The World Wide Web is released to the general public
The World Wide Web has been central to the development of the Information Age and is the primary tool billions of people use to interact on the Internet.
Post-modernity (1945 - 2016 C.E.)
Denmark completes world’s first ever offshore wind farm
Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm was the first offshore wind farm in the world, erected in 1991 off the coast of the town of Vindeby on the Danish island of Lolland. It was decommissioned for cost reasons in 2017 after 25 years of useful life.
The Bicesse Accords transition Angola to a multi-party democracy
The Bicesse Accords, also known as the Estoril Accords, laid out a transition to multi-party democracy in Angola under the supervision of the United Nations’ UNAVEM II mission. President José Eduardo dos Santos of the MPLA and Jonas Savimbi of UNITA signed the accord in Lisbon, Portugal on May 31, 1991.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child formally comes into effect
The UNCRC is a groundbreaking international human rights treaty ratified by 196 countries (as of 2023) which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural rights of children.
The United States launches the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit
While it was not the first space telescope, it is one of the largest and most versatile, renowned both as a vital research tool and as a public relations boon for astronomy.
Finland enacts world’s first-ever carbon tax
The tax was based on the carbon content of the fossil fuels and charged at €1.12 per tonne of CO2 when it was first started. The carbon tax was reformed in 1997 and 2011. Now, it has evolved into a combined tax of carbon and energy tax charging €18.05 per tonne of CO2 and €66.2 per tonne of carbon.
“The Simpsons” debuts
Since its debut, 640 episodes of The Simpsons have been broadcast. It is the longest-running American sitcom, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series in terms of seasons and number of episodes.
The Velvet Revolution leads to the end of Communist Party rule in Czechoslovakia
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 29 December 1989. The result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia.
Activists bring down the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989.
The Third Polish Republic is founded, transitioning the country to democracy
With the advent of perestroika in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, the opportunity arose to finally change the system of government, after the harsh period of martial law (1981-83) imposed by General Jaruzelski.