What happened in the 1990s?
The 1990s brought the World Wide Web, mobile phones, the end of the Cold War and a new millennium on the horizon.
64 events, oldest first.
Timeline of The 1990s
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1990
Germany is reunified
Reunification came less than a year after the Berlin Wall fell.
Politics & society history
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1990
Home Alone is released
It was the highest-grossing live-action comedy for many years.
Pop culture history
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1990
Martina Navratilova wins her ninth Wimbledon singles title
It is still the record for Wimbledon singles titles.
History of sport
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1990
Namibia gains independence
It was one of the last African countries to gain independence.
Politics & society history
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1990
Nelson Mandela is released from prison
He had spent 27 years behind bars.
Politics & society history
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1990
Sue, the most complete T. rex, is found
The skeleton is named after the fossil hunter who spotted it.
Natural history & deep time
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1990
The first McDonald's opens in Moscow
Tens of thousands of people queued on opening day.
Food & brand history
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1990
The Hubble Space Telescope is launched
Its main mirror was ground very slightly wrong, and astronauts had to fit corrective optics.
History of exploration
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1990
The Three Tenors' first concert
Their concert album became one of the best-selling classical records ever.
Pop culture history
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1990
Voyager 1 takes the 'Pale Blue Dot' photo
In it, Earth is a speck less than a pixel wide.
History of exploration
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1991
A webcam is set up to watch a coffee pot
Cambridge scientists used it to check whether the pot was empty before walking over.
Science & technology history
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1991
Mount Pinatubo erupts
It cooled global temperatures by about 0.5°C for more than a year.
Natural history & deep time
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1991
Nirvana releases Nevermind
It knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the top of the US album chart.
Pop culture history
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1991
Ötzi the Iceman is found in the Alps
Hikers first thought he was a modern climber; he had died about 5,300 years earlier.
History of exploration
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1991
Sonic the Hedgehog is released
He was designed to give Sega a mascot to rival Mario.
Pop culture history
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1991
The first Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded
They honour research that first makes people laugh, and then makes them think.
Science & technology history
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1991
The first Women's World Cup
Held in China, it was won by the United States.
History of sport
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1991
The Gulf War
Retreating Iraqi forces set hundreds of Kuwaiti oil wells on fire.
Modern history
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1991
The Soviet Union is dissolved
It ended on Christmas Day, when Mikhail Gorbachev resigned.
Politics & society history
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1991
The World Wide Web goes public
The first website explained what the web was and how to use it.
Science & technology history
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1992
The first text message is sent
It read 'Merry Christmas' and was sent from a computer to a phone.
Science & technology history
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1992
The Maastricht Treaty creates the European Union
It also laid the groundwork for the euro.
Politics & society history
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1993
Jurassic Park is released
The T. rex roar mixed recordings of a baby elephant, a tiger and an alligator.
Pop culture history
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1993
Shane Warne bowls the 'Ball of the Century'
It was his very first ball in an Ashes Test.
History of sport
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1994
Amazon is founded
It started out selling only books, run from a garage near Seattle.
Food & brand history
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1994
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hits Jupiter
It was the first collision of two solar system bodies ever observed.
Science & technology history
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1994
Friends first airs
The show was originally going to be called Insomnia Cafe.
Pop culture history
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1994
Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa
He was elected in the country's first fully democratic election.
Politics & society history
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1994
The Channel Tunnel opens
Its undersea section is the longest of any tunnel in the world.
Science & technology history
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1994
The first smartphone, IBM Simon, goes on sale
It had a touchscreen and apps 13 years before the iPhone.
Science & technology history
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1994
The Lion King is released
Its animators studied real lions brought into the studio.
Pop culture history
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1994
The Sony PlayStation is released
It grew out of a failed partnership between Sony and Nintendo.
Pop culture history
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1995
South Africa win the Rugby World Cup
Nelson Mandela presented the trophy wearing a Springbok shirt.
History of sport
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1995
The Dayton Agreement ends the Bosnian War
It was negotiated at an air force base in Ohio.
Modern history
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1995
The first item is sold on eBay
It was a broken laser pointer, bought by a collector of broken laser pointers.
Science & technology history
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1995
The first planet around a Sun-like star is found
Its discoverers won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019.
Science & technology history
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1995
Toy Story is released
It was the first feature-length film made entirely with computer animation.
Pop culture history
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1995
Windows 95 is released
Microsoft paid to use the Rolling Stones' 'Start Me Up' in its launch adverts.
Science & technology history
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1995
Wolves are reintroduced to Yellowstone
Their return changed the behaviour of elk and even helped rivers.
Natural history & deep time
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1996
Dolly the sheep is born
The first mammal cloned from an adult cell was named after Dolly Parton.
Science & technology history
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1996
The Spice Girls release 'Wannabe'
It topped the charts in more than 30 countries.
Pop culture history
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1996
The Tamagotchi goes on sale
Tens of millions of the digital pets were sold worldwide.
Pop culture history
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1997
Comet Hale-Bopp lights up the sky
It was visible to the naked eye for about 18 months.
Natural history & deep time
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1997
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is published
Twelve publishers rejected it before Bloomsbury took it on.
Art & literature history
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1997
Hong Kong is handed back to China
China promised 'one country, two systems' for 50 years.
Modern history
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1997
IBM's Deep Blue beats Garry Kasparov at chess
Kasparov had beaten an earlier version of the machine the year before.
Science & technology history
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1997
Netflix is founded
It started out renting DVDs by post.
Food & brand history
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1997
Princess Diana dies in Paris
Her funeral was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people.
Modern history
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1997
Sojourner becomes the first Mars rover
The little rover was about the size of a microwave oven.
History of exploration
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1997
The Kyoto Protocol is adopted
It was the first treaty setting binding targets to cut greenhouse gases.
Politics & society history
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1997
Titanic is released in cinemas
James Cameron dived to the real wreck a dozen times while making it.
Pop culture history
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1998
Cattle are cloned for the first time
Japanese scientists cloned eight calves from a single cow.
Science & technology history
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1998
Google is founded
Its original name was BackRub.
Science & technology history
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1998
Michael Jordan wins his sixth NBA title
He was named finals MVP all six times.
History of sport
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1998
The Good Friday Agreement is signed
It was approved by large majorities in referendums on both sides of the Irish border.
Politics & society history
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1998
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? first airs
It began on British TV before spreading to over 100 countries.
Pop culture history
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1999
Big Brother first airs
The reality show began in the Netherlands.
Pop culture history
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1999
Emoji are invented in Japan
Shigetaka Kurita's original set of 176 emoji is now in New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Pop culture history
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1999
Napster launches
The file-sharing service was created by a college student and shut down within about two years.
Science & technology history
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1999
Scotland's devolved parliament opens
It was the first Scottish parliament in nearly 300 years.
Politics & society history
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1999
Serena Williams wins her first Grand Slam title
She won the US Open aged 17.
History of sport
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1999
The first nonstop balloon flight around the world
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones flew for nearly 20 days.
History of exploration
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1999
The Matrix is released
Its green 'digital rain' code was made from scanned sushi recipes.
Pop culture history
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1999
The Sopranos first airs
It is often credited with starting TV's 'golden age' of drama.
Pop culture history
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