Timeline December 1990

Events in December 1990 26

• 1910 – 1990 Joan Bennett (1910-1990) American actress, a blonde ingenue turned film noir star in Fritz Lang's The Woman in the Window and Scarlet Street.
• 1910 – 1990 Robert Cummings (1910-1990) American actor, star of Saboteur and Dial M for Murder and of his own 1950s sitcom.
• 1921 – 1990 Friedrich Dürrenmatt The Visit Renowned playwright and novelist whose work explored the dark comedy and morality of the 20th century.
• 1978 – 1990 Literary Career Published prolifically from the hospital: a book of poems and paintings (1977), the novel Manhattan Suicide Addict (1978), and seven more novels through 1990, alongside her visual art practice.
• 1982 – 1990 News Anchor in Cincinnati Worked as a news anchor at WLWT in Cincinnati, winning several Regional Emmy Awards for his commentary segments.
• 1984 – 1990 Teaching and Early Burgdorf Novels Taught at the University of New Hampshire and then Eastern Washington University. Published Unearned Pleasures and Other Stories (1988) and Floating in My Mother's Palm (1990), set in the fictional German town of Burgdorf, near Dusseldorf.
• 1987 – 1990 Three Olivier Awards Won the Olivier Award for A View from the Bridge (1987) and Man of the Moment (1990), establishing himself as the dominant force in British theatre.
• 1988 – 1990 Rise to Supermodel Status Became one of the most in-demand models in the world, appearing on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Elle. Featured on Peter Lindbergh's legendary January 1990 British Vogue cover alongside Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.
• 1990 1990: Ayrton Senna McLaren Senna won his second title, deliberately colliding with Prost at the first corner at Suzuka in a moment of retribution for the previous year's controversy.
• 1990 Freedom! '90 Music Video Appeared in George Michael's Freedom! '90 music video, directed by David Fincher, in one of the most iconic pop culture moments of the decade.
• 1990 It and The Hunt for Red October Terrified a generation of television viewers as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the ABC miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's It, creating one of the most iconic horror villains in pop culture. In the same year, took a subtler turn as the Soviet physician Dr. Petrov in The Hunt for Red October alongside Sean Connery.
• 1990 Marriage to Lizzie Spender Married his fourth wife, Lizzie Spender, daughter of poet Stephen Spender. The marriage lasted until his death.
• 1990 Nothing Compares 2 U Released the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, featuring her cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, which reached number one worldwide. Named Rolling Stone's Artist of the Year in 1991.
• 1990 Retirement from the Stage Retired from the operatic stage after a career spanning 26 years, having performed at every major opera house in the world. Devoted her subsequent years to teaching and mentoring young singers including Angela Gheorghiu.
• 1990 The Beard Without a Beard While Gibbons and Hill became famous for their chest-length beards, Beard remained clean-shaven for decades — the man named Beard was the only one without one. He said he could still go to the supermarket without being recognised.
• 1990 Women Without Men Published Women Without Men, a short novel in the form of connected stories about five women seeking freedom from male domination. Its frank portrayal of female sexuality led to her arrest and imprisonment. The book was banned in Iran and became an underground classic.
• 1990 Channel Tunnel breakthrough UK and France connected underground Workers digging from either side of the English Channel met in the middle on December 1, 1990, completing the breakthrough of the Channel Tunnel service tunnel and connecting Britain and France for the first time.
• 1990 Idriss Déby overthrows Hissène Habré Rebel offensive topples Chadian government Rebel forces led by Idriss Déby captured N'Djamena on 1-2 December 1990, overthrowing president Hissène Habré. Déby declared himself president and would rule Chad for three decades. Habré fled into exile in Senegal.
• 1990 Robert Cummings dies in Woodland Hills Robert Cummings dies aged 80.
• 1990 Bangladesh president Ershad resigns amid protests Mass demonstrations end nine-year rule Bangladeshi president Hussain Muhammad Ershad resigned on 6 December 1990 after weeks of mass protests and a general strike. His resignation ended nine years of military-backed rule. Multi-party elections followed the next year.
• 1990 Joan Bennett dies in Scarsdale Joan Bennett dies aged 80.
• 1990 Lech Walesa inaugurated Poland's first directly elected president Lech Walesa was inaugurated as President of Poland on December 22, 1990, completing Poland's transition from communism to democracy.
• 1990 Aristide elected in Haiti End of three decades of military rule Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected President of Haiti on December 16, 1990 in the country's first free and fair election, ending 30 years of military rule.
• 1990 Slovenia holds independence referendum Voters overwhelmingly back leaving Yugoslavia On 23 December 1990 Slovenian voters backed independence from Yugoslavia by over 88%. The result set a six-month timetable for secession that led to Slovenia declaring independence in June 1991. It was the first Yugoslav republic to formally break away.
• 1990 Suriname's Christmas coup Military ousts elected government Surinamese military commander Dési Bouterse's forces overthrew the elected government of President Ramsewak Shankar on 24 December 1990. The bloodless takeover became known as the Christmas coup. It was the third coup Bouterse had staged since 1980.
• 1990 Home Alone tops box office Christmas No.1 film worldwide Home Alone dominated the Christmas box office in December 1990, becoming the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide and one of the most successful comedies ever made.