1990Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, 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 amidst Perestroika. Yugoslavia's communist regime collapses amidst increasing internal tensions and multiparty elections held within its constituent republics result in separatist governments being elected in most of the republics marking the beginning of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
1826January 15 – The French newspaper Le Figaro begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. February 8 – Unitarian Bernardino Rivadavia becomes the first President of Argentina. February 11 University College London is founded, under the name University of London. Swaminarayan writes the Shikshapatri, an important text within Swaminarayan Hinduism.
August 29708 – Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708). 870 – The city of Melite surrenders to an Aghlabid army following a siege, putting an end to Byzantine Malta. 1009 – Mainz Cathedral suffers extensive damage from a fire, which destroys the building on the day of its inauguration. 1219 – Battle of Fariskur during the Fifth Crusade 1261 – Pope Urban IV succeeds Pope Alexander IV, becoming the 182nd pope.
19921992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. January 6 The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is proclaimed by the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. 1991–92 Georgian coup d'état: President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.
20222022 saw the removal of nearly all COVID-19 restrictions and the reopening of international borders in most countries, and the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continued. The global economic recovery from the pandemic continued, though many countries experienced an ongoing inflation surge; in response, many central banks raised their interest rates to landmark levels. The world population reached eight billion people in 2022, though the year also witnessed numerous natural disasters, including two devastating Atlantic hurricanes (Fiona and Ian), and the most powerful volcano eruption of the century so far.
1980January 1980 January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. January 9 – In Saudi Arabia, 63 Islamist insurgents are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November 1979. January 14 – Congress (I) party leader, Indira Gandhi returns to power as the Prime Minister of India. January 20 – At least 200 people are killed when the Corralejas Bullring collapses at Sincelejo, Colombia.
19881988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United States (NSFNET) and Europe (Nordunet) as well as the first Internet-based chat protocol, Internet Relay Chat. The concept of the World Wide Web was first discussed at CERN in 1988. The Soviet Union began its major deconstructing towards a mixed economy at the beginning of 1988 and began its gradual dissolution.
1994The year 1994 was designated as the "International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In Line Islands and Phoenix Islands, this year has only 364 days as Saturday, December 31 was skipped when 1995 began after Friday, December 30. That means aligning the rest of Kiribati within its capital Tarawa by redrawing the international date line on its territorial boundaries. January 1 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is established.
20102010 was designated as: International Year of Biodiversity International Year of Youth 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures There is a debate among experts and the general public on how to pronounce specific years of the 21st century in English. The year 2010 is pronounced either "twenty-ten" or "two thousand [and] ten". 2010 was the first year to have a wide variation in pronunciation, as the years 2000 to 2009 were generally pronounced "two thousand (and) one, two, three, etc.
