Information for the Year 1998

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  • Serbs battle ethnic Albanians in Kosovo (March 5 et seq.). Serbs renew attack on Kosovo rebels (June 1). NATO, on verge of air strikes, reaches settlement with Milosevic on Kosovo (Oct. 12).
  • Good Friday Accord is reached in Northern Ireland (April 10). Irish Parliament backs peace agreement (April 22).
  • Europeans agree on single currency, the euro (May 3).
  • India conducts three atomic tests despite worldwide disapproval (May 11, 13). Pakistan stages five nuclear tests in response (May 29, 30).
  • Indonesian dictator Suharto steps down after 32 years in power (May 21).
  • Iraq ends cooperation with UN arms inspectors (Aug. 5). Clinton orders air strikes (Dec. 16–19).
  • US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bombed (Aug. 7). US cruise missiles hit suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan (Aug. 20).
  • Russia fights to avert financial collapse (Aug. 17).
  • Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet arrested in London (Oct. 16).
  • Wye Mills Agreement between Netanyahu and Arafat moves Middle East peace talks forward (Oct. 23).
  • Population:   5.918 billion
  • Nobel Peace Prize:  John Hume and David Trimble (Northern Ireland)
  • President outlines first balanced budget in 30 years (Feb. 3).
  • US Supreme Court rules line-item veto unconstitutional (Feb. 12).
  • Unabomber sentenced to four life terms (May 4).
  • Life sentence meted out to Terry Nichols, convicted in Oklahoma City bombing fatal to 168 (June 4).
  • Starr Report by independent counsel outlines case for impeachment proceedings against President (Sept. 11).
  • House impeaches President Clinton along party lines on two charges, perjury and obstruction of justice. (Dec. 19).
  • President:  William J. Clinton
  • Vice President:  Albert Gore, Jr
  • Population:  270,298,524
  • Life expectancy:  76.7 years
  • US GDP (2002 dollars):   $8508.90 billion
  • Federal spending:   $1675.88 billion
  • Federal debt:   $5750.4 billion
  • Median Household Income(2001 dollars):$46,737
  • Consumer Price Index:   163
  • Unemployment:   4.5%
  • Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.32
  • Super Bowl  Denver Broncos defeated Green Bay Packers (SCORE 31-24)
  • World Series of Baseball  New York Yankees defeated San Diego
  • National Basketball Association Championship  Chicago defeated Utah
  • National Hockey League Stanley Cup  Detroit Red Wings defeated Washington Capitals
  • Women Wimbledon Tennis  Jana Novotna defeated N. Tauziat (6-4 7-6)
  • Men Wimbledon Tennis   Pete Sampras defeated G. Ivanisevic (6-7 7-6 6-4 3-6 6-2)
  • Kentucky Derby Horse Race Champion   Real Quiet
  • National College Athletic Association Basketball Championship  Kentucky defeated Utah (SCORE 78-69)
  • National College Athletic Association Football Champions  Tennessee(RECORD 13-0-0)
  • World Cup SoccerFrance defeated Brazil
  • The 1998 Winter Olympics were held in Nagano, Japan
  • Titanic becomes the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in more than $580 million domestically.
  • An estimated 76 million viewers watch the last episode of Seinfeld.
  • Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.
  • The American Film Institute announces its list of the top 100 films of all time. Citizen Kane tops the list.
  • Tina Brown, editor of The New Yorker sends shockwaves through the publishing world with her resignation from the venerable weekly. David Remnick is hired to replace her.
  • Academy Award, Best Picture:  Titanic
  • Grammy Award - Record of the Year  Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin
  • Emmy Award - Best Television Comedy   Frasier - NBC
  • Miss America:  Katherine Shindle (Illinois)
  • The Athena probe finds frozen water on moon. Scientists say ice crystals mixed with soil could provide fuel for rockets exploring solar system (Mar. 5).
  • 77-year-old Senator John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, returns to orbit in the space shuttle Discovery (Oct. 29).
  • The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour connects first two modules of the international space station (Dec. 6).

 

All of the Information on this site is from Fact Monster