Decades of the 20th century [1990-1999]

*Note: This decade was better known as the "electronic age". Many important devices were invented during this century. The people listed in this blog also influenced the 20th century.

Important Events of the Decade:

1990:

Born on July 18, 1918, Nelson Mandela was the former president of South Africa from May 1994 to June 1999. He was also the first president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. But before he became the president of South Africa, he had spent 27 years in prison, mostly on Robben Island for being anti-apartheid. The Judge had sentenced him to 27 years in jail on June, 12, 1964 and Nelson Mandela was freed from jail on February 11, 1990. Nelson Mandela’s famous quote was, “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.^”

From the London Herald:

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/ROS/SPL3163~Nelson-Mandela-Freed-Posters.jpg

1991:

The Soviet Union was made on December 1992 and lasted until 1991. THE SOVIET UNION IS NOT THE SAME AS RUSSIA this is a fact that most people often forget. The Soviet Union dominated the global agenda of economic policy, foreign affairs, military operations, cultural exchange, scientific advancements including the pioneering of space exploration, and sports. The Soviet Union had 15 union republics in 1956, but on July in the same year, another union republic was added. But when the union was dissolved in 1991, there were only 15 republics that were left. But those republics soon divided into independent countries but some were still organized under the commonwealth of independent states.

http://www.charleslipson.com/Images/Berlin-Reunification-celebration-Berlin-color.jpg

1993:

The event that happened on February 26, 1993, shocked many people. This event was the bombing of the world trade center. When the world trade center was bombed, 6 people were killed and 1042 people were injured. Truth was, that the bombers planned to kill 250000 or more people, and to make the world trade center in New York City collapse. The people who planned this attack was a group of Islamic terrorists: Ramzi Yousef, Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, El Sayyid Nosair, Mahmud Abouhalima, Mohammad Salameh Nidal Ayya Ajaj, and Abdul Rahman Yasin. They decided to plant a car bomb in the underground parking area, so that no one would know what happened, but all did not go according to their plan. The building did not collapse, and in October 1995, they were caught and were all sentenced to life imprisonment for being behind all the bombing.

http://www.tldm.org/News3/TradeCenter.jpg

Important People of the Decade:

: Bill Gates- Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955. He founded the software "Microsoft", with Paul Allen. Bill gates is also the richest man in the world since 1995 till today. The Time Magazine named Bill Gates as one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, 2006 and again in 2007. Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey were the only 2 people to make all four lists. Bill Gates was also said to be one of the top 100 people who influenced the media.

[http://www.thedigitaldecade.com/?p=41#comment-6]

: Oprah Winfrey-Oprah Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954. She was considered the richest woman in the entertainment buisness in the 20th century. She is also rumoured to be the world's most powerful woman. Oprah Winfrey was also said to be in the most influential woman in the world and that she was one of the top 100th that influenced the 20th century. This was, because she came from a poor african-american family and rose up to be one of the most famous pop stars in the world.

[http://www.kingworld.com/program/oprah.html]

: Princess Diana of Wales- Princess Diana was born on July 1, 1961. She had four siblings and was the youngest of the four. On February 29, 1981, she married Prince Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral, making her the Princess of Wales, but they were divorced on August 28, 1996. Princess Diana was known for her charity work. In the year 1997, she won the Nobel Prize , for helping make discimination against AID's victims less. She is also rumored to influence the signing of the Otawa Treaty just days before her death. Princess Diana died on August 31, 1997 during a speed car accident . Princess Diana was buried on September 6, 1997,at The Round Oval within Althorp Park's Pleasure Garden. After her death, many places also became a memorial for her.

[http://www.biography-and-biographies.com/Royalty/Princess-Diana.htm]

Important Technological Improvements of the Decade:

1992: Internet: The internet started to become public in the 1990's, and it was rumoured that it grew 100% each year. But the real growth was in 1996-1997 when more companies started to use the internet. The term internet also has two meanings. If the term internet is capitilized, then it would refer to the world wide IP interet. But if the term internet isn't capitilized, then it would mean an interconnected set of distinct networks. *IP means Internet protocal which provides the service of communicable unique global addressing amongst computers.

[http://my-chunqiu.cocolog-nifty.com/images/ie-icon-l.png]

1995: DVD: This device has two names. The "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc".. In the early 1990's, two businesses, Sony and Phillips were making the multimedia compact disc, while Toshiba, another business was making the super density disc. Lou Gerstner was the person who united all three businesses together, making the "DVD".the result of what came out.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DVD.png]

Extra:

Famous books of the Decade:

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1990: The Bourne Ultimatum-

This was the last book written by Robert Ludlum. It was 1# New York time's bestseller. This story is about a guy named David Webb ( Jason Bourne) who is trying to track down Carlos the Jackal who is trying to kill him. Since Carlos is getting old, he decides that he will do two things before he dies. Kill Bourne, and destroy the KGB facility that trained him, but then turned him away. Bourne hides his family near the Carribean and then sets out to kill Carlos before Carlos can kill him and his family. Then Webb fakes his own death to trick Carlos into thinking he has suceeded and to do his next goal which was to destroy the KGB facility. When Carlos and Bourne meet at the facility, they have a final confrontation where Carlos is killed and Bourne is free to go to his family.

A Famous Movie of the Decade:

1997: Titanic-

This movie recalls the time in 1912 when the boat the Titanic sank. This movie is about a woman called Rose DeWitt Bukater who was on the ship as the Titanic sank. This movie tells the story of Rose who when her father dies, is forced to marry a snobbish guy called Caledon Hockley. Since Rose doesn’t want to marry Caledon, she tries to commit suicide while on the boat “the Titanic”, but a drifter and an artist called Jack Dawson help persuade her not to do that. Rose and Jack’s relationship strengthens after that, but when Rose’s fiancé Cal knows, he forbids her to meet Jack again. Afterwards though, Jack gets to talk to Rose alone but she ignores her feeling for him. Finally though, Rose gives her heart to Jack & lets him draw her with the heart of the ocean around her neck. They both decide to run away together, but as they are about to leave, they witness the ship’s collision with an iceberg. Cal then finds Jack’s drawing of Rose and he traps Jack in a room. Rose then tries to help Jack, losing the chance of escaping on a lifeboat with her mother, in order to find and rescue Jack. Rose finds Jack and rescues him, but Cal gets jealous and gets a gun to shoot Jack so that he cannot be with Rose. Rose and Jack try to find another lifeboat, but all of them are already gone. The ship breaks in half and Cal and Rose fall into the water. They finally unite, but afterwards, Jack freezes to death. Rose doesn’t die though, because she promised Jack that she would live. The movie Titanic won 11 Academy awards, when it was released in 1997.

[http://www.shipsahoy.com/dml554.gif]

A Famous Musician of the Decade:

: Christina Aguilera- Her song Genie in the Bottle was her first and signature song from her debut album " Christina Aguilera". This song is considered to be one of her signature songs, because this song helped earn her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2000. It also helped her win the Best New Artist Grammy that same year.

[http://us.ent2.yimg.com/musicfinder.yahoo.com/images/yahoo/rca/christina_aguilera/christina_aguilera_4.jpg ]