Major Events
- Jan 26 President Bill Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"
- Feb 23 Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders
- Apr 10 The Good Friday Agreement [Belfast Agreement] for Northern Ireland is signed by the British and Irish governments
- May 23 The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
- Jun 1 European Central Bank is founded in Brussels to define and execute the European Union's monetary policy
- Aug 15 Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland, the worst terrorist incident of The Troubles, kills 29 people and injures about 220
- Aug 17 Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony he had an "improper physical relationship" with the intern and on the same day admits before the nation he "misled people" about the relationship
- Oct 16 Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a Spanish warrant requesting his extradition on murder charges
- Nov 9 Brokerage houses are ordered to pay 1.03 billion USD to NASDAQ investors to compensate for price-fixing - largest civil settlement in US history
- Dec 6 Hugo Chávez is elected President of Venezuela
- Dec 16 Iraq disarmament crisis: Operation Desert Fox - the United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq to degrade its ability to produce, store, maintain, and deliver weapons of mass destruction
- More 1998 Events
1998 in Film & TV
- May 14 Seinfeld's final 2-part episode "The Finale" airs on NBC-TV to 76.3M viewers with commercials priced at $2M for 30 seconds
- Jun 6 TV sitcom "Sex and the City" premieres in the US on HBO, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon
- Oct 20 Comedian Richard Pryor is awarded the 1st ever Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
1998 in Music
- Aug 25 "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" debut album by Lauryn Hill is released (5 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Billboard Album of the Year 1998)
1998 in Sport
- Jul 1 NBA commences a player lockout after no agreement with players about salary issues - lasts 204 days with the season shortened by 50 games
- Jul 12 FIFA World Cup Final, Stade de France, Saint-Denis: Zinedine Zidane scores twice as France wins first World Cup beating Brazil, 3-0
Did You Know?
Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for $US40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the then largest industrial merger in history
Amanda Gorman
Kylian Mbappé
Liza Soberano
Elle Fanning
MrBeast
Dylan Wang
XXXTentacion
Jack Harlow
Shawn Mendes
Roddy Ricch
Juice WRLDMore People Born in 1998
Fun Fact About 1998
Battle of Hogwarts: fictional battle that ended the Second Wizarding War with the death of Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Enoch Powell
Benjamin Spock
Pol Pot
James Earl Ray
Alan Shepard
George Wallace
Sonny Bono
Frank Sinatra
Phil Hartman
Jerome Robbins
Akira Kurosawa
Carl Perkins
Tammy Wynette
Linda McCartney
Helen Wills Moody
Ray Nitschke
Cary Middlecoff
Florence Griffith Joyner
Dan Quisenberry
Archie MooreMore 1998 Deaths
Articles About 1998
'I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman'
One of the most notorious denials in political history came on this day when President Bill Clinton held a news conference on his relations with Monica Lewinsky.January 26
Angel of the North
The Angel of the North sculpture by Antony Gormley in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, EnglandFebruary 15
Oscar Hopes Sunk for 'Titanic' Movie Cast
Titanic broke all kinds of records after its release in 1997, but the acclaim that it received failed to be reflected on the cast at the Academy Awards.March 2
Omagh Bombing
A man and a child (who both survived) stand next to the car bomb in Omagh, Northern Ireland, that exploded shortly after, killing 29 people. The photographer did not survive.August 15
Famous Weddings in 1998
- Jan 5 "Hercules" actor Kevin Sorbo (39) weds actress Sam Jenkins (33) at the Beurge Chapel in Pacific Palisades, California
- Jan 10 Major League Baseball outfielder Barry Bonds (33) weds Elizabeth Watson (28) at Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco
- Feb 14 Golden Globe Award-winning actress Sharon Stone (40) weds San Francisco Examiner executive editor Phil Bronstein (47) in Beverly Hills, California
Famous Divorces in 1998
- Jan 8 Roseanne Barr files for divorce from 3rd husband Ben Thomas
- Feb 28 "Baywatch" actress Pamela Anderson (31) divorces Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee (35) after 3 years of marriage
- Mar 5 Singer Mariah Carey and music mogul Tommy Mottola divorce after 2 years of marriage
More 1998 Weddings
Bob Dylan
Gwyneth Paltrow
Mark McGwire
Roberto Benigni
Sammy Sosa
William Petty
Bill Clinton
Boris Yeltsin
Helmut Kohl
Jiang Zemin
Tony Blair