1990s

See also 1990s, the band

Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s.

The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999. The 1990s were marked with rapid progression of globalization and global capitalism following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Key forces shaping the decade were the recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the increasing popularity of personal computers beginning especially in the early 1990s, and the rise of the Internet and subsequent dot-com boom from approximately 1995 onward. The Internet would go on to revolutionize modern culture, and has served as a major medium for globalization and the spread and revolution of popular culture.

In the United States, much of the decade was characterized by the presidency of Bill Clinton, in which the United States was involved in few foreign wars and saw somewhat of a resurgence of the 1970s liberal movements, as well as seeing a nearly uninterrupted period of rapid economic growth following the recession of the late 80s. However, the ending of the Cold War dramatically changed the political landscape of the world as the long-standing communism vs. capitalism conflict essentially came to an end and the political allegiances of many third-world countries were dramatically altered as a result. Great strides were made towards Israeli-Palestinian peace in the early part of the decade, due to official PLO recognition of Israel in 1993. However, as the decade wore on, the peace process derailed and eventually led to an escalation in conflict once again, especially into the 2000s. Al Qaeda rose as a terrorist threat against the U.S. with the bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Culturally, the 1990s is remembered for somewhat of a re-liberalization of pop culture and increased awareness of social issues. TV sitcoms reached a peak in popularity, such as Seinfeld (1989-1998), Friends (1994-2004), and the animated sitcom The Simpsons (1989-present). Animation also saw a revival in popularity, with more blockbuster Disney hits and the popularity of The Simpsons. Animation turned racier and more politically incorrect as the decade wore on, with shows such as South Park (1997-present) and Family Guy (1999-2002; 2005-present) emerging near the end of the decade. Grunge music, often attributed solely to Nirvana, was seen to inspire an entire generation and the revolution of mainstream rock music. It continues to be a major influence on rock music today. The re-emergence of punk music is seen as another important revolution in the rock music genre. Rap and hip-hop rapidly rose in popularity throughout the decade, and by the end of the decade had perhaps replaced rock as the most popular music genre with the world's youth. Teen pop, including boy bands, became a cultural phenomenon towards the end of the decade.

HIV/AIDS emerged as one of the most critical medical and social issues of the modern generation, especially after the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991 and NBA superstar Magic Johnson's announcement of his HIV positivity the same year. These high-profile HIV declarations helped raise awareness of the virus and also helped to gradually overcome the 1980s stereotype that HIV/AIDS was primarily a homosexual problem. Some of the social issues that were brought to light in the 1970s and somewhat shunned during the 1980s, including abortion, gay rights, political correctness and censorship (the media's stance on sex, violence, drug use and obscenity), all came to light again in the 1990s.

Overview

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yasser Arafat during the Oslo Accords on September 13, 1993. Rabin was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli extremist against the peace plan.

Many countries, institutions, companies, and organizations experienced the 1990s as a prosperous time. Despite the recession that affected much the world in late 1980s, high income economies such as the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and South Korea experienced steady economic growth for much of the decade.

The United Kingdom, after a recession in 1991-92 and devaluation of its currency on Black Wednesday, experienced sustained economic growth that stretched into the new millennium. Germany reunified in October 3, 1990 focused on modernization of the former communist East after they integrated the economic infrastructure, provincial governments, and a different culture brought up in communism has fully became like their western brethren.

But the situation worsened for Japan after three previous decades of economic growth to put them third place in the world's economies, struggled after 1993 and their recession went on to the early 2000s put an end to the period of unlimited prosperity it enjoyed. However, the rise of free market economics in China under more socialist regulation hadn't slowed the country's economic prosperity in the 1990s, which grows stronger to this day.

Less affluent nations such as India, Malaysia and Vietnam also saw tremendous improvements in economic prosperity and quality of life during the 1990s. While optimism and hopes were high following the collapse of Communism, restructuring following the end of the Cold War was beginning. 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.

In many countries, political stability and decreased militarization due to the winding down of the Cold War led to economic development and higher standards of living for many citizens. These trends were also fuelled by inexpensive fossil energy, with low petroleum prices caused by a glut of oil. Oil and gas were discovered in many countries in the former Soviet bloc, leading to economic growth and wider adoption of trade between nations, but the 15 new nations of the old USSR, plus Russia struggles to adjust their living standards in the 1990s, the decade ends in a painful recession.

The widespread adoption of personal computers and the Internet increased economic productivity, while high levels of private investment in equity markets increased personal wealth among many Americans and Europeans. The economic gains of the 1990s were unevenly distributed throughout society, widening the gap between the wealthiest and poorest citizens in some countries; critics of capitalism contend that this should not have been allowed to happen to the extent that it did.

Politically, the 1990s was an era of spreading democracy. The former countries of the Warsaw Pact moved from totalitarian regimes to democratically-elected governments. The same happened in other non-communist countries, such as Taiwan, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, and Indonesia. Capitalism made great moves in changing the economics of communist countries like China and Vietnam, even in Cuba where old-line leader Fidel Castro continued to blast American democracy.

The improvement in relations between the countries of NATO and the former members of the Warsaw Pact ended the Cold War both in Europe and other parts of the world. Israel and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shook hands in agreement for peace under US president Bill Clinton at the White House talks in 1993. The Oslo Accords resulted in an agreement by Israel to allow Palestinian self-government.

Despite the economic prosperity and democracy, there were problems in the 1990s that became more visible after the decade ended. In Africa a rapid increase in incidence of AIDS contributed to falling life expectancy and zero or negative growth rates. In the states of the former Soviet Union GDP decreased as their economies restructured to produce goods they needed and some capital flight occurred. Financial crises in the developing world after 1994 (i.e. the Asian economic crises of 1997) began to undermine some support for globalization.

Conflicts like the Balkan Wars, the Rwandan genocide, the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia and the first Gulf War, as well as the continuation of terrorism, led some to hypothesize a Clash of Civilizations, but the decade is a time for peace in terror-ridden Northern Ireland when the IRA agreed to a truce in 1994 brought an end of 25 years of violence between the two sectarian groups, Protestant and Catholic, into having talks for a dual-government.

Racial tensions brought forward by immigration and multi-cultural issues appeared in western Europe and the United States, where the issue of race relations brought on by the 1992 Los Angeles riots, the O.J. Simpson Murder Case in 1994-95 and the Million Man March in 1996, made Americans more concerned about racial equality than since the 1960s.

Youth culture in the 1990s was characterized by environmentalism, anti-globalization in some parts and entrepreneurship. Fashions were often individualistic, 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 outdoor activities that combined embracing athletics with the appreciation of nature (such as kayaking, rock climbing and snowboarding).

Technology

The 1990s were a time of great change - mainstreaming and improving technologies invented and used first during the 1980s.

Graphic representation of the WWW

• The World Wide Web and HTML are created by Tim Berners-Lee.
• The Pentium processor is developed by Intel.
• Microsoft introduces Windows 95 and later Windows 98 to the market, which gained immediate popularity.
• Explosive growth of the Internet, decrease in the cost of computers and other technology.
• Advancements with computer modems, ISDN, cable modems and DSL lead to faster connection to the Internet.
• The development of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer makes surfing the World Wide Web easier and more user friendly.
• The Java programming language is developed by Sun Microsystems.
• Businesses begin E-commerce websites; companies such as Amazon.com, eBay, AOL, and Yahoo! grew rapidly on the Internet.
• Cell phones become cheaper and decreased in size, but are status symbols until they become common in the 2000s.
• E-mail becomes popular; as a result Microsoft acquires the popular Hotmail.com.
• Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K), the computer glitch disaster expected to happen (but hasn't, probably was prevented by computer program year-dating upgrades) on January 1, 2000.
• Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM PCs.
• Development of free operating system Linux is started.
• CD burner drives are introduced.
• The DVD media format is developed and popularized.
• Pagers are popular until they are replaced by cellphones.
• Increasing Internet speeds and new software make online music piracy and later video piracy possible on a 'grass roots' basis.

Bookending events

The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite index peaked in March 2000, reflecting the high point of the dot-com bubble.

Significant events that occurred around 1990 which would influence the course of history and character of the decade, include:

• The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 2, 1990.
• The Moscow Coup and subsequent break-up of the Soviet Union in December 21, 1991.
• The invention of the World Wide Web in 1989
• The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 11, 1989.

Significant events that marked the passing of the decade include:

• The appointment of Vladimir Putin as President of the Russian Federation in January 1, 2000.
• The September 11 attacks in 2001.
• The dot-com crash in 2000.
• The US presidential election fiasco in 2000.

Science

Hubble Space Telescope

• Junior physicists Utilized exploration in Space and Time fundamentals, Initiating the creation of the New string theory and M-theory.
• Detection of extrasolar planets orbiting stars other than the sun.
• The cloning of Dolly the sheep is achieved.
• Human Genome Project began.
• DNA identification of individuals finds wide application in criminal law.
• Hubble Space Telescope launched in 1990; revolutionizes astronomy.
• Protease inhibitors introduced allowing HAART therapy against HIV; drastically reduces AIDS mortality.
• NASA's spacecraft Pathfinder lands on Mars and deploys a small roving vehicle, Sojourner, which analyzes the planet's geology and atmosphere.
• The Hale-Bopp comet swings past the sun for the first time in 4,200 years in April 1997.
• Development of biodegradable products, replacing products made from Styrofoam; advanced methods for recycling of waste products (such as paper, glass, aluminum) are developed.
• Genetically engineered crops are developed for commercial use.
• Discovery of dark matter, dark energy, and brown dwarves, and first confirmation of black holes.
• The Galileo probe orbits Jupiter, studying the planet and its moons extensively.
• The Global Positioning System (GPS) becomes fully operational.

War, peace, and politics

Gulf War

Rwandan genocide

• Reunification of Germany on October 3 1990.
• The European Community becomes the European Union on January 1, 1993, probably the first step of unification of Europe.
• End of apartheid in South Africa (1990) and election of ANC government of Nelson Mandela.
• Gulf War (resulting from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait) and United Nations embargo on Iraq in 1991.
• North Yemen and South Yemen merge to form Yemen (1991).
• Break up of the Soviet Union in 1991 - the end of the Cold War, United States as sole world superpower. The Cold War was officially declared over on December 31, 1992.
• The bombing of the World Trade Center in U.S. (1993) by an explosive-filled van leads to awareness in U.S. of international terrorism as a rising threat.
• Dissolution of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia (1993).
• Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia (1993).
• European Union is declared in 1992 and again in 1999.
• Israeli Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin and Palestinian Prime Minister Yasser Arafat agree to the Peace Process at the culmination of the Oslo Accords, negotiated by the United States President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993.
• Military actions in Somalia in 1993 lead to questions of the United States' role as a policing officer of the world. (See also, Black Hawk Down).
• Rwandan genocide kills one million people, in 1994.
• The birth of the "Second Republic" in Italy, with the Mani Pulite investigations of 1994.
• In 1994 a peace treaty is signed between Israel and Jordan.
• In the UK in 1994 Tony Blair becomes leader of the British Labour Party and begins the "New Labour" project moving the party to the centre of british politics & ending 18 years of goverment by the Conservative party in a landslide election victory in 1997.
• The First Chechen War war was from 1994-1996; Second Chechen War started in 1999, and is ongoing.
• Peace process begins in Northern Ireland in 1995.
• Balkan war in former Yugoslavia in 1995.
• Quebec, Canada in a rekindled wave of separatism by French-Canadian activists, almost seceded from, but remains in the dominion on a provincial election on October 30, 1995.
• A decade of women presidents in the Republic of Ireland.
• The British Empire hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China on July 1, 1997.
• U.S. Congressman Newt Gingrich crafts his manifesto "Contract with America", leading his Republican Party to become the controlling majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• U.S. president Bill Clinton's sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment trial in 1998, which lasts the entire year.
• Anti-globalization protests.
• The Tibetan Freedom Concert brings 120,000 people together in the interest of increased human rights and autonomy for Tibet from China.
• The Second Congo War started in 1998 in central Africa and includes 5 different cultures and 7 different nations. It goes on until 2002.
• In May 1999, Pakistan sends troops covertly to occupy strategic peaks in Kashmir. A month later the Kargil War with India results in a political fiasco for Nawaz Sharif, followed by a military withdrawal to the Line of Control. The incident leads to a military coup in October in which the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is ousted by Army Chief Pervez Musharraf.
• Kosovo war begins in late 1998. Roughly 12,000 people are killed during open hostelities between Serbian military forces and ethnic Albanian forces. The UN sends in peace keeping forces after NATO military actions result in a Serbian military withdrawal by early 1999. The US deploys American police officers to serve with the United Nations to help build a Kosovo police force.
• Portugal hands sovereignty of Macau to the People's Republic of China on December 20, 1999.
• East Timor breaks away from Indonesian control in 1999, merely a year after the fall of Soeharto from power, ending a twenty four year guerilla war with better than 200,000 casualties. The UN deploys a peace keeping force, spearheaded by the Australian and New Zealand armed forces. America deploys US police officers to serve with the International Police element, to help train and equip an East Timorese police.
• Civil Unions for gay partners started in some european countries (Denmark, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden).

Economics

Skyline of Sanhattan, Santiago, Chile's Financial District -- Example of global economic growth during the 1990s.

• US economy ends the decade in 4% unemployment, personal incomes doubled than in recession-hit 1990, overall productivity higher than a decade ago, reduction of poverty rates after the 1996 Welfare Reform act, and the wall street stock exchange was over the 10,000 mark from 1997 to 2001.
• After 1992 the booming of the US stock market, in reference to which Alan Greenspan coined the memorable phrase "irrational exuberance", which eventually stretched into the dot-com boom / dot-com bubble (2000-2001).
• 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 violent street demonstrations in Seattle in December 1999.
• With the creation of the E.U. there is 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

Breakdancer in 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

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 people[1] 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

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)

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

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

Nelson Mandela holds hands with Former United States Vice President Al Gore.

Former 1990's US presidents 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

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, (