WORLD HISTORY · 1990 日本語
Events of 1990Heisei 2 (Japan) · Year of the Horse
What happened in 1990?
In 1990, the main enthronement ceremony for Emperor Akihito was held in Tokyo, and plunging stock prices marked the start of the collapse of Japan's bubble economy. Around the world, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and South Africa's government promised to release Nelson Mandela.
- Stock prices plunge as Japan's bubble begins to burstAsia
- South Africa legalizes ANC, moves to free MandelaAfrica
- Gorbachev becomes Soviet presidentEurope
- Iraq invades KuwaitMiddle East
- Emperor Akihito's enthronement ceremony heldAsia
- Mount Unzen-Fugen erupts after 198 yearsAsia
- Nintendo releases Super FamicomAsia
- Akiyama Toyohiro becomes first Japanese in spaceAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1990 at a glance
| Japanese era | Heisei 2 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Horse |
| Age of people born in 1990 | Turn 36 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1989 (Showa 64 / Heisei 1) ／ 1991 (Heisei 3) |
| Events | 141 |
| AP World History | Unit 9 (Globalization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Famous people born in 1990
Our birthday pages list 752 people born in 1990. Here are some of them.
- Kristen StewartBorn April 9 · turns 36 this year · American actress famous as Bella Swan in the Twilight films and Oscar-nominated…
- Jennifer LawrenceBorn August 15 · turns 36 this year · American actress who won an Academy Award for Silver Linings Playbook and starr…
- Emma WatsonBorn April 15 · turns 36 this year · British actress who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films and becam…
- The WeekndBorn February 16 · turns 36 this year · Canadian singer and songwriter known for hits like "Can't Feel My Face" and alb…
- Haruma MiuraBorn April 5 · turns 36 this year
- Yoichiro KakitaniBorn January 3 · turns 36 this year
- Haru KurokiBorn March 14 · turns 36 this year
- Mao AsadaBorn September 25 · turns 36 this year
- Saki FukudaBorn September 19 · turns 36 this year
- Yuya OsakoBorn May 18 · turns 36 this year
- Anthony RendonBorn June 6 · turns 36 this year
- Callum TurnerBorn February 15 · turns 36 this year
Show 28 more
- Danny WelbeckBorn November 26 · turns 36 this year
- Bo BurnhamBorn August 21 · turns 36 this year
- Ali MaâloulBorn January 1 · turns 36 this year
- Julia GlushkoBorn January 1 · turns 36 this year
- Alberto PaloschiBorn January 4 · turns 36 this year
- Iago FalqueBorn January 4 · turns 36 this year
- Raisel IglesiasBorn January 4 · turns 36 this year
- Toni KroosBorn January 4 · turns 36 this year
- C. J. CronBorn January 5 · turns 36 this year
- José IglesiasBorn January 5 · turns 36 this year
- José Luis PalominoBorn January 5 · turns 36 this year
- Leroy FerBorn January 5 · turns 36 this year
- Mark NichollsBorn January 5 · turns 36 this year
- Alex TeixeiraBorn January 6 · turns 36 this year
- Cristian ErbesBorn January 6 · turns 36 this year
- Sean KilpatrickBorn January 6 · turns 36 this year
- Gentleman Jack GallagherBorn January 7 · turns 36 this year
- Gregor SchlierenzauerBorn January 7 · turns 36 this year
- Liam AikenBorn January 7 · turns 36 this year
- Blair WalshBorn January 8 · turns 36 this year
- Cody WalkerBorn January 10 · turns 36 this year
- Ishiura ShikanosukeBorn January 10 · turns 36 this year
- John CarlsonBorn January 10 · turns 36 this year
- Martin JonesBorn January 10 · turns 36 this year
- Malik JacksonBorn January 11 · turns 36 this year
- Liam HemsworthBorn January 13 · turns 36 this year
- Vincenzo FiorilloBorn January 13 · turns 36 this year
- Grant GustinBorn January 14 · turns 36 this year
Events of 1990 (timeline · 141)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.
Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir due to an insurgency.
Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.
Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.
Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing's world Heavyweight title.
Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later becomes famous as Pale Blue Dot.
Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Lennox Sebe, President for life of the South African Bantustan of Ciskei, is ousted from power in a bloodless military coup led by Brigadier Oupa Gqozo.
American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference tournament game.
In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted eighteen months after seizing power in a coup d'état in September 1988.
Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first and only President of the Soviet Union.
In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $500 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
Germans in the German Democratic Republic vote in the first democratic elections in the former communist dictatorship.
The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș begin four days after the anniversary of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire.
Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War ends with the last ship of Indian Peace Keeping Force leaving Sri Lanka.
The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.
United States President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.
The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress.
John Poindexter is convicted for his role in the Iran–Contra affair. In 1991 the convictions are reversed on appeal.
The conservative New Democracy party of Constantine Mitsotakis is elected in the Greek parliamentary election.
The Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement is signed for 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 mi2) in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic.
An Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 over Gadsden, Alabama, killing both of the Cessna's occupants.
Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
Widerøe Flight 839 crashes after takeoff from Værøy Airport in Norway, killing five people.
Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.
The Dinamo–Red Star riot takes place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia elects Boris Yeltsin as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.
British Airways Flight 5390 lands safely at Southampton Airport after a blowout in the cockpit causes the captain to be partially sucked from the cockpit. There are no fatalities.
Russia Day: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
First day of the June 1990 Mineriad in Romania. At least 240 strikers and students are arrested or killed in the chaos ensuing from the first post-Ceaușescu elections.
The Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic is founded in Moscow.
The current international law defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, is ratified for the first time by Norway.
The 7.4 Mw Manjil–Rudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000–50,000, and injuring 60,000–105,000.
German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca.
West Germany win the FIFA World Cup final against defending champions Argentina, with Andreas Brehme scoring the game's only goal.
Lenin Peak disaster: a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan triggers an avalanche on Lenin Peak, killing 43 climbers in the deadliest mountaineering disaster in history.
The Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR declares state sovereignty over the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.
The Luzon earthquake strikes the Philippines with an intensity of 7.7, affecting Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac.
Taiwan's military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
Greg LeMond, an American road racing cyclist, wins his third Tour de France after leading the majority of the race. It was LeMond's second consecutive Tour de France victory.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.
Ian Gow, Conservative Member of Parliament, is assassinated at his home by the IRA in a car bombing after he assured the group that the British government would never surrender to them.
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait: Iraq invades Kuwait and temporarily establishes the Republic of Kuwait puppet state on the orders of Saddam Hussein, eventually leading to the Gulf War.
Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
Sue, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found to date, is discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota.
A mainland Chinese fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5202 is hit by a Taiwanese naval vessel and sinks in a repatriation operation of mainland Chinese immigrants, resulting in 21 deaths. This is the second tragedy less than a month after Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident.
Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War.
An F5 tornado strikes the Illinois cities of Plainfield and Joliet, killing 29 people.
Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void.
Batticaloa massacre: Massacre of 184 Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Army in Batticaloa District.
A Faucett Boeing 727 disappears in the Atlantic Ocean while being flown from Malta to Peru.
The Red Cross organizations of mainland China and Taiwan sign the Kinmen Agreement on repatriation of illegal immigrants and criminal suspects after two days of talks in Kinmen, Fujian Province in response to the two tragedies in repatriation in the previous two months. It is the first agreement reached by private organizations across the Taiwan Strait.
The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification.
The railroad between the People's Republic of China and Kazakhstan is completed at Dostyk, adding a sizable link to the concept of the Eurasian Land Bridge.
Construction of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) is completed in Washington, D.C.
The Tampere Hall, the largest concert and congress center in the Nordic countries, is inaugurated in Tampere, Finland.
Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked and lands at Guangzhou, where it crashes into two other airliners on the ground, killing 132.
The German Democratic Republic is abolished and becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany; the event is afterwards celebrated as German Unity Day.
After 150 years The Herald newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, is published for the last time as a separate newspaper.
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-41, and deploys the Ulysses space probe to study the Sun's polar regions.
First Intifada: Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock.
Syrian forces attack free areas of Lebanon, removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian NATO force formed in 1956, intended to be activated in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion.
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic declares its sovereignty from the Soviet Union.
British Satellite Broadcasting and Sky Television plc merge to form BSkyB as a result of massive losses.
Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland.
Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
In Aramoana, New Zealand, David Gray shoots dead 13 people in a massacre before being tracked down and killed by police the next day.
While on approach to Zurich Airport, Alitalia Flight 404 crashes into Stadlerberg Mountain near Weiach, killing 46.
After German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland sign a treaty confirming the Oder–Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland.
The Communist People's Republic of Bulgaria is disestablished and a new republican government is instituted.
Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-38, a classified mission for the Department of Defense.
Pop group Milli Vanilli are stripped of their Grammy Award because the duo did not sing at all on the Girl You Know It's True album. Session musicians had provided all the vocals.
Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, becomes active again and erupts.
Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union's most prolific serial killers, is arrested; he eventually confesses to 56 killings.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her Premiership.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigns as leader of the Conservative Party and, therefore, as Prime Minister. She is succeeded in both positions by John Major.
Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet beneath the seabed.
Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory.
A military jet of the Italian Air Force, abandoned by its pilot after an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, Italy, killing 12 students and injuring 88 other people.
Several fatal collisions in the 1990 Interstate 75 fog disaster result in a total of 12 deaths and 42 being injured
Demonstrations by students and workers across Albania begin, which eventually trigger the fall of communism in Albania.
Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1990 in the Japanese calendar?
1990 was Heisei 2 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1990?
1990 is the Year of the Horse.
How old is someone born in 1990?
They turn 36 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1990?
In 1990, the main enthronement ceremony for Emperor Akihito was held in Tokyo, and plunging stock prices marked the start of the collapse of Japan's bubble economy. Around the world, Iraq invaded Kuwait, and South Africa's government promised to release Nelson Mandela.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.