1990 Newspaper Headlines
Our range of 1990 newspaper articles features devastating, surprising, and heartwarming stories from all over the world. Which 1990 headlines were so shocking that they made it into the headlines of the nation’s biggest newspapers? Find out with an original 1990 newspaper chronicling the events as the happened through first hand accounts by journalists and photographers who were there at the time. It was during this year that Margaret Thatcher left her position as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, bringing an end to her 15 year long conservative party leadership. Other notable events include Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, an event which would act as a catalyst for the Gulf War, the freeing of political prisoner Nelson Mandela, and The launch of the Hubble Telescope into space.
February 2, 1990
Apartheid: President F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to legally function again in South Africa. He also promises to free Nelson Mandela.
February 11, 1990
James “Buster” Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson to win the World Heavyweight Boxing title.
February 11, 1990
Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison, near Cape Town, after 27 years in jail.
March 15, 1990
Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union.
March 21, 1990
After seventy-five years of South African rule, Namibia becomes independent.
May 2, 1990
In London, a man brandishing a knife robs courier John Goddard of bearer bonds worth $292 million.
June 1, 1990
U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks.
July 8, 1990
West Germany defeats Argentina 1-0 to win the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
August 2, 1990
Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.
August 24, 1990
Northern Ireland writer Brian Keenan is released from Lebanon after being held hostage for almost five years.
October 3, 1990
East Germany and West Germany reunify into a single Germany.
October 15, 1990
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and reform his nation.
November 28, 1990
Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister; John Major succeeds her as Party Leader and is appointed Prime Minister by the Queen.
December 1, 1990
Channel Tunnel workers from the United Kingdom and France meet forty metres beneath the English Channel seabed, establishing the first ground connection between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe since the last Ice Age.
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