 years of government by the Conservative party in a landslide election victory.
• Peace process begins in Northern Ireland in 1995.

In Latin America

• Due to the Peruvian internal conflict and the economic crisis, Alberto Fujimori rises to power in Peru and remains in office for eleven years. His administration is marked by economic development but also by numerous human rights violations (La Cantuta massacre, Barrios Altos massacre), a rampant corruption network set up by Vladimiro Montesinos.

In the Middle East

• Persian Gulf War (resulting from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait) and United Nations embargo on Iraq in 1991.
• North Yemen and South Yemen merge to form Yemen (1991).
• Israeli Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin and Palestinian Prime Minister Yasser Arafat agree to the Peace Process at the culmination of the Oslo Accords, negotiated by the United States President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993.
• In 1994, a peace treaty is signed between Israel and Jordan.

In the United States

In the United States, Bill Clinton was president for much of the decade. Under Clinton, the United States was involved in few foreign wars and saw a resurgence of liberal movements. However, the end of the Cold War dramatically changed the political landscape of the world as the long-standing "Communism vs. Capitalism" conflict essentially came to an end. One result of this was the establishment of political allegiances between many developing countries, and concurrent changes within their own governments. Great strides were made towards Israeli-Palestinian peace in the early part of the decade, due to official PLO recognition of Israel in 1993. However, later in the decade, the peace process became derailed and eventually the conflict escalated once again, especially in the 2000s. Al Qaeda became visible as a terrorist threat against the U.S. after the bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

• The bombing of the World Trade Center in U.S. (1993) by an explosive-filled van leads to awareness in U.S. of international terrorism as a rising threat.
• U.S. Congressman Newt Gingrich crafts his manifesto "Contract with America", leading his Republican Party to become the controlling majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and becomes himself Speaker of the House.
• U.S. president Bill Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment trial in 1998, which lasts the entire year.

Significant events

• The Waco massacre prompted a nationwide debate in the U.S. about the freedom of association right of the Michigan Militia, Montana Militia and other radical groups.
• The Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killed 168. Bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh claimed he bombed the building in retaliation for the 1993 Waco massacre.
• In France, Princess Diana dies in a car accident in 1997. Debates of accident vs. assassination rage well into the 2000s.
• The European Union forms in 1992 under the Maastricht Treaty.
• Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994, becoming the first black-President in South African history.
• The 1992 Los Angeles riots occurred, with 53 deaths and 5,500 property fires in a 100-square mile riot zone. The riots were a result of the state court acquittal of three White and one Hispanic L.A. police officers by a predominately white jury in a police brutality case involving motorist Rodney King, but in 1993, all four officers were convicted in a federal civil rights case.
• The Omagh bombing in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland which kills 29 civilians and injures hundreds more.
• O.J. Simpson's trial, described in the media as the "trial of the century", but on October 3, 1995, Simpson was found "not guilty" of double-murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the 1997 civil case, Simpson was held responsible and had to pay financial damages to the victims' families.
• The Channel Tunnel across the English Channel opens in 1994, connecting France and England. As of 2007 it is the second-longest rail tunnel in the world, but with the undersea section of 37.9 km (23.55 miles) being the longest undersea tunnel in the world.
• 1994 midterm election: The Republican Party took control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for the first time in 40 years. House Speaker Newt Gingrich assumes the role of antagonist to the Clinton Administration.
• US president Bill Clinton was caught in a media-frenzied sex scandal over his intern Monica Lewinsky, first announced on January 21, 1998. After the U.S. House of Representatives impeached Clinton on December 19, 1998 for perjury under oath, following an investigation by federal prosecutor Kenneth Starr, the Senate acquitted Clinton of the charges on February 12, 1999 and he finished his second term.
• The Columbine school shooting occurred on April 20, 1999, at Littleton, Colorado when two student gunmen took the Columbine high school hostage and killed 12 students, a teacher and the two committed suicide, making it the deadliest high school shooting in United States history at the time.
• The Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas federal case of October 10 – October 12, 1991, involved claims by Hill that Thomas committed sexual harassment against her. Thomas was not charged, but Hill became a national celebrity and a martyr to women's rights, triggering awareness on the issue of workplace sexual harassment. Thomas went on to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
• In the United Kingdom, the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep was confirmed by the Roslin Institute, and was reported by global media on February 26, 1997. Dolly would trigger a raging controversy on cloning and bioethical concerns regarding possible human cloning continue to this day.
• Y2K spread fear throughout the United States and eventually the world in the last half of the decade particularly 1999. Many feared that it would cause the world to end on new years day on January 1, 2000 due to a massive computer crash. It became huge in popular culture and many people stocked up on supplies for fear of a disaster. One year later, January 1, 2001 was the beginning of the 3rd millennium, as well the 21st century and the official end of the 20th century.
• A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the Philippines on July 16, 1990 and killed around 1000 people in Baguio City.

Other significant events

The Flame of Liberty, which sits above the entrance to the Paris tunnel in which Princess Diana died in 1997, as global mourning accompanied the event.

• Gun politics in the US over the 1993 Brady Bill had banned or regulated most kinds of automatic weapons and semi-automatic weapons. The law called for a 5-day waiting period for potential gun-owners to be checked for past crimes before they can purchase a firearm.
• You go, girl! becomes a popular phrase in the media as feminism is more widely accepted and publicized with The Spice Girls, the WNBA, women's boxing, girl power, Sex and the City and others showcasing modern femininity and challenged the problem of sexism.
• With help from clinical fertility drugs, an Iowa mother, Bobbie McCaughey, gave birth to the first surviving septuplets in 1997. There followed a media frenzy and widespread support for the family.
• In August 1995, NASA scientists announced, then debunked a big "discovery" of "martian" microscopic life on an asteroid originated from Mars, found in Antarctica and examined to only find mineral formation, not alien bacteria.
• Kenny Everett dies shortly after confirming that he has AIDS.
• Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, and Notorious B.I.G. are the most publicized music-related deaths of the decade, in 1991, 1994, 1996, and 1997 respectively.
• Divorce and scandal rocked the British Royal House of Windsor.
• The murder of Selena Quintanilla, Tejano superstar from Texas.
• Sex and violence in the media increase, especially in the late part of the decade. Profanity in music reaches peak in the late1990s.
• Models Pamela Anderson, Sylvia Saint and Anna Nicole Smith become major sex symbols during the 1990s.
• Cindy Crawford becomes the most successful supermodel of the decade.
• Diana, Princess of Wales dies after a car crash in the Pont d'Alma road tunnel in Paris.
• The movie Titanic becomes a cultural phenomenon throughout the world and eventually becomes the biggest grossing movie of all time making almost 2 billion dollars world wide in a span of little over a year.
• Major League baseball players went on strike in August 12, 1994, thus ended the season, canceled the World Series the first time in 90 years, and went on until March 29, 1995 when players and team owners in agreement.
• The Vieques controversy.
• Crime levels in the U.S. peak in 1991, begin to fall afterwards, reaching the lowest levels since the late 1960s by end of decade.
• In the U.S. drug use reaches an all-time low in 1992 before increasing, reaching its peak in 1997 before declining again.
• Examples of the decade's worst natural disasters: Hurricane Andrew strikes South Florida in August 1992, the crippling Superstorm of March 1993 along the Eastern Seaboard, the devastating 1994 Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe, Japan in January 1995, the Blizzard of 1996 in the eastern U.S., the deadly Hurricane Mitch which struck Central America in October 1998, and the destructive F-5 Oklahoma City tornado in May 1999, the August 1999 İzmit earthquake in Turkey, and the September 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan.
• People are evacuated from the volcanic Caribbean island of Montserrat, a British overseas territory. The Soufirre Hills erupt in 1995 and continued on until 2002.
• Mount Pinatubo, a dormant volcano in the island of Luzon in the Philippines erupted in 1991 to decimate nearby towns and an American air force base permanently abandoned by hot ash fall and under mudslides.
• Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who won the Nobel Peace Prize, dies at age 87.
• 21-year-old Golfer Tiger Woods wins the Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes; becoming both the youngest and the first American of multiracial descent to win the Masters.
• The Olympic Park Bombing on July 27, 1996 at that year's Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia which kills 2 and injures 111.
• School violence in the US is brought into the national spotlight with numerous incidents, such as the Columbine High School massacre.
• John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette are killed when Kennedy's private plane crashes off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
• American cyclist Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France in 1999, less than two years after battling testicular cancer.
• Debate on assisted suicide highly publicized by Michigan doctor Jack Kevorkian, charged with multiple counts of homicide of his terminally ill patients through the decade.
• Seinfeld becomes highly popular.
• Beer keg registration becomes popular public policy in U.S.
• California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, to legalize cannabis only for medical purposes, the debate over legalization of marijuana in the U.S. goes on today.
• The Rachel, Jennifer Aniston's hairstyle on the hit show Friends, becomes a cultural phenomenon with millions of women copying it worldwide.
• Controversy surrounded The Prodigy with the release of the track 'Smack My Bitch Up'. The National organization for Women(NOW) claimed that the track was "advocating violence against women" due to the lyrics of that song. The music video (directed by Jonas Åkerlund) featured a first-person POV of someone going clubbing, indulging in large amounts of drugs and alcohol, getting into fist fights with men, abusing women and picking up a prostitute. At the end of the video the camera pans over to a mirror, revealing the subject to be a woman.
• The model 1300 Wonderbra style has a resurgence of popularity in Europe in 1992 which kicks off a multinational media sensation, the 1994 re-introduction of "The Wonderbra" brand, and a spike in push-up, plunge bras around the world.

See also

• More indepth articles regarding the 1990s decade
  • 1990s in fashion
  • 1990s in music
  • 1990s in books
  • 1990s in film
  • 1990s in economics
  • 1990s in television
  • 1990s in sports
  • 1990s in technology & science
  • 1990s in video games
  • Culture of the 1990s

• More general subjects relating the the 1990s decade
  • Generation X were young adults or teenagers during this decade.
  • Generation Y were children, preteens, or born in this decade.
  • 20th century
  • 21st century

External links

• summer-kiss.net - British '90s Nostalgia Website
• 1990s Flashback 1990 – 1999
• The 1990s Week-By-Week
• 90sxchange.com
• First '90s Nostalgia Website
• Crazyfads.com — 1990s fads
• VH1's I Love The '90s
• VH1's I Love The '90s Part Deux
• WWW-VL: US History: 1990s History
• Big collection of '90s Music Videos
• It's All About the '90s - Collection of Photos,Music,Videos etc.
• A 90's Music Blog