migrant. Diallo’s death intensifies racial tensions
in the city. (May 8) Nancy Mace is the first female
cadet to graduate from The Military College of
South Carolina. (Jul. 16) John F. Kennedy, Jr., his
wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister
Lauren Bessette are killed when a plane piloted
by John crashes off the coast of Martha’s Vine-
yard.
Business and economics:(Mar. 17) U.S. senator Wil-
liam V. Roth, Jr., introduces the Roth IRA.
(Mar. 29) For the first time, the Dow Jones Indus-
trial Average closes above the 10,000 mark, at
10,006.78. (May 3) The Dow Jones Industrial Av-
erage closes above 11,000 for the first time, at
11,014.70. (Nov. 30) Exxon and Mobil complete
their merger, creating ExxonMobil Corporation,
the world’s largest company.
Transportation and communications:(Jul. 26) The
last Checker taxicab is retired in New York City.
(Sept. 7) In the largest media merger in Ameri-
can history, Viacom buys the Columbia Broad-
casting System (CBS) for $35.6 billion.
Science and technology: (Jun. 1) Napster, an online
music file-sharing service, debuts. (Jun. 21) Ap-
ple Computer releases the first iBook laptop com-
puter. (Jul. 22) Microsoft introduces the first ver-
sion of MSN Messenger, an instant messaging
service designed to compete with AOL Instant
Messenger.
Environment and health:(May 17) For the first time
in more than seventy years, Makah whalers suc-
cessfully hunt and kill a gray whale in Puget
Sound. Hundreds of protesters take to the streets
of Seattle to denouce the killing, which occurs
five years after the mammal was removed from
the endangered species list. (Oct. 12) The world’s
population reaches six billion people when a
baby is born in Sarajevo.
Arts and literature:(May 28) Leonardo da Vinci’s
paintingThe Last Supperis put back on display in
Milan, Italy, following a twenty-two-year restora-
tion. (Dec. 14)The New York Timesreports that net
sales for book clubs for the year through October
were $950 million, a 4.5 percent increase over the
same period in the previous year.
Popular culture:Ricky Martin, a former member
of the boy band Menudo, releases his first solo
English-language album, featuring the hit single
“La Vida Loca.”Ricky Martinis one of the best-
selling albums of year and leads to the popular-
ity of other Latino entertainers, including Jen-
nifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, and Marc Antony.
(Mar. 31)The Matrix, the first film in a popular
science-fiction trilogy, is released. (Sept. 8) Sega
releases the Dreamcast video game console world-
wide, and twenty-four hours later the product
breaks all previous video game and entertain-
ment sales.
Sports:(Jun. 27) During the X Games in San Fran-
cisco, Tony Hawk becomes the first skateboarder
to land a “900”—two and a half rotations (or a
nine-hundred-degree spin) in the air, before
landing back on the pipe. (Jul. 10) The United
States defeats China in the final game of the 1999
FIFA Women’s World Cup, which is held at the
Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The game re-
mained scoreless after it went into overtime, until
American Brandi Chastain scored the winning
spot-kick. A crowd of 90,185 attended the game—
the largest attendance for a women’s sports event
in history. (Jul. 25) Cyclist Lance Armstrong wins
his first Tour de France.
Crime:(Mar. 26) A jury in Michigan finds Dr. Jack
Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for ad-
ministering a lethal injection to a terminally ill
man. (Apr. 5) In order to avoid a possible death
sentence in the murder of Matthew Shepard, Rus-
sell Henderson pleads guilty to lesser charges
of kidnapping and felony murder. (Apr. 20)
Two students at Columbine High School open
fire on their teachers and classmates, killing
twelve students, one teacher, and then them-
selves. (Aug. 10) Buford O. Furrow, Jr., kills one
person and wounds five others during a shooting
at a Jewish community center in Los Angeles.
Rebecca KuzinsThe Nineties in America Time Line 1041