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1990 Fun Facts, Trivia and History |
Table of Contents Quick Facts from 1990: |
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1990 History Rundown:
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The Year of The HorseThe year of the horse is one of the 12 years in the Chinese zodiac cycle. The horse is the seventh animal in the cycle. |
Top Ten Baby Names of 1990:Jessica, Ashley, Brittany, Amanda, Samantha, Sarah, Stephanie, Jennifer, Elizabeth |
Fashion Icons and Sex Symbols:Elle Macpherson |
Hollywood Hunks and Leading Men:Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Richard Gere, Michael Hutchence, Patrick Swayze, Sean Connery |
“The Quotes”“I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.” “I do not like broccoli. I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m the President of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.” |
Time Magazine’s Man of the Year:George H. W. Bush |
Miss America:Debbye Tucker (Columbia, MO) |
Miss USA:Carole Gist (Michigan) |
The Scandals:Rocker Chuck Berry was accused and sued by several women who claimed he had installed a video camera in the ladies’ bathrooms at two of his St. Louis restaurants. Rob and Fabrice, better known as Milli Vanilli, must return their “Best New Artist” Grammy because they didn’t sing on their hit album. |
Airplane Celebrity Death:Stevie Ray Vaughan |
Pneumonia Celebrity Death:Jim Henson |
The End of the Cold War |
| The reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, marked the official end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new era of European history. The reunification process began in earnest in 1989, when the communist government of East Germany collapsed and the Berlin Wall was dismantled. On October 3, 1990, the five East German states officially joined the Federal Republic of Germany, which had been West Germany’s government since World War II’s end. This event was met with widespread celebration and marked the end of the division of Germany that had existed since the end of World War II. This event also marked the end of the Cold War, as the reunification of Germany was seen as the final step in the collapse of Soviet-style communism in Eastern Europe. |
Nelson Mandela Released From A South African Prison |
| Nelson Mandela’s release from prison on February 11, 1990, after 27 years of incarceration, marked a turning point in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was arrested in 1962 and was convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government. He was sentenced to life in prison and was held at the infamous Robben Island prison. During his time in prison, Mandela became an international symbol of resistance against the racist and oppressive system of apartheid in South Africa. In the 1980s, the international community, including the United Nations, called for his release. Finally, on February 11, 1990, President F.W. de Klerk announced that Mandela would be released from prison. This event was met with widespread celebration in South Africa and worldwide. Mandela’s release began a new era in South Africa as he became the country’s first democratically elected President in 1994. His Presidency focused on reconciliation and nation-building, which helped heal the country’s deep racial divisions. His leadership and commitment to peace and equality made him iconic worldwide. |
The Persian Gulf War |
| The Persian Gulf War, also known as the Gulf War, was a conflict that lasted from August 2, 1990, to February 28, 1991. The war began when Iraq, under the leadership of President Saddam Hussein, invaded and annexed Kuwait. The United Nations (UN) responded by passing a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding that Iraq withdraw its forces from Kuwait. A coalition of countries, led by the United States, was formed to force Iraq out of Kuwait. The coalition launched a massive air campaign in January 1991, followed by a ground invasion in February. The war ended after a hundred hours of ground operations, with Iraq’s military being quickly defeated. Kuwait was liberated, and the coalition declared a ceasefire. The war had a significant impact on the Middle East and the world. Iraq’s military was severely damaged, leaving the country in a state of economic and political turmoil. The coalition’s victory also established the United States as the dominant military power in the region, leading to a change in the balance of power. It also highlighted the importance of oil in the global economy, as it was a major factor in the conflict. The war had many casualties, both military and civilian, and it also caused significant environmental damage. |
World News:North and South Yemen, also known as the Yemen Arab Republic and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen, unified as the Republic of Yemen. A Community Charge (poll tax) takes effect in England and Wales amid widespread protests. Shortly after Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned, the abolition of the poll tax was announced on 21 March 1991. In Iran, the Manji-Rudbar Earthquake struck with a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, Killing between 35 and 50,000 people. On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of diseases. Iraq invaded Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War. Operation Desert Shield began as the United States and the United Kingdom sent troops into Kuwait. US President George H.W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed a treaty (Agreement on Destruction and Non-production of Chemical Weapons and on Measures to Facilitate the Multilateral Convention on Banning Chemical Weapons) to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks. Lech Walesa became president of Poland and withdrew from the Warsaw Pact. In December, Helmut Kohl, who became Chancellor of Germany, won the German federal election (the first election held since German reunification). Nelson Mandela was released from prison in South Africa after 27 years. Paleontologist Sue Hendrickson found one of the largest and most well-preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex fossilized skeletons near Faith, South Dakota in August. They named the T-Rex “Sue.” West Germany won the FIFA World Cup Final (Association football): West Germany defeated Argentina 1–0, in Italy. The Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France met beneath the English Channel seabed, making the first ground connection between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe since the last ice age, 8,000 years ago. The CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Ban on the Trade of Ivory went into effect. The first McDonald’s in Moscow, Russia, opened eight months after construction began on May 3, 1989. On September 10, the first Pizza Hut opened up in the Soviet Union. On September 11, the first Pizza Hut opened in the People’s Republic of China. The removal of the wall began in June of 1990, and by October, the reunification of West and East Germany was completed. Demolition on the wall was finished in 1992. Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Douglas Wilder became the first elected African American governor in Virginia. |
Pop Culture Facts & History:Art thieves stole 12 paintings of art and a Shang dynasty vase worth $500 million – the greatest known property theft in history, from the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. They were never recovered. On September 29, Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral was finished. Construction began on September 29, 1907. Smoking was banned on all cross-country flights in the United States. The first ban on smoking in bars in the US was passed in San Luis Obispo, California. The first self-wringing mop (The Miracle Mop) was invented in 1990 by Joy Mangano. On July 30, 1990, the first Saturn (“A new kind of car company”) was built, a red 1991 model-year Saturn SL2. According to the 1990 United States Census, there were 248,709,873 residents in the U.S. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was closed for repairs over 11 years due to safety concerns of it falling over. On June 7, 1990, Nickelodeon Studios and Universal Studios Orlando opened in Florida. On June 8, the 1990 FIFA World Cup began in Italy. It was the first broadcast of digital HDTV in history. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Internet, published his formal proposal – World Wide Web/Internet protocol (HTTP) and WWW language (HTML) – for the World Wide Web in November 1990. Russian Garry Kasparov holds his title by winning the World Chess Championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov. President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. Boston Herald reporter Lisa Olson was sexually harassed by multiple New England Patriots players while trying to conduct a locker room interview. Carried on the Space Shuttle Discovery, NASA’s STS-31 mission deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. In a joint effort between the ESA and NASA, the Ulysses spacecraft was launched in 1990. The probe’s mission was to study the Sun and the solar system’s magnetic field, also known as the heliosphere. Launched in 1972, 18 years after its launch, the US Space Probe Pioneer reached 46.5 billion miles beyond all planetary orbits. President George H. W. Bush posthumously awarded Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh was sold for a (then) record $82.5 million. The 1990 England World Cup song, World in Motion by New Order, was originally called ‘E for England’, but was vetoed by the FA because of the rampant Ecstasy Drug Culture in England at the time. Cost of a Super Bowl ad in 1990: $700,000 |
Doomsday Clock:10 minutes to midnight, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. |
The Habits:The “cool” people were watching Twin Peaks on ABC; everybody was watching Macauley Culkin in Home Alone. |
1st Appearances & 1990’s Most Popular Christmas Gifts, Toys and Presents:Batman action figures, Bob Mackie Barbie, Madeline Ragdoll, Tribond Game, Power Drencher water gun, Taboo |
Popular and Best-selling Books From 1990:The Bad Place by Dean Koontz |
Best Film Oscar Winner:Driving Miss Daisy (presented in 1990) |
1990 Entries to The National Film Registry:All About Eve (released in 1950) |
The Big Movies: (according to boxofficemojo)1. Home Alone |
1990 Most Popular TV Shows:1. Cheers (NBC) |
1990 Billboard Number One Songs:December 23, 1989 – January 13, 1990: January 20 – February 9: February 10 – March 2: March 3 – March 23: March 24 – April 6: April 7 – April 13: April 14 – April 20: April 21 – May 18: May 19 – June 8: June 9 – June 15: June 16 – June 29: June 30 – July 21: July 21 – August 3: August 4 – August 31: September 1 – September 7: September 8 – September 14: September 15 – September 29: September 29 – October 5: October 6 – October 12: October 13 – October 19: October 20 – October 26: October 27 – November 2: November 3 – November 9: November 10 – November 30: December 1 – December 7: December 8, 1990 – January 4, 1991: |
1990 United States Census:Total US Population: 248,709,873 |
Sports:World Series Champions: Cincinnati Reds |
More 1990 Facts and History Resources:Most Popular Baby Names (BabyCenter.com) |
