1999 Newspaper Headlines
What events made it into the headlines of news articles from 1999? Major 1999 headlines provide a fascinating insight into what life was like as the world was poised on the brink of a new century. It was in 1999 that the first version of ‘MSN Messenger’ was released by Microsoft, the world population reached 6 billion, and the euro made its debut as the official European currency. It was also the year of the Columbine shooting at a school in America, which abruptly awakened everyone about the problematic gun laws in America. An authentic 1999 newspaper is a wonderful way to understand the past from first hand accounts of events as they happened at the time. Understand history through the words and images of those who were there at the time.
10th January 1999
A large piece of the chalk cliff at Beachy Head collapses into the sea.
27th February 1999
Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record while attempting to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon. They had been aloft for a record 233 hours and 55 minutes.
24th March 1999
NATO launches air strikes against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which refused to sign a peace treaty. This marks the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
5th April 1999
Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 are handed over to Scottish authorities for eventual trial in the Netherlands. The United Nations suspends sanctions against Libya.
26th April 1999
British television presenter Jill Dando, 37, is shot dead on the doorstep of her home in Fulham.
30th April 1999
Sir Alf Ramsey, the legendary 1966 English football manager (b. 1920) dies.
26th May 1999
The first Welsh Assembly in over 600 years opens in Cardiff.
26th May 1999
Manchester United wins the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp stadium, beating Bayern Munich in a dramatic extra-time finish. United claim ‘the Treble’, as they also win the FA Cup and the Premier League in 1999.
27th May 1999
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicts Slobodan Miloševic and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity, all committed in Kosovo.
29th May 1999
Cathy O’Dowd, a South African mountaineer, becomes the first woman to summit Mount Everest from both the north and south sides.
22nd July 1999
The first version of ‘MSN Messenger’ is released by Microsoft.
7th September 1999
An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 143 people and injuring more than 2,000.
12th October 1999
World population reaches six billion, as the United Nations declare the six billionth person is born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
31st December 1999
Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting president.
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