This day in history. Read about what happened today. A short and interesting account of historical events and facts about this day as well as any other day of the year. Find historical birthdays, deaths, tragedies, war events, disasters and sports events.

This year in history
In the year 1990

	January 4th	In the Sindh province of Pakistan a passenger train collided a freight train resulting in the death of 300 people.
	January 7th	The Tower of Pisa was closed to the public due to safety concerns. It was reopened to the public after 11 years in 2001.
	January 10th	The Time Warner company was formed when Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications Inc.
	January 20th	Soviet forces stormed the city of Baku killing more than 120 pro-independence demonstrator.
	January 25th	One of the strongest storm fronts ever recorded hit North-western Europe causing extensive property damage across many countries as well as the death of more than 60 people.
	January 25th	American actress, Ava Gardner, died at the age of 67 in London, England. She was the daughter of a family of poor tobacco farmers, which rose to become one of the biggest stars in the history of cinema.
	February 11th	Nelson Mandela, was released from prison after having been a political prisoner for 27 years in South Africa.
	March 11th	Lithuania declared itself independent from the Soviet Union.
	March 15th	Mikhail Gorbachev was elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union.
	March 18th	12 paintings were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. At a total worth of more than $100 million, it was one of the largest art thefts in history.
	March 21st	Namibia became an independent country after 75 years of South African rule.
	March 28th	American athlete, Jesse Owens, was awarded the US congressional gold medal, 10 years after his death. He had taken part in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany where he won four gold medals, under the eyes of Adolf Hitler.
	April 8th	David Lynch's, legendary television show, Twin Peaks, premiered on the ABC channel.
	April 13th	The Soviet Union admitted to committing the Katyn Wood Massacre. It was a mass execution of Polish army officers and citizens, ordered by Soviet authorities in 1940. Overall an estimated 30000 people were executed in the span of one month.
	April 15th	Swedish born actress, Greta Garbo, died in New York city at the age of 85. She is considered by many as the ultimate movie star of the 20's and 30's. She retired from acting altogether in 1941 after the failure of her last picture. She spent the rest of her life in seclusion, leading a very private life, avoiding public appearances completely.
	April 24th	The island of Gruinard, off the coast of Scotland, was officially declared a safe zone. In 1942 it was the test site for anthrax based biological weapons. Decontamination efforts began in 1986.
	May 4th	Latvia proclaimed its independence. Residents of Latvia that settled there during the Soviet era (nor their descendants) were not automatically granted Latvian citizenship. In 2004 Latvia became a member of both the European Union and NATO.
	May 15th	Vincent van Gogh's painting 'Portrait of Doctor Gachet' was sold for a record $82.5 million.
	May 22nd	The Windows 3.0 operating system was released by Microsoft.
	May 31st	The pilot episode of Seinfeld premiered on the NBC channel. It aired for nine straight seasons and was considered as one of the most successful and influential television shows of the 90's.
	June 2nd	English actor, Rex Harrison, died at the age of 82.
	June 23th	Moldavia declared its independence from the rule of the Soviet Union.
	July 2nd	A stampede occurred inside a pedestrian tunnel in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. 1,426 pilgrims died as a result.
	July 8th	Germany's national football team won the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, defeating the national team of Argentina with a score of 1-0.
	July 20th	A bomb placed by the Provisional IRA exploded at the International Stock Exchange in London.
	August 10th	The Magellan space probe reached Venus 15 months after it was launched.
	August 23th	Armenia declared its independence from the rule of the Soviet Union.
	August 27th	American musician, Stevie Ray Vaughan, died at the age of 35. He was one of the most influential electric blues guitarists of the late 20th century who died in a helicopter crash.
	September 10th	Pope John Paul II consecrated the church 'The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace', in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). It is the largest church in Africa and is modelled after the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. The cost of the basilica doubled the national debt of Cote d'Ivoire.
	October 3rd	The reunification of Germany takes place, East Germany ceases to exist and its citizens become part of the European Community.
	October 14th	American composer and conductor, Leonard Bernstein, died at the age of 72. He is considered as one of the most successful American composers of all time and probably the most recognized conductor of his time.
	October 15th	Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the Cold War and the reforms he brought about in Soviet Russia.
	November 19th	Music group Milli Vanilli were stripped of their Grammy Award following the revelation that the vocals of their albums were all sung by session musicians and not the two members of the group.
	November 29th	The United Nations Security Council authorized military action in Iraq if that nation did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.
	December 2nd	Helmut Kohl became the first chancellor to preside over a unified Germany since its partition in 1932.
	December 9th	Lech Walesa became the first elected president of Poland.
	December 22nd	Lech Walesa was sworn in as President of Poland.

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