Life In 1998

                     Life In 1998 (20 Years Ago)

-          Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence (Jan. 2^nd.)

-          A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction (Jan. 4^th.)

-          Pope John Paul II visits Cuba (Jan. 21^st.)

-          President Bill Clinton says "I want to say one thing to the American people; I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky" (Jan. 26^th.)

-          Intel unveils its 1st graphics chip i740 (Feb. 12^th.)

-          Britain's House of Lords agrees to end 1,000 years of male precedence by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first born son (Feb. 27^th.)

-          Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1 billion (March 1st.)

-          First time the British Union Flag is flown over Buckingham Palace (following the controversy after Princess Dian's death; formerly the only flag flown was the Sovereign's standard indicating the monarch's presence.) (March 6^th.)

-          Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust (March 16^th.)

-          Jonesboro massacre: Two students, ages 11 and 13, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are dead and ten are wounded (March 24^th.)

-          The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement for Northern Ireland is signed by the British and Irish governments ending 30 years of The Troubles (April 10^th.)

-          German terrorist group Red Army Faction announces their dissolution after 28 years (April 20^th.)

-          Israel celebrates it's 50th Anniversary of it's founding (May.)

-          The United States Supreme Court rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York (May 26^th.)

-          World’s biggest airport in the world opens in Hong Kong (July 6^th.)

-          In Saint Petersburg, Nicholas II of Russia and his family are buried in St. Catherine Chapel, 80 years after he and his family were killed by the Lenin-led Bolsheviks in 1918 (July 17th.)

-          1998 U.S. embassy bombings: The bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to terrorist Osama bin Laden, an exile of Saudi Arabia (August 7th.)

-          Devaluation of the rouble. The ruble lost 70% of its value against US dollar in 6 months . Several of the largest Russians banks collapsed, and millions of people lost their savings (Aug. 17th.)

-          Monica Lewinsky scandal: US President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony he had an "improper physical relationship" with the intern and on the same day admits before the nation he "misled people" about the relationship (Aug. 16^th.)

-          First RFID human implantation tested in the United Kingdom (Aug. 24^th.)

-          Google.com is registered as a domain name (Sept. 15^th.)-          Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is formed (Sept. 18^th.)

-          Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, is found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten by two young adults in Laramie, Wyoming (Oct. 7^th.)

-          Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat reach a "land for peace" agreement (Oct. 23^rd.)

-          Helmut Kohl resigns as Chancellor of Germany after 16 years, following a landslide defeat in elections (Oct. 27^th.)

-          ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of STS-95 space shuttle mission (Oct. 29^th.)

-          The European Court of Human Rights is instituted (Nov. 1^st.)

-          Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings against U.S. President Bill Clinton (Nov. 19^th.)

-          First module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched (Nov. 20^th.)

-          Exxon announces a $73.7 billion USD deal to buy Mobil, creating Exxon-Mobil, the world's largest company (Dec. 1^st.)

-          Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over a million people (Dec. 29^th.)

-          MP3s were created for the first time.

-          JetBlue Airways was founded.

-          Europeans agree on a single currency the Euro.

-          US Announces first budget surplus in 30 years.

-          Microsoft becomes biggest Company in the World valued at $261bn on the New York Stock Exchange.