This Year in History:
1999
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
On May 14, 1999, President Bill Clinton apologizes directly to Chinese President Jiang Zemin on the phone for the accidental NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, that…
“The streak is over…Susan Lucci!” announces Shemar Moore of The Young and the Restless on this night in 1999, right before presenting the Daytime Emmy Award for Best Actress to…
Some 1.3 million copies of Hannibal, the final book in the Hannibal Lecter series by Thomas Harris, arrive at bookstores around the country. Hannibal quickly tops the bestseller charts, despite—or…
On June 16, 1999, Kathleen Ann Soliah, a former member of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), is arrested near her home in St. Paul, Minnesota. Soliah, who now calls herself…
On July 10, 1999, the U.S. women’s soccer team defeats China to win their second Women’s World Cup. The game ended in a 5‑4 shootout after 120 scoreless minutes: 90…
On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr.; his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy; and her sister, Lauren Bessette, die when the single‑engine plane that Kennedy was piloting crashes into the…
On July 18, 1999, New York Yankee David Cone pitches the 16th perfect game in major league history and 14th in the modern era with a no‑hit, no‑walk victory over…
The music festival Woodstock ’99 opens on July 23, 1999. The festival—timed to the 30th anniversary of the original Woodstock—attempts to bring the spirit of peace, music, and love to…
On July 30, 1999, The Blair Witch Project, a low‑budget, independent horror film that will become a massive cult hit, is released in U.S. theaters. Shot with shaky, handheld cameras,…
On this day in 1999, an earthquake in northwestern Turkey kills more than 17,000 people and leaves more than 250,000 homeless. The immense disaster exposed serious problems with government and…
Just after 3 a.m., an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale strikes northwestern Turkey, home to one‑third of the country’s population and half its industry. The epicenter of the…
The first cases of an encephalitis outbreak are reported in New York City on August 23, 1999. Seven people die from what turns out to be the first cases of…
Millions of people evacuate their homes as Hurricane Floyd moves across the Atlantic Ocean on September 14, 1999. Over the next several days, deaths are recorded from the Bahamas to…
An earthquake in Taiwan on September 21, 1999 kills thousands of people, causes billions of dollars in damages and leaves an estimated 100,000 homeless. It was the worst earthquake to…
On September 27, 1999, operatic tenor Placido Domingo makes his 18th opening‑night appearance at the Metropolitan Opera House, breaking an “unbreakable” record previously held by the great Enrico Caruso. Caruso,…
Large doses of radiation are released at Japan’s Tokaimura nuclear plant on this day in 1999. It was Japan’s worst nuclear accident, caused by a serious error made by workers…
The Colorado grand jury investigating the case of child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, who was murdered in December 1996 is dismissed and the Boulder County district attorney announces no indictments…
On this day in 1999, a powerful cyclone in the Indian Ocean suddenly intensifies to the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. The next day it struck India, killing more…
If you were entirely out of touch with the contemporary music scene in the fall of 1999, you could still have tuned into most episodes of Saturday Night Live during…
On November 18, 1999, thousands of logs stacked 59 feet high for a massive pre‑football game bonfire collapse at Texas A&M University, killing 12 and injuring nearly 30 in an…
