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On October 3, 1990, East Germany and West Germany reunified after decades of division, following the fall of the Berlin Wall. The reunification led to the creation of a single, democratic country and the end of the Cold War. -
The Persian Gulf War began on January 16, 1991, when the United States and its allies launched a massive air attack on Iraq in response to its invasion of Kuwait. The war lasted for 42 days and ended with a ceasefire on February 28, 1991. -
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on February 7, 1992, in the Dutch city of Maastricht, and created the European Union. The treaty aimed to promote political and economic integration between member states and established the euro as the single currency of the EU. -
The Oslo Accords were signed on September 13, 1993, in Washington, D.C., between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The agreement aimed to establish a framework for peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine. -
The Rwandan Genocide began on April 7, 1994, and lasted for 100 days, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu people. The genocide was sparked by the assassination of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. -
On April 19, 1995, a domestic terrorist attack occurred in Oklahoma City when a truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The attack, carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured hundreds more. -
The 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 19 to August 4, 1996. The games featured more than 10,000 athletes from 197 countries, and were the first Olympics to have a mascot, named Izzy. -
On July 1, 1997, the United Kingdom handed over control of Hong Kong to China, ending more than 150 years of British rule. The handover marked the beginning of the "one country, two systems" policy, which allows Hong Kong to maintain a degree of autonomy. -
On December 19, 1998, President Bill Clinton became the second president in U.S. history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. He was impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Monica Lewinsky scandal. -
The euro currency was introduced on January 1, 1999, as a virtual currency for electronic transactions. It became the official currency of 12 EU countries on January 1, 2002. -
The Y2K scare was a global event that took place on January 1, 2000, due to fears that computers and other electronic devices would fail to function properly at the start of the new millennium. However, the feared disasters did not occur. -
On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States, including the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Virginia. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and led to a significant shift in U.S. foreign and domestic policy. -
On January 1, 2002, the Euro currency was officially introduced as the sole currency for 12 EU countries, including Germany, France, and Italy. The Euro replaced national currencies like the German mark, French franc, and Italian lira. -
On March 20, 2003, the United States, along with a coalition of other countries, launched a military invasion of Iraq to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein. The war lasted until December 2011 and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of U.S. troops. -
On December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered a series of tsunamis that swept across the Indian Ocean, killing more than 200,000 people in 14 countries. -
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana, causing catastrophic damage and flooding in New Orleans and other coastal areas. The storm resulted in the deaths of more than 1,800 people and caused an estimated $125 billion in damages. -
On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a "dwarf planet," rather than a full-fledged planet, due to new criteria for defining what constitutes a planet. -
On June 29, 2007, Apple Inc. released the first iPhone, revolutionizing the smartphone industry with its touch screen, multi-touch interface, and wide range of applications. -
In 2008, a global financial crisis began with the collapse of the housing market in the United States and the bankruptcy of several major financial institutions. The crisis spread to other countries and led to a severe recession that lasted until 2009. -
On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the office. His election was seen as a milestone in the fight for civil rights and social justice. -
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, operated by BP, exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest offshore oil spill in history. The spill continued for 87 days, releasing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean and causing extensive environmental damage.