What happened onFebruary 19, 1990Monday Week 8

Today is September12, 2026 Saturday.

February 19 is a Monday again in 1996.

About February 19

February 19 Events On this day through the years

Born ?

February 19FamousBirthdays

In loving memoryFamous DeathsFebruary 19

The World in 1990 the year Mandela walked free

About 2.6 million people used the internet in 1990. Picture a packed 50,000-seat stadium. Only about 25 people in it had ever been online.

Life back then

Music fans carried a Walkman and rewound cassettes with a pencil. Kids everywhere wanted a Game Boy, the small grey handheld from Japan that was about a year old. Home computers were still rare, and the internet belonged to universities and the military. If you missed a TV show, you set the VCR or waited for a rerun, and calling a friend meant hoping they were home.

The year in 8 events

• 🍔Jan 31 Moscow gets its first McDonald's, on Pushkin Square. Soviet customers queue for hours and about 30,000 are served on day one.
• ✊Feb 11 Nelson Mandela walks free after 27 years in South African prisons.
• 🔭Apr 24 The Hubble Space Telescope launches from Florida aboard the US shuttle Discovery.
• 🖥️May 22 Microsoft releases Windows 3.0, the first Windows to become a huge hit.
• ♿Jul 26 The Americans with Disabilities Act becomes law, requiring ramps, lifts and access at work.
• 🪖Aug 2 Iraq invades Kuwait. The crisis soon leads to the Gulf War.
• 🧱Oct 3 East and West Germany officially become one country again.
• 🏛️Nov 22 Margaret Thatcher says she will resign after 11 years as UK prime minister.

Who Was in Charge?

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