Major Events
- Feb 11 Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years imprisonment in South Africa
- Mar 18 In the largest art heist in US history, 13 works of art worth over $500 million are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston
- Apr 25 Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by space shuttle Discovery
- Apr 29 Wrecking cranes began tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate
- May 20 Hubble Space Telescope sends its 1st photographs from space
- Jun 21 7.7 Manjil-Rudbar Earthquake with hundreds of aftershocks hits Iran; killing about 50,000
- Jul 2 1,426 pilgrims trampled to death after a panic in a tunnel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Aug 7 US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia beginning Operation Desert Shield
- Aug 25 UN security council authorizes military action against Iraq
- Sep 20 Both East and West Germany ratify reunification
- Oct 3 Reunification of East and West Germany. West German flag is raised above the Brandenburg Gate on the stroke of midnight.
- Nov 12 The World Wide Web is first proposed by CERN computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau [1]
- Dec 1 British and French workers meet in the middle of the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel
- Dec 9 Lech Wałęsa wins the first direct presidential election in Poland
- Dec 22 Labor activist Lech Wałęsa sworn in as Poland's first popularly elected president
- More 1990 Events
1990 in Film & TV
- Feb 21 "The Batman Theme" by Danny Elfman wins Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition at 32nd Annual Grammy Awards
- Apr 8 "Twin Peaks" created by David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan premieres on ABC-TV
- Apr 15 Sketch comedy TV series "In Living Color" premieres on FOX-TV
1990 in Music
- Jun 12 "Mariah Carey" debut album by Mariah Carey is released
- Jul 7 1st 'Three Tenors' concert featuring Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti at Baths of Caracalla in Rome; recording becomes world's best-selling classical record
- Nov 19 Pop duo Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award after it is learned they did not sing on their award-winning "Girl You Know Its True" album
1990 in Sport
- Jan 21 John McEnroe becomes 1st ever player to be expelled from the Australian Open
- Mar 30 Jack Nicklaus makes his debut on the Senior PGA Tour with a 71 (-1) in the first round of The Tradition at Desert Mountain; wins the event by 4 strokes from Gary Player
- May 18 Edmonton right wing Jari Kurri sets record for scoring in a Stanley Cup Finals game with 3 goals and 2 assists in 7-2 win at Boston Garden
- Jul 7 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Martina Navratilova wins her record 9th Wimbledon singles title beating American Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1
- Nov 18 1st Solheim Cup Women's Golf, Lake Nona G & CC: US beats Europe 11½-4½ in inaugural event; Kathy Whitworth US captain; Mickey Walker Europe skipper
Did You Know?
World's first female diocesan Anglican bishop, Dr Penny Jamieson, appointed in New Zealand
Liam Hemsworth
Kristen Stewart
Emma Watson
HolaSoyGerman
Margot Robbie
Jennifer Lawrence
The Weeknd
Soulja Boy
SZA
Rita Ora
JoJo [Joanna Levesque]
Bethany Hamilton
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Petra Kvitová
Caroline Wozniacki
Magnus CarlsenMore People Born in 1990
Fun Fact About 1990
Eugene Stoner and Mikhail Kalashnikov, the creators of the M16 rifle and the AK-47 rifle respectively, meet in Washington, D.C.
Keith Haring
Malcolm Forbes
Terence O'Neill
Roald Dahl
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Ava Gardner
Whipper Billy Watson
Greta Garbo
Jim Henson
Irene Dunne
Mary Martin
Jimmy Van Heusen
Sammy Davis Jr.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Tom Fogerty
Leonard Bernstein
Aaron Copland
Bronko Nagurski
Tom Harmon
Alice MarbleMore 1990 Deaths
Articles About 1990
Margaret Thatcher Tax Triggers Riot
London was rocked by a major riot on this day in history as protests erupted against the poll tax introduced by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.March 31
Taxman Delivers Cruel Blow to Miss Whiplash
If I agreed to your demand for cash payment it means that you would be living off immoral earnings, celebrated Madam tells the tax authority.May 15
Mikhail Kalashnikov Meets Eugene Stoner
The inventor of the AK-47, Mikhail Kalashnikov (right), meets the inventor of the M-16, Eugene Stoner (left)May 16
All-Female Crew Triumphs in Whitbread
After New Zealand’s Peter Blake crushed all opposition in the 1989-90 Whitbread round the world race an all-female crew came home on this day, stealing the showMay 28
Operation Desert Shield
US troops in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert ShieldJuly 8
Cricket's Most Prolific Run-Scorer Of All Time
A world record was set up on this day when Graham Gooch, captain of England, stepped up to the crease at Lord’s, the legendary home of cricket.July 31
German Reunification
The German flag flies at midnight at the Reichstag building in BerlinOctober 3
Famous Weddings in 1990
- Feb 2 Marina Ogilvy (daughter of Engl princess Alexandra) weds Paul Mowatt
- Feb 5 British comic actor Rowan Atkinson (35) weds Sunetra Sastry in New York
- Apr 28 Guns & Roses' singer Axl Rose marries Erin Everly (annulled same year)
Famous Divorces in 1990
- Jan 3 Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (41) divorces singer/dancer Sarah Brightman (29) after almost 7 years of marriage
- Jan 17 NFL coach Jimmy Johnson (46) divorces Linda Kay Cooper after 26 years of marriage
- Jan 29 Actor Michael Keaton (38) divorces actress Caroline McWilliams (44) after 7 years of marriage
More 1990 Weddings
Jeremy Irons
Joe Montana
Kathy Bates
François Mitterrand
George H. W. Bush
Helmut Kohl
Jiang Zemin
Margaret Thatcher
Mikhail Gorbachev