Let’s put the 1990s into context. Here are some science & engineering breakthroughs and worldwide historical events that were happening in this decade. Talk to your parents, teachers, grandparents and see what else they can tell you about this time period.
1990
- The space shuttle Discovery places the Hubble Telescope into orbit
- The Human Genome Project begins in October
- Lech Walesa Becomes First President of Poland
- “Sue” – best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex specimen ever found discovered in S. Dakota
- Nelson Mandela freed from prison
1991
- Copper Age Man found frozen in glacier
- Collapse of the Soviet Union
- Video game Sonic the Hedgehog released propelling Sega Genesis into mass popularity
- Operation Desert Storm
- South Africa repeals apartheid laws
1992
- The IBM Simon, a touchscreen mobile phone & personal digital assistant considered the first smartphone introduced
- Riots in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict
- Official end of The Cold War
1993
- The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips
- 14-year-old fossil hunter Wes Linster finds the first Bambiraptor skeleton in Montana
- Use of the Internet grows exponentially
- World Trade Center bombed
1994
- Tunnel under the English Channel between Britain & France – The Chunnel opens
- Nature reports discovery of Australopithecus afarensis first complete human skull in Ethiopia
- Nelson Mandela elected President of South Africa
- The Western Hemisphere declared free of polio
1995
- Data from Galileo shows Jupiter’s moon Europa has liquid ocean under thick crust of ice
- Sarin gas attack in Tokyo subway
- Oklahoma City bombing
1996
- Successful demonstration of magnetic refrigeration
- Lone climber G. Kropp reaches Mt. Everest summit using no extra oxygen after biking from Sweden
- Mad cow disease hits Britain
- December 20 – Astronomer Carl Sagan dies (b. 1934)
1997
- Tallest building in the world constructed in Kuala Lumpur
- Hale-Bopp Comet visible on Earth
- Scientists successfully clone the first mammal, a sheep called Dolly
- Princess Diana dies in car crash
- Pathfinder sends back images of Mars
1998
- Zarya- the first module of the International Space Station is launched
- Dr. F.W. Mohr performs first robotically assisted coronary artery bypass surgery in Germany using the da Vinci Surgical System while Dr. R. Damiano performs on 17 patients in Pennsylvania
- U.S. President William J. Clinton impeached
- India and Pakistan test nuclear weapons
1999
- The Human Genome Project completed
- People develop worldwide panic due to projected Y2K “computer bug”
- The “Euro” becomes the new European currency
- A 7.4-magnitude earthquake strikes Turkey, killing more than 17,000 & injuring 44,000
- JFK Jr. dies in plane accident off eastern coast of USA
- Killing spree at Columbine High School in Colorado