| 1990-05-15
Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time.
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| 1990-02-13
German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
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| 1990-11-21
The Charter of Paris for a New Europe refocuses the efforts of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europeon post-Cold War issues.
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| 1990-09-16
A rail link between China and Kazakhstan is completed at Dostyk, adding an important connection to the Eurasian Land Bridge.
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| 1990-08-28
The Plainfield Tornado: an F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 28 people.
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| 1990-09-18
Liechtenstein becomes a member of the United Nations.
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| 1990-03-15
Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union.
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| 1990-01-22
Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm.
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| 1990-01-31
The first McDonald's in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow.
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| 1990-09-05
Eastern University massacre, massacre of 158 Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan army at the Eastern University in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
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| 1990-10-13
End of the Lebanese Civil War. Syrian forces launch an attack on the free areas of Lebanon removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
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| 1990-06-12
Russia Day – the parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
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| 1990-05-17
The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
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| 1990-06-30
East Germany and West Germany merge their economies.
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| 1990-06-06
U.S. District court judge Jose Alejandro Gonzalez, Jr. rules that the rap album As Nasty As They Wanna Be by 2 Live Crew violates Florida's obscenity law; he declares that the predominant subject matter of the record is "directed to the 'dirty' thoughts and the loins, not to the intellect and the mind."
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| 1990-08-28
Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.
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| 1990-11-22
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher withdraws from the Conservative Party leadership election, confirming the end of her premiership.
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| 1990-09-02
Transnistria is unilaterally proclaimed a Soviet republic; the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev declares the decision null and void.
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| 1990-11-29
Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council passes United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, authorizing "use all necessary means to uphold and implement" United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 "to restore international peace and security" if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.
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| 1990-02-12
Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
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| 1990-06-28
Paperback Software International Ltd. is found liable by a U.S. court for copyright violation for copying the appearance and menu system of Lotus 1-2-3 in its competing spreadsheet program.
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| 1990-03-02
Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
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| 1990-09-12
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 re-unification.
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| 1990-04-16
The "Doctor of Death", Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
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| 1990-09-29
The YF-22, which would later become the F-22 Raptor, flies for the first time.
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| 1990-09-30
The Chicago White Sox defeat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 at the final game at Comiskey Park.
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| 1990-11-13
In Aramoana, New Zealand, David Gray shoots dead 13 people, in what becomes known as the Aramoana Massacre.
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| 1990-03-10
In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup.
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| 1990-07-16
Luzon Earthquake stroke in Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac, Philippines, with an intensity of 7.7.
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| 1990-06-22
Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin.
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| 1990-05-01
The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) was granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.
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| 1990-10-24
Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti reveals to the Italian parliament the existence of Gladio, the Italian "stay-behind" clandestine paramilitary NATO army.
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| 1990-11-19
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.
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| 1990-03-20
Ferdinand Marcos's widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
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| 1990-02-11
James Buster Douglas, a 42 to 1 underdog, deals Mike Tyson his first professional loss with the largest upset in boxing history and becomes the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
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| 1990-11-12
Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
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| 1990-07-01
German re-unification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
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| 1990-12-01
Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed.
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| 1990-03-15
Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying.
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| 1990-03-11
Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
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| 1990-10-05
After one hundred and fifty years The Herald broadsheet newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, is published for the last time as a separate newspaper.
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| 1990-10-08
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount.
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| 1990-03-01
Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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| 1990-11-14
After German reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Poland sign a treaty confirming the Oder-Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland.
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| 1990-02-02
Apartheid: F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to function legally and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
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| 1990-11-09
Mary Robinson is elected Ireland's first female President and the first from the Labour Party.
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| 1990-01-10
Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
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| 1990-06-01
George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
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| 1990-09-30
The Dalai Lama unveils the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights in Canada's capital city of Ottawa.
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| 1990-11-05
Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
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| 1990-10-15
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.
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| 1990-02-26
The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections.
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| 1990-11-07
Mary Robinson becomes the first woman to be elected President of the Republic of Ireland.
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| 1990-08-10
The Magellan space probe reaches Venus.
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| 1990-03-18
In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
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| 1990-04-11
Customs officers in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom, say they have seized what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
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| 1990-06-19
The current international law defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, was ratified for the first time by Norway.
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| 1990-04-07
Iran Contra Affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).
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| 1990-10-03
Re-unification of Germany. The German Democratic Republic ceases to exist and its territory becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later became the European Union. Now celebrated as German Unity Day.
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| 1990-09-10
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire – the largest church in Africa is consecrated by Pope John Paul II.
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| 1990-02-11
Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa.
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| 1990-02-14
92 people are killed aboard Indian Airlines Flight 605 at Bangalore, India.
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| 1990-01-13
L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
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| 1990-04-24
STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
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| 1990-04-12
Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
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| 1990-05-22
North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
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| 1990-07-11
Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins.
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| 1990-12-23
History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88% of Slovenia's population vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
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| 1990-11-26
The Delta II rocket makes its maiden flight.
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| 1990-05-04
Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
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| 1990-07-13
An earthquake with its epicentre in Afghanistan results in the greatest number of fatalities in a mountaineering accident in High Asian mountains when an avalanche kills 43 climbers in Camp I on Pik Lenina (Lenin Peak).
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| 1990-07-27
The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is transferred to June 3.
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| 1990-04-24
Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
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| 1990-08-23
West Germany and East Germany announce that they will unite on October 3.
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| 1990-09-29
Construction of the Washington National Cathedral is completed.
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| 1990-07-27
The Jamaat al Muslimeen stage a coup d'état attempt in Trinidad and Tobago, occupying Parliament and the studios of Trinidad and Tobago Television, holding Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson and most of his Cabinet, as well as the staff at the television station hostage for 6 days.
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| 1990-05-18
In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3km/h (320.2 mph).
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| 1990-04-23
Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
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| 1990-01-15
AT&T's long distance telephone network suffers a cascade switching failure.
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| 1990-12-25
The first successful trial run of the system which would become the World Wide Web.
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| 1990-05-22
Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.
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| 1990-01-01
David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
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| 1990-12-03
At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 on the runway, killing 7 passengers and 1 crew member aboard flight 1482.
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| 1990-09-20
South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
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| 1990-09-01
The Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist is founded, following a split from the Communist Labour Party of Turkey.
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| 1990-08-23
Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television with a number of Western "guests" (actually hostages) to try to prevent the Gulf War.
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| 1990-10-02
A Chinese airline Boeing 737-247 is hijacked; after landing at Guangzhou, it crashes into two airliners on the ground, killing 132 people.
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| 1990-07-24
Iraqi forces start massing on the Kuwait-Iraq border.
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| 1990-01-07
The interior of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is closed to the public because of safety concerns.
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| 1990-06-20
Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
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| 1990-07-26
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.
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| 1990-09-15
France announces it will send 4,000 troops to the Persian Gulf
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| 1990-09-09
1990 Batticaloa massacre, massacre of 184 minority Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan Army in the eastern Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka.
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| 1990-01-18
Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
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| 1990-05-20
The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
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| 1990-05-24
A car carrying American Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney explodes in Oakland, California, critically injuring both.
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| 1990-11-12
Crown Prince Akihito is formally installed as Emperor Akihito of Japan, becoming the 125th Japanese monarch.
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| 1990-12-02
A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932.
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| 1990-06-02
The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12. Petersburg, Indiana, is the hardest-hit town in the outbreak, with 6 deaths.
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| 1990-11-23
The first all woman expedition to the south pole (3 Americans, 1 Japanese and 12 Russians), sets off from Antarctica on the 1st leg of a 70 day, 1287 kilometre ski trek.
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| 1990-08-10
The Massacre of more than 127 Muslims in North East Sri Lanka by paramilitaries.
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| 1990-03-09
Dr. Antonia Novello is sworn in as Surgeon General of the United States, becoming the first female and Hispanic American to serve in that position.
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| 1990-08-06
Gulf War: the United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
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| 1990-01-25
The Burns' Day storm hits northwestern Europe.
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| 1990-11-17
Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan becomes active again and erupts.
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| 1990-08-02
Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to conflict with coalition forces in the Gulf War.
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| 1990-08-19
Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7.
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| 1990-03-11
Patricio Aylwin is sworn-in as the first democratically elected Chilean president since 1970.
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| 1990-01-20
Tragedy at Baku – The Red Army killed Azerbaijani people in Baku.
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| 1990-03-19
The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureş begin four days after the anniversary of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas.
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| 1990-01-03
Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces.
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| 1990-01-11
300,000 march in favor of Lithuanian independence.
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| 1990-11-09
New democratic constitution is issued in Nepal.
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| 1990-09-24
Periodic Great White Spot observed on Saturn
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| 1990-08-23
Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
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| 1990-03-04
Loyola Marymount University, All-American basketball player Hank Gathers dies on the court of a heart attack during a conference semifinal game.
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| 1990-05-21
Democratic Republic of Yemen and North Yemen agree to merge into the Republic of Yemen.
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| 1990-08-08
Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
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| 1990-12-22
Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
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| 1990-02-07
Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.
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| 1990-11-15
Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches with flight STS-38.
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| 1990-03-31
200,000 protestors take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.
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| 1990-05-29
The Russian parliament elects Boris Yeltsin president of the Russian SFSR.
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| 1990-03-21
Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
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| 1990-03-27
The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba in an effort to bridge the information blackout imposed by the Castro regime.
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| 1990-03-28
President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
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