1998

Events in 1998 68

• 1902 – 1998 Halldor Laxness (1902-1998) Died 8 February 1998, aged 95 Halldor Laxness, the Icelandic novelist awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955 for works including Independent People, died on 8 February 1998. He remains Iceland's most celebrated writer.
• 1907 – 1998 Robert Young (1907-1998) American actor, the father in Father Knows Best and the doctor in Marcus Welby, M.D.
• 1907 – 1998 Gene Autry (1907-1998) Died 2 October 1998, aged 91 Gene Autry, the singing cowboy who starred in dozens of Western films and recorded classics including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," died on 2 October 1998. He later became a successful businessman and owner of the California Angels baseball team.
• 1910 – 1998 Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) Died 6 September 1998, aged 88 Akira Kurosawa, the Japanese film director behind Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Ran, died on 6 September 1998. Widely regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history, his work shaped generations of directors worldwide.
• 1911 – 1998 Maureen O'Sullivan (1911-1998) Irish actress, Jane to Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan and mother of Mia Farrow.
• 1911 – 1998 Roy Rogers (1911-1998) Died 6 July 1998, aged 86 Roy Rogers, the American singer and actor known as "King of the Cowboys" for his many Western films and television appearances, died on 6 July 1998. He was one of the most popular Western stars of the mid-20th century.
• 1912 – 1998 Enoch Powell (1912-1998) Died 8 February 1998, aged 85 Enoch Powell, the British politician remembered chiefly for his 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech opposing mass immigration, died on 8 February 1998. He remained a divisive figure in British politics for the rest of his life.
• 1913 – 1998 Lloyd Bridges (1913-1998) American actor, star of Sea Hunt and later of the Airplane! comedies, and father of Beau and Jeff Bridges.
• 1914 – 1998 Octavio Paz (1914-1998) Died 19 April 1998, aged 84 Octavio Paz, the Mexican poet and essayist awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1990, died in Mexico City on 19 April 1998. His work, including The Labyrinth of Solitude, remains foundational to modern Latin American literature.
• 1915 – 1998 Alice Faye (1915-1998) American actress and singer, 20th Century Fox's top musical star of the late 1930s.
• 1915 – 1998 Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (12 December 1915 -- 14 May 1998) was an American singer and actor who is widely regarded as one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra began as a big band vocalist, became the first modern pop idol with his bobby-soxer fans of the early 1940s, suffered a catastrophic career collapse, and staged the most remarkable comeback in entertainment history -- winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1953 and then recording the defining albums of his Capitol Records period (1953-1962). His recordings for Capitol -- 'Songs for Swingin' Lovers,' 'In the Wee Small Hours,' 'Come Fly With Me' -- are the summit of American popular song. He founded Reprise Records, led the Rat Pack, became Las Vegas's defining performer and remained culturally dominant for six decades.
• 1923 – 1998 Alan Shepard (1923-1998) Died 21 July 1998, aged 74 Alan Shepard, the first American to travel into space aboard Freedom 7 in 1961 and commander of the Apollo 14 Moon landing in 1971, died of leukemia on 21 July 1998. He was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts.
• 1925 – 1998 Pol Pot (1925-1998) Died 15 April 1998, aged 72 Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge regime that killed an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979, died on 15 April 1998 while under house arrest in the Cambodian jungle, days before he was expected to face international trial. His death closed the door on any formal reckoning for the era's chief architect.
• 1928 – 1998 James Earl Ray (1928-1998) Died 23 April 1998, aged 70 James Earl Ray, convicted of assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, died in prison on 23 April 1998 while serving a 99-year sentence. He had spent decades unsuccessfully seeking a retrial, claiming he had been framed.
• 1928 – 1998 Roddy McDowall (1928-1998) English-American actor, a child star of How Green Was My Valley, later Cornelius in Planet of the Apes.
• 1933 – 1998 Shari Lewis (1933-1998) Died 2 August 1998, aged 65 Shari Lewis, the American puppeteer and ventriloquist best known for her sock puppet character Lamb Chop, died of pneumonia while being treated for cancer on 2 August 1998. Her children's television programs spanned five decades.
• 1935 – 1998 Sonny Bono (1935-1998) Died 5 January 1998, aged 62 Sonny Bono, singer and later a US Congressman from California, died in a skiing accident at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe on 5 January 1998. He had risen to fame in the 1960s as half of the duo Sonny & Cher before entering politics.
• 1937 – 1998 Moshood Abiola (1937-1998) Died 7 July 1998, aged 60 Moshood Abiola, the Nigerian businessman widely believed to have won the annulled 1993 presidential election, died in custody on 7 July 1998, a day before his expected release. His death, from a heart attack shortly after meeting US officials, triggered international scrutiny of the military government.
• 1942 – 1998 Tammy Wynette (1942-1998) Died 6 April 1998, aged 55 Tammy Wynette, the country singer known as the First Lady of Country Music for hits including "Stand by Your Man," died of a blood clot at her Nashville home on 6 April 1998. She had sold tens of millions of records over a three-decade career.
• 1943 – 1998 Sani Abacha (1943-1998) Died 8 June 1998, aged 54 Sani Abacha, the military dictator who ruled Nigeria from 1993 until his death, died suddenly on 8 June 1998, reportedly of a heart attack. His rule was marked by widespread human rights abuses and the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
• 1946 – 1998 Carl Wilson (1946-1998) Died 6 February 1998, aged 51 Carl Wilson, guitarist, singer, and the youngest founding member of the Beach Boys, died of lung cancer on 6 February 1998. His falsetto and guitar work anchored the band's sound across decades, including the landmark album Pet Sounds.
• 1948 – 1998 Phil Hartman (1948-1998) Died 28 May 1998, aged 49 Phil Hartman, a comedian and actor known for his eight seasons on Saturday Night Live and his role voicing characters on The Simpsons, was shot and killed by his wife at their home on 28 May 1998. His death shocked the entertainment industry and prompted tributes across television.
• 1959 – 1998 Florence Griffith-Joyner (1959-1998) Died 21 September 1998, aged 38 Florence Griffith-Joyner, known as Flo-Jo, the American sprinter who set world records in the 100m and 200m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics that still stand, died in her sleep from an epileptic seizure on 21 September 1998. She remains widely regarded as the fastest woman in history.
• 1995 – 1998 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is established Chaired by Desmond Tutu Amnesty in exchange for the full truth. Around 7,000 people applied and most were refused.
• 1998 1998 Commonwealth Games -- four golds at 15 At the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Thorpe wins four gold medals (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4×100m freestyle relay, 4×200m freestyle relay). He is 15 years old and competing in his first Commonwealth Games. The performance consolidates his status as the world's dominant freestyle swimmer at any age -- not just a precocious teenager but a genuine force across multiple distances. He is also named Young Australian of the Year and wins the Young Australian Sports Award.
• 1998 1998 World Championships -- youngest male world champion At the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth -- held in his home country -- Thorpe wins the 400m freestyle in world record time. He is 15 years old. It is the most precocious individual world championship performance in the history of swimming: the youngest male ever to win an individual world title. He also wins gold in the 4×200m freestyle relay. The performance announces to the global swimming world that Australia has produced something extraordinary. The nickname "Thorpedo" begins to circulate. He is also named Swimming World's Male Swimmer of the Year at 15.
• 1998 – present Britney Spears The Princess of Pop The face of teen pop at the turn of the millennium; a cultural icon of the 2000s.
• 1998 Good Friday Agreement Peace in Northern Ireland The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended three decades of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, establishing power-sharing and ceasing hostilities.
• 1998 Google founded Google founded Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporated Google on 4 September 1998, built on a Stanford research project that ranked pages by the links pointing at them rather than by keyword counts. The results were markedly better than those of the established engines. The AdWords auction model from 2000 turned search into one of the most profitable businesses ever built.
• 1998 – present Gorillaz The Virtual Band Damon Albarn's experimental project utilizing animated characters and diverse genres.
• 1998 – present John Mayer The Guitar Virtuoso Transitioned from acoustic pop-rock to highly respected blues-rock guitar mastery.
• 1998 The universe's expansion is accelerating Dark energy — a mysterious force opposes gravity In 1998, two independent teams studying distant supernovae (led by Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess) discovered that the universe's expansion is accelerating rather than slowing. This implied the existence of a mysterious "dark energy" making up approximately 68% of the universe's total energy content. It was the most surprising cosmological discovery in decades and earned the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 1998 Clinton-Lewinsky scandal becomes public Allegations of an affair with a White House intern surface News broke in mid-January 1998 that President Bill Clinton had allegedly had an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and encouraged her to deny it under oath. The scandal dominated US politics for the rest of the year and led directly to Clinton's impeachment in December.
• 1998 Netscape releases browser source code Move launches the Mozilla open-source project Netscape Communications announced on 22 January 1998 that it would release the source code of its Communicator browser suite free of charge, a landmark moment for the open-source software movement. The move gave rise to the Mozilla project, which later produced the Firefox browser.
• 1998 – 2018 XXXTentacion (1998-2018) Died 18 June 2018, aged 20 American rapper, born Jahseh Onfroy, known for hits including "Sad!" whose album Skins reached number one after his death. He achieved a large following among young listeners despite a controversial legal history. He was shot and killed during a robbery in Florida.
• 1998 1998 Winter Olympics XVIII Winter Games - Nagano Snowboarding and curling returned as official sports. Winner: Germany.
• 1998 – present George Russell Mr. Consistency Mercedes driver and race winner; widely considered one of the grid’s elite modern talents.
• 1998 Titanic sweeps the Academy Awards Film wins 11 Oscars including Best Picture James Cameron's Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the ceremony held on 23 March 1998, tying the record set by Ben-Hur. It had already become the highest-grossing film in history.
• 1998 FDA approves Viagra First oral pill for erectile dysfunction reaches market The US Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer's sildenafil citrate, branded Viagra, on 27 March 1998 as the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction. It became one of the fastest-selling drugs in history and reshaped public conversation around the condition.
• 1998 – present The Vasco da Gama Bridge Europe’s Longest Bridge A major cable-stayed bridge in Lisbon crossing the Tagus River, built for Expo 98.
• 1998 1998 World Snooker Championship Higgins First Winner: John Higgins; Runner-up: Ken Doherty. Score: 18–12.
• 1998 Theodore Kaczynski sentenced Unabomber receives four life terms without parole Theodore Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber, was sentenced on 4 May 1998 to four consecutive life terms without parole after pleading guilty to a series of mail bombings that killed three people and injured 23 over nearly two decades. He had eluded identification for years despite one of the largest manhunts in FBI history.
• 1998 Eritrean-Ethiopian War begins Border dispute erupts into full-scale war A border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia escalated into full-scale war after fighting broke out at Badme on 6 May 1998. The conflict, fought largely over the demarcation of the shared border, killed tens of thousands before a ceasefire in 2000.
• 1998 India conducts nuclear weapons tests Pokhran-II tests make India a declared nuclear power India detonated five nuclear devices at the Pokhran Test Range between 11 and 13 May 1998, ending a 24-year gap since its first test and announcing itself as a nuclear-armed state. The tests triggered international sanctions and sharply raised tensions with neighbouring Pakistan.
• 1998 Suharto resigns as President of Indonesia Ends 31-year rule amid economic crisis and mass protests President Suharto resigned on 21 May 1998 after weeks of student protests and riots triggered by the Asian financial crisis and decades of authoritarian rule. His deputy, B. J. Habibie, succeeded him, opening a period of democratic reform known as Reformasi.
• 1998 Expo 98 The Last World Fair of the Century A major international exposition in Lisbon that revitalized the eastern part of the city.
• 1998 Pakistan conducts nuclear weapons tests Chagai-I tests respond to India's Pokhran-II Pakistan detonated five nuclear devices at the Ras Koh Hills on 28 May 1998, becoming the world's seventh declared nuclear power in direct response to India's tests two weeks earlier. The tests drew international sanctions and cemented a nuclear rivalry between the two countries.
• 1998 Yangtze River floods Summer floods kill thousands and displace millions in China Prolonged summer flooding along the Yangtze and Songhua rivers in 1998 killed over 3,000 people and affected more than 200 million across China, destroying millions of homes. The disaster prompted major investment in flood control and reforestation in subsequent years.
• 1998 France wins the 1998 FIFA World Cup Hosts beat Brazil 3-0 in the final France hosted the 1998 FIFA World Cup from 10 June to 12 July and won its first title, defeating defending champions Brazil 3-0 in the final at the Stade de France, with Zinedine Zidane scoring twice. The victory triggered nationwide celebrations and is regarded as a landmark moment for French multiculturalism.
• 1998 Compaq completes acquisition of Digital Equipment Corporation Then-largest merger in computer industry history Compaq completed its $9.6 billion acquisition of Digital Equipment Corporation on 11 June 1998, at the time the largest merger in the history of the computer industry. The deal was intended to bolster Compaq's enterprise and services business but preceded its own acquisition by Hewlett-Packard in 2002.
• 1998 Wimbledon 1998 Men: Pete Sampras · Women: Jana Novotná Jana Novotná's emotional victory after her famous crying on the Duchess of Kent's shoulder in 1993.
• 1998 Armageddon #1 film of 1998 — $553m worldwide Directed by Michael Bay, starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. A team of oil drillers is sent to space to destroy an asteroid threatening Earth.
• 1998 Saving Private Ryan Spielberg's WWII masterpiece — $482m Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Hanks. Following the D-Day invasion, a group of soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed.
• 1998 Second Congo War begins Conflict draws in nine African nations Fighting broke out on 2 August 1998 when rebel forces backed by Rwanda and Uganda rose against Congolese President Laurent-Desire Kabila, whom they had earlier helped bring to power. The war eventually drew in nine African countries and numerous armed groups, becoming the deadliest conflict since World War II.
• 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania Al-Qaeda truck bombs kill over 220 On 7 August 1998, near-simultaneous truck bombs detonated outside US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing over 220 people and injuring thousands, mostly local civilians. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility, and the attacks marked the group's emergence as a major international threat, prompting US cruise missile strikes on targets in Sudan and Afghanistan later that month.
• 1998 Apple launches the iMac Translucent all-in-one computer revives Apple's fortunes Apple released the original iMac G3 on 15 August 1998, an all-in-one computer with a distinctive translucent, colourful design designed under Jonathan Ive. It sold strongly and is widely credited with beginning Apple's turnaround under the returning Steve Jobs.
• 1998 Omagh bombing Real IRA car bomb kills 29 in County Tyrone A car bomb planted by the Real IRA, a splinter group opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, exploded in the centre of Omagh, Northern Ireland, on 15 August 1998. Twenty-nine people, including a woman pregnant with twins, were killed and hundreds injured. It remains the deadliest single attack of the Troubles era.
• 1998 Russian financial crisis Rouble collapses and Russia defaults on domestic debt On 17 August 1998, Russia devalued the rouble and defaulted on its domestic debt, triggering a banking collapse and a sharp economic contraction. The crisis wiped out savings for many Russians and contributed to the collapse of the US hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management weeks later.
• 1998 Swissair Flight 111 crashes off Nova Scotia In-flight fire kills all 229 aboard Swissair Flight 111, en route from New York to Geneva, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, on 2 September 1998 after an in-flight fire disabled the aircraft's systems. All 229 passengers and crew were killed, and the investigation led to sweeping changes in aircraft wiring and insulation standards.
• 1998 – present Tadej Pogačar Pogi Modern phenomenon; youngest two-time Tour winner and Monument specialist. Winner: 3x Tour de France.
• 1998 Long-Term Capital Management collapses Federal Reserve organizes bailout to avert market crisis The hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management, run by Nobel laureate economists and Wall Street veterans, lost billions of dollars following the Russian financial crisis and faced imminent collapse. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York organized a $3.6 billion bailout by major banks in September 1998 to prevent a broader market meltdown.
• 1998 Hurricane Mitch devastates Central America One of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record Hurricane Mitch struck Central America from late October into early November 1998, killing more than 11,000 people, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua, through catastrophic flooding and mudslides. It set back the region's economic development by years and remains one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record.
• 1998 Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merge Creates DaimlerChrysler in largest industrial merger to date German automaker Daimler-Benz and American manufacturer Chrysler completed a $36 billion merger on 17 November 1998, forming DaimlerChrysler in what was then the largest industrial merger in history. The transatlantic combination was billed as a merger of equals but was later widely viewed as a takeover; the companies demerged in 2007.
• 1998 Exxon and Mobil announce merger Deal creates the world's largest oil company Exxon and Mobil announced on 1 December 1998 an $81 billion merger to reunite two of the companies descended from the 1911 breakup of Standard Oil. The deal, completed in November 1999, created ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company.
• 1998 Star Trek: Insurrection Picard defies Starfleet orders to protect a small peaceful civilisation. A lighter, morally earnest entry in the series that feels closer to a TV episode than a theatrical film. Directed by Jonathan Frakes. Budget: $58 million. Gross: $117 million.
• 1998 Operation Desert Fox US and UK bombing campaign against Iraq The United States and United Kingdom conducted a four-day bombing campaign against Iraq from 16 to 19 December 1998, targeting suspected weapons facilities after Iraq obstructed UN weapons inspectors. The strikes hit military and security targets across the country but did not remove Saddam Hussein from power.
• 1998 Bill Clinton impeached by the House of Representatives Charges of perjury and obstruction of justice over the Lewinsky affair The US House of Representatives voted on 19 December 1998 to impeach President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice arising from his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. He became only the second US president to be impeached. The Senate acquitted him on both counts in February 1999.
• 1998 A Bug's Life #3 film of 1998 — $363m worldwide Directed by John Lasseter at Pixar. An ant colony enlists the help of circus bugs to fight off a group of marauding grasshoppers.