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Encyclopedia: 1990s, The 1990s, 20th century BC, 1990s in film, Talk:1990s, Timeline of trends in music (1990-1999), Category:1990s, 1990s in comics, 1990s (LDS), 1990s in fashion

free movement of labour between member states, such as the 1992 and 1995 free trade agreements. The EU agreed to have a single currency, the Euro began circulation in March 1999, in then 15 member states.
* The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which phases out trade barriers between the United States, Mexico and Canada is signed into law by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
* Since 1990 till 1998 inclusive, the economy of Russia and some former USSR states was in a severe depression. Eastern European economies struggled after the fall of communism, but healthy economic growth rates in Poland, Hungary, Estonia and Lithuania in the late 1990s.
* Except for Great Britain, much of Europe had serious economic problems, such as the 1995 massive employee strikes in France during it's worst recession since World War II, but their economy mildly rebounds in the end of the decade.
* Democracy, economic reform and peace arrives in Latin America, while the sluggish economies of Brazil by a new emphasis on free markets for all their citizens, and Mexico under economist president Ernesto Zedillo elected in 1994, was ultimately in their best shape in the late 1990s.
*Financial crisis hits East and Southeast Asia in 1997 and 1998 after a long period of phenomenal economic development. Japan was heavily affected, so was Indonesia when the 30-year rule of dictator Suharto resigned by widespread protests in May 1998. See East Asian Tigers.

Culture

thumb|right|285px|Breakdancer in Slovenia when hip-hop music swept the globe in the 1990s.">[Ljubljana, Slovenia when hip-hop music swept the globe in the 1990s.]

*Hip-hop culture booms; by the end of the decade hip hop was as popular as rock and roll.
*Grunge culture sparks as hair metal dies off in late 1991 and 1992, allowing hard metal to return to prominence when the popular groove metal group Pantera hits number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart with their third album Far Beyond Driven.
*Tupac Shakur of Death Row Records and The Notorious BIG of Bad Boy Records, wage a cultural war in the hip hop music scene, leading to the murder of both Shakur in 1996 and BIG in 1997.
*Club/Dance Music is hugely popular on Top 40 radio from 1990 up to 1996 or 1997. Among the popular artists includes The Prodigy and Fatboy Slim.
*Alternative rock replaces Grunge around 1995. Rapcore, a genre popularized by the 1994 self-titled album by Korn, becomes a major genre of rock around the year 1997 along with post-grunge and alternative rock.
*Indie/hipster culture appears during the mid 1990s. Emo and scene culture flourishes in the late 1990s, most likely around the later part of 1998 and this subculture is influenced by such artists as The Smashing Pumpkins.
*Teen pop makes a comeback in the late 1990s, starting in the year 1997 with artists such as the Spice Girls, Aqua, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and many more.
*Christian music peaks in the mid to late 1990s.
*R&B Music such as Quiet Storm and hip-hop influenced R&B are big in the 1990s.
* The introduction of affordable, smaller satellite dishes in the mid-1990s to expand cable services had carried up to 500 television channels.

Trends/Various

United States/Canada

thumb|right|180px| Sonic the Hedgehog
* Following the 1980s media counter-culture lead by tabloid talk shows popularized by Oprah Winfrey in 1986, which provided high-impact media visibility for gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, and transgender peoplehttp://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/280640.html the '90s saw a further increase in gay visibility in the mainstream media and the introduction of outing. Bisexuality becomes more trendy by the late part of the decade. In 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of diseases. US TV shows like Will and Grace, Friends, Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, Roseanne, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Ellen featured gay characters. Movies like The Birdcage, In and Out and Kiss Me Guido saw mainstream success, and celebrities like k.d. lang, Rob Halford, Elton John, Melissa Etheridge and George Michael all openly admitted their sexuality. US President Bill Clinton generally held a pro-gay rights viewpoint.
* The US celebrates 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of America in 1992 was popularly observed, despite controversy and protests against Columbus' expeditions victimized Native Americans. The holiday was charged with racism in nature of Native Americans experienced colonialism, slavery, genocide and cultural destruction followed in the five centuries.
* Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation born in the late 1960s and early 1970s (then college-age).
*The Grunge trend explodes due to the success of grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots. It is characterized by wearing flannel shirts, torn jeans, Doc Martens, Converse high top sneakers and long, straight hair. The fashion hits an ironic point in 1993, when the flannel clothing these bands wore (because it was cheap and warm and most of these musicians were very poor) became high fashion accessories.
*Reality television explodes on MTV with the popularity of The Real World (1992-); along with Road Rules (1995-), Real World/Road Rules Challenge (1998), and Real World reunions, these shows remained popular throughout the 1990s. Reality would become a staple of main networks in the early part of the 2000s decade.
*Blood and gore in television and video games rises dramatically, along with language and sexual content, especially during the latter half of the decade; a Parental Ratings system for television is introduced in 1997 because of related complaints.
* Video games become more advanced and popular, although are still vastly inferior technologically to those of the 2000s. Rivals Nintendo and Sega dominate the early '90s while the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 debut in 1995. Sega's Dreamcast flopped soon after, the N64 and PS remained popular until the fall of 2000 when the PS2 and Nintendo Gamecube debuted. Simulation and God games rise in popularity in the late 1990s, with games such as The Sims, SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000, and many more.
*Body art, in the form of body piercing and tattoos becomes commonplace for young people. This trend continues into the 2000s.
*Thong underwear and thong bikinis become popular in America, following a decade-long trend from Europe, and continuing on into the 2000s.
* Extreme sports reached a new height in popularity, and by 1995, were given their own annual tournament on US cable network ESPN, the X-Games.
* Recreational outdoor sports such as rock climbing, mountain biking, sky diving, snowboarding, mountain climbing, bungee jumping, in-line skating, kayaking and rowing become hugely popular.
* Extended alcohol sales are implemented in the US to reduce alcohol abuse.
* The exploitation of the collectability of comic books results in a trend of "gimmick" packaging and storylines (most notably The Death of Superman). The comic book industry collapses as interest in print comics decreases among younger generations and casual readers. Comic books disappear as a familiar sight at the newsstands. As comics, including Japanese manga and other graphic novels become more available in bookstore chains, the role of the comic book store as a source for comics and social gathering wanes. The domination by industry giants Marvel Comics and DC Comics ends as various independents, such as Image Comics produce popular titles. The era of comic book collecting for speculative investment ends. Webcomics by amateur cartoonists become popular.
* Conversion to Block scheduling became a trendy initiative for United States schools.
* Major 1990s slang words/phrases, mostly related to hip hop culture, include: "homie", "phat", "da bomb", "tight", "word to your mother", "Talk to the hand because the face ain't listening", "it's goin down", "You go girl!", "yo", "whatever!", "Wasssuppp!"
* Young adult and teenage fiction books become popular due to the efforts of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike throughout the entire 90s.

Europe

* Dogma 95 becomes an important European artistic film movement by the end of the decade.
* Eurodance music dominates discotheques and has numerous major mainstream hits in European (and to a lesser extent, North American) music charts.
* Techno sweeps European dance clubs and discotheques in the mid-1990s, then to reach America by 1997 and take on the world by the year 2000.

Music

.left|thumb|190px|Pearl Jam, playing "Daughter" on Saturday Night Live in 1994.]

*Rock and roll becomes an alternative taste, although it still outsells hip hop at the beginning of the decade. Popular styles include grunge (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden),Post-grunge (Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind, Everclear, Creed), Bush), heavy metal and alternative metal (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Pantera, Tool), black metal took on a big number of music fans in Northern Europe, Britpop and British rock (Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, Radiohead, The Verve, Travis), pop-punk and Commercial-Punk (Green Day, Offspring, Rancid, Blink-182), third wave ska (No Doubt, Sublime, Reel Big Fish, Mighty Mighty Bosstones), indie rock (Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Pavement, The Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse), jam bands (Dave Matthews Band, Phish), and nu metal (KoЯn, Limp Bizkit) towards the end of the decade. Singer-songwriters include Alanis Morissette, Beck, and Jeff Buckley, and the multi platinum success Jewel.

*Similar to rock music, Hip hop music diversifies throughout the decade and experiences numerous trends, beginning with the commercial success of pop rappers MC Hammer, Tone Loc, Young MC, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch and Vanilla Ice. Other major developments include the proliferation of alternative/jazz rap (De La Soul, Arrested Development, Digable Planets, Native Tongues, and A Tribe Called Quest) and the West Coast G-Funk phenomena (Cypress Hill, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Warren G, Coolio, and Tupac Shakur), followed by the resurgence of the New York hip hop scene (The Wu Tang Clan, Boot Camp Clik, Nas, Mobb Deep, and The Notorious B.I.G.), and concluding with the late-90s revival of pop rap (Puff Daddy, Will Smith, and Jay-Z).

*Smoothly produced Teen pop held over from the late 1980s popular into 1991, returns with the Spice Girls and Take That in Britain and the Backstreet Boys in America beginning in 1997, ultimately leading to stars like Britney Spears, *NSYNC and Christina Aguilera, while Madonna continues to have success with her influential Dance-pop.

*American Club/Dance music is very popular from 1990 to 1996, with acts like C&C Music Factory, Ce Ce Peniston, Crystal Waters, RuPaul, Black Box, & Deee-Lite. Similarly, Eurodance gains popularity in the United States, with many Eurodance artists scoring club hits on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Billboard Hot 100 radio. These artists include Technotronic, Corona, Cappella, N-Trance, Culture Beat,Reel 2 Real, Capital Sound, Jam & Spoon, E-Type, Maxx, La Bouche, Indra, Le Click, Pharao, Real McCoy, Ice MC,Me & My, JK, Cappella, 2 Unlimited, Dr. Alban, Masterboy, Basic Element, AB Logic, Fun Factory, Mr. President, Shamen and Snap.

*R&B Music such as Quiet Storm is popular with artists such as such Babyface, Brian McKnight, Monica, Brandy, and Faith Evans. R&B girl groups such as TLC, SWV, and En Vogue are hugely popular as well. In addition, Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, and Mary J. Blige combine hip hop with R&B in the 1990s (see hip hop soul. Artists such as Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, and Mariah Carey appeal to the Top 40 crowd with their ballad songs in the early to mid 90s. R&B Boy Bands are big throughout the 90s such as Jodeci, Dru Hill, Blackstreet, 112 and especially Boyz II Men who appealed to the Top 40 crowd are popular as well.

*Music festivals such as Lollapalooza or Woodstock became popular; a fusing of genres from alternative rock, rap, punk rock and garage bands.

*Latin music becomes popular outside a Spanish-speaking audience with crossover hits by Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, the hit dance song Macarena and others. As Hispanic culture grows in the US, other Latin music genres took root, like Tejano music in the Southwest US is a mixed music genre: Mexican conjunto (accordion based)-Texan country-modern pop merged to a new sound.

*Music becomes more profane, by end of decade a Parental Advisory sticker becomes acceptable rather than controversial.

*In America, country music becomes more mainstream with popular chart topping artist such as Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Billy Ray Cyrus, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw. The genre will also build up a more extensive audience world-wide, which sees the first English 24 hour terrestrial country station open in 1994.

*Popular hard rock bands maintain a strong presence into the 1990s. Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne, and Van Halen were all still quite popular through the mid 1990s. Aerosmith and Bon Jovi's popularity and success spanned the entire decade and both were extremely popular at the turn of the new millennium.

*Music resumes its political content after the hiatus of the 1980s. Starting in 1996, the Tibetan Freedom Concert draws up to 120,000 people per year to a rock festival for the benefit of the cause of the International Tibet Independence Movement. Also, socially aware metal bands such as Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down form.

*Trance, techno and electronica music becomes widely popular at rave parties in Europe/USA and in pop culture, particularly later in the decade. The drug Ecstasy, (aka MDMA or 'X') is popularized by rave culture. Rave music highly popularised by The Prodigy.

*1980s backlash, beginning in about 1992 and lasting into the mid-90s. During most of the 1990s, anything "Eighties" was considered to be ultimately uncool. As a result, people start wearing straighter hair, darker clothes and acoustic music becomes popular in opposition to the bright synthpop of the '80s.

Television

*North America

**Seinfeld, which spawned a new form of sitcoms, becomes enormously popular in the United States and lasts from 1989 to 1998.
**Professional wrestling became popular throughout the '90s. In the late '90s, the Monday Night Wars was the biggest impact for professional wrestling with the World Wrestling Federation (present day World Wrestling Entertainment), World Championship Wrestling, and ECW. By the early '00s, the WWF remained victorious over both WCW and ECW.
** 20th Century Fox and BBC create the 1996 television movie of the science fiction series Doctor Who, starring Paul McGann as the Doctor.
**NASCAR Racing starts to become popular on US TV in the mid to late 1990s. Popular NASCAR drivers during this era are Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, and Bobby Labonte.
**Pro Basketball sees high US TV ratings in the 1990s with stars like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Shawn Kemp, Reggie Miller, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing.
** US Saturday morning children's television programming, Like Fox Kids, reaches its peak popularity in the early to early and mid '90s considered by some to be a "renaissance" in American animation. Everything from Animaniacs, Garfield and Friends, Eek! The Cat, Spider-Man, The Tick, Donkey Kong Country (TV series) and Tiny Toons, to television adaptations of popular video game characters Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog.
**The Disney Renaissance of animation with the popularity of The Disney Afternoon shows in the early and mid 1990s, such as DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin and Goof Troop.
**Nickelodeon gains popularity with the Nicktoons block of shows, such as Doug, Rugrats, The Ren and Stimpy Show, Rocko's Modern Life, AAAHH!!! Real Monsters and Hey Arnold!.
**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, originally from the 80s, remain popular in the early and mid 90s.
**Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers gains popularity with children in the mid 90s, leading to the entire Power Rangers series.
**Anime becomes popular in the United States in the late 1990s with shows like Sailor Moon, Samurai Pizza Cats, Pokémon, Dragonball Z, and Cowboy Bebop.
**MTV moves away from music videos and into original television shows such as The Real World, which is often cited as the main inspiration for the Reality TV boom of the 2000s.
** Cartoons aimed at an adult audience become popular. Among the most successful are The Simpsons (1989-), The Ren and Stimpy Show (1991-1996), Beavis and Butt-head (1993-1997), Daria (1997-2002), South Park (1997-), King of the Hill (1997-), and Family Guy (1999-2002, 2005-).
** US Television networks increase programs aimed at twenty- and thirty-somethings. Some of the most popular are Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000), Melrose Place (1992-1999), Party of Five (1994-2000), Ally McBeal (1997-2002), Friends (1994-2004), and Seinfeld (1989-1998).
** Television shows involving human interaction with dangerous wildlife become popular. Most notably shows like The Crocodile Hunter, a popular series starring Steve Irwin, which began airing in 1996. The Crocodile Hunter, and other similar shows (many of which involved Steve Irwin) remained popular into the 2000s.
** Notable American television sitcoms aimed at the teen/preteen market include Boy Meets World (1993-2000), Blossom (1991-1995), Full House (1987-1995), Family Matters (1989-1998), and 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001), among many others.
** The sci-fi/fantasy TV genre saw three successful Star Trek spinoffs: The Next Generation (1987-1994), Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), and Voyager (1995-2001). It also featured other massively popular shows, such as The X-Files (1993-2002); Stargate SG-1 (1997-); Sliders (1995-2000); Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1993-1999); and, of course, Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001), the spinoff of Hercules, that went on to drastically dwarf its predecessor in popularity, notoriety, controversy, and overall viewership. Another notable series in fantasy genre was Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) which never had very high ratings but received a cult following quickly as well critical acclaim. It inspired many other series with the super hero/struggle of real life theme such as Charmed (1998-2006) and Buffy's spin-off Angel (1999-2004).
**The Disney Channel changes from classic Disney programming to live action programming starting in the late 1990s, especially around they year 1998. No longer a pay-subscription channel in 1996, the channel expanded their young audience on basic cable. See Zoog Disney. By 1999, the "MTV-esque" Zoog Disney along with Playhouse Disney was the main focus of the Disney Channel, causing classic Disney shorts and shows such as the Nutty Professor to experience backlash.
**Cartoon Network starts showing more original programming in a form of Cartoon Cartoons that almost changed the face of the network by 1999.
** On May 22, 1992, after 30 years, Johnny Carson retired as host of the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on NBC, with Jay Leno taking over as host on May 25. The choice of Leno over Late Night host and Carson protege David Letterman is instrumental in Letterman signing a deal with CBS in January 1993. Letterman aired his final NBC show on June 25, 1993 and the Late Show with David Letterman premiered on August 30, 1993.
**The highest-rated shows on network television:
***1989-1990: The Cosby Show and Roseanne
***1990-1991: Cheers
***1991-1992: 60 Minutes
***1992-1993: 60 Minutes
***1993-1994: 60 Minutes
***1994-1995: Seinfeld
***1995-1996: ER
***1996-1997: ER
***1997-1998: Seinfeld
***1998-1999: ER
***1999-2000: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

*Europe
** New private channels in Germany: RTL, SAT1, Pro7, VOX, VIVA, and in France: Canal Plus.
**BSkyB obtain the rights to the English FA Premier League in 1992, producing high revenues for the league and becoming the bedrock of the subscription television service, holding a monopoly on the rights until 2007.
**British public service television channel Channel 4 is granted independence from the Independent Broadcasting Authority, and begins showing US programmes such as Friends and ER in peak viewing time.
**UK television - Popular comedies include The Fast Show, Jeeves and Wooster, One Foot in the Grave, Only Fools and Horses and Father Ted. ITV has a string of successful crime dramas including Cadfael, Prime Suspect, Inspector Morse and Cracker.
**Eastern European television enjoys less government restrictions and carries more American programming.

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

Computer and video games

*3-D graphics become the standard by end of decade. Although FPSs had long since seen the transition to full 3d, other genres begin to copy this trend by the end of the decade.
*The console wars, primarily between Sega (Sega Mega Drive) and Nintendo (Super NES), sees the entrance of Sony with the PlayStation in 1994. By the end of the decade, Sega's hold on the market becomes tenuous.
*Mario finds a rival in Sonic the Hedgehog.
* Nintendo released the first 3-D styled video game Donkey Kong Country for the SNES in 1994, and three sequels to further advance video game design.
*Arcade games rapidly decrease in popularity.
* Fighting games like Capcom's Street Fighter II, Sega's futuristic Virtua Fighter and the more violent Mortal Kombat from Acclaim prompted the video game industry to adopt a game rating system, and hundreds of knock-offs are widely popular in mid/late 1990s.
*Sony's PlayStation becomes the top selling game console and changes the standard media storage type from cartridges to compact discs in consoles.
*Doom (1993) bursts onto the world scene and instantly popularizes the FPS genre, and even how games are played, as Doom is among the first games to feature multiplayer capabilities. It is not until Quake (1996), however, that game developers begin to take multiplayer features into serious consideration when making games. Half-Life (1998) features the next evolutionary step in the genre with continual progression of the game (no levels in the traditional sense) and an entirely in-person view, and becomes one of the most popular computer games in history.
*The strategy genre becomes popular with games such as Dune II (1992) and Warcraft (1994). Command & Conquer (1995) and Warcraft II (1996) further advance and popularize the genre. StarCraft (1998) becomes the second-best selling game in computer game history.
*Final Fantasy anthology first debuted in 1990 for the NES, and to this day remains among the most popular video game franchises, with 11 total sequels to date, and another in development, plus numerous spin-offs and other such related titles.
*Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing games (MMORPGs) see their entrance into the computer game world with Ultima Online in 1997, although they don't gain widespread popularity until EverQuest and Asheron's Call in 1999. MMORPGs go on to become among the most popular genres in the 2000s.
*Pokémon entered the world scene with the release of the original Game Boy Pokemon Red and Green games in Japan in 1996. It soon becomes popular in the U.S. and is adapted into a popular children's anime series and trading card game, among other media forms. Its popularity reaches its peak near the end of the decade, but rapidly declines early on in the 2000s, although it still retains a large cult following.

Internet

*Beginnings of MP3 music downloading; in 1999 and 2000 the Napster controversy.
*The first MP3 Player, the MPMan, is released in late spring of 1998. It came with 32Mb of flash memory expandable to 64Mb.
*Internet begins to affect pop culture, beginning around 1996.
*Most television stations gain Internet presence during the later half of the decade.
*Earliest examples of Internet film.
*Bulletin Board System interest decreases heavily with introduction of the Web.
*Pornography on the internet launches and peaks in the late 1990s.
* "Netiquette" is a concept of online social etiquette developed since 1995.

10 Most Significant events (US history)

thumb|[Oklahoma City Bombing on April 19, 1995.]
* The Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168. Bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh claimed he bombed the building in retailation of the 1993 Waco massacre...
* The Waco massacre prompts a nationwide debate in the U.S. about the freedom of association right of the Michigan Militia, Montana Militia and other radical groups.
* The Los Angeles Riots of 1992, the worst civil unrest incident in US history, 52 deaths and 5,500 property fires in a 100-square mile riot zone. The riots are a result of the state court acquittal of 4 white L.A. police officers by an all-white jury in a police brutality case involving motorist Rodney King, but in 1993, all 4 officers were convicted in a federal civil rights case.
* O.J. Simpson's trial, described in the media as the "trial of the century", but on October 3, 1995, Simpson was found "not guilty" of double-murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. In the 1997 civil case, Simpson was held responsible and had to pay financial damages to the victims' families.
* 1994 US mid-term elections: Republican party takes back both house and senate. The first time since 1954 for Republicans to have majority of US senatorial seats, and Republicans take congress after minority status since 1964-five previous administrations. House speaker Newt Gingrich proved powerful enough and his reforms changed American politics but resigned in December 1998 after another, yet smaller Republican victory.
* US president Bill Clinton caught in a media-frenzied sex scandal over his intern Monica Lewinski, first announced on January 21, 1998. After US government attempts to impeach Clinton for perjury under oath, brought by federal prosecutor Ken Starr, all charges overturned on December 21, 1998 and the case was formally dropped, February 12, 1999, and Clinton finished his second term. At the time, he received a 70% Gallup poll approval rating.
* The Columbine school shooting in April 20, 1999, at Littleton, Colorado when two student gunmen took the Columbine high school library hostage and killed 12 students, a teacher and the two committed suicide. This was the nation's worst school shooting, was declared a national tragedy, and brought more awareness to the issue on acts of school violence.
* The Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas federal case of October 10-12, 1991, involved charges by Hill that Hon. Thomas committed sexual harassment against her. Despite Hon. Thomas wasn't charged of his acts on Anita Hill, she became a national celebrity and a martyr to women's rights triggered awareness on the issue of workplace sexual harassment. Hon. Thomas went on to become justice of the United States Supreme Court.
*The first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep was confirmed by a Scottish scientist firm announced to, then was reported by global media on February 26, 1997. Dolly would trigger a raging controversy on cloning and bioethical concerns of possible human cloning efforts to this day.
*January 1, 2001 was the beginning of the 3rd millennium, as well the 21st century and the end of the 20th century, is considered the ultimate event of the lifetime of over 6 billion people around the world at the time.

Other significant events

thumb|200px|The Flame of Liberty, which sits above the entrance to the Paris tunnel in which [Princess Diana died in 1997, as global mourning accompanied the event. ]
* The illegal immigration issue in the US gains momentum in 1994, when California voters approved Proposition 187, a controversial initiative that would prevent undocumented immigrants from using public services, later was blocked by federal courts.
* Gun politics in the US over the 1993 Brady Bill had banned or regulated most kinds of automatic weapons and semi-automatic weapons. The law called for a 5-day waiting period for potential gunowners to get checked for past crimes before they can purchase a weapon.
* You go, girl! becomes a popular phrase in the media as feminism is more widely accepted and publicised with The Spice Girls, the WNBA, women's boxing, Sex and the City and others showcasing modern femininity and challenged the problem of sexism.
* With help from clinical fertility drugs, An Iowa mother gave birth to the first surviving sextuplets in 1997, brought on a media frenzy and widespread support for the family.
* In August 1995, NASA scientists announced, then debunked a big "discovery" of "martian" microscopic life on an asteroid originated from Mars, found in Antarctica and examined to only find mineral formation, not alien bacteria.
* Kenny Everett dies after admitting he has AIDS.
* Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur die, 1991, 1994 and 1996 respectively.
* Divorce and scandal rocked the British Royal House of Windsor.
* The assassination of Selena Quintanilla, Latin music star in Texas.
* Sex and violence in the media increase, especially in the late part of the decade. Profanity in music reaches peak in the late '90s.
* Model Pamela Anderson becomes the major sex symbol during the 1990s.
* Major League baseball players went on strike in August 12, 1994, thus ended the season, cancelled the World Series the first time in 90 years, and went on until March 29, 1995 when players and team owners in agreement.
* The Vieques controversy.
* Crime levels in the U.S. peak in 1991, begin to fall afterwards to the lowest levels since the late 1960s at end of decade.
* In the U.S. drug use reaches an all-time low in 1992 before increasing, reaching its peak in 1997 before declining again.
* Examples of the decade's worst natural disasters: Hurricane Andrew strikes South Florida in August 1992, the devastating 1994 Northridge Earthquake in Los Angeles, the Midwest US floods of 1993 along the Mississippi River and the blizzard-ice storm over eastern Canada in February 1998.
* People are evacuated from the volcanic Caribbean island of Montserrat, a British overseas territory. The Soufirre Hills erupt in 1995 and continued on until 2002.
* Mount Pinatubo, a dormant volcano in the island of Luzon in the Philippines erupted in 1991 to decimate nearby towns and an American air force base permanently abandoned by hot ashfall and under mudslides.
* In France, Princess Diana dies in a car accident in 1997. Debates of accident vs. assassination rage.
* Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who won the Nobel Peace Prize, dies at age 87.
* 21-year-old Golfer Tiger Woods wins the Masters Tournament by a record 12 strokes; becoming the youngest and first American of multiracial descent to win the Masters.
* The Omagh bombing in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland which kills 29 civilians (including a woman pregnant with twins) and injures hundreds more.
* School violence in the US is brought into the national spotlight with numerous incidents, such as the Columbine High School Massacre.
* John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette are killed when Kennedy's private plane crashes off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
* American cyclist Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France in 1999, less than two years after battling testicular cancer.
* Debate on assisted suicide highly publicized by Michigan doctor Jack Kevorkian, charged with multiple counts of homicide of his terminally ill patients through the decade.
* Beer keg registration becomes popular public policy in U.S.
* California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, to legalize cannabis only for medical purposes, the debate over legalization of marijuana in the U.S. goes on today.
* Controversy surrounded The Prodigy with the release of the track 'Smack My Bitch Up'. The National organization for Women(NOW) claimed that the track was "advocating violence against women" due to the lyrics of that song. The music video (directed by Jonas Åkerlund) featured a first-person POV of someone going clubbing, indulging in large amounts of drugs and alcohol, getting into fist fights with men, abusing women and picking up a prostitute. At the end of the video the camera pans over to a mirror, revealing the subject to be a woman.

People

World leaders

frame|Nelson Mandela holds hands with Former United States Vice President [Al Gore.]
thumb|right|Former 1990's US presidents George H.W. Bush in January 2005.">[Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush in January 2005.]
* Prime Minister Bob Hawke (Australia)
* Prime Minister Paul Keating (Australia)
* Prime Minister John Howard (Australia)
* President Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (Brazil)
* President Itamar Franco (Brazil)
* President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil)
* President Zhelyu Zhelev (Bulgaria)
* President Petar Stoyanov (Bulgaria)
* Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Canada)
* Prime Minister Kim Campbell (Canada)
* Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (Canada)
* "Paramount Leader" Deng Xiaoping (People's Republic of China)
* President Jiang Zemin (People's Republic of China)
* President Lee Teng-hui (Republic of China (Taiwan)
* President Franjo Tudman (Croatia)
* President Václav Havel (Czechoslovakia and (Czech Republic after the breakup of Czechoslovakia))
* Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Denmark)
* President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)
* President François Mitterrand (France)
* President Jacques Chirac (France)
* Chancellor Helmut Kohl (Germany)
* Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (Germany)
* Governor David Clive Wilson (Hong Kong (under British rule))
* Governor Christopher Francis Patten (Hong Kong (under British rule))
* Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa (Hong Kong, People's Republic of China)
* Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (India)
* President Mohammad Khatami (Iran)
* President Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
* Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Israel)
* Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel)
* Emperor Akihito (Japan)
* Governor Vasco Joaquim Rocha Vieira (Macau (under Portuguese rule))
* Chief Executive Edmund Ho (Macau, People's Republic of China)
* President Yasser Arafat (Palestinian Authority)
* Pope John Paul II (Vatican City)
* President Corazon Aquino (Philippines)
* President Fidel Ramos (Philippines)
* President Joseph Estrada (Philippines)
* Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers (Netherlands)
* Prime Minister Wim Kok (Netherlands)
* Prime Minister Mike Moore (New Zealand)
* Prime Minister Jim Bolger (New Zealand)
* Prime Minister Jenny Shipley (New Zealand)
* Prime Minister Helen Clark (New Zealand)
* President Ion Iliescu (Romania)
* President Emil Constantinescu (Romania)
* President Boris Yeltsin (Russia)
* Taoiseach Charles Haughey (Republic of Ireland)
* Taoiseach Albert Reynolds (Republic of Ireland)
* Taoiseach John Bruton (Republic of Ireland)
* Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (Republic of Ireland)
* President Boris Yeltsin (Russia)
* President Wee Kim Wee (Singapore)
* President Ong Teng Cheong (Singapore)
* President Sellapan Ramanathan (Singapore)
* President Frederik Willem de Klerk (South Africa)
* President Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
* President Kim Dae-jung (South Korea)
* President Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union)
* King Juan Carlos I (Spain)
* President Felipe González (Spain)
* President José María Aznar (Spain)
* President Hafez al-Assad (Syria)
* President Turgut Özal (Turkey)
* President Süleyman Demirel (Turkey)
* Prime Minister Tansu Çiller (Turkey)
* Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom et al.)
* Prime Minister John Major (United Kingdom)
* Prime Minister Tony Blair (United Kingdom)
* President George H.W. Bush (United States)
* President Bill Clinton (United States)
* President Slobodan Milošević (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)

Entertainers

right|thumb|130px|Mariah Carey performing in December 1998. Since her career began in 1990, she went on to become one of the biggest-selling female recording artists in [pop music history.]
* 2Pac
* Aaliyah
* Paula Abdul
* Ace of Base
* Adam Sandler (Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy)
* Aerosmith (Get a Grip, Big Ones, Nine Lives, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Wayne's World 2)
* Alice in Chains (Jar of Flies, Dirt, Alice in Chains)
* Alanis Morissette (Jagged Little Pill)
* Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman & Robin, The Crush, Aerosmith music videos)
* All Saints, (All Saints)
* Annie Lennox
* Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Titus)
* Aqua
* Ashley Judd
* Backstreet Boys
* Beavis and Butt-Head
* Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting)
* The Notorious B.I.G.
* Bill Hicks
* Billy Bob Thornton
* Blind Melon (Blind Melon)
* Bon Jovi (Blaze of Glory, Keep the Faith, Cross Road, These Days)
* Boyz II Men
* Brad Pitt
* Brandy
* Bret Hart
* Britney Spears (...Baby One More Time)
* Bruce Willis (Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Armageddon, Sixth Sense)
* Bush
* Björk
* Dean Cain
* Mariah Carey
* Dana Carvey (Wayne's World)
* David Duchovny (The X-Files)
* Celine Dion
* Christina Ricci
* Christina Aguilera
* Cuba Gooding Jr (Boyz N the Hood, Jerry Maguire)
* Amy Grant
* Dave Matthews Band
* Demi Moore (Ghost, Striptease, A Few Good Men)
* Depeche Mode (Violator, Songs of Faith and Devotion)
* Denzel Washington (Malcolm X, Mo' Better Blues, Philadelphia)
* Destiny's Child (Destiny's Child, The Writing's On The Wall)
* Dr. Dre
* Duran Duran (Liberty,Duran Duran (The Wedding Album),Thank You,Medazzaland)
* Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen)
* Elizabeth Berkley (Saved by the Bell, Showgirls)
* Freddie Mercury
* Friends
**Courteney Cox
**Jennifer Aniston
**Lisa Kudrow
**Matt LeBlanc
**Matthew Perry
**David Schwimmer
* The Fugees
* Gillian Anderson (The X-Files)
* Green Day (Dookie, Nimrod)
* Guns N' Roses (Use Your Illusion I and II)
* Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Se7en)
* Liam Gallagher of Oasis
* Noel Gallagher of Oasis
* Teri Hatcher
* Whitney Houston (The Bodyguard, Waiting to Exhale)
* Halle Berry (Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,Bullworth)
* Hanson
* Harrison Ford
* Helen Hunt (Mad About You, Twister, As Good as It Gets)
* Hootie & The Blowfish
* Howard Stern
* Hulk Hogan
* INXS (X, Welcome to Wherever You Are)
* Janet Jackson (Janet.)
* Jack Nicholson
* Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld)
* Jerry Springer
* Jewel
* Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask)
* Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman, My Best Friend's Wedding)
* Kate Winslet (Titanic, Heavenly Creatures)
* Keanu Reeves (The Matrix)
* Kurt Cobain
* Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic)
* Liam Neeson (Schindler's List, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
* Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone)
* Madonna (Erotica, Ray of Light, Evita)
* Marilyn Manson
* Martin Lawrence (House Party, Martin, Bad Boys)
* Mary J Blige (What's the 411?)
* Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting)
* Meg Ryan
* Mel Gibson (Braveheart)
* Melissa Etheridge (Come To My Window), (I'm The Only One), (I Want To Come Over)
* Metallica (Metallica, Load, and ReLoad)
* Michael Jackson (Dangerous, HIStory)
* Michael Keaton
* Michelle Pfeiffer (The Age of Innocence, Batman Returns)
* Mick Foley
* The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (Let's Face It)
* Mike Myers (Wayne's World, Saturday Night Live, Austin Powers)
* Mira Sorvino
* Monica (singer)
* Natalie Portman (Léon,Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
* Nicole Kidman (My Life, Eyes Wide Shut)
* No Doubt (Tragic Kingdom)
* Notorious B.I.G.
* Nirvana (Nevermind, In Utero)
* Nine Inch Nails
* Oasis
* Oprah Winfrey
* Ozzy Osbourne (No More Tears, Ozzmosis)
* Pamela Anderson (Baywatch)
* Pearl Jam (Ten, Vs., Vitalogy, No Code)
* Phil Collins
* "Image:prince symbol.svg" The artist formerly known as Prince
* Queen Latifah (Living Single, Set It Off)
* Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
* R.E.M.
* Rage Against The Machine
* Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List, The English Patient)
* Red Hot Chili Peppers (Blood Sugar Sex Magik, One Hot Minute, Californication)
* Reel Big Fish (Turn the Radio Off, Everything Sucks)
* Rob Zombie
* Robbie Williams
* Roxette
* Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager)
* Samuel L. Jackson (Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction)
* Sandra Bullock (Speed, A Time to Kill)
* Savage Garden
* Shawn Michaels
* Seal
* Slipknot
* Snoop Doggy Dogg
* Soundgarden
* Spice Girls (Spice) & (Spiceworld)
* Stone Cold Steve Austin
* Sublime (Sublime, 40 Oz. to Freedom)
* System of a Down (System of a Down)
* Take That
* Tarkan (Turkish Pop Singer)
* The Prodigy
* Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns)
* Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (Saved by the Bell,Beverly Hills 90210 )
* TLC (Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes, T-Boz, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas)
* Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire, Mission Impossible)
* Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Toy Story, The Green Mile)
* Toni Braxton (Toni Braxton (album) )
* Tori Amos
* Trent Reznor
* U2 (Achtung Baby)
* Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction)
* The Undertaker
* Usher Raymond (My Way)
* Van Halen (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Balance)
* Vengaboys
* Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act, Ghost, Ghosts of Mississippi, Hollywood Squares)
* White Zombie
* Will & Grace
** Eric McCormack
** Debra Messing
** Sean Hayes
** Megan Mullally
* Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men In Black)
* Whigfield (Whigfield)
* Yanni

Films

See also: 1990s in film
{| width=100%
| valign=top width=50% |
*Aladdin (1992)
* Alien³ (1992)
* American Beauty (1999)
* As Good as it Gets (1997)
* Basic Instinct (1993)
* Batman Forever (1995)
* Batman Returns (1992)
* The Blair Witch Project (1999)
* Beauty and the Beast (1991)
* Beavis and Butt-head Do America (1996)
* Before Sunrise (1995)
* Boyz 'N The Hood (1991)
* Braveheart (1995)
* Breaking the Waves (1996)
* Chasing Amy (1997)
* Clerks. (1994)
* Clueless (1995)
* Dazed and Confused (1993)
* Dick Tracy (1990)
* Empire Records (1995)
* Evita (1996)
* Fight Club (1999)
* Forrest Gump (1994)
* Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)
* Goodfellas (1990)
* Good Will Hunting (1997)
* Heavenly Creatures (1994)
* Home Alone (1990)
* Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
* Jurassic Park (1993)
* Independence Day (1996)
* Life is Beautiful (1998)
* Men In Black (1997)
* Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
| valign=top width=50% |
thumb|right|200px|Teaser poster for the long-anticipated blockbuster Star Wars-The Phantom Menace that emphasizes Anakin's future.
* Next Friday (1999)
* Office Space (1999)
* The Piano (1993)
* Predator 2 (1990)
* Pulp Fiction (1994)
* Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
* Reservoir Dogs (1992)
* Saving Private Ryan (1998)
* Schindler's List (1993)
* South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut (1999)
* Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
* Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
* The Crying Game(1992)
* The Green Mile (1999)
* The Sweet Hereafter (1999)
* The Big Lebowski (1998)
* The Matrix (1999)
* The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
* The Lion King (1994)
* The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
* The Sixth Sense (1999)
* The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
* Thelma & Louise (1991)
* The Thin Red Line (1998)
* Three Colors Trilogy (1994)
* Titanic (1997)
* Toy Story (1995)
* Toy Story 2 (1999)
* Twister (1996)
* Waiting for Guffman (1996)
* Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2 (1992 and 1993)
* The Usual Suspects (1995)
* Unforgiven (1992)
|}

Books & Literature

Sports figures

See also: 1990s in sports
right|thumb|200px|Joe Carter during the final at-bat of the major league baseball history for a world series to end in a home run.">[1993 World Series, which he ended with a walk-off home run. Second time in major league baseball history for a world series to end in a home run.]
; American Football :
: Troy Aikman
: Jerome Bettis
: Terrell Davis
: John Elway
: Brett Favre
: Doug Flutie
: Michael Irvin
: Jim Kelly
: Dan Marino
: Joe Montana
: Scott Norwood
: Terrell Owens
: Jerry Rice
: Bruce Smith
: Emmitt Smith
: Barry Sanders
: Deion Sanders
: Reggie White
: Steve Young

; Athletics (Track & Field):
: Sergey Bubka
: Linford Christie
: Haile Gebrselassie
: Hicham El Guerrouj
: Michael Johnson

; Australian Rules Football :
: Tony Lockett

; Baseball :
: Roberto Alomar
: Barry Bonds
: Joe Carter
: Roger Clemens
: Andres Galarraga
: Derek Jeter
: Greg Maddux
: Mark McGwire
: John Olerud
: Mike Piazza
: Cal Ripken, Jr.
: Sammy Sosa
: Randy Johnson
: Ken Griffey, Jr.
: Larry Walker

; Basketball :
: Reggie Miller
: Charles Barkley
: Larry Bird
: Kobe Bryant
: Tim Duncan
: Patrick Ewing
: Kevin Garnett
: Allen Iverson
: Magic Johnson
: Michael Jordan
: Hakeem Olajuwon
: Karl Malone
: Shaquille O'Neal
: Clyde Drexler
: Scottie Pippen
: David Robinson
: Dennis Rodman
: John Stockton
: Harold Minor

; Boxing :
: Oscar de la Hoya
: Julio César Chávez
: George Foreman
: Evander Holyfield
: Mike Tyson
: Roy Jones Jr.
: Lennox Lewis
: James Toney
: Pernell Whitaker

; Cricket :
: Curtly Ambrose
: Allan Donald
: Ian Healy
: Brian Lara
: Glenn McGrath
: Muttiah Muralitharan
: Sachin Tendulkar
: Courtney Walsh
: Alec Stewart
: Shane Warne
: Steve Waugh
: Wasim Akram
: Waqar Younis

; Cycling :
: Marco Pantani
: Lance Armstrong
: Miguel Indurain

; Football (soccer):
: Roberto Baggio
: Franco Baresi
: David Beckham
: Dennis Bergkamp
: Didier Deschamps
: Marcel Desailly
: Jorge Campos
: Éric Cantona
: Luís Figo
: Robbie Fowler
: Paul Gascoigne
: Ryan Giggs
: Gheorghe Hagi
: Fernando Hierro
: Oliver Kahn
: Roy Keane
: Jürgen Klinsmann
: Jari Litmanen
: Paolo Maldini
: Steve McManaman
: Rivaldo
: Ronaldo
: Romario
: Manuel Rui Costa
: David Seaman
: Peter Schmeichel
: Alan Shearer
: Hristo Stoichkov
: Davor Suker
: Taffarel
: George Weah
: Zinedine Zidane

; Golf :
: Tiger Woods
: Nick Faldo
: Payne Stewart

; Ice Hockey :
: Wayne Gretzky
: Mario Lemieux
: Pavel Bure
: Rob Ray
: Dominik Hasek
: Pat Lafontaine
: Eric Lindros
: Sergei Fedorov
: Jaromir Jagr
: Patrick Roy
: Mark Messier
: Jeremy Roenick
: Doug Gilmour

; Motor Sport :
: Dale Earnhardt
: Jeff Gordon
: Tommi Mäkinen
: Colin McRae
: Michael Schumacher
: Ayrton Senna
: Jacques Villeneuve
: Mika Häkkinen
: Peter Brock
: Larry Perkins

; Rowing
: Steve Redgrave
: Matthew Pinsent

; Rugby Union :
: Jonah Lomu
: John Eales
: Francois Pienaar

; Rugby League :
: Andrew Johns
: Brad Fittler
: Andrew Farrell
: Ellery Hanley

; Skating :
: Michelle Kwan
: Nancy Kerrigan
: Oksana Baiul

; Alpine Skiing :
: Alberto Tomba
: Picabo Street

; Nordic Skiing :
: Bjørn Dæhlie

; Swimming :
: Summer Sanders
: Jenny Thompson

; Tennis :
: Andre Agassi
: Pete Sampras
: Yevgeny Kafelnikov
: Tim Henman
: Jennifer Capriati
: Steffi Graf
: Gabriela Sabatini
: Martina Hingis
: Anna Kournikova
: Monica Seleš
: Serena Williams
: Venus Williams