Editing 1990

{{Events by month|1990}}
[[File:1990 Events Collage.png|From top-left, clockwise: the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] is held in [[Italy]] and is won by [[West Germany]]; the [[Human Genome Project]] is launched; The ''[[Pale Blue Dot]]'' image is taken by ''[[Voyager 1]]''; [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]] [[German reunification|reunify]]; [[British police]] stand on-guard during the [[poll tax riots]]; [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] under [[Saddam Hussein]] [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invades]] [[Kuwait]], beginning the [[Gulf War]]; an [[1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake|earthquake]] kills 35,000-50,000 people in northern [[Iran]]; the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is launched from the [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']].|300x300px|thumb|right]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Year dab|1990}}
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{{C20 year in topic|year=1990}}
{{Year article header|1990}}

Important events of 1990 include the [[German reunification|Reunification of Germany]] and the [[Yemeni unification|unification of Yemen]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/652831/Yemen/273073/Unification-of-Yemen|title=Yemen|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=November 20, 2023|access-date=June 2, 2022|archive-date=May 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503173424/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/652831/Yemen/273073/Unification-of-Yemen|url-status=live}}</ref> the formal beginning of the [[Human Genome Project]] (finished in 2003), the launch of the [[Hubble Space Telescope]], the separation of [[Namibia]] from South Africa, and the [[Baltic states]] declaring independence from the [[Soviet Union]] during [[Perestroika]]. [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]'s [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|communist regime]] collapses amidst increasing internal tensions and multiparty elections held within its constituent republics result in [[Separatism|separatist]] governments being elected in most of the republics marking the beginning of the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]]. Also in this year began the crisis that would lead to the [[Gulf War]] in 1991 following the [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] invasion and the largely internationally unrecognized annexation of [[Kuwait]]. This led to [[Gulf War#Military means|Operation Desert Shield]] being enacted with an international coalition of military forces being built up on the Kuwaiti-Saudi border with demands for Iraq to peacefully withdraw from Kuwait. Also in this year, [[Nelson Mandela]] was released from prison, and [[Margaret Thatcher]] resigned as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] after more than 11 years.

1990 was an important year in the [[Internet]]'s early history. In late 1990, [[Tim Berners-Lee]] created the first [[web server]] and the foundation for the [[World Wide Web]]. Test operations began around December 20 and it was released outside [[CERN]] the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/History.html|title=WWW Project History|work=w3.org|access-date=April 23, 2013|archive-date=September 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923082922/http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/History.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 1990 also saw the official decommissioning of the [[ARPANET]], a forerunner of the Internet system and the introduction of the first content [[web search engine]], [[Archie (search engine)|Archie]], on September 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~chip/projects/timeline/1990archie.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117053127/http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~chip/projects/timeline/1990archie.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-01-17|title=The first search engine, Archive|work=illinois.edu}}</ref>

September 14, 1990, saw the first case of successful somatic [[gene therapy]] on a patient.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citizenlink.com/2010/06/09/gene-therapy-a-brief-history/|title=Gene Therapy – A Brief History|work=CitizenLink|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002171222/http://www.citizenlink.com/2010/06/09/gene-therapy-a-brief-history/|archive-date=October 2, 2015}}</ref>

Due to the [[early 1990s recession]] that began that year and uncertainty due to the collapse of the [[socialism|socialist]] governments in [[Eastern Europe]], birth rates in many countries stopped rising or fell steeply in 1990. In most western countries the [[Millennials|Echo Boom]] peaked in 1990; [[total fertility rate|fertility rates]] declined thereafter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db136.pdf|title=NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 136 ■ December 2013|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-date=July 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706221902/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db136.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
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== Events ==
=== January ===
* [[January 1]]
** [[Poland]] becomes the first country in Eastern Europe to begin abolishing its [[State socialism|state socialist]] colonies.
** [[Glasgow]] begins its year as [[European Capital of Culture]].
** The first Internet companies catering to commercial users, [[PSINet]] and [[EUnet]] begin selling Internet access to commercial customers in the United States and Netherlands respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA425|title=InfoWorld|date=January 15, 1990|publisher=InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.|page=425}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nlnet.nl/foundation/annuals/1990-jaarverslag.html|title=Stichting NLnet Jaarverslag 1990|first=Wytze van der|last=Raay|website=nlnet.nl|access-date=December 10, 2016|archive-date=May 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510140426/http://nlnet.nl/foundation/annuals/1990-jaarverslag.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
** The comedy television series of [[Rowan Atkinson]]'s ''[[Mr. Bean]]'' first aired on [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] in the United Kingdom.
*[[January 2]] – [[Ramiz Alia|Ramiz Ali]] declares that the rejection of Communism will not be repeated in [[Albania]], but that the changing European political climate will nevertheless require adjustments.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 2, 1990 |title=No Change in Albania, Party Leader Declares |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/02/world/upheaval-in-the-east-no-change-in-albania-party-leader-declares.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[January 3]] – [[United States invasion of Panama]]: General [[Manuel Noriega]] is deposed as leader of [[Panama]] and surrenders to the [[United States Armed Forces|American forces]].
* [[January 10]] – [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]] takes its first flight.
* [[January 11]] – [[Singing Revolution]]: In the [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuania SSR]], 300,000 demonstrate for [[independence]].
* [[January 12]]–[[January 19|19]] – Most of the remaining 50,000 [[Armenians]] are driven out of [[Baku]] in the [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan SSR]] during the [[Baku pogrom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nkrusa.org/nk_conflict/ethnic_cleansing_campaigns.shtml|title=NKR Office in Washington, DC|website=www.nkrusa.org|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-date=March 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319061743/http://www.nkrusa.org/nk_conflict/ethnic_cleansing_campaigns.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[January 13]] – [[Douglas Wilder]] becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in [[Richmond, Virginia]].
* [[January 15]]
** The [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|National Assembly of Bulgaria]] votes to end [[One-party state|one party rule]] by the [[Bulgarian Communist Party]].
** Thousands storm the [[Stasi]] headquarters in [[East Berlin]] in an attempt to view their government records.
** Martin Luther King Day Crash – Telephone service in Atlanta, St. Louis, and Detroit, including 9-1-1 service, goes down for nine hours, due to an AT&T software bug.
*[[January 18]] – [[McMartin preschool trial]]: Peggy McMartin Buckey and Raymond Buckey are acquitted of 52 charges related to alleged [[Satanic panic|ritual abuse]] taking place at their daycare in [[Manhattan Beach, California|Manhattan Beach]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mydans |first=Seth |date=March 5, 1990 |title=Shortly After First Trial, Figures in McMartin Case Brace for the Second |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/05/us/shortly-after-first-trial-figures-in-mcmartin-case-brace-for-the-second.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[January 20]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: [[Black January]] – Soviet troops occupy [[Baku]], [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan SSR]], under the state of emergency decree issued by [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and [[Black January#Death toll|kill over 130 protesters]] who were demonstrating for independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/pp021603.shtml|title=Notes from Baku: Black January|work=EurasiaNet.org|access-date=January 22, 2008|archive-date=August 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827072157/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/rights/articles/pp021603.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] declares its independence from the [[Soviet Union|USSR]].
** Clashes break out between Indian troops and [[Muslims|Muslim]] separatists in [[Kashmir]].
** The government of [[Haiti]] declares a [[state of emergency]], under which it suspends civil liberties, imposes censorship, and arrests political opponents. The state of siege is lifted on January 29.
* [[January 22]] – [[Robert Tappan Morris]] is convicted of releasing the [[Morris worm]].
* [[January 23]] – The 14th and final Extraordinary Congress of the [[League of Communists of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav Communist Party]] concludes after 3 days. Although Serb hardliners block substantial reforms, the Party signals its openness to multiparty elections. [[Slovenia|Slovene]] delegates, protesting the slow pace of reforms, walk out of the assembly.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simons |first=Marlise |date=January 23, 1990 |title=Yugoslav Communists Vote to End Party's Monopoly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/23/world/upheaval-in-the-east-yugoslavia-yugoslav-communists-vote-to-end-party-s-monopoly.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[January 25]]
** [[Avianca Flight 052]] crashes into [[Cove Neck, New York]] after a miscommunication between the flight crew and [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|JFK Airport]] officials, killing 73 people on board.
** [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] [[Benazir Bhutto]] gives birth to a girl, becoming the first modern head of government to bear a child while in office.
** [[Pope John Paul II]] begins an eight-day tour of [[Cape Verde]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mali]], [[Burkina Faso]], and [[Chad]].
* [[January 25]]–[[January 26|26]] – The [[Burns' Day Storm]] kills 97 in northwestern Europe.
* [[January 27]] – The city of [[Tiraspol]] in the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]] briefly declares [[independence]].
* [[January 28]] – Four months after their exit from power, the [[Polish United Workers' Party]] votes to dissolve and reorganize as the [[Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fxM1AAAAIBAJ&pg=5762,4912828&dq=poland&hl=en|title=Internationale swansong for Poland's communists|newspaper=The Glasgow Herald|date=January 29, 1990|access-date=November 7, 2020|archive-date=October 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010143853/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fxM1AAAAIBAJ&pg=5762,4912828&dq=poland&hl=en|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[January 29]] – The trial of [[Joseph Hazelwood]], former skipper of the ''[[Exxon Valdez]]'', begins in [[Anchorage, Alaska]]. He is accused of negligence that resulted in America's [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|second worst oil spill]] to date.
* [[January 31]]
** [[Globalization]] – The first [[McDonald's]] in Moscow, [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]] opens 8 months after construction began on May 3, 1989. 8 months later the first McDonald's in [[Mainland China]] is opened in [[Shenzhen]].<ref name="McDonald's">{{cite web|url=http://www.foodbev.com/news/mcdonalds-announces-bond-to-support-growth-in-china#.UPciMCfBGSp|title=McDonald's announces bond to support growth in China|first=Shaun|last=Weston|date=2010-08-19|work=FoodBev|access-date=2013-01-17|archive-date=October 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015044844/http://www.foodbev.com/news/mcdonalds-announces-bond-to-support-growth-in-china#.UPciMCfBGSp|url-status=live}}</ref>
** President of the United States [[George H. W. Bush]] gives his first [[1990 State of the Union Address|State of the Union address]] and proposes that the U.S. and the [[Soviet Union]] make deep cuts to their military forces in [[Europe]].

=== February ===
* February/March – 100,000 [[Kashmiri Pandits]] leave their homeland in [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]'s Valley after being targeted by [[Islamic extremism|Islamist extremists]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ACMe9WBdNAC&pg=PA120|title=Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace|first=Sumantra|last=Bose|date=June 1, 2009|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02855-5|page=120}}</ref>
* February – [[Smoking]] is banned on all cross-country flights in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-27-me-173-story.html|title=Case Against Smoker on Airline Ends in Mistrial|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 27, 1991|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=March 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305204349/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-27/local/me-173_1_airline-ends|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[February 2]] – [[Apartheid]]: [[F. W. de Klerk]] [[Speech at the Opening of the Parliament of South Africa, 1990|announces]] the unbanning of the [[African National Congress]] and promises to release [[Nelson Mandela]].
* February 5 – The Roman Catholic [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington|Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.]] excommunicates [[George Augustus Stallings Jr.|George Augustus Stallings]] for starting the controversial [[Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation|Imani Temple]] congregation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ayres |first=B. Drummond |date=February 6, 1990 |title=Ouster of Priest is Explained |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/06/us/ouster-of-priest-is-explained.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[February 7]]
** The [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] votes to end its monopoly of power, clearing the way for multiparty elections.
** In the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Tajik SSR]], [[1990 Dushanbe riots|rioting breaks out]] against the settlement of [[Armenians|Armenian]] [[refugee]]s there.
* [[February 9]] – [[ADtranz low floor tram]] world's first completely [[low-floor tram]] introduced in [[Bremen]].
* [[February 10]]
** [[Las Cruces bowling alley massacre]]: 2 people walked into the 10 Pin Alley in [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]], (known then as the Las Cruces [[Bowl]]) and shot seven people, four of whom were killed. The case is currently unsolved.
** As the German chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]] is on a state visit in Moscow, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] assures him that the Germans have the right to choose reunification. While the question of the membership of a reunited Germany in the existing military alliances is still unresolved, this is seen as a major breakthrough. 
* [[February 11]] – [[Nelson Mandela]] is released from [[Victor Verster Prison]], near [[Cape Town]], South Africa, after 27 years behind bars.
* [[February 12]] – Representatives of [[NATO]] and the [[Warsaw Pact]] meet in [[Ottawa]] for an [[Treaty on Open Skies|"Open Skies" conference]]. The conference results in agreements about [[superpower]] troop levels in Europe and on [[German reunification]].
* [[February 13]]
** [[German reunification]]: An agreement is reached for a two-stage plan to reunite [[Germany]].
** [[Drexel Burnham Lambert]] files for bankruptcy protection, [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]].
* [[February 14]]
** The [[Pale Blue Dot]] photograph of [[Earth]] is sent back from the ''[[Voyager 1]]'' probe after completing its primary mission, from around 5.6 billion kilometers (3.5 billion miles) away.
** [[Indian Airlines Flight 605]], an [[Airbus A320-231]] registered as VT-EPN, crashes shortly before landing killing 92 out of the 146 occupants onboard.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=Accident Airbus A320-231 VT-EPN, Wednesday 14 February 1990 |url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/326092 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=asn.flightsafety.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Airbus A320-231 {{!}} Federal Aviation Administration |url=https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/VT-EPN |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250221201028/https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/VT-EPN |archive-date=2025-02-21 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.faa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crash of an Airbus A320-231 in Bangalore: 92 killed {{!}} Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives |url=https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-airbus-a320-231-bangalore-92-killed |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=www.baaa-acro.com}}</ref>
* [[February 15]]
** The [[United Kingdom]] and [[Argentina]] restore diplomatic relations after 8 years. The UK had severed ties in response to Argentina's [[Falklands War|invasion]] of the [[Falkland Islands]], a [[British Overseas Territories|British Dependent Territory]], in [[1982]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Diplomatic Service Administration Office|title=The Diplomatic Service List|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tw7wAAAAMAAJ|year=2005|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|isbn=978-0-11-591781-3|page=130}}</ref>
** In [[Cartagena, Colombia]], a summit is held between [[President of the United States]] [[George H. W. Bush]], [[President of Bolivia]] [[Jaime Paz Zamora]], [[President of Colombia]] [[Virgilio Barco Vargas]], and [[President of Peru]] [[Alan García]]. The leaders pledge additional cooperation in fighting international drug trafficking.
*[[February 21]] – [[Religion in Spain|Spain]] grants [[Protestantism]] and [[Judaism]] legal equality with the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1990 |title=Spain Extends Guarantees to Jews and Protestants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/25/world/spain-extends-guarantees-to-jews-and-protestants.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[February 25]] – The [[Sandinistas]] are defeated in the [[Nicaragua]]n [[1990 Nicaraguan general election|elections]], with [[Violeta Chamorro]] elected as the new [[president of Nicaragua]] (the first elected woman president in the Americas), replacing [[Daniel Ortega]].
* [[February 26]] – The [[Soviet Union]] agrees to withdraw all 73,500 troops from [[Czechoslovakia]] by July, [[1991]].
* [[February 27]] – [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|Exxon ''Valdez'' oil spill]]: [[Exxon]] and its shipping company are indicted on 5 criminal counts.
* [[February 28]] – President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega announces a cease-fire with the U.S.-backed [[contras]].

=== March ===
* [[March 1]]
** A fire at the [[Sheraton Hotel]] in [[Cairo]], [[Egypt]], kills 16 people.
** [[Steve Jackson Games]] is raided by the [[United States Secret Service|U.S. Secret Service]], prompting the later formation of the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]].
** The [[Royal New Zealand Navy]] discontinues its daily [[rum ration]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2000-01-26 |title=Frigate guests get shot at sailors' rum ritual |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-herald-auckland-anniversary-regatta/news/article.cfm?c_id=743&objectid=114161 |access-date=2024-05-19 |work=The New Zealand Herald}}</ref>
** [[Luis Alberto Lacalle]], a grandson of the late politician and diplomat [[Luis Alberto de Herrera]], is sworn in as [[President of Uruguay]].
* [[March 3]] – The [[ITASE|International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition]], a group of six explorers from six nations, completes the first [[dog sled]] crossing of Antarctica.
* [[March 8]] – The [[Nintendo World Championships]] were held within the [[Fair Park|Fair Park's Automobile Building]], kickstarting an almost year long gaming competition across 29 American cities.
* [[March 9]]
** Police seal off [[Brixton]] in [[South London]] after another [[Poll tax riots|night of protests]] against the [[poll tax]].
** [[Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland Premier]] [[Clyde Wells (politician)|Clyde Wells]] confirms he will rescind Newfoundland's approval of the [[Meech Lake Accord]].
* [[March 10]] – [[Prosper Avril]] is ousted in a [[September 1988 Haitian coup d'état|coup]] in [[Haiti]], eighteen months after seizing power.
* [[March 11]] – [[Singing Revolution]]: The [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuanian SSR]] declares independence from the [[Soviet Union]] with the [[Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania]]
* [[March 11]]–[[March 13|13]] – The [[March 1990 Central United States tornado outbreak]] produces 64 tornadoes across six [[U.S. state|US states]], including four violent [[Fujita scale|F4]]/[[Fujita scale|F5]] tornadoes. The outbreak leaves 2 dead, 89 injured, and causes over $500 million in damages.
* [[March 12]] – [[Cold War]]: Soviet soldiers begin leaving Hungary under terms of an agreement to withdraw all Soviet troops by June 1.
* [[March 13]] – The [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]] approves changes to the [[Constitution of the Soviet Union]] to create a strong [[Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution|U.S.-style presidency]]. [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] is elected to a five-year term as the first-ever [[President of the Soviet Union]] on March 15.
* [[March 15]]
** [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] hangs Iranian journalist [[Farzad Bazoft]] for spying. Daphne Parish, a British nurse, is sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment as an accomplice.
** [[Singing Revolution]]: The [[Soviet Union]] announces that [[Lithuania]]'s declaration of independence is invalid.
** [[Fernando Collor de Mello]] takes office as [[President of Brazil]], [[Brazil]]'s first democratically elected president since [[Jânio Quadros]] in [[1961]]. The next day, he announces a currency freeze and freezes large bank accounts for 18 months.
* [[March 18]]
** Twelve paintings and a [[Shang dynasty]] vase, collectively worth $100 to $300 million, are [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft|stolen]] from the [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]] in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] by two thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest [[art theft]] in US history, and the paintings ({{As of|2024|May|lc=on}}) have not been recovered.
** [[Cold War]]: [[East Germany]] holds its first [[1990 East German general election|free elections]].
* [[March 19]]–[[March 21|21]] – [[Ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș|Skirmishes between Romanians and Hungarians]], also known as the ”Black March” events, take place in the city of [[Târgu Mureș]], [[Romania]], leaving five people dead.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ildikó Lipcsey|author2=Sabin Gherman|author3=Adrian Severin|title=Romania and Transylvania in the 20th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkppAAAAMAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Corvinus Pub.|isbn=978-1-882785-15-5|page=193}}</ref><ref name='Dutceac'>Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, [https://books.google.com/books?id=BNCWS_r8QpwC&dq=%22backdrop+of+celebrations%22&pg=PT32 Myth, Identity, and Conflict: A Comparative Analysis of Romanian and Serbian Textbooks ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009160417/https://books.google.com/books?id=BNCWS_r8QpwC&dq=%22backdrop+of+celebrations%22&pg=PT32 |date=October 9, 2023 }}, Lexington Books, 2011, {{ISBN|9780739148679}}</ref>
* [[March 20]] – [[Ferdinand Marcos]]'s widow, [[Imelda Marcos]], goes on trial for [[bribery]], [[embezzlement]], and [[racketeering]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kurtz|first=Howard|date=1990-07-03|title=U.S. JURY CLEARS MARCOS IN FRAUD CASE|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/07/03/us-jury-clears-marcos-in-fraud-case/e6bf3b50-0396-47f0-a013-8dbda95fcd4f/|access-date=2021-11-17|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=December 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209084133/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/07/03/us-jury-clears-marcos-in-fraud-case/e6bf3b50-0396-47f0-a013-8dbda95fcd4f/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[March 21]] – After 75 years of [[South West Africa|South African rule]] since [[World War I]], [[Namibia]] becomes independent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Namibia gains Independence {{!}} South African History Online |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/namibia-gains-independence |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=www.sahistory.org.za}}</ref>
* [[March 24]] – [[1990 Australian federal election]]: [[Bob Hawke]]'s [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] [[Hawke government|government]] is re-elected with a reduced majority, narrowly defeating the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal]]/[[National Party of Australia|National]] [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] led by [[Andrew Peacock]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://australianpolitics.com/elections/federal-1990|title=1990 Federal Election &#124; AustralianPolitics.com|website=australianpolitics.com|access-date=February 26, 2018|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106195009/http://australianpolitics.com/elections/federal-1990|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[March 25]]
** In New York City, a fire due to [[arson]] at an illegal [[social club]] called "[[Happy Land fire|Happy Land]]" kills 87 people.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2015-03-17 |title=Fire kills 87 people at the Happy Land Social Club in 1990 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/dozens-die-fire-illegal-bonx-social-club-1990-article-1.2152091 |access-date=2024-05-19 |newspaper=NY Daily News}}</ref>
** [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Robert Runcie]] announces his intention to retire at the end of the year.
** In the [[1990 Hungarian parliamentary election|Hungarian parliamentary election]], Hungary's first multiparty election since [[1948]], the [[Hungarian Democratic Forum]] wins the most seats.
* [[March 26]] – The [[62nd Academy Awards]], hosted by [[Billy Crystal]], are held at the [[Dorothy Chandler Pavilion]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], with ''[[Driving Miss Daisy]]'' winning [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].
* [[March 27]] – The United States begins broadcasting [[Radio y Televisión Martí]] to [[Cuba]].
* [[March 28]] – U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] posthumously awards [[Jesse Owens]] the [[Congressional Gold Medal]].
* [[March 30]] – [[Singing Revolution]]: After its [[1990 Estonian Supreme Soviet election|first free elections]] on March 18, the [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonian SSR]] declares the [[Occupation of the Baltic states|Soviet rule to have been illegal since 1940]] and declares a transition period for full independence.
* [[March 31]] – "[[Poll tax riots#Protest in Trafalgar Square|The Second Battle of Trafalgar]]": A massive anti-[[poll tax]] demonstration in [[Trafalgar Square]], London, turns into a riot; 471 people are injured, and 341 are arrested.

===April===
* [[April 1]]
** The [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|Community Charge]] (poll tax) takes effect in England and Wales amid widespread protests
** [[Strangeways Prison riot]]: The longest prison riot in Britain's history begins at [[Strangeways Prison]] in [[Manchester]], and continues for 3 weeks and 3 days, until [[April 25]].
** The [[1990 United States census]] begins. There are 248,709,873 residents in the U.S.
* [[April 6]] – [[Robert Mapplethorpe]]'s "The Perfect Moment" show of nude and homoerotic photographs opens at the [[Cincinnati]] [[Contemporary Arts Center]], in spite of accusations of indecency by [[Citizens for Community Values]].
* [[April 7]]
** [[Iran–Contra affair]]: [[John Poindexter]] is found guilty of 5 charges for his part in the scandal; the convictions are later reversed on appeal.
** ''[[MS Scandinavian Star]]'', a [[The Bahamas|Bahamas]]-registered ferry, catches fire en route from Norway to Denmark, leaving 158 dead.
* [[April 8]]
** In [[Kingdom of Nepal|Nepal]], [[Birendra of Nepal]] lifts a ban on political parties following violent protests.
** In the [[1990 Greek legislative election|Greek legislative election]], the conservative [[New Democracy (Greece)|New Democracy]] wins the most seats in the [[Hellenic Parliament]]; its leader, [[Konstantinos Mitsotakis]], becomes [[Prime Minister of Greece]] on April 11.
** In the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], the [[Socialist Republic of Slovenia]] holds Yugoslavia's [[1990 Slovenian parliamentary election|first multiparty election since 1938]]. After the election, a center-right coalition led by [[Lojze Peterle]] forms Yugoslavia's first non-Communist government since [[1945]].
* [[April 9]] – [[C/1989 X1 (Austin)|Comet Austin]] makes its closest approach to the [[sun]].
* [[April 12]] – [[Lothar de Maizière]] becomes prime minister of [[East Germany]], heading a [[Grand coalition (Germany)|grand coalition]] that favors [[German reunification]].
* [[April 13]] – [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The [[Soviet Union]] apologizes for the [[Katyn massacre]].
* [[April 14]] – [[Junk bond]] financier [[Michael Milken]] pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges. He agreed to pay US$500 million in restitution and was sentenced on [[November 21]] to 10 years in jail.
* [[April 20]] – 17-year-old [[Disappearance of Christopher Kerze|Christopher Kerze]] goes missing in [[Eagan, Minnesota]]. He remains missing {{as of|2024|May|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Missing Person / NamUs #MP6261 {{!}} NamUs |url=https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/MP6261 |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=namus.nij.ojp.gov |language=en}}</ref>
* [[April 21]] – Japanese [[:fi:Yoshio Tani|Yoshio Tani]], M.Sc. murders gold merchant Turkka Elovirta and businessman Juhani Komulainen in [[Siuntio]], [[Finland]], having convinced them to buy a nonexistent 500 kilogram stash of [[Nazi gold]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000002985375.html|title=Kultakauppiaiden murhista syytetty japanilainen kiisti|work=[[Helsingin Sanomat]]|date=1990-05-31|access-date=2022-02-09|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209191740/https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000002985375.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/33e1faba-8512-4d20-a1bc-36cddd08a395|title=Natsikultaa ei edes ollut olemassa – silti kaksi miestä kuoli Siuntiossa sen vuoksi|work=[[Iltalehti]]|date=2021-07-26|access-date=2022-02-09|archive-date=February 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209191741/https://www.iltalehti.fi/kotimaa/a/33e1faba-8512-4d20-a1bc-36cddd08a395|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[April 22]]
** [[Lebanon hostage crisis]]: Lebanese kidnappers release American educator Robert Polhill, who had been held hostage since January 1987.
** [[Earth Day#Earth Day 1990 to 1999|Earth Day]] 20 is celebrated by millions worldwide.
* [[April 24]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: West Germany and [[East Germany]] agree to merge currency and economies on [[July 1]].
** ''[[STS-31]]'': The [[Hubble Space Telescope]] is launched aboard [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-31.html|title=STS-31|work=Mission Archives|publisher=[[NASA]]|date=2006-10-14|access-date=2013-01-17|archive-date=January 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107062400/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-31.html%20|url-status=live}}</ref>
** [[President of Zaire]] [[Mobutu Sese Seko]] lifts a 20-year ban on opposition parties.
* [[April 25]] – [[Violeta Chamorro]] is sworn in as [[President of Nicaragua]], the first woman elected (February 25) in her own right as a head of state in the Americas.
* [[April 26]] – A [[1990 Gonghe earthquake|7.0 earthquake]] shakes the Chinese province of [[Qinghai]] leaving 126 dead.
* [[April 30]] – [[Lebanon hostage crisis]]: Lebanese kidnappers release American educator Frank H. Reed, who had been held hostage since September [[1986]].

===May===
* [[May 1]] – The former [[Episcopal Church in the Philippines]] (supervised by the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]]) is granted full autonomy and raised to the state of an Autocephalous [[Anglican province]] and renamed the [[Episcopal Church of the Philippines]].
* [[May 2]] – In London, a man brandishing a knife robs a courier of [[bearer bond]]s worth £292 million (the second largest [[robbery|mugging]] to date).
* [[May 2]]–[[May 4|4]] – First talks between the government of South Africa and the [[African National Congress]].
* [[May 4]] – [[Singing Revolution]]: The [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvian SSR]] declares independence from the [[Soviet Union]].
* [[May 8]]
** [[Singing Revolution]]: The [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonian SSR]] restores the formal name of the country, the Republic of Estonia, as well as other national emblems ([[Coat of arms of Estonia|the coat of arms]], [[Flag of Estonia|the flag]] and [[Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm|the anthem]]).
** [[Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier]] assumes office as [[President of Costa Rica]].
* [[May 9]] – In South Korea, police battle anti-government protesters in [[Seoul]] and two other cities.
* [[May 13]]
** In the [[Philippines]], gunmen kill two [[United States Air Force]] airmen near [[Clark Air Base]] on the eve of talks between the Philippines and the United States over the future of American military bases in the Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Drogin|first=Bob|date=1990-05-14|title=2 U.S. Airmen Killed at Base in Philippines : Military: The shootings, believed to be the work of Communist rebels, come on the eve of talks on the future of American bases.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-14-mn-127-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425093643/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-14-mn-127-story.html |archive-date=April 25, 2019 }}</ref>
** The [[Dinamo–Red Star riot]] took place at [[Stadion Maksimir]] in [[Zagreb]], [[Croatia]] between the [[Bad Blue Boys]] (fans of [[GNK Dinamo Zagreb]]) and the [[Delije]] (fans of [[Red Star Belgrade]]).
* [[May 15]]
** [[Singing Revolution]]: The pro-[[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Intermovement]] attempts to take power in [[Tallinn]], [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonia]], but are forced down by local Estonians.
** ''[[Portrait of Dr. Gachet]]'' by [[Vincent van Gogh]] is sold for a record [[List of most expensive paintings|$82.5 million]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/portrait.htm |title=Van Gogh's vanishing act |author=Kleiner, Carolyn |date=July 24, 2000 |work=Mysteries of History |publisher=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=2011-05-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208063600/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/portrait.htm |archive-date=December 8, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[May 17]] – The [[World Health Organization]] removes [[homosexuality]] from its list of diseases.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/546 |title=May 17th is the Intl Day Against Homophobia |work=ILGA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704014026/http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/546 |archive-date=July 4, 2014 }}</ref>
* [[May 18]] – [[German reunification]]: [[East Germany]] and [[West Germany]] sign a treaty to merge their economic and social systems, effective July 1.
* [[May 19]] – The US and the USSR agree to end production of [[chemical weapon]]s and to destroy most of their stockpiles of chemical weapons.
* [[May 20]] – [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The first [[Post-communism|post-Communist]] presidential and parliamentary elections are held in [[Romania]].
* [[May 21]] – In [[Kashmir]], a Kashmiri Islamic leader is assassinated and Indian security forces open fire on mourners carrying his body, killing at least 47 people.
* [[May 22]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The leaders of the [[Yemen Arab Republic]] and the [[South Yemen|People's Democratic Republic of Yemen]] announce the [[Yemeni unification|unification]] of their countries as the [[Yemen|Republic of Yemen]].
* [[May 27]]
** In the [[1990 Myanmar general election|Burmese general election]], [[Myanmar|Burma]]'s first multiparty election in 30 years, the [[National League for Democracy]] led by [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] wins in a landslide, but the [[State Peace and Development Council|State Law and Order Restoration Council]] nullifies the election results.
** In the [[1990 Colombian presidential election|Colombian presidential election]], [[César Gaviria]] is elected [[President of Colombia]]; he takes office on August 7.
* [[May 28]] – [[1990 Arab League summit (Baghdad)|1990 Arab League summit]]: Saddam Hussein receives the emir of Kuwait for a diplomatic visit, at a time where his country and its decent oil revenues were being pushed into bankruptcy by Kuwait's lowering of the price of oil. A dictator with ambitions, Saddam wanted to continue increasing his military strength, and so confronted Kuwait instead. After the public events, Hussein invited Arab leaders to a private meeting. Here, he threatened war on Kuwait unless Kuwait stopped lowering the price of oil, recalls then-Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}
* [[May 29]]
** [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] arrives in [[Ottawa]] for a 29-hour visit.
** [[Boris Yeltsin]] is elected as the first ever elected president of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]].
** [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (EBRD) is founded.
* [[May 30]] – [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] begin a [[Washington Summit (1990)|four-day summit]] meeting in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gorbachev-arrives-in-washington-for-summit|title=Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Washington for a summit|website=HISTORY|date=November 13, 2009 |access-date=August 17, 2020|archive-date=August 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815193245/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gorbachev-arrives-in-washington-for-summit|url-status=live}}</ref>

===June===
* [[June 1]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] and Soviet President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] sign a [[treaty]] to end [[chemical weapon]] production and begin destroying their respective stocks.
** Members of the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] shoot and kill Major Michael Dillon-Lee and Private William Robert Davies of the [[British Army]]. Dillon-Lee is killed outside his home in [[Dortmund]], Germany and Davies is killed at a railway station in [[Lichfield]], England.
* [[June 2]] – The [[June 1990 Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak|Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak]] spawns 88 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12; 37 tornadoes occur in Indiana, eclipsing the previous record of 21 during the [[1974 Super Outbreak]].
* [[June 3]] – The [[Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990)|Social Democratic Party (SDP)]] in the United Kingdom is dissolved after two years of poor results.<ref name=":0" />
* [[June 4]] – Violence breaks out in the [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kirghiz SSR]] between the majority [[Kyrgyz people]] and minority [[Uzbeks]] over the distribution of homestead land.
* [[June 7]] – Metropolitan [[Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow|Alexy of Moscow]] is elected [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]] [[Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus']].
* [[June 8]]
** The [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] begins in Italy. This was the first broadcast of digital [[High-definition television|HDTV]] in history; Europe would not begin HDTV broadcasting en masse until [[2004]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.crit.rai.it/eletel/LeMiniSerie/MS3a.pdf |title=Italia '90 Il primo passo della HDTV digitale I Parte |access-date=April 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619125440/http://www.crit.rai.it/eletel/LeMiniSerie/MS3a.pdf |archive-date=June 19, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
** [[Prime Minister of Israel]] [[Yitzhak Shamir]] ends 88 days with only an acting government by forming a coalition of right-wing and religious parties led by Shamir's [[Likud]] party.
* [[June 8]]–[[June 9|9]] – In the [[1990 Czechoslovak parliamentary election|Czechoslovakian parliamentary election]], [[Czechoslovakia]]'s first free election since 1946, the [[Civic Forum]] wins the most seats but fails to secure a majority.
* [[June 9]] – [[Mega Borg oil spill|''Mega Borg'' oil spill]] in the [[Gulf of Mexico]] near [[Galveston, Texas]].
* [[June 10]]
** [[Alberto Fujimori]] is elected [[President of Peru]]; he takes office on July 28.
** First round of the [[1990 Bulgarian Constitutional Assembly election|Bulgarian Constitutional Assembly election]] sees the [[Bulgarian Socialist Party]] win a majority. The second round of voting is held June 17.
* [[June 11]] – [[Sri Lankan civil war#Eelam War II (1990–1995)|Sri Lankan Civil War]]: The [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] [[1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers|massacre]] over 600 unarmed police officers in the [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern Province]].
* [[June 12]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia]] formally [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|declares]] its sovereignty.
** In the [[1990 Algerian local elections|Algerian local elections]], [[Algeria]]'s first multiparty election since [[1962]], the [[Islamic Salvation Front]] wins control of more than half of municipalities and 32 of Algeria's 48 provinces.
* [[June 13]] – [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The destruction of the [[Berlin Wall]] by [[East Germany]] officially starts, 7 months after it was opened the previous November.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/berlin-wall-anniversary-1762450-Nov2014/|title=In Photos: 25 years ago today the Berlin Wall fell|author=Ãrla Ryan|work=TheJournal.ie|date=November 9, 2014|access-date=November 10, 2014|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212045458/https://www.thejournal.ie/berlin-wall-anniversary-1762450-Nov2014/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[June 13]]–[[June 15|15]] – [[June 1990 Mineriad]]: Clashes break out in [[Bucharest]] between supporters and opponents of the ruling [[National Salvation Front (Romania)|National Salvation Front]].
* [[June 14]] – [[1990 Panay earthquake]]: An earthquake measuring {{M|s|7.1|link=yes}} struck [[Panay]] in the [[Philippines]], killing 8 and injuring 41.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1990 June 14 Panay Earthquake|url=https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/17-earthquake/34-1990-june-14-panay-earthquake|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-17|website=phivolcs.dost.gov.ph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727072608/https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/17-earthquake/34-1990-june-14-panay-earthquake |archive-date=July 27, 2021 }}</ref>
* [[June 15]] – [[Dublin Regulation]] on treatment of applications for [[right of asylum]] under [[European Union law]] agreed (comes into force [[1997]]).
* [[June 17]]–[[June 30|30]] – [[Nelson Mandela]] tours North America, visiting 3 Canadian and 8 U.S. cities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.history.com/news/nelson-mandela-comes-to-america|title=Nelson Mandela comes to America|date=December 9, 2013|author=Jesse Greenspan|website=History.com|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=October 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031052842/https://www.history.com/news/nelson-mandela-comes-to-america|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[June 19]] – The [[Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] holds its inaugural conference in Moscow.<ref>White, Stephen, Graeme J. Gill, and Darrell Slider. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=O9IGbITqT_EC&pg=PA132 The Politics of Transition: Shaping a Post-Soviet Future]''. Cambridge, ENG, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993. p. 132</ref>
* [[June 21]] – The 7.4 {{M|w}} [[1990 Manjil–Rudbar earthquake|Manjil–Rudbar earthquake]] affects northern [[Iran]] with a maximum [[Mercalli intensity scale|Mercalli intensity]] of X (''Extreme''), killing 35,000–50,000, and injuring 60,000–105,000.
* [[June 22]] – [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: [[Checkpoint Charlie]] is dismantled.
* [[June 23]] – In Canada, the [[Meech Lake Accord]] of [[1987]] dies after the [[Manitoba]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] legislatures fail to approve it ahead of the deadline.
* [[June 24]] – [[Kathleen Margaret Brown]] and Irene Templeton are ordained as priests in St Anne's Cathedral in [[Belfast]], becoming the first female [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] priests in the United Kingdom.

===July===
* [[July 1]] 
** [[German reunification]]: [[East Germany]] and [[West Germany]] [[German reunification#Economic merger|merge their economies]], the West German [[Deutsche Mark]] becoming the official currency of the East also. The [[Inner German border]] (constructed [[1945]]) also ceases to function.
** [[Argentina]] announces the sale of its state-owned airline, [[Aerolíneas Argentinas|Aerolineas Argentinas]], to Spanish airline [[Iberia (airline)|Iberia]]. The sale will be completed in November.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Christian |first=Shirley |date=November 23, 1990 |title=Argentina Closes Sale Of Airline |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/23/business/argentina-closes-sale-of-airline.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[July 2]]
** [[1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy]]: A stampede in a pedestrian tunnel leading to [[Mecca]] kills 1,426.
** A U.S. District Court acquits [[Imelda Marcos]] on racketeering and fraud charges.
* [[July 3]] – [[Angola]]'s ruling party [[MPLA]] agrees to legalize opposition and hold [[Multi-party system|multiparty]] elections.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Krauss |first=Clifford |date=July 4, 1990 |title=Angola Rejects Rebel Relief-Aid Plan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/04/world/angola-rejects-rebel-relief-aid-plan.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[July 4]] – [[Commonwealth v. Twitchell]]: David and Ginger Twitchell are convicted of [[Manslaughter|involuntary manslaughter]] after the 1986 death of their 2-year-old son, who died from a [[bowel obstruction]] after the couple [[Faith healing|withheld]] medical treatment in keeping with their [[Christian Science|Christian Scientist]] beliefs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 8, 1990 |title=Headliners: Beyond Faith |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/08/weekinreview/headliners-beyond-faith.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[July 5]] – In [[Kenya]], riots erupt against the [[Kenya African National Union]]'s monopoly on power.
* [[July 6]]
** [[President of Bulgaria]] [[Petar Mladenov]] resigns over accusations that he ordered tanks to disperse anti-government protests in December [[1989]].
** [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somali]] President [[Siad Barre]]'s bodyguards massacre anti-government demonstrators during a soccer match; 65 people are killed, more than 300 seriously injured.
* [[July 7]]–[[July 8|8]] – In tennis, [[Martina Navratilova]] of the United States wins the [[1990 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles]] and [[Stefan Edberg]] of Sweden wins the [[1990 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles]].
* [[July 8]]
** [[1990 FIFA World Cup final]] (Association football): [[Germany national football team|West Germany]] defeats [[Argentina national football team|Argentina]] 1–0 to win the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite book|author=David Gould|title=Chronicle of the Year 1990|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vl-8S3MmleoC|date=November 1991|publisher=J Bradbury & Associates|isbn=978-1-872031-10-1|page=57}}</ref>
** At 12:34:56 (a.m. and p.m.), the date and time using American formats was 12:34:56, 7/8/90 (1234567890). The next such event will occur on July 8, 2090.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brooks |first=Elston |date=1990-07-08 |title=Count on this day for perfect sequence |pages=3, Section 6 |work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]]}}</ref>
* [[July 9]]–[[July 11|11]] – The [[16th G7 summit]] is held in [[Houston]], Texas.
* [[July 10]] – The [[UEFA]] lifts the five-year ban on English [[association football]] teams competing in Continental Europe after the [[Heysel Stadium disaster]], although [[Liverpool F.C.]] will remain banned for a further three years.<ref name=":0" />
* [[July 11]] – Terrorists blow up a passenger bus travelling from [[Kalbajar]] to [[Tartar District|Tartar]] in Azerbaijan. 14 people are killed, 35 wounded.<ref name="supremecourt.gov.az">{{cite web|url=http://www.supremecourt.gov.az/?mod=2&cat=305&c=1&id=142&lang=en&t=g|title=Azərbaycan Respublikası Ali Məhkəməsi|work=supremecourt.gov.az|access-date=June 7, 2018|archive-date=March 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306163018/http://supremecourt.gov.az/?c=1&cat=305&id=142&lang=en&mod=2&t=g|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[July 12]] – ''[[Foster v British Gas plc]]'' decided in the [[European Court of Justice]], a leading case on the definition of the "state" under [[European Union law]].
* [[July 13]] – The [[Lenin Peak disaster]] occurs when an earthquake triggers an avalanche in the [[Pamir Mountains]] with the loss of 43 lives.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web |title=M 6.4 - 50 km S of Jurm, Afghanistan |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usp0004bt0/executive |website=earthquake.usgs.gov |publisher=[[U.S. Geological Survey]] |access-date=13 October 2021 |archive-date=August 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809153211/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usp0004bt0/executive |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[July 16]]
** [[1990 Luzon earthquake]]: An earthquake measuring {{M|w|7.7|link=yes}} kills more than 2,400 in the [[Philippines]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Remembering the 1990 Luzon Earthquake|url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/remembering-1990-luzon-earthquake|access-date=2021-11-17|website=Rappler|language=en|archive-date=November 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117051936/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/remembering-1990-luzon-earthquake|url-status=dead}}</ref>
** By the end of June, Saddam and his lieutenants suspect a conspiracy against Iraq, devised by Kuwait and orchestrated by the US. Earlier in July they threaten invasion on Kuwait unless $10 billion is sent to Iraq from Kuwait. When Kuwait refuses, on July 16, Iraqi forces begin to gather in southern Iraq near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border.
* [[July 22]] – First round of the [[1990 Mongolian parliamentary election|Mongolian parliamentary election]], the first multiparty ever held in [[Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolia]]; the [[Mongolian People's Party]] wins by a wide margin after the second round of voting on July 29.
* [[July 25]]
** [[George Carey]], [[Bishop of Bath and Wells]], is named as the new [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] in the Church of England.
** The [[Serb Democratic Party (Croatia)]] declares the [[sovereignty]] of the [[Serbs]] in [[Croatia]].
** [[Roseanne Barr]] infamously sings "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" extremely poorly, causing controversy.
* [[July 26]] – U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] signs the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]], designed to protect disabled Americans from discrimination.
* [[July 27]]
** The parliament building and a government television house in [[Port of Spain]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]] are stormed by the [[Jamaat al Muslimeen]] in a [[coup d'état]] attempt which lasts five days. Approximately 26 to 30 people are killed and several are wounded (including the [[List of prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago|prime minister]], [[A. N. R. Robinson]], who is shot in the leg).
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: [[Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic|Belarus]] declares its sovereignty, a key step toward independence from the [[Soviet Union]].
* [[July 28]] – [[Alberto Fujimori]] becomes [[president of Peru]].
* [[July 30]] – British politician and former Member of Parliament [[Ian Gow]] is assassinated by a [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] [[car bomb]] outside his home in England.

===August===
* [[August 1]]
** The [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|National Assembly of Bulgaria]] elects [[Zhelyu Zhelev]] as the first non-Communist [[President of Bulgaria]] in 40 years.
** [[RELCOM]] is created in the [[Soviet Union]] by combining several computer networks. Later in August, the Soviet Union got its first connection to the [[Internet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.i-love-moscow.com/russian-internet.html|title=Russian Internet|work=i-love-moscow.com|access-date=June 29, 2018|archive-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630025002/http://www.i-love-moscow.com/russian-internet.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[August 2]]
** [[Gulf War]]: [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invades Kuwait]], eventually leading to the [[Gulf War]].
** The first [[Smoking ban|ban of smoking]] in bars in the US (and possibly the world) is passed in [[San Luis Obispo, California]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19900803&id=SUNWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2290,436246|title=Smokers jeer, tobacco foes cheer as strictest U.S. ban takes effect|newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard|date=August 3, 1990|access-date=November 7, 2020|archive-date=January 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105005447/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19900803&id=SUNWAAAAIBAJ&pg=2290,436246|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[August 6]]
** [[Gulf War]]: With [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 661]] the [[United Nations Security Council]] orders a global [[trade embargo]] against [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] in response to its invasion of [[Kuwait]].
** [[President of Pakistan]] [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]] dismisses [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]] [[Benazir Bhutto]], accusing her of corruption and abuse of power.
** The South African government and ANC begin talks on ending [[Apartheid]].
* [[August 8]]
** Iraq announces its formal annexation of Kuwait.
** The [[government of Peru]] announces an austerity plan that results in huge increases in the price of food and gasoline. The plan sets off days of rioting and a national strike on August 21.
* [[August 10]]
** [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], and 10 other [[Arab states]] vote to send military forces to Saudi Arabia to discourage an invasion from Iraq.
** A passenger bus, traveling along the route "Tbilisi-Agdam", is blown up; 20 people died and 30 were injured. The organizers of the crime were [[Armenians in Georgia|Armenians]] A. Avanesian and M. Tatevosian who were brought to criminal trial.<ref name="supremecourt.gov.az"/>
* [[August 12]]
** In South Africa, fighting breaks out between the [[Xhosa people]] and the [[Zulu people]]; more than 500 people are killed by the end of August.
** "[[Sue (dinosaur)|Sue]]", the best preserved ''[[Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' specimen ever found, is discovered near [[Faith, South Dakota]], United States, by [[Sue Hendrickson]].
*[[August 15]] – In Latvia, [[Viktor Tsoi]], co-founder and lead singer of the Soviet rock band [[Kino (band)|Kino]], dies in a car accident on the [[Sloka, Latvia|Sloka]]–[[Talsi]] highway.<ref>Watrous, Peter (22 August 1990). "[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/22/obituaries/viktor-tsoi-singer-and-songwriter-28-star-of-soviet-rock.html Viktor Tsoi, Singer And Songwriter, 28; Star of Soviet Rock]". ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 25 February 2025.</ref>
* [[August 21]] – [[The Gambia]], [[Ghana]], [[Guinea]], [[Nigeria]], and [[Sierra Leone]] send [[Peacekeeping|peacekeepers]] to intervene in the [[First Liberian Civil War]].
* [[August 23]] – [[East Germany]] and [[West Germany]] announce they will unite on [[October 3]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyorb.com/date/1990/august/23|title=Today in History for 23rd August 1990|work=HistoryOrb|date=August 23, 1990|access-date=2013-01-17|archive-date=September 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916044932/http://www.historyorb.com/date/1990/august/23|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[August 24]]
** The [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenian SSR]] declares its independence from the [[Soviet Union]].
** [[Northern Ireland]] writer [[Brian Keenan (writer)|Brian Keenan]] is released from [[Lebanon]] after being held [[Lebanon hostage crisis|hostage]] for nearly 5 years.
** Indonesian commercial television network [[SCTV (TV network)|SCTV]] was established as the nation's third television station after [[RCTI]], and also debuted as local television channel in [[Surabaya]]. During its earlier days, SCTV was the rival for [[RCTI]], the first commercial television network. SCTV began broadcasting nationwide from Jakarta by [[January 29]], [[1991]].
* [[August 26]] – In [[Sofia]], protesters set fire to the headquarters of the governing [[Bulgarian Socialist Party]].
* [[August 28]] – The [[1990 Plainfield tornado|Plainfield Tornado]] (F5 on the [[Fujita scale]]) strikes the towns of [[Plainfield, Illinois|Plainfield]], [[Crest Hill, Illinois|Crest Hill]], and [[Joliet, Illinois]], killing 29 people (the strongest tornado to date to strike the [[Chicago metropolitan area]]).

===September===
* [[September 1]]–[[September 10|10]] – [[Pope John Paul II]] visits [[Tanzania]], [[Burundi]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Ivory Coast]].
* [[September 2]] – [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: [[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Transnistria]] declares its independence from the [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldavian SSR]]; however, the declaration is not recognized by any government.
* [[September 4]] – [[Geoffrey Palmer (New Zealand politician)|Geoffrey Palmer]] resigns as [[Prime Minister of New Zealand]] and is replaced by [[Mike Moore (New Zealand politician)|Mike Moore]].<ref>{{cite book | last= Bassett | first= Michael | author-link=Michael Bassett | title=Working with David: Inside the Lange Cabinet | year=2008 | publisher=Hodder Moa | location=Auckland | isbn=978-1-86971-094-1 |page=536}}</ref>
* [[September 4]]–[[September 6|6]] – [[Premier of North Korea]] [[Yon Hyong-muk]] meets with [[President of South Korea]] [[Roh Tae-woo]], the highest level contact between leaders of the two Koreas since [[1945]].
* [[September 5]] – [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]]: Sri Lankan Army soldiers [[Eastern University massacre|massacre]] 158 civilians.
* [[September 6]] – In [[Myanmar]], the [[State Peace and Development Council|State Law and Order Restoration Council]] orders the arrest of [[Aung San Suu Kyi]] and five other political dissidents.
* [[September 9]]
** U.S. President Bush and Soviet President Gorbachev meet in [[Helsinki]] to discuss the Persian Gulf crisis.
** [[First Liberian Civil War]]: [[Liberia]]n president [[Samuel Doe]] is captured by rebel leader [[Prince Johnson]] and killed in a filmed execution.
** [[Sri Lankan civil war|Sri Lankan Civil War]]: Sri Lankan Army soldiers [[1990 Batticaloa massacre|massacre]] 184 civilians in [[Batticaloa]].
* [[September 10]] – The first [[Pizza Hut]] opens up in the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="newsbank1">{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PBPB&p_theme=pbpb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF83915FDC366B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Archive for PBP – www.palmbeachpost.com|work=newsbank.com|access-date=June 23, 2013|archive-date=October 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012174424/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PBPB&p_theme=pbpb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF83915FDC366B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[September 11]]
** [[Gulf War]]: U.S. President [[George H. W. Bush]] delivers a nationally televised speech in which he threatens the use of force to remove [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraqi]] soldiers from [[Kuwait]].
** First [[Pizza Hut]] opens in the People's Republic of China, nearly 3 years after the first [[KFC]] opened there in [[1987]].<ref name="newsbank1"/>
* [[September 12]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The two German states and the [[Allied Control Council|Four Powers]] sign the [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany]] in Moscow, paving the way for [[German reunification]].
** A judge in Australia orders the arrest of media tycoon [[Christopher Skase]], former owner of the [[Seven Network]], after he fails to give evidence in a liquidator's examination of failed shipbuilding company Lloyds Ships Holdings, an associate of Skase's [[Qintex]] Australia Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://articles.latimes.com/keyword/christopher-skase|title=Articles about Christopher Skase – Los Angeles Times|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=February 20, 2020|archive-date=October 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024030400/http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/christopher-skase|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[September 18]]
** The [[International Olympic Committee]] awards the [[1996 Summer Olympics]] to [[Atlanta]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/19/sports/atlanta-selected-over-athens-for-1996-olympics.html?mcubz=0|title=Atlanta selected over Athens for 1996 Olympics|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 18, 2017|date=September 19, 1990|first=Steven R.|last=Weisman|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918110644/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/19/sports/atlanta-selected-over-athens-for-1996-olympics.html?mcubz=0|url-status=live}}</ref>
** [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] assassination attempt on the life of Air Chief Marshal Sir [[Peter Terry]] at his home near [[Stafford]], England. Hit by at least 9 bullets, the former [[Governor of Gibraltar]] survives, as does his wife, Lady Betty Terry, who is also shot (most likely by accident).
* [[September 24]] – The [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]] grants Gorbachev special powers for 18 months to secure the Soviet Union's transition to a [[market economy]].
* [[September 27]] – [[David Souter]] is confirmed to serve on the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]], replacing retiring Justice [[William J. Brennan Jr.]].
* [[September 29]]
** [[Washington National Cathedral]] is finished.
** The [[Tampere Hall]], the largest concert and congress center in the [[Nordic countries]], was inaugurated in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]].<ref>[https://www.epressi.com/tiedotteet/kulttuuri-ja-taide/kulttuurin-superviikko-tampere-talossa-tero-saarisen-uutuusteos-satuoopperoiden-maailmanensi-ilta-ja-talon-synttariesitys.html Kulttuurin superviikko Tampere-talossa: Tero Saarisen uutuusteos, satuoopperoiden maailmanensi-ilta ja talon synttäriesitys] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826085340/https://www.epressi.com/tiedotteet/kulttuuri-ja-taide/kulttuurin-superviikko-tampere-talossa-tero-saarisen-uutuusteos-satuoopperoiden-maailmanensi-ilta-ja-talon-synttariesitys.html |date=August 26, 2021 }} - ePressi (in Finnish)</ref>
* [[September 29]]–[[September 30|30]] – The [[United Nations]] [[World Summit for Children]] draws more than 70 world leaders to [[United Nations Headquarters]].
* [[September 30]] – The [[New Revised Standard Version]] of the Bible is officially introduced.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=Ari L. |date=September 28, 1990 |title=New Bible: 'Thee' Goes Way of All Flesh |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/28/us/new-bible-thee-goes-way-of-all-flesh.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>

=== October ===
* [[October]] 
** [[Tim Berners-Lee]] begins his work on the [[World Wide Web]], 19 months after his seminal [[1989]] outline of what would become the Web concept.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/Longer.html|title=Tim Berners-Lee bio|work=w3.org|access-date=June 7, 2018|archive-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515224533/http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/Longer.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
** The [[Messeturm]] skyscraper in [[Frankfurt]] is completed, making it the [[List of tallest buildings in Europe|tallest building]] in Europe, a distinction it will carry until 1997, when it is surpassed by the [[Commerzbank Tower]], also in Frankfurt.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=The 1991 World Book Year Book: A Review of the Events of 1990. |publisher=World Book, Inc. |year=1991 |isbn=0-7166-0491-4 |editor-last=Zeleny |editor-first=Robert O. |location=Chicago |pages=429}}</ref>
* [[October 1]] 
** The rebel [[Rwandan Patriotic Front]] invades [[Rwanda]] from [[Uganda]], marking the start of the [[Rwandan Civil War]].
** The [[Soviet Union]] enacts a law permitting [[Religion in the Soviet Union|religious freedom]], ending government interference in religious activity and permitting Soviet citizens to engage in private religious study in their homes.<ref>{{Cite news |first= |date=September 27, 1990 |title=Soviets Back Law on Religious Freedom |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/09/27/world/soviets-back-law-on-religious-freedom.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[October 2]] – According to The Civil Aviation of China, [[1990 Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions|two commercial planes collide on the runway]] at the [[Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (former)|Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport]], [[Guangdong]], [[China]]. The total death toll is 128; 53 people were wounded, 97 were rescued.{{page needed|date=May 2020}}
* [[October 3]] – [[Cold War]]: [[East Germany]] and [[West Germany]] [[German reunification#German Reunification Treaty|reunify]] into a single [[Germany]].
* [[October 4]] – [[Moro conflict]]: Rebel forces seize two military posts on the island of [[Mindanao]], [[Philippines]] before surrendering on October 6.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Yabes|first=Criselda|date=1990-10-04|title=PHILIPPINE TROOPS LAUNCH REBELLION ON MINDANAO ISLAND|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1990/10/04/philippine-troops-launch-rebellion-on-mindanao-island/198eb280-e0df-40b9-b9b9-fb02218469f7/|access-date=2021-11-18|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=1990-10-06|title=Philippine Rebellion Ends in Surrender : Mindanao: A renegade colonel gives himself up, and government forces recover two military camps on southern island.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-06-mn-1418-story.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-18|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118004233/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-10-06-mn-1418-story.html |archive-date=November 18, 2021 }}</ref>
* [[October 6]] – White supremacist [[David Duke]] receives 44% of the vote in the Louisiana [[United States Senate|Senate race]], but ultimately loses the vote to [[J. Bennett Johnston|Bennett Johnson]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zeskind |first=Leonard |date=October 9, 1990 |title=For Duke, Just a Start? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/09/opinion/for-duke-just-a-start.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[October 8]]
** [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]: In [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]]i police kill 17 [[Palestinians]] and wound over 100 near the [[Dome of the Rock]] mosque on the [[Temple Mount]].
** [[Globalization]]: The first [[McDonald's]] restaurant is opened in [[Mainland China]] in [[Shenzhen]], near Hong Kong.<ref name="McDonald's"/> Since 1979, Shenzhen has been a [[Special economic zone]].
*[[October 12]] – A leader of the right-wing [[Pamyat]] organization is arrested in the [[Soviet Union]] for spreading [[History of the Jews in the Soviet Union|antisemitic]] hatred.<ref name=":0" />
* [[October 13]] – [[Lebanese Civil War]]: [[Syria]]n military forces invade and occupy [[Mount Lebanon]], ousting General [[Michel Aoun]]'s government. This effectively consolidates Syria's 14 year occupation of Lebanese soil and ends the civil war.
* [[October 14]] – Regional elections are held in the five East German states that replace the 14 districts of the GDR. The Christian Democrats become the strongest party in four of the five states while the Social Democrats lead in the state of Brandenburg. 
* [[October 15]] 
** South Africa ends segregation of libraries, trains, buses, toilets, swimming pools, and other public facilities.
** [[United Airlines]] announces a purchase order of 128 wide-body aircraft from [[Boeing]], including several [[Boeing 777]]s, in an order totaling $22 billion, the largest order in aviation history to that point.<ref name=":0" />
* [[October 17]]
** [[North Kalimantan Communist Party]] insurgents sign a peace agreement which formally ends 28 years of [[Communist insurgency in Sarawak]].
** A [[Financial services|major financial service]] of [[Russia]], [[VTB Bank]] is founded in [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia SSR]], former part of [[Soviet Union]], as predecessor name was Vneshtorg Bank.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
* [[October 19]] – The [[Supreme Soviet]] approves a "middle course" of [[Perestroika|economic reform]]: gradual introduction of market controls.<ref name=":0" />
* [[October 21]] – The remains of the former [[Estonian head of state]], [[Konstantin Päts]], found in the [[Tver]] region in Russia, are brought to [[Tallinn]] and buried at state expense in the [[Metsakalmistu]] cemetery.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.videvik.ee/?id=1939 |title=Kuidas leiti K. Pätsi põrm |trans-title=How K. Päts' ashes were found |journal=[[Videvik]] |date=11 November 2010 |language=et |access-date=October 17, 2021 |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720130426/http://www.videvik.ee/?id=1939 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Haav |first=Margus |url=http://www.sakala.ajaleht.ee/?id=373818 |title=Esimese presidendi viimne teekond kodumulda algas uskumatult |trans-title=The first president's last journey to the home soil began incredibly |journal=[[Sakala (newspaper)|Sakala]] |date=18 January 2011 |language=et |access-date=October 17, 2021 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309162246/http://www.sakala.ajaleht.ee/?id=373818 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[October 22]] – [[Nizhny Novgorod]] restores its official name from Gorky, [[Volga Federal District]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]].
* [[October 24]]
** In the [[1990 Pakistani general election|Pakistani general election]], Prime Minister Bhutto's [[Pakistan People's Party]] loses power to a center-right coalition government led by the [[Islami Jamhoori Ittehad]] party.
** Italian Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]] reveals the existence of [[Operation Gladio]], a clandestine [[NATO]] "[[stay-behind]]" operation in [[Italy]] during the [[Cold War]].
* [[October 27]]
** [[Cold War (1985–1991)|Cold War]]: The [[Supreme Soviet]] of the [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kirghiz SSR]] selects [[Askar Akayev]] as the republic's first [[President of Kyrgyzstan|president]].
** The [[New Zealand National Party]] wins the [[1990 New Zealand general election|New Zealand general election]], and its leader, [[Jim Bolger]], becomes prime minister.
* [[October 29]] – In Norway, the government headed by [[Prime Minister of Norway]] [[Jan P. Syse]] collapses.
* [[October 30]] – The first transatlantic [[Fiber-optic cable|fiber optic cable]] [[TAT-8]] fails, causing a slowdown of Internet traffic between the United States and Europe.<ref>{{cite book|author=IDG Enterprise|title=Computerworld|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QZfeY52SPOgC|year=1990|publisher=IDG Enterprise|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QZfeY52SPOgC/page/n103 14]}}</ref>

===November===
* November – The earliest known portable [[digital camera]] sold in the United States ships.<ref>{{citation |url=|title=Digital cameras, the next wave. (Electronic Imaging Issue; includes related articles) }}</ref>
* [[November 2]] – [[British Satellite Broadcasting]] and [[Sky Television (1984–1990)|Sky Television plc]] merge to form [[BSkyB]] as a result of massive losses.
* [[November 3]] – [[Gro Harlem Brundtland]] assumes office as [[Prime Minister of Norway]].
* [[November 5]] – Rabbi [[Meir Kahane]], founder of the far-right [[Kach (political party)|Kach movement]], is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
* [[November 6]] – [[Nawaz Sharif]] is sworn in as the [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]].
* [[November 7]]
** Indian Prime Minister Singh resigns over losing a confidence vote in the [[Parliament of India]], having lost the support of Hindus who want a [[Muslim]] [[mosque]] in [[Ayodhya]] torn down to build a [[Hindu temple]].
** [[Mary Robinson]] defeats odds-on favorite [[Brian Lenihan Snr|Brian Lenihan]] to become the first female [[President of Ireland]].
** The [[1990 October Revolution Parade|final military parade]] to mark the anniversary of the [[October Revolution|Great October Socialist Revolution]] takes place in the USSR.
* [[November 9]]
** A new constitution comes into effect in the [[Kingdom of Nepal]], establishing multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy; this is the culmination of the [[1990 Nepalese revolution|1990 People's Movement]].
** The [[Parliament of Singapore]] enacts the [[Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act]].
* [[November 10]] – [[Chandra Shekhar]] becomes [[Prime Minister of India]] as head of a minority government.
* [[November 12]]
** [[Akihito]] is enthroned as the 125th emperor of Japan following the death of [[Hirohito|his father]] on January 7, [[1989]].
** [[Tim Berners-Lee]] publishes a more formal proposal for the [[World Wide Web]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/Proposal |first1=T. |last1=Berners-Lee |first2=R. |last2=Cailliau |title=WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project |date=November 12, 1990 |access-date=2013-01-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219024023/http://www.w3.org/Proposal |archive-date=December 19, 2012 }}</ref>
* [[November 13]]
** The first known [[web page]] is written.<ref>{{cite web|title=Links and Anchors|url=http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/Link.html|access-date=2013-01-17|archive-date=August 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811235723/http://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/Link.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
** In New Zealand, David Gray kills 13 people in what will become known as the [[Aramoana massacre]].
* [[November 14]] – Germany and Poland sign a [[German–Polish Border Treaty|treaty]] confirming the border at the [[Oder–Neisse line]].
* [[November 15]]
** ''[[STS-38]]'': [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']] is launched on a classified U.S. military mission.
** President Bush signed new [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]], focused on urban pollution and cancer-causing emissions from industrial sources.
** [[People's Republic of Bulgaria]] is dissolved after the seventh [[Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria|Grand National Assembly]] voted to change the country's name to the Republic of Bulgaria and removed the Communist state emblem from the national flag.
* [[November 17]] – Soviet President Gorbachev proposes a radical restructuring of the Soviet government, including the creation of a Federal Council to be made up of the heads of the 15 [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet republics]].
* [[November 19]]–[[November 21|21]] – The leaders of Canada, the United States, and 32 European states meet in Paris to formally mark the [[Cold War (1985–1991)#End of the Cold War|end of the Cold War]].
* [[November 20]] – [[Andrei Chikatilo]], one of the Soviet Union's most prolific [[serial killer]]s, is arrested in [[Novocherkassk]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Conradi|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Conradi|title=The Red Ripper: Inside the Mind of Russia's Most Brutal Serial Killer|publisher=True Crime|location=London|year=1992|isbn=0-440-21603-6|page=193}}</ref>
* [[November 21]]
** The [[Paris Charter|Charter of Paris for a New Europe]] is signed.
** [[Nintendo]] releases the [[Super Famicom]] in Japan alongside its launch games ''[[Super Mario World]]'' and ''[[F-Zero (video game)|F-Zero]]''.
* [[November 22]] – British PM [[Margaret Thatcher]] announces she will not contest the second ballot of the [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|leadership election]] for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].
* [[November 25]] – [[Lech Wałęsa]] and [[Stanisław Tymiński]] win the first round of the [[1990 Polish presidential election|first Polish presidential election]].
* [[November 27]] – Women's suffrage is introduced in the last Swiss half-canton of [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]].
* [[November 28]]
** [[Prime Minister of Singapore]] [[Lee Kuan Yew]] resigns and is replaced by [[Goh Chok Tong]].
** The first female [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], resigns after 11 years and is replaced by [[John Major]].
* [[November 29]]
** [[Gulf War]]: The [[United Nations Security Council]] passes [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 678|UN Security Council Resolution 678]], authorizing military intervention in [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]] if that state does not withdraw its forces from [[Kuwait]] and free all foreign hostages by Tuesday, January 15, [[1991]].
** [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria]] [[Andrey Lukanov]] and his government of former communists resign under pressure from strikes and street protests.

=== December ===
* [[December 1]]
** [[Channel Tunnel]] workers from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the [[English Channel]] seabed, establishing the first land connection between Great Britain and the mainland of Europe for around 8,000 years.
** [[List of heads of state of Chad|President of Chad]] [[Hissène Habré]] is deposed by the [[Patriotic Salvation Movement]] and replaced as president by its leader [[Idriss Déby]].
* [[December 2]] – The [[1990 German federal election|German federal election]] (the first election held since [[German reunification]]) is won by [[Helmut Kohl]], who remains [[Chancellor of Germany]].
** [[People's Republic of Benin]] is dissolved after a constitutional referendum.
* [[December 3]]
** [[1990 Wayne County Airport runway collision]]: At [[Detroit Metropolitan Airport]], Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 (a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9]]) collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 (a [[Boeing 727]]) on the runway, killing 8 passengers and 4 crew members.
** [[Mary Robinson]] begins her term as [[President of Ireland]], becoming the first female to hold this office.
* [[December 6]] – President [[Hussain Muhammad Ershad]] of [[Bangladesh]] is forced to resign following massive protests; he is replaced by [[Shahabuddin Ahmed]], who becomes interim president.
* [[December 7]] – The [[National Assembly (Bulgaria)|National Assembly of Bulgaria]] elects [[Dimitar Iliev Popov]] as [[Prime Minister of Bulgaria]].
* [[December 9]]
** [[Slobodan Milošević]] elected President of [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serbia]] in first round, [[1990 Serbian general election|general elections]] won by his Socialist Party.
** [[Lech Wałęsa]] wins the 2nd round of Poland's [[1990 Polish presidential election|first presidential election]].
* [[December 11]] 
** [[Fall of communism in Albania]]: [[Ramiz Alia]], leader of the [[People's Socialist Republic of Albania]], following massive demonstrations by students and workers, announces that a free national election will be held next spring of 1991 with political parties other than the [[Party of Labour of Albania|Party of Labour]] permitted; an opposition [[Democratic Party of Albania|Democratic Party]] is formed the following day.
** A multi-vehicle traffic collision known as the [[1990 Interstate 75 fog disaster]] occurs; 12 deaths and 42 were caused by this event<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newschannel9.com/news/local/stumbling-out-of-the-fog-memories-of-the-worst-traffic-accident-in-tennessee-history|title="Stumbling Out of the Fog:" Memories of the Worst Traffic Accident in Tennessee History|date=December 11, 2015|access-date=December 21, 2021|archive-date=December 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221175159/https://newschannel9.com/news/local/stumbling-out-of-the-fog-memories-of-the-worst-traffic-accident-in-tennessee-history|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[December 13]] – Murder charges against Dr. [[Jack Kevorkian]] are dismissed in Michigan, related to the April [[Assisted suicide|assisted-suicide]] death of an [[Alzheimer's disease|Alzheimer's]] patient, Janet Adkins. A state judge determined that Kevorkian only provided the [[Euthanasia device|means]] for Ms. Adkins to die. This is the first of numerous cases to be brought against Kevorkian over the next decade.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewin |first=Tamar |date=December 14, 1990 |title=Doctor Cleared of Murdering Woman With Suicide Machine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/14/news/doctor-cleared-of-murdering-woman-with-suicide-machine.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>
* [[December 16]] – [[Jean-Bertrand Aristide]] is [[1990–91 Haitian general election|elected]] [[president of Haiti]], ending 3 decades of military rule.
* [[December 18]] – President [[Kenneth Kaunda]] agrees to allow multiparty elections in [[Zambia]] after 17 years of single-party rule.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 18, 1990 |title=After 17 Years, Zambia Allows Opposition |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/18/world/after-17-years-zambia-allows-opposition.html |access-date=2025-05-30 |work=New York Times|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
* [[December 20]]
** [[Eduard Shevardnadze]] announces his resignation as [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
** Tim Berners-Lee completes the test for the first webpage at [[CERN]].
* [[December 22]]
** The first [[Constitution of Croatia|constitution]] of the [[Croatia]] is adopted.
** The [[Marshall Islands]] and [[Federated States of Micronesia]] become independent, following the termination of their trusteeship.
** In Warsaw [[Lech Wałęsa]] takes the oath of office as [[President of Poland]], succeeding [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]]. [[Ryszard Kaczorowski]], head of the [[Polish government-in-exile]], hands over the insignia of presidential power to Wałęsa as a sign of the dissolution of the exiled government that had had its seat in London since 1939. 
* [[December 23]] – In the [[1990 Slovenian independence referendum|Slovenian independence referendum]], 88.5% of the overall electorate (94.8% of votes), with the turnout of 93.3%, support independence of the country.
* [[December 24]] – [[Ramsewak Shankar]] is ousted as [[President of Suriname]] by a military coup.
* [[December 25]] – [[Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov|Russian aircraft carrier ''Admiral Kuznetsov'']] is commissioned.
** The inventor of the [[World Wide Web]], [[Tim Berners-Lee]], is [[British people|British]]. The First File Server successfully transferred data on this day. <ref>{{|url=https://lifeintheuktest.com/life-in-the-uk-test-book/ |work=UK Home Office}}</ref>
* [[December 30]] – Russian [[Garry Kasparov]] holds his title by winning the [[World Chess Championship]] match against his countryman [[Anatoly Karpov]].

===World population===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="8"|[[World population]]
|-
!
!1990
!colspan="3"|[[1985]]
!colspan="3"|[[1995]]
|-
!World
|align="right"|'''5,263,593,000'''
|align="right"|4,830,979,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 432,614,000
|align="right"| +8.95%
|align="right"|5,674,380,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 410,787,000
|align="right"| +7.80%
|-
!Africa
|align="right"|'''622,443,000'''
|align="right"|541,718,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 80,629,000
|align="right"| +14.88%
|align="right"|707,462,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 85,019,000
|align="right"| +13.66%
|-
!Asia
|align="right"|'''3,167,807,000'''
|align="right"|2,887,552,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 280,255,000
|align="right"| +9.71%
|align="right"|3,430,052,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 262,245,000
|align="right"| +8.28%
|-
!Europe
|align="right"|'''721,582,000'''
|align="right"|706,009,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 15,573,000
|align="right"| +2.21%
|align="right"|727,405,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 5,823,000
|align="right"| +0.81%
|-
!Latin America
|align="right"|'''441,525,000'''
|align="right"|401,469,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 40,056,000
|align="right"| +9.98%
|align="right"|481,099,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 39,574,000
|align="right"| +8.96%
|-
!North America
|align="right"|'''283,549,000'''
|align="right"|269,456,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 14,093,000
|align="right"| +5.23%
|align="right"|299,438,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 15,889,000
|align="right"| +5.60%
|-
!Oceania
|align="right"|'''26,687,000'''
|align="right"|24,678,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 2,009,000
|align="right"| +8.14%
|align="right"|28,924,000
|align="right"|[[File:Green Arrow Up.svg|10px]] 2,237,000
|align="right"| +8.38%
|}

== Births and deaths ==
{{Main|:Category:1990 births|Deaths in 1990}}

==Nobel Prizes==
[[File:Nobel medal.png|right|120px]]
* [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] – [[Jerome Isaac Friedman]], [[Henry Way Kendall]], and [[Richard E. Taylor|Richard Edward Taylor]]
* [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]] – [[Elias James Corey]]
* [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine]] – [[Joseph Murray]], [[E. Donnall Thomas]]
* [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature]] – [[Octavio Paz]]<ref name="Nobel Prize Literature 1990">{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Prize in Literature 1990 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1990/paz/facts/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace]] – [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]<ref>{{cite web |date=15 October 1990 |title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1990 |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1990/press.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108202031/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1990/press.html |archive-date=8 November 2010 |access-date=3 November 2010 |publisher=Nobel Foundation}}</ref>
* [[Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences|Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel]] – [[Harry Markowitz]], [[Merton Miller]], [[William F. Sharpe]]

==Fields Medal==
* [[Vladimir Drinfeld]], [[Vaughan Jones]], [[Shigefumi Mori]], [[Edward Witten]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Portal|1990s}}
{{Events by month links}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1990}}
[[Category:1990| ]]