istoryworld
All Events
A new party, the National League for Democracy, is formed in Burma with Aung San Suu Kyi soon becoming its leader
Ayatollah Khomeini declares a fatwa against Salman Rushdie for his Satanic Verses
Barry Levinson directs Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise in the film Rain Man
The Liberals and the SDP merge in Britain to form a single political party, the Liberal Democrats
A cease-fire withdraws Cuban troops from Angola and South African forces from Angola and Namibia
British physicist Stephen Hawking explains the cosmos for the general reader in A Brief History of Time: from the Big Bang to Black Holes
The 'new and permanent' Parliament House of Australia is completed in Canberra
Britain stops funding Zimbabwe's purchase of land for redistribution, on the grounds that many of the farms are being given to the political elite
The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announces that Soviet troops will leave Afghanistan, handing victory to the mujaheddin
US athlete Carl Lewis sets a new world record for the 100 metres, winning gold at the Seoul Olympics
A woman is consecrated as Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts, becoming the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion's historic line of succession from St Peter
Yasser Arafat, leader of the PLO, declares that the organization renounces 'terrorism in all its forms'
US architect Frank Gehry builds a strikingly unconventional house for his family in Santa Monica
Osama bin Laden's involvement in the fight against Soviet forces in Afghanistan leads to his development of al-Qaeda
Leading New York Graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat dies of an overdose
The Iran-Iraq war ends with the border between the countries unchanged and more than a million dead
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein uses chemical weapons against the Kurds of northern Iraq
Aung San Suu Kyi returns to Burma from England, to look after her dying mother
Bernardo Bertolucci directs The Last Emperor, a film based on the life of Puyi, the last in China's imperial line
Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna wins the first of his three Formula One titles
Nine Roman Catholic cardinals attend the 1000th anniversary celebrations of the Russian people being brought into the Orthodox faith
English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage's first opera, Greek, is premiered in Munich
Augusto Pinochet, the only candidate in Chile's presidential election, resigns when he wins less than half the votes cast
English conceptual artist Damien Hirst organizes the first exhibition of the 'Young British Artists', also known as the Britpack
Australian author Peter Carey's novel Oscar and Lucinda wins the Booker Prize
