istoryworld
All Events
The Conservative government's poll tax is greeted with violent riots in London and a campaign of non-payment
Alberto Fujimori and his newly formed Cambio 90 party win a surprise election victory in Peru
Gérard Depardieu plays the title role in Cyrano de Bergerac, based on the play by Edmond Rostand
Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris establish the White Oak Dance Project as a touring company
Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi transforms Inkatha into a political party, the Inkatha Freedom Party
Three tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras) sing at a concert in Rome to celebrate the World Cup
The Palm House officially reopens, after being completely refurbished between 1952 and 1959; then taken down and rebuilt between 1985 and 1988, followed by the return of the plants.
Boris Yeltsin, impatient with the pace of reform under Gorbachev, resigns from the Communist party
UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, by now at odds with many in her cabinet, is challenged in a leadership contest and loses
Iraqi troops cross the border into Kuwait and are soon in control of the whole country and its oil wells
Benazir Bhutto's government is dismissed on corruption charges and her party loses the resulting elections
Saddam Hussein announces the annexation of Kuwait, claiming it to have been historically part of Iraq
Mary Robinson is elected president of the republic of Ireland, the first woman to hold the post
Julia Roberts and Richard Gere star in Pretty Woman, directed by Garry Marshall
East and West Germany are united in a new Federal Republic of Germany
Irish author Brian Friel's play Dancing at Lughnasa has its premiere at the Abbey Theatre
The Sadler's Wells ballet company moves to Birmingham, to become the Birmingham Royal Ballet
An army of the Rwandan Patriotic Front crosses the border from Uganda to invade Rwanda
West Indian author Derek Walcott publishes Omeros, an epic poem of the Caribbean
Tim Berners-Lee, working at CERN in Geneva, publishes the first formal proposal for the World Wide Web
Russian dancer Irek Mukhamedov leaves the Bolshoi company to join the Royal Ballet in London
The Piano Lesson is the second of August Wilson's plays to win a Pulitzer Prize
Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew steps down after 31 years in office
John Major is elected leader of the Conservative party and succeeds Thatcher as UK prime minister
Solidarnośc leader Lech Walesa wins Poland's first free presidential election
