1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; the signing of the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World Wide Web gains a public face at the start of the decade and gains massive popularity worldwide; Boris Yeltsin greets crowds after the failed August Coup, which leads to the dissolution of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991; Dolly the sheep is the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell; the funeral procession of Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in 1997 in a car crash in Paris, and was mourned by millions; hundreds of thousands of Tutsi people are killed in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. This would become a factor in initiating the Second Congo War of 1998., 420px, thumb
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The 1990s (pronounced "nineteen-nineties", shortened to "the '90s" and often referred to as simply "the Nineties") was a decade that began on January 1, 1990, and ended on December 31, 1999.

Known as the Post-Cold War Decade, the 90s are often culturally defined as the period from the Revolutions of 1989 that marked the end of the Cold War until the Global War on Terror ("GWOT"), which included the September 11 attacks, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. In the United States, the decade saw greater attention to multiculturalism compared to the 1980s, as well as the advance of alternative media. Music movements like grunge, Eurodance, and hip-hop became popular with young adults worldwide, aided by the rise in popularity of tiered-pricing cable television, and the Internet. The 1990s saw advances in technology, with the World Wide Web, the first gene therapy trial, and cloning all emerging and being improved upon throughout the decade.

A combination of factors led to a realignment and consolidation of economic and political power across the world, such as the continued mass-mobilization of capital markets through neoliberalism, the end of the Cold War caused by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the beginning of the widespread proliferation of new media such as the Internet, and increasing skepticism towards the government. Many countries were economically prosperous during the 1990s. High-income countries experienced steady economic growth throughout the majority of the decade during the Great Moderation. In contrast, the GDP of the states formed from the former Soviet Union declined, often as a result of economic restructuring. International trade increased with the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 and formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. The "dot-com frenzy" resulted in the dot-com bubble of 1997–2000 that brought great wealth to some entrepreneurs before its crash in 2000 and 2001.

New ethnic conflicts emerged, such as the Rwandan genocide in Africa, the Bosnian genocide in the Balkans, and several wars in the Chechen–Russian conflict in Caucasus. Signs of any resolution of tensions between Israel and the Arab world remained elusive, despite the progress of the Oslo Accords. However, in Northern Ireland, The Troubles came to a standstill in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement, putting to rest 30 years of violence.

During this decade, the world population grew from 5.3 to 6.1 billion people. There were approximately 1.35 billion births and 525 million deaths.

Politics and wars

International wars

*The Congo Wars began in the late 1990s.
**The First Congo War (October 24th 1996 – May 16th 1997) resulted in the overthrow of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, his 32 rule of Zaire, which was then renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
**The Second Congo War (August 1998 – July 2003) started in Central Africa and involved multiple nearby nations.

*The Gulf War (August 2nd 1990 – February 28th 1991).
**Iraq was left in severe debt after the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s. President Saddam Hussein accused Kuwait of flooding the oil market, therefore driving down prices. As a result, Iraqi forces invaded and conquered Kuwait.
**The UN (United Nations) immediately condemned the action and a coalition force led by the United States was sent to the Persian Gulf. Aerial bombing of Iraq began in January 1991, and one month later, the UN forces drove the Iraqi army from Kuwait in four days.
*Two wars were fought in the region of Chechnya:
**The First Chechen War (1994–1996) was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. After the initial campaign of 1994–1995, culminating in the devastating Battle of Grozny, Russian federal forces attempted to seize control of the mountainous area of Chechnya. Despite Russia's overwhelming manpower, weaponry, and air support, they were set back by Chechen guerrillas and raids on the flatlands. The resulting widespread demoralization of Russian federal forces, and the universal opposition of the Russian public to the conflict, led Boris Yeltsin's government to declare a ceasefire in 1996 and sign a peace treaty a year later.
**The Second Chechen War (1999 – 2009) was started by the Russian Federation in response to the 1999 invasion of Dagestan and the Russian apartment bombings, which were blamed on the Chechens. In this military campaign, Russian forces largely recaptured the separatist region of Chechnya and the outcome of the First Chechen War – in which the region gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – was essentially reversed.
*The Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998–2000) was commenced by the invasion of Ethiopia by Eritrea due to a territorial dispute. The conflict resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sidesTens of thousand
Eritrea: Final deal with Ethiopia
BBC 4 December 2000

Eritrea orders Westerners in UN mission out in 10 days
, International Herald Tribune, 7 December 2005 and a peace agreement in December 2000.
*The Kargil War (1999) began in May when Pakistan covertly sent troops to occupy strategic peaks in Kashmir. A month later, the Kargil War with India resulted in a political fiasco for Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, followed by a Pakistani military withdrawal to the Line of Control. The incident led to a Pakistani military coup in October, in which Sharif was ousted by Army Chief Pervez Musharraf. This conflict remains the only war fought between the two declared nuclear powers.

*The Yugoslav Wars (1991–1995) followed the breakup of Yugoslavia, beginning on June 25,1991 after the republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia. These wars were notorious for war crimes and human rights violations, including ethnic cleansing and genocide, with the overwhelming majority of casualties being Muslim Bosniaks.
**The Ten-Day War (1991) was a brief military conflict between Slovenian TO (Slovenian Territorial Defence) and the Yugoslav People's Army ("JNA") following Slovenia's declaration of independence.
**The Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995) was fought in modern-day Croatia between the Croatian government (having declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and both the Yugoslav People's Army ("JNA") and Serb forces, who established the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina ("RSK") within Croatia.
**The Bosnian War (1992–1995) involved several ethnically-defined factions within Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats, as well as a smaller Bosniak faction led by Fikret Abdić. The Siege of Sarajevo (1992–1995) marked the most violent urban warfare in Europe since World War II at that time, as Serb forces bombarded and attacked Bosnian-controlled and populated areas of the city. War crimes occurred, including ethnic cleansing and the destruction of civilian property.
**The final fighting in the Croatian and Bosnian wars ended in 1995 with the success of Croatian military offensives against Serb forces. This led to the mass exodus of Serbs from Croatia, Serb losses to Croat and Bosniak forces, and the signing of the Dayton Agreement, which internally partitioned Bosnia and Herzegovina into a Republika Srpska and a Bosniak-Croat Federation.
*The Kosovo War (1998–1999) was a war between Albanian separatists and Yugoslav military and Serb paramilitary forces in Kosovo. That conflict began in 1996 and escalated in 1998, with increasing reports of atrocities.
**In 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), led by the United States, launched air attacks against Yugoslavia (then composed of only Serbia and Montenegro) to pressure the Yugoslav government to end its military operations against Albanian separatists in Kosovo. The intervention lacked UN approval yet was justified by NATO based on accusations of war crimes committed by Yugoslav military forces working alongside nationalist Serb paramilitary groups. Finally, after months of bombing, Yugoslavia conceded to NATO's demands, and NATO forces (later UN peacekeeping forces) occupied Kosovo.
*The South African Border War (1990) was a border war between Zambia, Angola, and Namibia that began in 1966 and ended in 1990.

Civil wars and guerrilla wars

* The First Liberian Civil War occurred from 1989 until 1997 and led to the death of around 200,000 people.
*The Ethiopian Civil War (1991) was an internal conflict that had been raging for over twenty years. Its end coincided with the establishment of a coalition government of various factions.
*The Algerian Civil War (1991–2002) was caused by a group of high-ranking army officers canceling the first multi-party elections in Algeria.
*The Somali Civil War (1991–present) included the Battle of Mogadishu.
*The Rwandan genocide (1994) occurred from April 6 to mid-July 1994 when hundreds of thousands of Rwanda's Tutsis and Hutu political moderates were killed by the Hutu-dominated government under the Hutu Power ideology. For approximately 100 days between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people were killed. The United Nations and major states came under criticism for failing to stop the genocide.
*1993 Russian constitutional crisis resulted from a severe political deadlock between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet (Russia's parliament at this time) resulting in Yeltsin ordering the controversial shelling of the Russian parliament building by tanks.
*The Tajikistani Civil War (1992–1997) occurred when the Tajikistan government was pitted against the United Tajik Opposition, resulting in the death of between 50,000 and 100,000 people.
*The Zapatista uprising (1994) occurred when a large number of the Zapatista indigenous people of Mexico formed the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and began an armed conflict with the Mexican government to protest against NAFTA. The uprising lasted 12 days, bringing worldwide attention to the Zapatistas, and continued through the rest of the 1990s.
*The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) was formed at the end of the Afghan Civil War, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 1996. They ruled during the later Afghan Civil War until their ousting 2001.
*The Troubles in Northern Ireland (1998) involved 30 years of conflict that ended on 10 April 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement was signed.
*1999 East Timorese crisis.

Coups

Terrorist attacks

*The 1993 World Trade Center bombing in the United States (1993) led to a broader public awareness in the U.S. of domestic and international terrorism as a potential threat.
* Markale market massacres in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994) – soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska deliberately targeted Bosniak (then known as "Bosnian Muslims") civilians.
*AMIA bombing (1994) – on 18 July 1994, an unknown terrorist targeting Argentina's Jewish community planted a car bomb in the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina headquarters in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and injuring hundreds, making it the first ethnically targeted bombing and deadliest bombing in Argentine history.
*Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995) – soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska and members of Serbia's Scorpions paramilitary group committed mass murder of Bosniak civilians.
*Oklahoma City bombing (1995) in the United States – the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma killed 168 people, becoming the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States at that time. Bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh claimed he bombed the building in retaliation for the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff and the Waco siege a year later.
*The 1996 Manchester bombing (1996) – on 15 June 1996, the IRA set off a bomb in Manchester, England. The bomb, placed in a van on Corporation Street in the city center, targeted the city's infrastructure and economy and caused widespread damage, estimated by insurers at £700 million (£1 billion ). Two hundred and twelve people were injured, but there were no fatalities.
*The 1998 United States embassy bombings – Al-Qaeda militants carried out bomb attacks on United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In retaliation, U.S. naval military forces launched cruise missile attacks against Al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan.
*The Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland (1998) – a bombing in Omagh, County Tyrone, that killed 29 civilians and injured hundreds more.
* LAX bombing plot (1999) – Ahmed Ressam, an Islamist militant associated with Al-Qaeda, was arrested when attempting to cross from Canada into the United States at the Canada-U.S. border on 14 December 1999. It was later discovered that he intended to bomb Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) during millennium celebrations. This was the first major attempted terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda on United States soil since the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and marked the beginning of a series of attempted terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda against the United States that would continue into the 21st century.

Decolonization and independence

*Independence of Namibia (1990) – the Republic of Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990. Walvis Bay, initially retained by South Africa, joined Namibia in 1994.
*Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–1992) – the republics of Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia.
*Independence of Eritrea (1993) – Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia.
*Dissolution of Czechoslovakia (1993) – the Slovak Republic adopts the Declaration of Independence from the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic (Czechoslovakia).
* Independence of Palau (1994) – Palau gained independence from the United Nations Trusteeship Council.
*Handover of Hong Kong (1997) – The United Kingdom handed sovereignty of Hong Kong (then British Hong Kong) to the People's Republic of China on 1 July 1997.
* Independence of East Timorese (1999) – East Timor broke away from Indonesian occupation, only a year after the fall of Suharto from power, ending a 24-year guerrilla war and genocide with more than 200,000 casualties. The UN deployed a peacekeeping force spearheaded by Australia's armed forces. The United States deployed police officers to serve with the International Police element to help train and equip an East Timorese police force.
*Handover of Macau (1999) – Portugal handed sovereignty of Macau (Portuguese Macau) to the People's Republic of China on 20 December 1999.
*Dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991) – multiple Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs) declared independence from the USSR.
**Armenia – the Armenian SSR became the Republic of Armenia following the Declaration of Independence of Armenia.
**Azerbaijan – the Azerbaijan SSR became the Republic of Azerbaijan.
**Belarus – the Byelorussian SSR became the Republic of Belarus following its Declaration of State Sovereignty.
**Estonia – Estonian SSR became the Republic of Estonia.
**Georgia – The Georgian SSR became the Republic of Georgia.
**Kazakhstan – the Kazakh SSR became the Republic of Kazakhstan.
**Kyrgyzstan – the Kirghiz SSR became the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.
**Latvia – the Latvian SSR became the Republic of Latvia.
**Lithuania – the Lithuanian SSR became the Republic of Lithuania
**Moldova – the Moldavian SSR became the Republic of Moldova.
**Tajikistan – the Tajik SSR became the Republic of Tajikistan.
**Turkmenistan – the Turkmen SSR became the Republic of Turkmenistan.
**Ukraine – the Ukrainian SSR became the Republic of Ukraine
**Uzbekistan – the Uzbek SSR became the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Political trends

*The 1990s saw an increased spread of capitalism and third way policies. The former countries of the Warsaw Pact moved from single-party socialist states to multi-party states with private sector economies. The same wave of political liberalization occurred in the capitalist and newly industrialized countries (including First and Third World countries), such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Market reforms made incredible changes to the economies of Second World socialist countries such as China and Vietnam.
*Ethnic tensions and violence in the former Yugoslavia during the 1990s created a greater sense of ethnic identity among nations in newly independent countries and a marked increase in the popularity of nationalism.

Prominent political events

Africa

*African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island Prison on 11 February 1990, after thirty years of imprisonment for opposing apartheid and white-minority rule in South Africa. Apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994.
*Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994, becoming the first democratically elected president in South African history, and ending a long legacy of apartheid white rule in the country.

North America

* The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on January 1, 1994, created a North American free-trade zone consisting of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
*Canadian politics was radically altered in the 1993 federal election with the collapse of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, a major political party in Canada since 1867, from controlling the government to being left with only two seats. The New Democratic Party collapsed as well, with their sets declining from 44 to 9. The Liberal Party of Canada was the only genuine national political party left standing. Regionally-based parties, such as the Quebec-based Bloc Québécois and the almost entirely Western Canada-based Reform Party of Canada, rose from political insignificance to being major political parties.
*After the collapse of the Meech Lake Accord, Meech Lake constitutional accord in 1990, the province of Quebec in Canada experienced a rekindled wave of separatism by Francophone Québécois people, Québécois nationalists, who sought for Quebec to become an independent country and forced a referendum on the question of independence in 1995.
*The 1995 Quebec independence referendum, 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty was held in the predominantly francophone province of Quebec in Canada, a majority Anglophone country. If accepted, Quebec would have become an independent country with an economic association with Canada. Quebec's voters narrowly rejected the proposal.
*Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Haitian priest, became the first democratically elected President of Haiti in 1990. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a Roman Catholic parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies to become a priest of the Salesian order. Aristide was later forced into exile in the Central African Republic and South Africa and returned to Haiti after several years in exile.
*Ernesto Zedillo was elected President of Mexico in the 1994 Mexican general election, 1994 presidential election, making him the last of an uninterrupted 71-year-long succession of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The original PRI candidate, Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, was assassinated several months prior.
*President of the United States, United States President Bill Clinton was a dominant political figure in international affairs during the 1990s, known primarily for his attempts to negotiate peace in the Middle East and end the ongoing wars occurring in the former Yugoslavia; his promotion of international action to decrease human-created climate change; his endorsement of advancing free trade in the Americas.
*Lewinsky scandal – US president Bill Clinton was caught in a media-frenzied scandal involving inappropriate relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which was first announced on January 21, 1998. After the United States House of Representatives Impeachment of Bill Clinton, impeached Bill Clinton on December 19, 1998, for perjury under oath, and following an investigation by federal prosecutor Kenneth Starr, the Senate acquitted Clinton of all of the charges on February 12, 1999. He served out the remainder of his second term.
*California voters passed California Proposition 215 (1996), Proposition 215 in 1996, which legalized Cannabis (drug), cannabis for medicinal purposes.
*The enactment of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on January 1, 1994, created a North American free trade zone consisting of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Asia

*In 1990, the Lebanese Civil War came to a close and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon began. With the peace among all factions in Lebanon, the rebuilding of the country and its capital, Beirut, started.
*1990 Nepalese revolution, a multiparty movement against the one-party Panchayat rule in Nepal. It led to the end of absolute monarchy in Nepal and the restoration of democracy.
*Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian people, Palestinian Prime Minister Yasser Arafat agree to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process at the culmination of the Oslo Accords, negotiated by the President of the United States, United States President, Bill Clinton, on 13 September 1993.
**By signing the Oslo accords, the Palestine Liberation Organization recognized Israel's right to exist. At the same time, Israel permitted the creation of an autonomous Palestinian National Authority consisting of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, which was implemented in 1994.
**Israeli military forces withdrew from these Palestinian territories in compliance with the accord, which marked the end of the First Intifada (a period of violence between Palestinian Arab militants and Israeli armed forces from 1987 to 1993).
**The Palestinian National Authority was created in 1994 following the Oslo Accords, giving Palestinian Arab people official autonomy over the Gaza Strip and West Bank, though not official independence from Israel.
*On 4 November 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing extremist who opposed the signing of the Oslo Accords.
*Yemen Arab Republic, North Yemen and South Yemen merged to form Yemen in 1991.
*Lee Kuan Yew relinquished the prime-ministership of Singapore on 28 November 1990, a position he had held since 1959, to Goh Chok Tong. He remained in the cabinet as Senior Minister.
*In July 1994, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung died, having ruled the country since its founding in 1948. His son Kim Jong-il, who succeeded him, took over a nation on the brink of complete economic collapse. North Korean famine, Famine had caused a significant number of deaths in the late 1990s, and North Korea gained a reputation for being an important source of money laundering, counterfeiting, and weapons proliferation. The country's ability to produce and sell nuclear weapons became a concern in the international community.
*In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in Burma won a majority of seats in the first free election conducted in 30 years. But the State Peace and Development Council, SPDC refused to relinquish power, beginning a peaceful struggle that started in the 1990s and continued for several decades by Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters to demand the end of military rule.
*In the Philippines, following the People Power Revolution of 1986, two Presidents were elected – first, Fidel V. Ramos in 1992, and second, Joseph Estrada in 1998.
*Indonesian president Suharto resigned after ruling for 32 years (1966–1998), following the fall of Suharto and the Post-Suharto era in Indonesia, reform era.
*In India, the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, assassinated on 21 May 1991 by the Tamil Tigers, beginning a period of Economic liberalisation in India, economic liberalization that Prime Minister led P. V. Narasimha Rao.
*South Korea and Taiwan became developed country, developed countries and one of the Four Asian Tigers in the 1990s. Following democratic reforms in 1988, neoliberal policies were led by President Kim Young-sam (South Korea) and President Lee Teng-hui (Taiwan), who led their countries during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
*Japan saw eight different List of prime ministers of Japan, prime ministers serve during the 1990s in what was at first called the "Lost Decade" but later became referred to as the "Lost Decades of the Heisei, Heisei Era". These included Morihiro Hosokawa, who won the 1993 Japanese general election and formed an opposition coalition until 1996.

Europe

*The improvement in relations between NATO countries and the former members of the Warsaw Pact led to the end of the Cold War, both in Europe and other parts of the world.
*German reunification – on 3 October 1990, East and West Germany reunified as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. After integrating the economic structure and provincial governments, Germany focused on the modernization of the former communist East. People brought up in socialist East Germany became integrated with those living in capitalist West Germany.
*Margaret Thatcher, who had been the United Kingdom's Prime Minister since 1979, resigned as Prime Minister on 22 November 1990 after being challenged for the leadership of the Conservative Party by Michael Heseltine. This was because of widespread opposition to the introduction of the controversial Poll tax (Great Britain), Community Charge, and the fact that her key allies such as Nigel Lawson and Geoffrey Howe resigned over the deeply sensitive issues of the Maastricht Treaty and Margaret Thatcher's resistance to Britain joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Less than two years later, on the infamous Black Wednesday of September 1992, the pound sterling crashed out of the system after the pound fell below the agreed exchange rate with the Deutsche Mark.
*John Major replaced Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1990.
*The Perestroika (restructuring) of the Soviet Union destabilized, leading to nationalist and separatist demagogues gaining popularity. Boris Yeltsin, then Chairmen of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Russian SFSR, Russia, resigned from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Communist Party and became the opposition leader against Mikhail Gorbachev. The Communist Party lost its status as the governing force of the country and was banned after a August Putsch, coup attempt by Communist hardliners attempted to revert the effects of Gorbachev's policies. Yeltsin's counter-revolution was victorious, and on 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned from the presidency, which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin became president of the Soviet Union's successor, the Russian Federation, and presided over a period of political unrest, economic crisis, and social anarchy. On 31 December 1999, Yeltsin resigned, leaving Vladimir Putin as acting president.
*The European Union was formed in 1992 under the Maastricht Treaty.
*The Downing Street Declaration, signed on 15 December 1993 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and the Taoiseach of Ireland, Albert Reynolds at the British Prime Minister's office in 10 Downing Street, affirmed that (1) the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination, and (2) that Northern Ireland would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom only if a majority of its population was in favour of such a move. It included, as part of the prospective of the so-called "Irish dimension," the principle of consent that the people of the island of Ireland had the exclusive right to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent. The latter statement, which later would become one of the points of the Belfast Agreement, Good Friday Agreement, was key to producing a positive change of attitude by the republicans towards a negotiated settlement. The joint declaration also pledged the governments to seek a peaceful constitutional settlement and promised that parties linked with paramilitaries (such as Sinn Féin) could take part in the talks so long as they abandoned violence.
*The Provisional Irish Republican Army, IRA agreed to a truce in 1994. This marked the beginning of the end of 25 years of violence between the IRA and the United Kingdom and the start of political negotiations.
*Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997 following the 1997 United Kingdom general election.
*The Belfast Agreement (a.k.a. the Good Friday Agreement) was signed by the U.K. and Irish politicians on 10 April 1998, declaring a joint commitment to a peaceful resolution of the territorial dispute between Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the United Kingdom over Northern Ireland. The 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum was held on 22 May 1998, with majority approval.ARK: Northern Ireland Elections
The 1998 Referendums

*The National Assembly for Wales was established following the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, in which a majority of voters approved the creation of the National Assembly for Wales.
*In September 1997, the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum was put to the Scottish electorate and secured a majority in favor of the establishment of a new Scottish Parliament.

South America

*Due to Internal conflict in Peru, internal conflict and an economic crisis, Alberto Fujimori rose to power in Peru and remained in office for eleven years. His administration was marked by economic development but also by numerous human rights violations (La Cantuta massacre, Barrios Altos massacre) and a rampant corruption network set up by Vladimiro Montesinos.
* Carlos Saúl Menem ruled Argentina for the entire decade, implementing a free-market liberalization program to attempt to stabilize Argentina, which political and economic crises had chronically plagued.

Assassinations and attempts

Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:

Disasters

Natural disasters

The 1990s saw a trend in frequent and more devastating natural disasters, breaking many previous records. Although the 1990s was designated by the United Nations as an International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction as part of its program to prevent losses due to disasters, disasters would go on to cause a record-breaking US$608 billion worth of damage—more than four past decades combined.

*The most major natural disasters of the decade include: Hurricane Andrew striking South Florida in August 1992, the crippling 1993 Storm of the Century, super storm of March 1993 along the East Coast of the United States, Eastern Seaboard, the devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe, Japan in January 1995, the North American blizzard of 1996, Blizzard of 1996 in the eastern United States, the US drought of 1999, the deadly Hurricane Mitch which struck Central America in October 1998, and the destructive 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak, Oklahoma tornado outbreak in May 1999, the August 1999 İzmit earthquake in Turkey, and the September 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan.
*A 1990 Luzon earthquake, magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the Philippines on 16 July 1990 and killed around 1000 people in Baguio.
*After 600 years of inactivity, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted and devastated Zambales and Pampanga in June 1991.
*July 1995 – 1995 Chicago heat wave, Midwestern United States heat wave – An unprecedented heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States for most of the month. Temperatures peak at , and remain above in the afternoon for 5 straight days. At least 739 people died in Chicago alone.

*Hurricane Georges made landfall in at least seven different countries (Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and the United States) and Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States – more than any other hurricane since Hurricane Inez of the 1966 season. The total estimated costs were $60 billion (present-day $100 billion).
*September 1996 – Hurricane Fran made landfall in North Carolina, causing significant damage throughout the entire state.
*Hurricane Iniki hit the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands on 11 September 1992, making it one of the costliest hurricanes on record in the eastern Pacific.
*A flood hits the 1997 Red River flood, Red River Valley in 1997 becoming the most severe flood since 1826.
*In December 1999, torrential rains and flash floods killed tens of thousands of Venezuelans living in the state of Vargas (state), Vargas in a natural disaster known as the Vargas tragedy.

Non-natural disasters

*Gulf War oil spill: Resulting from actions taken during the Gulf War in 1991 by the Iraq military, the oil spill caused considerable damage to wildlife in the Persian Gulf, especially in areas surrounding Kuwait and Iraq.
*July 11, 1991: A Nolisair, Nationair Douglas DC-8, chartered by Nigeria Airways, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, caught fire and crashed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 261 people.
*December 15, 1991: The Egyptian ferry ''Salem Express'' sinks in the Red Sea, killing more than 450 people.
*October 4, 1992: El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo airplane heading to Tel Aviv, suffered physical engine separation of both right-wing engines (#3 and #4) just after taking off from Schiphol and crashed into an apartment building in the Bijlmer neighbourhood of Amsterdam while attempting to return to the airport. A total of 43 people were killed, including the plane's crew of three and a "non-revenue passenger." Several others were injured.
*July 26, 1993: Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashed into Mt. Ungeo in Haenam, South Korea, killing 68 people.
*April 26, 1994: China Airlines Flight 140, an Airbus A300, crashed just as it was about to land at Nagoya Airfield, Japan, killing 264 and leaving only seven survivors.
*September 8, 1994: USAir Flight 427 crashed near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing 132 people.
*September 28, 1994: The car ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.
*June 29, 1995: The Sampoong Department Store collapses in Seoul, South Korea, killing 502 people.
*December 20, 1995: American Airlines Flight 965, a Boeing 757, hit a mountain in Colombia at night, killing 159 people.
*July 17, 1996: TWA Flight 800, Trans World Airlines Flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, killing 230.
*November 12, 1996: A Saudia Boeing 747 and a Kazakhstan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, collided over the town of Charkhi Dadri, outside New Delhi, India, killing 349.
*August 6, 1997: Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashed into a hill on the island of Guam, killing 228 people.
*September 26, 1997: Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 crashed in bad weather, killing 234.
*September 2, 1998: Swissair Flight 111, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia near the towns of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Peggy's Cove and Bayswater, Nova Scotia, Bayswater, killing 229.
*October 31, 1999: EgyptAir Flight 990, a Boeing 767, crashed off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing 217.

Economics

*Many countries, institutions, companies, and organizations were prosperous during the 1990s. High-income countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Western Europe experienced steady economic growth for much of the decade during the Great Moderation. However, in the former Soviet Union, GDP decreased as their economies restructured to produce goods they needed, and some capital flight occurred.
*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.
*The anti-globalization movement, anti-globalization protests at the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 in Seattle began on 30 November 1999. This marked the beginning of a steady increase in anti-globalization protests in the first decade of the 21st century and increasing hostility to neoliberalism.
*U.S. inflation moderated, beginning in 1990 at 5.39%, falling to a low of 1.55% in 1998 and rising slightly to 2.19% in 1999.

North America

*The decade is seen as a time of great prosperity in the United States and Canada, largely because of the unexpected advent of the Internet and the explosion of High tech, technology industries. The U.S. and Canadian economies experienced their longest period of peacetime economic expansion, beginning in 1991. Personal incomes doubled from the recession in 1990, and there was higher productivity overall. 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".
*The North American Free Trade Agreement, which phases out the trade barriers between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.

Asia
*In the China, People's Republic of China, the government announced the major privatization of state-owned industries in September 1997. China entered the 1990s in a turbulent period due to the aftermath of both the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Tiananmen Square Massacre and Hardline (subculture), hardline politicians' efforts to rein in Privately held company, private enterprise and attempt to revive old-fashioned propaganda campaigns. Relations with the United States deteriorated sharply, and the Chinese leadership was further embarrassed by the disintegration of communism in Europe. In 1992 Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping's southern tour, travelled to southern China in his last major public appearance to revitalize faith in Market economy, market economics and stop the country's slide back into Maoism. Afterward, China recovered and would experience explosive economic growth during the rest of the decade. Despite this, dissent continued to be suppressed, and Chinese Communist Party, CPC General Secretary Jiang Zemin launched a brutal crackdown against the Falun Gong Sect, religious sect in 1999. Deng Xiaoping died in 1997 at the age of 93. Relations with the US deteriorated again in 1999 after the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, bombing of the Chinese embassy during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, bombing of Serbia by NATO forces, which caused three deaths, and allegations of Chinese espionage at the Los Alamos Nuclear Facility.
*1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Financial crisis hits East Asia, East and Southeast Asian countries between 1997 and 1998 after a long period of phenomenal economic development, which continues by 1999. This crisis begins to be felt by the end of the decade.
*In Japan, after three decades of Japanese economic miracle, economic growth put them in second place in the world's economies, Lost Decades, the situation worsened after 1993. The recession went on into the early first decade of the 21st century, ending the seemingly unlimited prosperity that the country had before enjoyed.
*Less affluent nations such as India, Malaysia, and Vietnam also saw tremendous improvements in economic prosperity and quality of life during the 1990s. 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.

Europe
*By 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms were causing major inflation and economic chaos. A Coup d'état, coup attempt by hardliners in August 1991 failed, marking the effective end of the Soviet Union. All its constituent republics declared their independence in 1991, and Gorbachev resigned from office on Christmas. After 73 years, the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. The new Russian Federation was headed by Boris Yeltsin and would face severe economic difficulty. Oligarchy, Oligarchs took over Russia's energy and industrial sectors, reducing almost half the country to poverty. With a 3% approval rating, Yeltsin had to Bribery, buy the support of the oligarchs to win reelection in 1996. Economic turmoil and devaluation of the ruble continued, and with heart and Alcoholism, alcohol troubles, Yeltsin stepped down from office on the last day of 1999, handing power to Vladimir Putin.
*Russian financial crisis in the 1990s resulted in mass hyperinflation and prompted economic intervention from the International Monetary Fund and western countries to help Russia's economy recover.
*The first McDonald's restaurant opened in Moscow in 1990 with then-President of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR and future Russian President Boris Yeltsin attending, symbolizing Russia's transition towards a capitalist free market economy and a move towards adopting elements of Western culture.
*Oil and Gasoline, gas were discovered in many countries in the former Soviet bloc, leading to economic growth and broader adoption of trade between nations. These trends were also fueled by inexpensive Fossil fuel, fossil energy, with low petroleum prices caused by increased oil production. Political stability and decreased militarization due to the winding down of the Cold War led to economic development and higher living standards for many citizens.
*Most of Europe enjoyed growing prosperity during the 1990s. However, problems including the massive 1995 strikes in France, 1995 general strikes in France following a recession and the difficulties associated with German reunification led to sluggish growth in these countries. However, the French and Germany, German economies improved in the latter half of the decade. Meanwhile, the economies of particularly Spain, Scandinavia and former Eastern Bloc countries accelerated at rapid speed during the decade. However, Unemployment, unemployment rates were low due to many having experienced a deep recession at the start of the decade.
*After the early 1990s recession, the United Kingdom and Celtic Tiger, Ireland experienced rapid economic growth and falling unemployment that continued throughout the decade. Economic growth would continue until the Late 2000s recession, marking the longest uninterrupted period of economic growth in history.
*Some Eastern European economies struggled after the fall of communism, but Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania saw economic growth rates in the late 1990s.
*With the creation of the European Union, European Union (EU), there is freedom of movement between member states, such as the European Union free trade agreements, 1992 and 1995 free trade agreements.
*The euro is adopted by the European Union on 1 January 1999, which begins a process of phasing out national currencies of EU countries.

South America
*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 in their best shape by the late 1990s.

Technology and science

Technology

The 1990s were a revolutionary decade for digital technology. Between 1990 and 1997, individual personal computer ownership in the US rose from 15% to 35%. Cell phones of the early-1990s and earlier ones were very large, lacked extra features, and were used by only a few percent of the population of even the wealthiest nations. Only a few million people used online services in 1990, and the World Wide Web, which would have a significant impact on technology for many decades, had only just been invented. The first web browser went online in 1993 and by 2001, more than 50% of some Western countries had Internet access, and more than 25% had cell phone access.

Electronics and communications

*On 6 August 1991, CERN, a pan-European organization for particle research, publicized the new World Wide Web project. Although the basic applications and guidelines that make the Internet possible had existed for almost two decades, the network did not gain a public face until the 1990s.
*Driven by mass adoption, consumer personal computer specifications increased dramatically during the 1990s, from 512 KB RAM 12 MHz White box (computer hardware), Turbo XTs in 1990, to 25–66 MHz Intel 80486, 80486-class processor at the start of the popularization of the World Wide Web mid-decade, to over 1 GHz CPUs with close to a gigabyte of RAM by 2000.
*Year 2000 problem, Y2K spread fear throughout the United States and eventually the world in the last half of the decade, particularly in 1999, about possible massive computer malfunctions on 1 January 2000. As a result, many people stocked up on supplies for fear of a worldwide disaster. After significant effort to upgrade systems on the part of software engineers, no failures occurred when the clocks rolled over into 2000.
*Advancements in Modem, computer modems, Integrated Services Digital Network, ISDN, cable modems, and Digital subscriber line, DSL lead to faster connections to the Internet.
*The P5 (microarchitecture), first Pentium microprocessor is introduced and developed by the Intel, Intel Corporation.
*Email becomes popular; as a result, Microsoft acquires the popular Outlook.com, Hotmail webmail service.
*Instant messaging and the contact list, buddy list feature becomes popular. AOL Instant Messenger, AIM and ICQ are two early protocols.
*Businesses start to build e-commerce websites; e-commerce-only companies such as Amazon.com, eBay, AOL, and Yahoo! grow rapidly.
*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.
*The first MP3 player, the MPMan, is released in the late spring of 1998. It came with 32 MB of flash memory expandable to 64 MB. By the mid-2000s, the MP3 player would overtake the CD player in popularity.
*The first GSM network is launched in Finland in 1991.
*Digital single-lens reflex cameras and regular digital cameras become commercially available. They would replace film cameras by the mid-2000s.
*IBM introduces the wide Microdrive hard drive in 170 MB and 340 MB capacities.
*Apple Computer in 1998 introduces the iMac all-in-one computer, initiating a trend in computer design towards translucent plastics and multicolour case design, discontinuing many legacy system, legacy technologies like serial ports, and beginning a resurgence in the company's fortunes that continues to this day.
*Optical disc drive, CD burner drives are introduced.
*The CD-ROM drive became standard for most personal computers during the decade.
*The DVD media format is developed and popularized along with a plethora of memory card, Flash memory card standards in 1994.
*Pagers are initially popular but ultimately are replaced by mobile phones by the early-2000s.
*Hand-held satellite phones are introduced towards the end of the decade.
*The 24-hour news cycle becomes popular with the Gulf War between late 1990 and early 1991 and CNN's coverage of Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield (Gulf War), Desert Shield. Though CNN had been running 24-hour newscasts since 1980, it was not until the Gulf War that the general public took notice, and others imitated CNN's non-stop news approach.
*Portable CD players, introduced during the late 1980s, became very popular and profoundly impacted the music industry and youth culture during the 1990s.

File:EC1835 C cut.jpg, A typical early 1990s Personal Computer.
File:Discman D121.jpg, An early portable CD player, a Sony Discman model D121.
File:Ericsson T66.JPG, Mobile phones gained massive popularity worldwide during the decade.
File:Motorolapager.jpg, Pagers became widely popular.

Software

*Microsoft Windows operating systems become virtually ubiquitous on IBM PC compatibles.
*Microsoft introduces Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows 98 to the market, which gain immediate popularity.
*Macintosh System 7 was released in 1991. For much of the decade, Apple would struggle to develop a next-generation graphical operating system, starting with Copland (operating system), Copland and culminating in its December 1996 buyout of NeXT and the 1999 release of Mac OS X Server 1.0.
*The development of web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer makes surfing the World Wide Web easier and more Usability, user-friendly.
*The Java (programming language), Java programming language is developed by Sun Microsystems (acquired by Oracle Corporation, Oracle in 2009–2010).
*In 1991 development of the free Linux kernel is started by 21-year-old Linus Torvalds in Finland.

Rail transportation

The opening of the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom saw the commencement by the three national railway companies of Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom, respectively National Railway Company of Belgium, SNCB/NMBS, SNCF and British Rail of the joint Eurostar service.

On 14 November 1994 Eurostar services began between Waterloo International railway station, Waterloo International station in London, Gare du Nord in Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels South in Brussels.
In 1995 Eurostar was achieving an average end-to-end speed of between London and Paris.
On 8 January 1996 Eurostar launched services from a second railway station in the UK when Ashford International railway station, Ashford International was opened. Journey times between London and Brussels were reduced by the opening of the High Speed 1 line on 14 December 1997.

Automobiles

The 1990s began with a recession that dampened car sales. General Motors suffered huge losses because of an inefficient structure, stale designs, and poor quality. Sales improved with the economy by the mid-1990s, but GM's US market share gradually declined to less than 40% (from a peak of 50% in the 1970s). While the new Saturn Corporation, Saturn division fared well, Oldsmobile fell sharply, and attempts to remake the division as a European-style luxury car were unsuccessful.

Cars in the 1990s had a rounder, more streamlined shape than those from the 1970s and 1980s; this style would continue early into the 2000s and, to a lesser extent, later on.

Chrysler ran into financial troubles again as the 1990s started. Like GM, the company too had a stale model lineup (except for the best-selling Chrysler minivans, minivans) that was largely based on the aging Chrysler K platform, K-car platform. In 1992, chairman Lee Iacocca retired, and the company began a remarkable revival, introducing the new Chrysler LH platform, LH platform and "Cab-Forward" styling, along with a highly successful redesign of the full-sized Dodge Ram in 1994. Chrysler's minivans continued to dominate the market despite increasing competition. In 1998, Daimler-Benz (the parent company of Mercedes-Benz) merged with Chrysler. The following year, it was decided to retire Plymouth (automobile), Plymouth, which had been on a long decline since the 1970s. Ford Motor Company, Ford continued to fare well in the 1990s, with the Ford Taurus (second generation), second and Ford Taurus (third generation), third generations of the Ford Taurus being named the best-selling car in the United States from 1992 to 1996. However, the Taurus would be outsold and dethroned by the Toyota Camry starting in 1997, which became the best-selling car in the United States for the rest of the decade and into the 2000s. Ford also introduced the Ford Explorer, 1991 being the first model year. Fords Explorer became the best-selling SUV on the market, outselling both the Chevy Blazer and Jeep Cherokee.

Japanese cars continued to be highly successful during the decade. The Honda Accord vied with the Taurus most years for being the best-selling car in the United States during the early decade. Although launched in 1989, the luxury brands Lexus and Infiniti began car sales of 1990 model year vehicles and saw great success. Lexus would go on to outsell Mercedes-Benz and BMW in the United States by 1991 and outsell Cadillac and Lincoln by the end of the decade. SUVs and trucks became hugely popular during the economic boom in the decade's second half. Many makes that had never built a truck before started selling SUVs. Car-styling during the 1990s became gradually rounder and ovoid, the Ford Taurus (third generation), Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable being some of the more extreme examples. Safety features such as airbags and shoulder belts became mandatory equipment on new cars.

Science

*Physicists develop M-theory.
*Detection of extrasolar planets orbiting stars other than the sun.
*In the United Kingdom, the first cloning, cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep was confirmed by the Roslin Institute, and was reported by global media on 26 February 1997. Dolly would trigger a raging controversy on cloning, and bioethics, bioethical concerns regarding possible human cloning continue to this day.
*Human Genome Project begins under the leadership of Francis Collins.
*DNA identification of individuals finds wide application in criminal law.
*Hubble Space Telescope was launched in 1990 and revolutionized astronomy. Unfortunately, a flaw in its main mirror caused it to produce fuzzy, distorted images. This was corrected by a shuttle repair mission in 1993.
*Protease inhibitor (pharmacology), Protease inhibitors introduced, allowing antiretroviral drug, HAART therapy against HIV; drastically reduces AIDS mortality.
*NASA's spacecraft Mars Pathfinder, Pathfinder lands on Mars and deploys a small roving vehicle, Mars Pathfinder, Sojourner, which analyzes the planet's geology and atmosphere.
*The Comet Hale–Bopp, Hale–Bopp comet swings past the sun for the first time in 4,200 years in April 1997.
*Development of biodegradation, biodegradable products, replacing products made from Polystyrene, polystyrene foam; advances in methods for recycling of waste products (such as paper, glass, and aluminum).
*Genetically modified food, Genetically engineered crops are developed for commercial use.
*Discovery of dark matter, dark energy, brown dwarfs, and first confirmation of black holes.
*The Galileo (spacecraft), Galileo probe orbits Jupiter, studying the planet and its moons extensively.
*Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 (formally designated D/1993 F2, nicknamed String of Pearls for its appearance) was a comet that broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of solar system objects.
*The Global Positioning System (GPS) becomes fully operational.
*Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem is discovered by Andrew Wiles.
*Construction started in 1998 on the International Space Station.

Environment

At the beginning of the decade, sustainable development and environmental protection became serious issues for governments and the international community. In 1987, the publication of the Brundtland Report by the United Nations paved the way to establish an environmental governance. In 1992 the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, in which several countries Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, committed to protect the environment, signing a Convention on Biological Diversity.

The prevention of the destruction of the tropical rainforests of the world is a major environmental cause that first came into wide public concern in the early 1990s and has continued and accelerated.

The Chernobyl disaster had Cultural impact of the Chernobyl disaster, significant impact on public opinion at the end of the 1980s, and the fallout was still causing cancer deaths well into the 1990s and possibly even into the 21st century. All along the 1990s, several environmental movement, environmental NGOs helped improve environmental awareness among public opinion and governments. The most famous of these organizations during this decade was Greenpeace, which did not hesitate to lead illegal actions in the name of environmental preservation. These organizations also drew attention to the Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest, large Special:WhatLinksHere/Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest during the period.

Global warming as an aspect of climate change also became a major concern, and the creation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) after the Earth Summit helped coordinate efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere. From 1995, the UNFCCC held annual summits on climate change, leading to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997, a binding agreement signed by several developed countries.

Society

The 1990s represented continuing social liberalization in most countries, coupled with an increase in the influence of capitalism, which would continue until the Great Recession of the late 2000s/early 2010s.

Youth subculture, Youth culture in the 1990s responded to this by embracing ''both'' environmentalism and entrepreneurship. Western world fashions reflected this by often turning highly individualism, individualistic and/or counterculture, counter-cultural, which was influenced by Generation X and early millennials: 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 extreme sports and outdoor activities that combined embracing athletics with the appreciation of nature.

Those born from 1990 to 1996 are generally considered part of the Millennials, Millennial Generation, along with those born in the 1980s, while those born from 1997 onward are often considered part of Generation Z, the post-Millennial generation.

In 1990 the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diseases. Increasing acceptance of homosexuality occurred in the western world, slowly starting in the early 1990s.

Third-wave feminism

''See also: Third-wave feminism''
*Anita Hill and other women testify before the United States Congress on being sexual harassment, sexually harassed by Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Thomas was narrowly confirmed by the United States Senate, but Hill's testimony, and the testimony of other harassed women, begins a national debate on the issue.
*Record numbers of women are elected to high office in the United States in 1992, the "Year of the Woman."
*Violence against women takes centre stage as an essential issue internationally. The Violence Against Women Act was passed in the United States, which greatly affected the world community through the United Nations. The law's author, Joe Biden, UN Ambassador and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and Hillary Clinton (see below) have become vocal advocates of action against violence against women.
*Women reach great heights of power in the United States government. Hillary Clinton, leading policy proposals, traveling abroad as a State Department representative to 82 nations, advising her husband, and being elected a United States Senate, Senator (in 2000), is the most openly empowered and politically powerful First Lady of the United States, First Lady in American history; Madeleine Albright and Janet Reno take two of United States Cabinet, the cabinet's top jobs as United States Secretary of State (#1), and United States Attorney General (#4), respectively. Sheila Widnall becomes head and United States Secretary of the Air Force, Secretary of the the United States Air Force, Air Force, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg joins Sandra Day O'Connor as the second woman on the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court.
*More nations than ever before are led by elected women Presidents and Prime Ministers. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's 1988 victory in Pakistan makes women leaders in Muslim states unextraordinary. In Turkey, Tansu Çiller became the first female prime minister in 1993 (until 1996).
*In popular culture, British pop group the Spice Girls also played a part in the feminist movement, boosting popularity with their slogan "Girl Power!", while country music superstar Shania Twain declared female supremacy in her 1995 hit song "Any Man of Mine."

Additional significant events

*Worldwide New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31, 1999, welcoming the year 2000.

Europe
*1991 – January Events (Lithuania) – Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding 1000.
*In Paris, Diana, Princess of Wales and her friend, Dodi Al-Fayed, were killed in a car accident in August 1997, when their chauffeured, hired Mercedes-Benz S-Class crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel. The chauffeur, Henri Paul, died at the scene, as did Al-Fayed. Diana and an Al-Fayed bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the accident. The Princess of Wales died at a Paris hospital hours later. The bodyguard, Rees-Jones, is the sole survivor of the now infamous accident.
*Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who won the Nobel Peace Prize, dies at age 87.
*The birth of the "Second Republic" in Italy, with the Mani Pulite investigations of 1994.
*The Channel Tunnel across the English Channel opens in 1994, connecting France and England. it is the third-List of longest railway tunnels, longest rail tunnel in the world, but with the undersea section of being the longest undersea tunnel in the world.
*The resignation of President of Russia, President Boris Yeltsin on 31 December 1999 resulted in Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's succession to the position.

North America
*Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and then themselves during the Columbine High School massacre, Columbine High School shooting in April 1999, which would Columbine effect, inspire a number of future school shooting, school shooters to commit similar offenses.
*O. J. Simpson murder case – O. J. Simpson's trial, described in the American media as the "trial of the century", proceeds for nearly a year under intense media publicity. A majority of the trial was broadcast nightly during prime time television. On October 3, 1995, Simpson was found "not guilty" of the double-murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
*With help from clinical fertility medication, fertility drugs, an Iowa mother, McCaughey septuplets, Bobbie McCaughey, gave birth to the first surviving septuplets in 1997. There followed a media frenzy and widespread support for the family.
*John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette are killed when Kennedy's private plane crashes off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in July 1999.
*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.
*Beer keg registration becomes a popular public policy in the United States.
*The 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas in 1992 was popularly observed in the United States, despite controversy and protests against the victimization of Native Americans by Columbus' expeditions. The holiday was labeled by some as racism, racist, in view of Native American experiences of colonialism, slavery, genocide, and cultural destruction.
*Matthew Shepard is murdered near the University of Wyoming for being homosexual, gay. This sparks intense national and international media attention and outrage. He becomes a major symbol in the LGBT rights movement and the fight against homophobia.
*Murder of Shanda Sharer, Shanda Sharer was murdered on January 11, 1992. She was lured away from her house and held captive by a group of teenage girls. She was tortured for hours and burned alive. She died from smoke inhalation. Those that were found guilty and sentenced to prison were Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence. According to Melinda, she was jealous of her former partner Amanda Heavrin's relationship with Shanda Sharer.
*Karla Homolka was arrested with her husband, Paul Bernardo, in 1993. Both sexually tortured and killed their victims. Their first victim was Karla's 15-year-old sister, Tammy Homolka. The second and third victims were Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French. Karla told the investigators that she reluctantly did what Paul told her to do because he was abusive and was given a deal. She was sentenced to only 12 years in prison (10 years for Mahaffy and French, but only two years for Tammy). Later, investigators discovered the crime videotapes, proving that Karla was a willing participant. But by that time the deal had already been made. In 1995, Paul was sentenced to life in prison. Karla was released from prison in 2005.
*Polly Klaas (January 3, 1981 – October 1993) was kidnapped by Richard Allen Davis from her home during a slumber party. She was later strangled to death. After her death, her father, Marc Klaas, established the KlaasKids Foundation.
*Jonbenet Ramsey (August 6, 1990 – December 25, 1996) was a child beauty pageant contestant who was missing and found dead in her Boulder, Colorado, home. The crime terrified the nation and the world. Her parents were initially considered to be suspects in her death but were cleared in 2003 when DNA from her clothes was tested. To this day, her murderer has not been found and brought to justice.
*Lorena Bobbitt was charged with malicious wounding for severing husband John and Lorena Bobbitt, John Bobbitt's penis after she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Bobbitt, for which he was charged. Both parties were acquitted of their respective charges.
*American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor John Denver died in a plane crash in Monterey Bay near Pacific Grove, California, Pacific Grove on October 12, 1997.
*Scandal rocked the sport of figure skating when skater Nancy Kerrigan was 1994 Cobo Arena attack, attacked during practice by an assailant hired by Jeff Gillooly, former husband of skater Tonya Harding. The attack was carried out in an attempt to injure Kerrigan's leg to the point of being unable to compete in the upcoming 1994 Winter Olympics, thereby securing Harding a better spot to win a Olympic gold medal, gold medal.
*1992 Los Angeles riots – resulted in 53 deaths and 5,500 property fires in a riot zone. The riots were a result of the state court acquittal of three white and one Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic L.A. police officer by an all-white jury in a Police brutality in the United States, police brutality case involving motorist Rodney King. In 1993, all four officers were convicted in a federal civil rights case.

Asia
*Aliyah from the Commonwealth of Independent States in the 1990s, Massive immigration wave of Jews from the Commonwealth of Independent States to Israel – With the end of the Soviet Union, Israel faced a mass influx of Russian Jews, many of whom had high expectations the country was unable to meet. Israel also came under an Iraqi missile attack during the Gulf War but acquiesced to US pressure not to retaliate militarily, which could have disrupted the US-Arab alliance. The US and Netherlands then rushed anti-missile batteries to Israel to defend the country against missile attacks.
*Vizconde murders, Vizconde massacre – On 30 June 1991 three members of the Vizconde Family: Estrellita, Carmela and Jennifer were found dead inside their house in BF Homes Parañaque, BF Homes, Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was described in the Philippines as the "trial of the century". In 2010 Hubert Webb and his men were later acquitted by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supreme Court for the failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
*The Spratly Islands issue became one of the most controversial in Southeast Asia.
*The closing Mass of the X World Youth Day 1995 was held in Rizal Park on 15 January 1995, attended by more than 5 million people. This is the List of largest peaceful gatherings in history, record gathering of the Roman Catholic Church.
*The Philippines celebrates the 100th anniversary of Independence Day (Philippines), Philippine Independence in 1998 with its theme: "Kalayaan: Kayamanan ng Bayan."

Popular culture

File:Seinfeld logo.svg, ''Seinfeld'' was the most popular show of the 1990s.
File:SNES-Mod1-Console-Set.jpg, The Super Nintendo was a hit in the 1990s.
File:Sega-Mega-Drive-EU-Mk1-wController-FL.jpg, The European PAL version of the Mega Drive launched in 1990, later becoming the highest-selling Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth-gen console in Europe.
File:Nirvana around 1992.jpg, Grunge styles were popular in the 1990s, as modeled here by Krist Novoselic (left) and Kurt Cobain of the band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, one of the most influential bands of the decade.
File:Early internet (cropped).png, The internet was created and in its infancy in the 1990s.
File:N64-Console-Set.png, The Nintendo 64 was released in 1996. ''Super Mario 64'' was the best-selling game of the decade.
File:Crystal Pepsi 20oz.jpg, Crystal Pepsi was a popular drink in the 1990s, which was re-released in 2016.
File:Rugrats logo2.png, ''Rugrats'' and other cartoons like ''Beavis and Butt-Head'', ''The Simpsons'', and ''Ren & Stimpy'' were popular in the 1990s.
File:VHS-C 01.JPG, A VHS-C tape as would be used in the 1990s.
File:Enterprise-D bridge.jpg, One of the sets used in the television show ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', was popular in the 1990s.
File:Titanic Movie Cinema shooting. Airstar Lighting balloons.jpg, The highest-grossing film of the decade was James Cameron's ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'' (1997)

Film

Dogme 95 became an important European artistic motion picture movement by the decade's end. ''Toy Story'', the first full-length Computer-generated imagery, CGI movie, made by Pixar, was released in 1995 and revolutionized animated films. Pixar's parent company, The Walt Disney Company, Disney, was living through the "Disney Renaissance", both as animated theatrical films and as animated television series on the Disney Channel. The "Disney Renaissance" began with ''The Little Mermaid (1989 film), The Little Mermaid'' in 1989 and ended with ''Tarzan (1999 film), Tarzan'' in 1999. The 90s cartoons are sometimes called the "Renaissance Age of Animation" for cartoons in general and Disney Channel's two main rivals were Nickelodeon, owned by Viacom (1952–2006), Viacom and Cartoon Network owned by Warner Bros., Warner Brothers. These three channels are the "Big Three", of children's entertainment, even today, but especially during the 1990s. In 1998, with the release of DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks's ''Antz'' and Pixar's ''A Bug's Life'', the rivalry between DreamWorks and Pixar began between the studios due to the similarities between both films. Also in 1998, ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'' (released in late 1997) became the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing over $1.8 billion worldwide. It would hold this record for over a decade until 2010 when director James Cameron had another one of his films, ''Avatar (2009 film), Avatar'' (released in late 2009), take the title.

Family animated feature films began to gain popularity during the decade through the late-1990s (List of animated feature films of 1997, 1997, List of animated feature films of 1998, 1998, and List of animated feature films of 1999, 1999) were more known. Don Bluth's Sullivan Bluth Studios, animation studio released a number of underperforming family animated films such as ''Rock-a-Doodle'', ''Thumbelina (1994 film), Thumbelina'' and ''The Pebble and the Penguin'' and closed down in 1995. In 1994 former Disney employee Jeffrey Katzenberg founded DreamWorks SKG, which would produce its first two animated films: ''The Prince of Egypt'' and ''Antz'' which were both aimed more at adults than children and were both critical and commercially successful. Meanwhile, films by Walt Disney Feature Animation became popular once more when the studio returned to making family traditionally animated musical classic films; the most notable films were ''Beauty and the Beast (1991 film), Beauty and the Beast'', ''Aladdin (1992 Disney film), Aladdin'', ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' and ''The Lion King''. Other significant animated films have also gained cult status such as ''Jetsons: The Movie, The Jetsons Movie'', ''The Princess and the Goblin (film), The Princess and the Goblin'', ''Happily Ever After (1990 film), Happily Ever After'', ''An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'', ''Ferngully: The Last Rainforest'', ''Tom and Jerry: The Movie'', ''The Thief and the Cobbler'', ''Once Upon a Forest'', ''We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (film), We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'', ''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'', ''Felidae (film), Felidae'', ''The Swan Princess'', ''Balto (film), Balto'', ''Beavis and Butt-Head Do America'', ''Cats Don't Dance'', ''Anastasia (1997 film), Anastasia'', ''Quest for Camelot'', ''The Rugrats Movie'', ''Kirikou and the Sorceress'', ''The King and I (1999 film), The King and I'', ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut'' and ''The Iron Giant''.

Live-action films featuring computer-animated characters became popular with films such as ''Casper (film), Casper'', ''James and the Giant Peach (film), James and the Giant Peach'', ''101 Dalmatians (1996 film), 101 Dalmatians'', ''Men in Black (1997 film), Men in Black'', ''Small Soldiers'' and ''Stuart Little (film), Stuart Little'', although live-action/traditional cel animated film featuring traditional characters like ''Cool World'', ''The Pagemaster'' and ''Space Jam'' were also prevalent.

Japanese anime films continued in the 1990s as Studio Ghibli's continued to dominate with films such as ''Only Yesterday (1991 film), Only Yesterday'', ''Porco Rosso'', ''Pom Poko'', ''Whisper of the Heart'', ''Princess Mononoke'' (which became the highest-grossing anime film at the time) and ''My Neighbors the Yamadas''. Other significant anime films which gained cult status include ''Roujin Z'', ''Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama'', ''Patlabor 2: The Movie'', ''Ninja Scroll'', ''Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie'', ''Ghost in the Shell (1995 film), Ghost in the Shell'', ''Memories (1995 film), Memories'', ''The End of Evangelion'', ''Perfect Blue'', ''Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade'', and the List of Pokémon films, ''Pokémon'' film series which started with the first two entries ''Pokémon: The First Movie'' and ''Pokémon: The Movie 2000''.

Award winners

Highest-grossing

The 25 highest-grossing films of the decade are:

Music

The 1990s were a decade that saw marketing become more segmented, as MTV gradually shifted away from music videos and radio splintered into narrower formats aimed at various niches. However, the 1990s are perhaps best known for grunge music, grunge, gangsta rap, R&B, teen pop; Eurodance, electronic dance music, the renewed popularity of punk rock from the band Green Day (which would also help create a new genre pop punk), and for the entrance of alternative rock into the mainstream. U2 was one of the most popular 1990s bands; their groundbreaking Zoo TV Tour, Zoo TV and PopMart Tour, PopMart tours were the top-selling tours of 1992 and 1997. Glam metal died out in the music mainstream by 1991. Grunge became popular in the early 1990s due to the success of Nirvana (band), Nirvana's ''Nevermind'', Pearl Jam's ''Ten (Pearl Jam album), Ten'', Alice in Chains' ''Dirt (Alice in Chains album), Dirt'', Soundgarden's ''Badmotorfinger'' and Stone Temple Pilots' ''Core (Stone Temple Pilots album), Core''. Pop punk also becomes popular with such artists as Green Day, Blink-182, Weezer, Social Distortion, the Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX and Rancid (band), Rancid. Other successful alternative acts included Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Nickelback, Creed (band), Creed, Radiohead, Gin Blossoms, Soul Asylum, Third Eye Blind, Faith No More, the Smashing Pumpkins, Live (band), Live, Everclear (band), Everclear, Bush (British band), Bush, Screaming Trees and Ween.

Dr. Dre's 1992 album ''The Chronic'' provided a template for modern gangsta rap, and gave rise to other emerging artists of the genre, including Snoop Dogg. Due to the success of Death Row Records and Tupac Shakur, West Coast of the United States, West Coast gangsta rap commercially dominated hip hop during the early-to-mid 1990s, along with Bad Boy Records and the Notorious B.I.G. on the East Coast of the United States, East Coast. Hip hop became the best-selling music genre by the mid-1990s.

In the United Kingdom, the alternative rock Britpop genre emerged as part of the more general Cool Britannia culture, with Oasis (band), Oasis, Blur (band), Blur, Pulp (band), Pulp, Suede (band), Suede, Supergrass and Elastica. The impact of boy band pop sensation Take That lead to the formation of other boy bands in the UK and Ireland, such as East 17 and Boyzone. Female pop icons Spice Girls took the world by storm, becoming the most commercially successful British group since the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Also, R&B has Des'Ree, Mark Morrison and Sade (singer), Sade. Their global success brought about a widespread scene of teen pop acts around the world such as All Saints (group), All Saints, Backstreet Boys, Hanson (band), Hanson, NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who came to prominence into the new millennium. 1991 also saw the death of Queen (band), Queen frontman Freddie Mercury from AIDS-related pneumonia.Many musicians from Canada (Snow (musician), Snow, Celine Dion, The Barenaked Ladies, Shania Twain, Len (band), Len, Sarah McLachlan, and Alanis Morissette) became known worldwide.

Contemporary R&B and quiet storm continued in popularity among adult audiences, which began during the 1980s. Popular African-American contemporary R&B artists included Mariah Carey, D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, Brandy Norwood, Brandy, En Vogue, TLC (band), TLC, Destiny's Child, Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, Dru Hill and Vanessa Williams.

The Tibetan Freedom Concert brought 120,000 people together in the interest of increased human rights and autonomy for Tibet from China. Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain,(Eazy-E)Selena, Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. were the most publicized music-related deaths of the decade, in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 respectively.

Richey Edwards of Manic Street Preachers was publicized in the media in 1991 following an incident involving Steve Lamacq backstage after a live show, in which Edwards carved '4 Real' into his arm. Edwards disappeared in 1995, which was highly publicized. He is still missing but was presumed dead in 2008.

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 drugs and alcohol, getting into fist fights, 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.1994 became a breakthrough year for punk rock in California, with the success of bands like Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Blink-182, Green Day, the Offspring, Rancid (band), Rancid and similar groups following. This success would continue to grow over the next decade, the 2000s. The 1990s also became the most important decade for ska punk/reggae fusion, reggae rock, with the success of many bands like Smash Mouth, Buck-O-Nine, Goldfinger (band), Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Murphy's Law (band), Murphy's Law, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, Sublime (band), Sublime and Sugar Ray.

The rave music, rave movement that emerged in the late 1980s rose. Rave spawned genres such as Intelligent dance music and Drum and bass. The latter is an offshoot of jungle techno and Breakbeat hardcore, breakbeat. Popular artists included Moby, Fatboy Slim, Björk, Aphex Twin, Orbital (band), Orbital, the Orb, the Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Todd Terry, 808 State, Primal Scream, the Shamen, the KLF and the Prodigy.

The rise of industrial music, somewhat a fusion of synthpop and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, rose to worldwide popularity with bands like Godflesh, Nine Inch Nails, Rammstein, Ministry (band), Ministry and Marilyn Manson (band), Marilyn Manson. Groove metal was born through the efforts of Pantera, whose seventh studio album ''Far Beyond Driven'' (1994) was notable for going number one on Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200. Another heavy metal sub-genre called nu metal, which mixed metal with hip hop influences, becomes popular with bands like Korn, Slipknot (band), Slipknot and Limp Bizkit, selling millions of albums worldwide. Metallica's 1991 eponymous album ''Metallica (album), Metallica'' is the best-selling album of the Soundscan, SoundScan era, while extreme metal acts such as Death (metal band), Death, Mayhem (band), Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor (band), Emperor, Cannibal Corpse and others experienced popularity throughout the decade.

In the 1990s, country music became a worldwide phenomenon thanks to Billy Ray Cyrus, Shania Twain and Garth Brooks. The latter enjoyed one of the most successful careers in popular music history, breaking records for both sales and concert attendance throughout the decade. The RIAA has certified his recordings at a combined (128× RIAA certification, platinum), denoting roughly 113 million United States shipments. Other artists that experienced success during this time included Clint Black, Sammy Kershaw, Aaron Tippin, Travis Tritt, Suzy Bogguss, Alan Jackson, Lorrie Morgan and the newly formed duo of Brooks & Dunn; George Strait, whose career began in the 1980s, also continued to have widespread success in this decade and beyond. Female artists such as Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Deana Carter, LeAnn Rimes and Mary Chapin Carpenter all released platinum-selling albums in the 1990s. Rimes, a teenager at the time, spawned a "teen movement" in country music; with fellow teen artists Lila McCann, Jessica Andrews, Billy Gillman, and others following suit; a feat that hasn't been duplicated since Tanya Tucker and Marie Osmond in the early 1970s. The Dixie Chicks became one of the most popular country bands in the 1990s and early 2000s. Their 1998 debut album ''Wide Open Spaces (album), Wide Open Spaces'' went on to become certified 12× platinum, while their 1999 album ''Fly (Dixie Chicks album), Fly'' went on to become 10× platinum.

Television

TV shows, mostly sitcoms, were popular with American audiences. Series such as ''Roseanne (TV series), Roseanne'', ''Coach (TV series), Coach'', ''Empty Nest'', ''Mr. Belvedere'', ''227 (TV series), 227'', ''Cheers'', ''The Cosby Show'', ''Growing Pains'', ''Night Court'', ''The Hogan Family'', ''A Different World'', ''Amen (TV series), Amen'', ''ALF (TV series), ALF'', ''Perfect Strangers (TV series), Perfect Strangers'', ''Family Matters'', ''Charles in Charge'', ''Saved by the Bell'', ''My Two Dads'', ''Newhart'', ''Dear John (U.S. TV series), Dear John'', ''Designing Women'', ''The Golden Girls'', ''Who's the Boss?'', ''Head of the Class'', and ''Seinfeld'', which premiered in the eighties, and ''Frasier'', a spin-off of the 1980s hit ''Cheers'' were viewed throughout the 1990s. These sitcoms, along with ''Friends'', ''That '70s Show'', ''Ellen (TV series), Ellen'', ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', ''Full House'', ''Nurses (American TV series), Nurses'', ''Murphy Brown'', ''The Wonder Years'', ''Living Single'', ''Step by Step (TV series), Step by Step'', ''NewsRadio'', ''Blossom (TV series), Blossom'', ''The King of Queens'', ''Major Dad'', ''Fired Up (TV series), Fired Up'', ''Jesse (TV series), Jesse'', ''Parker Lewis Can't Lose'', ''For Your Love (TV series), For Your Love'', ''The Steve Harvey Show'', ''The Larry Sanders Show'', ''Sex and the City'', ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'', ''Dream On (TV series), Dream On'', ''Grace Under Fire'', ''Mad About You'', ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 TV series), Sabrina the Teenage Witch'', ''The Naked Truth (TV series), The Naked Truth'', ''The Jeff Foxworthy Show'', ''The Jamie Foxx Show'', ''Smart Guy'', ''The Wayans Bros.'', ''Malcolm & Eddie'', ''Clueless (TV series), Clueless'', ''Moesha'', ''The Parent 'Hood'', ''Unhappily Ever After'', ''Roc (TV series), Roc'', ''Martin (TV series), Martin'', ''Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'', ''In Living Color'', ''Sister, Sister (TV series), Sister, Sister'', ''Boy Meets World'', ''Ned and Stacey'', ''Becker (TV series), Becker'', ''Veronica's Closet'', ''Two Guys and a Girl'', ''The Drew Carey Show'', ''Wings (1990 TV series), Wings'', ''The John Larroquette Show'', ''Caroline in the City'', ''Sports Night'', ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'', ''Will & Grace'', ''Married... with Children'', ''Evening Shade'', ''Cosby (TV series), Cosby'', ''Spin City'', ''The Nanny'', ''3rd Rock from the Sun'', ''Suddenly Susan'', ''Cybill'', ''Just Shoot Me!'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', and ''Dharma and Greg'' turned TV in new directions and defined the humor of the decade. Furthermore, ''Saturday Night Live'' experienced a new era of success during the 1990s, launching the careers of popular comedians and actors such as Chris Farley, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Norm McDonald, David Spade, Cheri Oteri and others.

In 1993, one of the last western (genre), westerns to air on television was ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', a crime drama starring Chuck Norris as the title character. Lasting for nine seasons, the show tackled a wide variety of subjects and was one of few shows to perform karate.

1993 also saw its debut of the medical–:wikt:mystery, mystery drama, ''Diagnosis Murder'', a comeback vehicle for Dick Van Dyke, who guest-starred on an episode of its sequel, ''Jake and The Fatman'', where the show got off to a rocky start and became one of television's long-running mysteries, that lasted until its cancellation in 2001.

Medical dramas started to come into television in the 1990s. One show stood out as a critical and rating success for NBC. In 1994, ''ER (TV series), ER'', which starred Anthony Edwards (actor), Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle and George Clooney, was a domestic and international success, lasting until 2009 and spawning series such as ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–present). It made NBC the most-watched channel in the United States. This show launched the career of George Clooney. That same year, ''Chicago Hope'', that starred Héctor Elizondo, Mandy Patinkin and Adam Arkin, was also a popular series for CBS, lasting between 1994 and 2000.

''Beverly Hills, 90210'' ran on Fox from 1990 to 2000. It established the teen soap genre, paving the way for ''Dawson's Creek'', ''Felicity (TV series), Felicity'', ''Party of Five'', and other shows airing later in the decade. The show was then remade and renamed simply ''90210 (TV series), 90210'' and premiered in 2008. ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' spin-off ''Melrose Place'' also became a popular TV show throughout the 1990s. ''Baywatch'' became the most-watched TV show in history and influenced pop culture.

''Sex and the City'' portrayal of relationships and sexuality caused controversy and acclaim, leading to a new generation of sexually progressive television shows in the 2000s.

Fantasy and science fiction shows were popular on television, with NBC airing ''seaQuest DSV'' beginning in 1993, which made Jonathan Brandis a popular teen idol, but was cancelled after three seasons. The 1990s saw a multitude of Star Trek content: in 1993, following the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Paramount released the follow up shows Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), starring Avery Brooks, and Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001), starring Kate Mulgrew. ''Touched By an Angel'', broadcast by CBS in 1994, was intended as the comeback vehicle of Della Reese, and also launched the career of Roma Downey. It wasn't an immediate hit and was cancelled, but it was revived the following year due to a fan letter-writing campaign, which ran for eight more seasons. At the end of the decade, the fantasy drama series Charmed gained a cult following and helped popularize the WB.

Crime drama and police detective shows returned to the spotlight after soap operas died down. After the successful debuts of ''Law & Order'', ''NYPD Blue,'' ''Homicide: Life on the Street'', Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox debuted ''New York Undercover, ''which starred Malik Yoba and Michael DeLorenzo, Micheal DeLorenzo is notable for featuring two people of color in the main roles. ''Nash Bridges,'' a comeback vehicle for Don Johnson, lasting six seasons (1996–2001) which dealt with escapist entertainment instead of tackling social issues.'

Reality television began on MTV; this would grow in importance in the Western world into the next decade.

During the mid-1990s, two of the biggest professional wrestling companies: ''World Championship Wrestling'' and ''World Wrestling Federation'' were in a rating battle that was called the Monday Night Wars (1995–2001). Each company fought to draw more viewers to their respective Monday night wrestling show. The "War" ended in 2001 when ''WWE'' bought ''WCW''. In November 2001, there was a Winner Takes All match with both companies in a Pay-Per-View called ''Survivor Series''. WWF won the match, putting an end to WCW.

An animated sitcom, ''The Simpsons'', premiered on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox in December 1989 and became a domestic and international success in the 1990s. The show has aired more than 600 episodes and has become an institution of pop culture. In addition, it has spawned the adult-oriented animated sitcom genre, inspiring more adult-oriented animated shows such as ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997), ''Daria'' (1997–2001), along with ''South Park'' and ''Family Guy'', the latter two of which began in 1997 and 1999 respectively and continue to air new episodes through the 2000s and into the 2020s.

Japanese anime was popular in the 1980s and expanded to a worldwide audience by the 1990s for its expansive spectrum of story subjects and themes not limited to comedy and superhero action found in the US. It featured well-produced, well-written, visual, and story content that came to showcase animation's potential for emotional and intellectual depth and integrity on par with live action media to its viewers. Anime expanded to older and adult ages in the medium of animation. TV shows such as ''Sailor Moon'', ''Digimon'', ''Pokémon'', ''Tenchi Muyo!'', ''Detective Conan'', ''Dragon Ball Z'', ''Cowboy Bebop'', ''Gundam Wing'', ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'', ''Ranma ½'', ''Yu Yu Hakusho'', ''Slayers'', ''Rurouni Kenshin'', ''Initial D'', ''Gunsmith Cats'', ''Outlaw Star'', to anime movies such as ''Akira (1988 film), Akira'', ''Vampire Hunter D'', ''My Neighbor Totoro'', ''Princess Mononoke'', ''Castle in the Sky'', ''The Castle of Cagliostro'', and imports by various distributors such as Viz Media, Viz, AnimEigo, Central Park Media, A.D. Vision, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer Entertainment, Media Blasters, Manga Entertainment, and Celebrity Home Entertainment, Celebrity, helped begin the mid to late 1990s and turn of the millennium introductory anime craze in the US, and the Cartoon Network anime block Toonami in 1997.

American animated children's programs went through a renaissance during the decade, with studios producing many critically acclaimed shows. Specifically, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros-animated shows like ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', ''Animaniacs'', and the start of the DC Animated Universe with shows such as ''Batman: The Animated Series'', and ''Superman: The Animated Series'', as well as syndicated shows like ''Phantom 2040''. Nickelodeon's first three animated series (''Doug (TV series), Doug'', ''Rugrats'', ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'') all premiered in 1991. 1993 saw the debut of children's live-action series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', which became a pop culture phenomenon along with a line of action figures and other toys by merchandise manufacturer Bandai. This can also be said for the British pre-school series ''Teletubbies'', which was a massive hit loved by very young children. The late 1990s also saw the evolution of a new TV genre: primetime game shows, popularized by the game show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'', hosted originally by Chris Tarrant on ITV (TV network), ITV and Regis Philbin on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, as well as other first-run game shows aired in prime time on the newly launched Game Show Network.

Fashion and body modification

Significant fashion trends of the 1990s include:
*Earth and jewel tones, as well as an array of minimalist style and design influences, characterize the 1990s, a stark contrast to the camp and bombast seen in the brightly colored fashion and design trends of the 1980s in fashion, 1980s.
*Rachel haircut, The Rachel, Jennifer Aniston's hairstyle on the hit TV show ''Friends'', became a cultural phenomenon with millions of women copying it worldwide.
*The Hi-top fade was trendy among African-Americans in the early 1990s.
*The Curtained hair, Curtained Haircut increased in popularity in fashion and culture among teenage boys and young men in the 1990s, mainly after it was popularized in the film ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' by the actor Edward Furlong.
*The model 1300 Wonderbra style has a resurgence of popularity in Europe in 1992, which kicks off an international media sensation, the 1994 return of "The Wonderbra" brand, and a spike in the push-up, plunge bras around the world.
*Additional fashion trends of the 1990s include the Tamagotchi, Inline skates, Rollerblades, Pogs and Dr. Martens shoes.
*Bleached blond hair became very popular in the late 1990s, as were men with short hair with the bangs "flipped up."
*The 1990s also saw the return of the 1970s teenage female fashion with long, straight hair and denim hot pants.
*''Beverly Hills, 90210'' sideburns also became popular in the early and mid-1990s.
*Slap bracelets were a popular fad among children, preteens, and teenagers in the early 1990s and were available in a wide variety of patterns and colors. Also popular among children were light-up sneakers, jelly shoes, and shoelace hair clips.
*The Grunge hype at the beginning of the decade popularized flannel shirts among both genders during the 1990s.
*Grunge- and hip-hop-inspired anti-fashion saw an expansion of the slouchy, casual styles of past decades, mostly seen in baggy and distressed jeans, cargo shorts and pants, baseball caps (often worn backward), chunky sneakers, over-sized sweatshirts, and loose-fitting tees with Grandiloquence, grandiloquent graphics and logos.
*2000s in fashion, Y2K fashion became popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as the new millennium began. This was marked by darker, slinkier, and more Science fiction, futuristic-looking clothing in the late 1990s.
*Tattoos and Body piercing, piercings became part of the wikt:mainstream, mainstream aesthetic. American model Christy Turlington revealed her Navel piercing, belly button piercing at a fashion show in London in 1993. In the late 1990s, some females got Lower-back tattoo, lower back tattoos and men opted for tribal style arm bands or back pieces.

File:Tamagotchi_0124_ubt.jpeg, The handheld digital pet device Tamagotchi became an especially popular game among children around the world during the decade
File:Kids playing pogs.jpeg, Pogs was an especially popular game among children around the world during the decade
File:Dr Martens, black, old.jpg, In the 1990s, Dr. Martens shoes became a popular fashion item heavily influenced by the grunge scene and the prominent grunge musicians who wore them

Video games

Video game consoles released in this decade included the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo, Atari Jaguar, 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, 3DO, Sega Saturn, PlayStation (console), PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast. Portable video game consoles included Game Gear, Atari Lynx and Game Boy Color. ''Super Mario World'' was the decade's best-selling home console video game, while ''Pokémon Red and Blue'' was the decade's best-selling portable video game; ''Super Mario 64'' was the decade's best-selling Fifth generation of video game consoles, fifth-generation video game, while ''Street Fighter II'' was the decade's highest-grossing arcade video game.

Mario as Nintendo's mascot finds a rival in Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog with the release of ''Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game), Sonic the Hedgehog'' on the Sega Genesis, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1991. ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' would go on to become one of the most successful List of video game franchises, video game franchises of the decade and of all time.

Notable video games of the 1990s include: ''Super Metroid'', ''Metal Gear Solid (1998 video game), Metal Gear Solid'', ''Super Mario World'', ''Doom (1993 video game), Doom'', ''Donkey Kong Country'', ''Donkey Kong 64'', Pokémon Red and Blue, ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'' Versions, ''Pokémon Yellow, Pokémon Yellow Version'', ''GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game), GoldenEye 007'', ''Super Mario 64'', ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'', ''Gran Turismo (1997 video game), Gran Turismo'', ''Mario Kart 64'', ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'', ''Super Mario Kart'', ''Radiant Silvergun'', ''Rayman (video game), Rayman'', ''Gunstar Heroes'', ''Banjo-Kazooie (video game), Banjo-Kazooie'', ''Soulcalibur (video game), Soulcalibur'', ''Star Fox'' series, ''Tomb Raider'' series, ''Final Fantasy (series), Final Fantasy'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog (series), Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, ''Story of Seasons (series), Story of Seasons'' series, ''Tony Hawk's (series), Tony Hawk's'' series, ''Crash Bandicoot (series), Crash Bandicoot'' series, ''Metal Slug'' series, ''Resident Evil (series), Resident Evil'' series, ''Street Fighter II'', ''Spyro the Dragon (series), Spyro the Dragon'' series, ''Commander Keen'' series, ''Test Drive (series), Test Drive'' series, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series, ''Monkey Island (series), Monkey Island'' series, ''Dune computer and video games, Dune'' series, ''Mortal Kombat'' series, ''Warcraft'' series, ''Duke Nukem 3D'', ''Tekken (series), Tekken'' series, ''EarthBound'', ''Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game'', and ''StarCraft''.

Sony's PlayStation (console), PlayStation becomes the top-selling game console and changes the standard media storage type from ROM cartridge, cartridges to compact discs in home consoles. Crash Bandicoot (video game), ''Crash Bandicoot'' is released on September 9, 1996, becoming one of the most successful platforming series for the Sony PlayStation. Spyro the Dragon, ''Spyro The Dragon'', released on September 9, 1998, also became a successful platforming series. ''Tomb Raider''s Lara Croft became a video game sex symbol, becoming one of the most recognizable figures in the entertainment industry throughout the late 1990s.

3D computer graphics, 3D graphics become the standard by the decade's end. Although First-person shooter, FPS games had long since seen the transition to full 3D, other genres began to copy this trend by the end of the decade. The most notable first shooter games in the 1990s are ''GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game), GoldenEye 007'' and ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (video game), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six''.

The console wars, primarily between Sega (Mega Drive, marketed as the Sega Genesis in North America, introduced in 1988) and Nintendo (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, introduced in 1990), sees the entrance of Sony with the PlayStation (console), PlayStation in 1994, which becomes the first successful CD-based console (as opposed to ROM cartridge, cartridges). By the end of the decade, Sega's hold on the market becomes tenuous after the end of the Sega Saturn, Saturn in 1999 and the Dreamcast in 2002.

Arcade games rapidly decreased in popularity, mainly due to dominance by handheld and home consoles.

Fighting games like Capcom's ''Street Fighter II'', Sega's ''Virtua Fighter (arcade game), Virtua Fighter'', and Midway Games, Midway's ''Mortal Kombat (1992 video game), Mortal Kombat'' (known for being extremely violent) prompted the video game industry to accept a Entertainment Software Rating Board, game rating system. Hundreds of knockoffs are widely popular in the mid-to-late 1990s. ''Doom (1993 video game), Doom'' (1993) bursts onto the world scene, and instantly popularizes the First-person shooter, FPS genre. ''Half-Life (video game), Half-Life'' (1998) builds upon this, using gameplay without Level (video games), levels and an immersive First-person narrative, first-person perspective. Half-Life became one of the most popular FPS games in history.

The real-time strategy (RTS) genre is introduced in 1992 with the release of ''Dune II''. ''Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'' (1994) popularizing the genre, and ''Command & Conquer'' and ''Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'' in 1995, setting up the first major real-time strategy competition and popularizing 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 today, 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 (video game), Civilization'' in 1991. ''Final Fantasy (video game), Final Fantasy'' was introduced (in North America) in 1990 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, NES and remains among the most popular video game Final Fantasy, franchises, with many new titles to date and more in development, plus numerous spin-offs, sequels, films and related titles. ''Final Fantasy VII'', released in 1997, especially popularized the series.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) see their entrance into the computer game world with ''Ultima Online'' in 1997. However, they never gained widespread popularity until ''EverQuest'' and ''Asheron's Call'' in 1999. MMORPGs become among the most popular video game genres until the 2010s.

''Pokémon'' enters the world scene with the release of the original Game Boy ''Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Red'' and ''Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Green'' games in Japan in 1996, later changed to ''Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Red'' and ''Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon Blue'' for worldwide release in 1998. It soon becomes popular in the United States and Canada, creating the term Pokémonia and is adapted into a popular anime series and trading card game, among other media forms.

''Resident Evil (1996 video game), Resident Evil'' is released in 1996. It will become the most popular Survival horror, survival-horror series in video gaming into the next decades.

The List of best-selling video games, best-selling games of the 1990s are listed below (note that some sources disagree on particular years):

* 1990: ''Super Mario World''
* 1991: Sonic the Hedgehog (1991 video game), ''Sonic the Hedgehog''
* 1992: ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins''
* 1993: ''Super Mario All-Stars''
* 1994: ''Donkey Kong Country''
* 1995: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Islan''d or ''Mortal Kombat 3''
* 1996: ''Pokémon Red and Blue'' or ''Super Mario 64''
* 1997: Gran Turismo (1997 video game), Gran Turismo or ''Mario Kart 64''
* 1998: ''Pokémon Yellow'' or ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time''
* 1999: ''Pokémon Gold and Silver'' or ''Donkey Kong 64''

File:Game-Boy-FL.jpg, Nintendo's Game Boy was a popular handheld game console during the 1990s.
File:PSX-Console-wController.png, The PlayStation (console), PlayStation was released in the mid-1990s and became the List of million-selling game consoles, best-selling gaming console of its time.
File:Diana Maria (cropped).jpg, The game ''Tomb Raider (1996 video game), Tomb Raider'', launched in 1996, became particularly popular during the decade and as a result Lara Croft's character eventually became a cultural icon in the video game industry
File:Mittelgrosse_lan-party.jpg, Private LAN parties were at the peak of their popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s when broadband Internet access was unavailable or too expensive for most people

Internet

Prominent websites launched during the decade include IMDb (1993), eBay (1995), Amazon (company), Amazon (1994), GeoCities (1994), Netscape (1994), Yahoo! (1995), AltaVista (1995), AIM (software), AIM (1997), ICQ (1996), Hotmail (1996), Google (1998), Napster (1999). The pioneering peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing internet service Napster, which launched in Fall 1999, was the first peer-to-peer software to become massively popular. While at the time it was possible to share files in other ways via the Internet (such as IRC and USENET), Napster was the first software to focus exclusively on sharing MP3, MP3 files for music. Napster was eventually forced to Napster, shut down in July 2001 after legal disputes over copyright infringement and digital piracy.

Architecture

*The Petronas Towers, Petronas Twin Towers became two of the List of tallest buildings and structures in the world, tallest man-made structures ever built after they officially opened on August 31, 1999.

Sports

* In college football, the Inauguration, Inaugural 1992 Southeastern Conference, SEC Championship Game occurred at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The Alabama Crimson Tide football team, under then Coach Gene Stallings, went 11-0 and defeated the Florida Gators under then Coach Steve Spurrier. The Tide would later finish 13–0 to win the National Championship and beat the Miami Hurricanes in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. However, Spurrier and the Gators would later win Four SEC Championships from 1993 to 1996. They went on to win their first National Championship in the 1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl by defeating the Florida State Seminoles football, Florida State Seminoles.
*The 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Spain and the 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, United States.
*Major League Baseball players went on 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, strike on August 12, 1994, thus ending the season and canceling the World Series for the first time in 90 years. The players' strike ended on March 29, 1995, when players and team owners agreed.
*The 1991 World Series pitted the 1991 Atlanta Braves season, Atlanta Braves and the 1991 Minnesota Twins season, Minnesota Twins, two teams who finished last place in their respective divisions, the 1990 Major League Baseball season, previous season. The series would go all seven games won by the home teams, concluding dramatically with the Minnesota Twins claiming their second World Series title.
*American National Basketball Association, NBA basketball player Michael Jordan became a major sports and Pop icon, pop culture icon, idolized by millions worldwide. He revolutionized sports marketing through deals with companies such as Gatorade, Hanes, McDonald's and Nike, Inc., Nike. His Chicago Bulls team won six NBA titles during the decade (1991 NBA Finals, 1991, 1992 NBA Finals, 1992, 1993 NBA Finals, 1993, 1996 NBA Finals, 1996, 1997 NBA Finals, 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals, 1998). He was loved outside basketball thanks to his self-portrayal in the film ''Space Jam'' with the ''Looney Tunes, Looney Tune'' characters.
*The National Hockey League would expand from 21 to 30 teams. During the expansion years, several teams would relocate to new cities: the Winnipeg Jets (1972-96), Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes, the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche, the Hartford Whalers moved to Raleigh, North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Stars.
*The NHL's 1990s expansion saw new teams in cities that previously never had NHL hockey: San Jose, California, San Jose (San Jose Sharks), Anaheim (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), Nashville (Nashville Predators), Miami (Florida Panthers), and Tampa (Tampa Bay Lightning). The NHL also returned to Atlanta with the expansion Atlanta Thrashers.
*Two of the NHL's Original Six teams, the New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings, would end long Stanley Cup championship droughts; the Rangers in 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, 1994 after Curse of 1940, 54 years, and the Red Wings would win back-to-back Cups in 1997 Stanley Cup Finals, 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, 1998 after 1955 Stanley Cup Finals, 42 years.
*Canadian hockey star Mario Lemieux led the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the original NHL expansion teams, to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup Finals, 1992.
*In addition to the Pittsburgh Penguins, three other NHL expansion teams went on to earn their first Stanley Cup championships: the New Jersey Devils in 1995 Stanley Cup Finals, 1995, the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, 1996, and the Dallas Stars in 1999 Stanley Cup Finals, 1999.
*Canadian hockey star Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement from the NHL in 1999. Upon his final game on April 18, he held 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records. He is the leading point-scorer in NHL history and the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. He played for four teams during his NHL career: the Edmonton Oilers, the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues, and the New York Rangers.
*American cyclist Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France in 1999, less than two years after battling testicular cancer.
*In professional wrestling, the 1980s professional wrestling boom, boom period of the WWE, WWF from the late 1980s continued until 1993, led by such stars as Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior. A second boom period of the decade was introduced during the Monday Night Wars between the WWF and WCW from the middle of the decade to spawn the WWF's Attitude Era, home to some of the biggest names in wrestling history such as The Undertaker, who would go on to have an The Streak (wrestling), undefeated streak at WrestleMania that would go on until WrestleMania XXX in April 2014, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dwayne Johnson, The Rock and the highly popular New World Order (professional wrestling), nWo group, along with Sting (wrestler), Sting and Bill Goldberg, Goldberg who brought WCW major success.
*Manchester United F.C., Manchester United won an unprecedented treble (association football), treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, Champions League after defeating FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich 2–1 in May 1999.
*The United States hosted the 15th staging of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, World Cup in 1994. It holds the record for the largest attendance per game during the World Cup finals (even after the tournament's expansion to 32 teams and 64 matches). Additionally, this led to the creation of the Major League Soccer, MLS.
*In motor racing, triple Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna is fatally injured in a crash at 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, San Marino in 1994. Michael Schumacher enters into the sport – winning his first two championships in 1994 Formula One season, 1994 and 1995 Formula One season, 1995. Dale Earnhardt wins the 1998 Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Winston Cup championship in 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. American Championship car racing, Indy Car racing delves into an organizational 1996 Indianapolis 500#IRL/CART split, "Split".
*In the National Football League, NFL, the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins showed promise of continuing their '80s glory by each team winning another Super Bowl at the beginning of the decade. However, it was the Dallas Cowboys who made a gradual return to dynasty status, winning three Super Bowls (Super Bowl XXVII, 1992, Super Bowl XXVIII, 1993 and Super Bowl XXX, 1995) in four years after a 14-year NFL championship drought. The Denver Broncos also won their first two Super Bowls after having lost four, winning consecutive championships of the Super Bowl XXXII, 1997 and Super Bowl XXXIII, 1998 seasons.
* Florida State Seminoles football, Florida State, 1987–2000 – At the height of Bobby Bowden's dominance, the Florida State Seminoles went 152–19–1, won nine Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC championships (1992–2000), two national championships (1993 and 1999), played for three more national championships (1996, 1998, and 2000), were ranked #1 in the preseason AP poll five times (1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1999), never lost the #1 AP ranking during 1999, produced 20 1st round NFL draft picks (including the 1997 offensive and defensive rookies of the year), won at least ten games every year, and never finished a season ranked lower than fourth in the AP poll. Quarterbacks Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke won Heisman Trophy, Heisman Trophies.
*The Nebraska Cornhuskers led by head coach Tom Osborne won three national championships in college football in four years (1994, 1995, 1997)
*Led by head coach Jim Tressel, The Youngstown State Penguins claimed to be the "team of the '90s" by winning four national championships (1991, 1993, 1994, 1997) in division I-AA college football
*The Ultimate Fighting Championship (1993) and Pride Fighting Championship (1997) debut and evolve into the modern sport of Mixed Martial Arts.
*Major League Baseball added four teams, Miami Marlins (as Florida Marlins), Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays (as Tampa Bay Devil Rays), and the Arizona Diamondbacks, and moved one (Milwaukee Brewers) into the National League. The Florida Marlins would win the World Series in 1997 World Series, 1997 and 2003 World Series, 2003; the Arizona Diamondbacks would win the World Series in 2001 World Series, 2001, becoming the fastest expansion team to win a major championship for any major sport; the Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays would appear in the World Series in 2007 World Series, 2007 and 2008 World Series, 2008 respectively.
*In 1998, Canada wins gold medals for the first time in Ultimate (sport), Disc ultimate at the World Flying Disc Federation#WFDF World Ultimate Championship, WFDF World Ultimate Championship in Open, Mixed, and Masters.
*In the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Magnificent Seven (gymnastics), Women's Gymnastics team won the first team gold medal for the US in Olympic Gymnastics history.
*In 1997, eight Australian Rugby League Premiership clubs defect to the News Corporation-backed Super League (Australia), Super League, before a resolution sees the two parties form the National Rugby League in 1998. The British competition is bought out by News Corporation, and renamed Super League, which it is still currently named (although it was sold by News Corporation).

Literature

*The hugely successful ''Harry Potter'' series by J. K. Rowling was introduced in 1997. The series, with only seven main novels, would go on to become the List of best-selling books, best-selling book series in world history and adapted into a Harry Potter (film series), film series in 2001.
*John Grisham was the bestselling author in the United States in the 1990s, with over 60 million copies sold of novels such as ''The Pelican Brief'', The Client (novel), ''The Client'', and The Firm (novel), ''The Firm''.
*Other successful authors of the 1990s include Stephen King, Danielle Steel, Michael Crichton, and Tom Clancy.
*''Goosebumps'' by R. L. Stine, the second highest-grossing book series in the world, was introduced in 1992 and remained a dominant player in children's literature throughout and after the decade. A Goosebumps (TV series), television series released on Fox Kids alongside a Goosebumps (film), film version that released in 2015.

People

Actors & Entertainers

* Jason Alexander
* Tim Allen
* Gillian Anderson
* Pamela Anderson
* Jennifer Aniston
* Christina Applegate
* Kevin Bacon
* Alec Baldwin
* Antonio Banderas
* Roseanne Barr
* Drew Barrymore
* Kim Basinger
* Candice Bergen
* Elizabeth Berkley
* Sandra Bernhard
* Halle Berry
* Pierce Brosnan
* Sandra Bullock
* Brett Butler (actress), Brett Butler
* Nicolas Cage
* Dean Cain
* Neve Campbell
* Drew Carey
* George Carlin
* Jim Carrey
* Dana Carvey
* Jackie Chan
* Dave Chappelle
* George Clooney
* Kevin Costner
* Courteney Cox
* Marcia Cross
* Tom Cruise
* Billy Crystal
* Macaulay Culkin
* Matt Damon
* Ellen DeGeneres
* Robert De Niro
* Johnny Depp
* Leonardo DiCaprio
* Shannen Doherty
* Fran Drescher
* David Duchovny
* Anthony Edwards (actor), Anthony Edwards
* Chris Farley
* David Faustino
* Will Ferrell
* Laurence Fishburne
* Calista Flockhart
* Harrison Ford
* Jodie Foster
* Dennis Franz
* Morgan Freeman
* Janeane Garofalo
* Jennie Garth
* Sarah Michelle Gellar
* Mel Gibson
* Kathie Lee Gifford
* Peri Gilpin
* Danny Glover
* Whoopi Goldberg
* John Goodman
* Mark-Paul Gosselaar
* Kelsey Grammer
* Brian Austin Green
* Arsenio Hall
* Tom Hanks
* Woody Harrelson
* David Hasselhoff
* Teri Hatcher
* Ethan Hawke
* Mitch Hedberg
* Bill Hicks
* Anthony Hopkins
* Helen Hunt
* Samuel L. Jackson
* Angelina Jolie
* Tommy Lee Jones
* Michael Keaton
* Nicole Kidman
* Val Kilmer
* Greg Kinnear
* Lisa Kudrow
* Eriq La Salle
* Angela Lansbury
* Martin Lawrence
* Matt LeBlanc
* Jane Leeves
* Jay Leno
* David Letterman
* Heather Locklear
* Mario Lopez
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus
* Bill Maher
* John Mahoney
* Julianna Margulies
* Demi Moore
* Eddie Murphy
* Mike Myers
* Liam Neeson
* Craig T. Nelson
* Chuck Norris
* Conan O'Brien
* Ed O'Neill
* Jerry Orbach
* Al Pacino
* Gwyneth Paltrow
* Sean Penn
* Luke Perry
* Matthew Perry
* Joe Pesci
* Michelle Pfeiffer
* Regis Philbin
* David Hyde Pierce
* Brad Pitt
* Jason Priestley
* Dennis Quaid
* Keanu Reeves
* Paul Reiser
* Michael Richards
* Julia Roberts
* Chris Rock
* Rene Russo
* Meg Ryan
* Winona Ryder
* Katey Sagal
* Bob Saget
* Adam Sandler
* Susan Sarandon
* Arnold Schwarzenegger
* David Schwimmer
* Steven Seagal
* Jerry Seinfeld
* Garry Shandling
* Elisabeth Shue
* Sarah Silverman
* Will Smith
* Jimmy Smits
* Wesley Snipes
* David Spade
* Tori Spelling
* John Stamos
* Jon Stewart
* Patrick Stewart
* Sharon Stone
* Meryl Streep
* Jeffrey Tambor
* Tiffani Thiessen, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen
* Uma Thurman
* John Travolta
* Jean-Claude Van Damme
* Denzel Washington
* Sam Waterston
* Robin Williams
* Bruce Willis
* Oprah Winfrey
* James Woods
* Noah Wyle
* Ian Ziering

File:Johnny Depp Cannes nineties.jpg, Johnny Depp
File:Jodie Foster 1995.jpg, Jodie Foster
File:Morgan Freeman 1998.jpg, Morgan Freeman
File:Sean Penn Cannes.jpg, Sean Penn
File:Robin Williams 1996.jpg, Robin Williams

Athletes

* Andre Agassi
* Troy Aikman
* Roberto Baggio
* Charles Barkley
* Barry Bonds
* Martin Brodeur
* Roger Clemens
* Dale Earnhardt
* John Elway
* Patrick Ewing
* Brett Favre
* Tom Glavine
* Steffi Graf
* Wayne Gretzky
* Ken Griffey Jr.
* Tony Hawk
* Grant Hill
* Michael Irvin
* Jaromir Jagr
* Derek Jeter
* Randy Johnson
* Chipper Jones
* Michael Jordan
* Jürgen Klinsmann
* Michelle Kwan
* Mario Lemieux
* Greg LeMond
* Greg Maddux
* Karl Malone
* Mark Messier
* Reggie Miller
* Alonzo Mourning
* Hakeem Olajuwon
* Shaquille O'Neal
* Gary Payton
* Scottie Pippen
* Jerry Rice
* Cal Ripken Jr.
* David Robinson
* Dennis Rodman
* Romário
* Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo
* Patrick Roy
* Joe Sakic
* Pete Sampras
* Barry Sanders
* Deion Sanders
* Alan Shearer
* Peter Schmeichel
* Brendan Shanahan
* Kelly Slater
* Emmitt Smith
* John Smoltz
* John Stockton
* Steve Yzerman
* Zinedine Zidane

File:Jordan Lipofsky.jpg, Michael Jordan
File:Wgretz edit2.jpg, Wayne Gretzky
File:BarryBonds1993.jpg, Barry Bonds
File:Dale Earnhardt - NASCAR Photography By Darryl Moran.jpg, Dale Earnhardt

Musicians

* Aaliyah
* Aerosmith
* Alan Jackson
* Alanis Morissette
* Alice In Chains
* A Tribe Called Quest
* Backstreet Boys
* Beck
* Blind Melon
* Blur (band), Blur
* Bon Jovi
* Boyz II Men
* Britney Spears
* Bryan Adams
* Busta Rhymes
* Cat Power
* Celine Dion
* Clint Black
* Cocteau Twins
* Collective Soul
* The Cranberries
* Daft Punk
* Dave Matthews Band
* Deftones
* Depeche Mode
* Destiny's Child
* DMX
* Dr. Dre
* Eazy-E
* Elliott Smith
* Elton John
* Eminem
* Everclear (band), Everclear
* Fiona Apple
* Foo Fighters
* Fugees
* Garth Brooks
* Gloria Estefan
* Goo Goo Dolls
* Green Day
* Hootie and the Blowfish
* Ice Cube
* Incubus (band), Incubus
* Janet Jackson
* Jay-Z
* Korn
* Lenny Kravitz
* Lil Kim
* Madonna
* Mariah Carey
* Marilyn Manson
* Melissa Etheridge
* Metallica
* Michael Jackson
* The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
* Nas
* Nightwish
* Nine Inch Nails
* Nirvana (band), Nirvana
* No Doubt
* The Notorious B.I.G.
* NSYNC
* Oasis (band), Oasis
* Outkast
* Pantera
* Pearl Jam
* Phish
* R. Kelly
* R.E.M.
* Radiohead
* Rage Against the Machine
* Red Hot Chili Peppers
* Sean Combs
* Shania Twain
* Sheryl Crow
* Smashing Pumpkins
* Snoop Dogg
* Soundgarden
* Spice Girls
* Sting (musician), Sting
* Stone Temple Pilots
* Sublime (band), Sublime
* TLC (group), TLC
* Toni Braxton
* Tori Amos
* Tupac Shakur
* U2
* Whitney Houston
* Wu-Tang Clan

File:Trent Reznor Lollapalooza 1991.jpg, Nine Inch Nails
File:The Cranberries, Palalido, Italy, April 20, 1999.jpg, The Cranberries
File:RedHotChiliPeppersAdam1989.jpg, Red Hot Chili Peppers

See also

*1990s in music
*1990s in fashion
*1990s in television
*1990s in science and technology
*1990s in video gaming
*List of years in literature#1990s, 1990s in literature

Timeline

The following articles contain timelines that list the most prominent events of the decade:

1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999

References

Further reading

*Ash, Timothy Garton. ''History of the Present: Essays, Sketches, and Dispatches from Europe in the 1990s'' (2009
excerpts
*Bender, Thomas. "'Venturesome and Cautious': American History in the 1990s." ''Journal of American History'' (1994): 992–1003
in JSTOR
*Bentley, Nick, ed. ''British Fiction of the 1990s'' (Routledge, 2007).
* Berman, Milton. ''The Nineties in America'' (2009).
* Brügger, Niels, ed, ''Web25: Histories from the first 25 years of the World Wide Web'' (Peter Lang, 2017).
*Cornia, Giovanni Andrea, Ralph van der Hoeven, and Thandika Mkandawire. ''Africa's recovery in the 1990s: from stagnation and adjustment to human development'' (St. Martin's Press, 1992)
*
*O'Neill, William. ''A Bubble in Time: America During the Interwar Years, 1989-2001'' (2009
Excerpt
popular history
*Parratt, Catriona M. "About Turns: Reflecting on Sport History in the 1990s." ''Sport History Review'' (1998) 29#1 pp: 4–17.
* Rubin, Robert, and Jacob Weisberg. ''In an uncertain world: tough choices from Wall Street to Washington'' (2015), economic history.
*Sierz, Aleks. ''Modern British Playwriting: The 1990s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations'' (A&C Black, 2012)
*Stiglitz, Joseph E. ''The roaring nineties: A new history of the world's most prosperous decade'' (Norton, 2004), economic history
*Turner, Alwyn. ''A Classless Society: Britain in the 1990s'' Aurum Press (2013)
*van der Hoeven, Arno. "Remembering the popular music of the 1990s: dance music and the cultural meanings of decade-based nostalgia." ''International Journal of heritage studies'' (2014) 20#3 pp: 316–330.
*Yoda, Tomiko, and Harry Harootunian, eds. ''Japan After Japan: Social and Cultural Life from the Recessionary 1990s to the Present'' (2006)

External links

*

{{Authority control

1990s,
20th century
Contemporary history
Articles containing video clips
1990s decade overviews