Contemporary
Invention of the World Wide Web (1989) by Tim Berners-Lee
Berners-Lee created HTML, HTTP, URLs, the first web server and the first browser; CERN released the technology royalty-free in 1993, allowing the Web to spread worldwide.
Era · 1945 – present
Contemporary
From the Cold War and the Space Race to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world we live in today.
Contemporary
Reburial of Imre Nagy (1989): Hungary's Turning Point
Nagy and his fellow victims were honoured in a mass public ceremony; Hungary moved within months to multiparty democracy.
Contemporary
Pan-European Picnic (1989): The Border Opening at Sopron
Several hundred East Germans crossed into Austria; within weeks Hungary opened its border to all East Germans.
Contemporary
Polish Round Table Talks (1989): Negotiating the End of Communism
Solidarity was legalised again and semi-free elections were agreed, leading in August 1989 to the first non-communist-led government in the Soviet bloc.
Contemporary
Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig (1989): East Germany's Protests
Peaceful mass protests forced the East German leadership onto the defensive, contributing to Honecker's fall, the opening of the Berlin Wall and reunification.
Contemporary
1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake: The World Series Quake in California
The earthquake killed 63 people, injured about 3,800 and caused an estimated $6 billion or more in damage, prompting a major seismic retrofit program for California's bridges and freeways.
Contemporary
Baltic Way (1989): The Human Chain Across Three Nations
A human chain of about two million people drew world attention to the Baltic demand for independence, which was achieved in 1990–1991.
Contemporary
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989): Disaster in Prince William Sound
About 11 million US gallons of crude oil polluted some 1,300 miles of coastline; the disaster led to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and decades of litigation.
Contemporary
Romanian Revolution (1989): The Violent Fall of Ceaușescu
Ceaușescu's regime collapsed; he and his wife were executed on 25 December, and the National Salvation Front led by Ion Iliescu took power.
Contemporary
Velvet Revolution (1989): Czechoslovakia's Peaceful Overthrow
The Communist Party gave up its monopoly on power, a non-communist majority government was formed and Václav Havel was elected president.
Contemporary
Revolutions of 1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
Communist one-party rule ended in six Soviet-bloc states within a year, opening the way to German reunification and the end of the Cold War.
Contemporary
Release of Nelson Mandela (1990): Apartheid Begins to End
Mandela was freed unconditionally after 27 years in prison, opening formal negotiations to end apartheid.