Our 20th wedding anniversary, highlights, year by year

May 17, 2003

1983

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • The year of the Cabbage Patch doll.
    • President Reagan introduces "Star Wars".
    • Australia wins the America's Cup after 132 years of unbroken American victory.
    • M*A*S*H ends after 251 episodes.
    • USSR shoots and destroys South Korean flight 007.
    • Camcorders are introduced.
    • US invades Grenada and more medals are handed out during the invasion than during the entire Vietnam war.
    • Sally Ride becomes first American woman in space, June 18th on the Challenger.
    • Compact discs are first released.
    • US Embassy in Beirut is bombed, killing 40 people.
    • Hackers break into computers at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
    • Last DeLoreans produced
    • French scientist Dr. Luc Montagnier discovered HIV.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Terms of Endearment
    • Grammy Album of the Year: Thriller, Michael Jackson
    • Song of the Year: Every Breath You Take, The Police
    • Best New Artist: Culture Club
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. Return of the Jedi Storybook, Joan D. Vinge, adapt.
      • 2. Poland, James A. Michener
      • 3. Pet Sematary, Stephen King
      • 4. The Little Drummer Girl, John Le Carre
      • 5. Christine, Stephen King
      • 6. Changes, Danielle Steel
      • 7. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
      • 8. White Gold Wielder: Book Three of The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson
      • 9. Hollywood Wives, Jackie Collins
      • 10. The Lonesome Gods, Louis L'Amour

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1984

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, US. The Soviets boycott.
    • Bishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
    • Indian Prime Minister, Indira Ghandi, is assassinated.
    • Brunei becomes an Independent Sultanate and the 159th U.N. member.
    • The Cosby show premiers.
    • Chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, December 3rd.
    • Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first woman Vice Presidential running mate.
    • Stonewashed jeans are introduced.
    • The first megabit chip is made at Bell Labs.
    • On January 28, Michael Jackson's hair caught fire during the shooting of Pepsi commercial, many children's rhymes ensued.
    • The first infomercials appear on TV due to de-regulation by the FCC.
    • The term cyberspace is coined by William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer.
    • Reagan makes famous joke: "My fellow Americans, I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." He supposedly didn't know the mic was on.
    • Apple Computer releases the Macintosh personal computer.
    • The PMRC (Parents' Music Resource Coalition) tries to stamp out good music.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Amadeus
    • Who ya gonna call?: Ghostbusters
    • Record of the Year: What's Love Got to Do With It, Tina Turner
    • Album of the Year: Can't Slow Down, Lionel Richie
    • Best New Artist: Cyndi Lauper
    • Miami Vice makes pastel popular
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Talisman, Stephen King and Peter Straub
      • 2. The Aquitaine Progression, Robert Ludlum
      • 3. The Sicilian, Mario Puzo
      • 4. Love and War, John Jakes
      • 5. The Butter Battle Book, Dr. Seuss
      • 6. ". . . And the Ladies of the Club," Helen Hooven Santmyer
      • 7. The Fourth Protocol, Frederick Forsyth
      • 8. Full Circle, Danielle Steel
      • 9. The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abromowitz, Joan Rivers
      • 10. Lincoln: A Novel, Gore Vidal

    PERSONAL EVENTS

    • Moved into Blacker House

1985

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • Gorbachev becomes (the last) president of the Soviet Union
    • Severe winter in Europe kills more than 100 people.
    • French sink the Greenpeace flagship 'Rainbow Warrior' in Auckland, New Zealand.
    • "We Are The World" is recorded by USA for Africa.
    • Crack cocaine starts to appear.
    • Brussels, Belgium: 39 dead, 250 wounded during a soccer match between Liverpool and Juventus.
    • Earthquake in Mexico / Volcano erupts in Colombia; 1000s killed.
    • New coke is introduced in April and quickly replaced with original Coke.
    • Titanic wreckage found and filmed by robotic camera in July.
    • In October, the worlds largest atom smasher goes on-line in Illinois.
    • Nintendo home entertainment system introduced.
    • Extra second added to the calender year.
    • Leaded gas is officially banned in the US.
    • Rock 'n' Roll Hall of fame is opened.
    • Rock Hudson, the first major public figure to die of AIDS, dies on October 2.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Out of Africa
    • Michael J Fox took us Back to the Future
    • Record of the Year: We Are the World, USA for Africa
    • Album of the Year: No Jacket Required, Phil Collins
    • Best New Artist: Sade
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Mammoth Hunters, Jean M. Auel
      • 2. Texas, James A. Michener
      • 3. Lake Wobegon Days, Garrison Keillor
      • 4. If Tomorrow Comes, Sidney Sheldon
      • 5. Skeleton Crew, Stephen King
      • 6. Secrets, Danielle Steel
      • 7. Contact, Carl Sagan
      • 8. Lucky, Jackie Collins
      • 9. Family Album, Danielle Steel
      • 10. Jubal Sackett, Louis L'Amour

    PERSONAL EVENTS

    • Summer Trip to Europe

1986

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • US warplanes bomb Libya.
    • Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are married and become the Duke and Duchess of York.
    • January 28, the Space Shuttle Challenger explodes.
    • Worst nuclear disaster ever in Chernobyl, USSR.
    • In Nyos, Cameroon, a cloud of carbon dioxide was released from the nearby lake Nyos on August 21 and killed approximately 1,700 people.
    • Argentina wins Soccer World Cup in Mexico.
    • Fox Network starts in America.
    • Iran Contra Scandal (Who can forget Ollie North?) is reported in November in a Lebanese magazine.
    • Vice President George Bush's broccoli incident, tons of the stuff is delivered to the White House.
    • Return of Haley's Comet.
    • Hands Across America, May 25, 1986.
    • Statue of Liberty celebrates the 100th Anniversary and gets a face lift in the process.
    • Arnold Schwarzenegger marries Maria Shriver.
    • "A.M. Chicago" changes its name to the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and goes national.
    • Turner Broadcasting begins to colorize black and white classics.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Platoon
    • Album of the Year: Graceland, Paul Simon
    • Best New Artist: Bruce Hornsby and the Range
    • Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera make their debut
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. It, Stephen King
      • 2. Red Storm Rising, Tom Clancy
      • 3. Whirlwind, James Clavell
      • 4. The Bourne Supremacy, Robert Ludlum
      • 5. Hollywood Husbands, Jackie Collins
      • 6. Wanderlust, Danielle Steel
      • 7. I'll Take Manhattan, Judith Krantz
      • 8. Last of the Breed, Louis L'Amour
      • 9. The Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy
      • 10. A Perfect Spy, John Le Carre

1987

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • Bill Gates, 32 year old founder of Microsoft becomes microcomputings first billionaire.
    • Black Monday world stock market share prices crash.
    • A Yugoslavian baby boy is declared the world's five billionth inhabitant.
    • Baby Jessica McClure falls down the well and is later rescued.
    • Battle for "Baby M" begins.
    • German lands airplane on Red Square, Moscow.
    • Artists protest the ongoing Sistine Chapel restoration.
    • Condom commercials begin to appear on TV for the first time.
    • US budget reaches the trillion dollar mark.
    • Bruce Willis marries Demi Moore, November 21.
    • The last California Condor was taken into captivity. There were only 27 in captivity at that point. By 1992 57 were in captivity and were beginning to be re-released into the wild.
    • Lane Frost won the PRCA World Championship in Bull Riding.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: The Last Emperor
    • Record of the Year: Graceland, Paul Simon
    • Album of the Year: Joshua Tree, U2
    • Best New Artist: Jody Watley
    • Les Miserables is awarded 8 Tony awards, including Best Musical.
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Tommyknockers, Stephen King
      • 2. Patriot Games, Tom Clancy
      • 3. Kaleidoscope, Danielle Steel
      • 4. Misery, Stephen King
      • 5. Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories, Garrison Keillor
      • 6. Windmills of the Gods, Sidney Sheldon
      • 7. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow
      • 8. Fine Things, Danielle Steel
      • 9. Heaven and Hell, John Jakes
      • 10. The Eyes of the Dragon, Stephen King

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1988

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • Widespread strikes by solidarity supporters take place in Poland.
    • McDonalds opens in Moscow.
    • Soviet troops begin to withdraw from Afghanistan after nine years occupation.
    • George Bush defeats Michael Dukakis for the US Presidency.
    • CDs outsell vinyl for the first time ever.
    • Summer Olympics in Seoul, South-Korea; Ben Johnson caught for steroids after setting a World Record in the 100 meter dash.
    • Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland; Lybian terrorists are suspected of planting the bomb.
    • Prozac is introduced as an anti-depressant.
    • US advertising is permitted on Soviet TV.
    • The first plutonium pacemaker is made.
    • Work begins on the Chunnel which will become the world's longest undersea tunnel.
    • Sonny Bono becomes Mayor in Palm Springs.
    • Benazir Bhutto becomes the first woman to head an Islamic nation.
    • Iran-Iraqi war ends in August.
    • Human Genome project begins.
    • Australia celebrates it's bicentenary.
    • Major fires swept through Yellowstone National Park.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Rain Man
    • Record of the Year: Don't Worry Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin
    • Album of the Year: Faith, George Michael
    • Best New Artist: Tracy Chapman
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Tom Clancy
      • 2. The Sands of Time, Sidney Sheldon
      • 3. Zoya, Danielle Steel
      • 4. The Icarus Agenda, Robert Ludlum
      • 5. Alaska, James A. Michener
      • 6. Till We Meet Again, Judith Krantz
      • 7. The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice
      • 8. To Be the Best, Barbara Taylor Bradford
      • 9. One: A Novel, Richard Bach
      • 10. Mitla Pass, Leon Uris

1989

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • The Berlin Wall crumbles and East and West Germany are re-united.
    • Thousands of pro-democracy students occupy Tienanmen Square, Peking. The government imposes martial law and uses tanks to disperse the students. Thousands are believed to be killed.
    • Hungary becomes a democratic country.
    • Romanian Communist Government is overthrown by the people.
    • Solidarity is victorious in the Polish Parliamentary elections.
    • Cold fusion is announced in March and then denounced at the end of summer as clumsy science.
    • Salmon Rushdie wanted dead by Iranian leader Khomeini.
    • Exxon Valdez oil disaster in Alaska in March.
    • The Fourteenth Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize.
    • The stealth bomber is finished.
    • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become an over night sensation.
    • Time and Warner combine to become Time Warner Inc.
    • Panama invasion, loud rock music drives Manuel Noreiga from his asylum.
    • Milli Vanilli gets Best New Artist Grammy which is later stripped when it's learned they were lip synching for another (much uglier) duo.
    • Pete Rose is banned from baseball for betting on games, August 24.
    • October 17th quake disrupts the third game of the world series between San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics.
    • Burma changes it's name to Myanmar.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Driving Miss Daisy
    • Record of the Year: Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler
    • Album of the Year: Nick of Time, Bonnie Raitt
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy
      • 2. The Dark Half, Stephen King
      • 3. Daddy, Danielle Steel
      • 4. Star, Danielle Steel
      • 5. Caribbean, James A. Michener
      • 6. The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
      • 7. The Russia House, John Le Carre
      • 8. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet
      • 9. California Gold, John Jakes
      • 10. While My Pretty One Sleeps, Mary Higgins Clark

    PERSONAL EVENTS

    • Bought our first house

1990

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • The Year of Gulf War.
    • The Hubble space telescope is launched into orbit.
    • Clean Air Act passed.
    • German Reunification - West & East Germany agree to merge currency & economies on July 1st.
    • Spotted Owl added to the threatened species list.
    • Sandinistas voted out of Nicaragua, Chamorro was elected president, the first female president of Central America.
    • Mapplethorpe show results in controversy.
    • Dr. Jack Kevorkian assists his first.
    • New movie rating NC-17 is passed.
    • Nelson Mandela is freed.
    • Africanized honey bees, the aggressive honey bees which escaped from Brazil in 1957, were first discovered in the United States at the border town of Hidalgo, Texas in October.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Dances with Wolves
    • Record of the Year: Another Day in Paradise, Phil Collins
    • Album of the Year: Back on the Block, Quincy Jones
    • Best New Artist: Mariah Carey
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Plains of Passage, Jean M. Auel
      • 2. Four Past Midnight, Stephen King
      • 3. The Burden of Proof, Scott Turow
      • 4. Memories of Midnight, Sidney Sheldon
      • 5. Message from Nam, Danielle Steel
      • 6. The Bourne Ultimatum, Robert Ludlum
      • 7. The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition, Stephen King
      • 8. Lady Boss, Jackie Collins
      • 9. The Witching Hour, Anne Rice
      • 10. September, Rosamunde Pilcher

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1991

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • The Soviet Union ends.
    • Yugoslavia falls apart after Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic blocked Croatian leader Stipe Mesic from assuming the presidency.
    • Lithuania , Latvia, and Estonia leave the Soviet Union.
    • Albanian refugees flee their country.
    • US President Zachary Taylor is exhumed. In order to discover whether his death was caused by arsenic poisoning instead of acute gastrointestinal illness. No arsenic was found.
    • Biosphere II is launched, fails and becomes the subject of a bad Pauly Shore film.
    • Tailhook Association scandal.
    • Earvin 'Magic' Johnson tests HIV positive.
    • Serial killer Jeffery Dahmer is arrested.
    • Chlorea outbreak in Peru. It was the first outbreak since the 19th century, and it spread to Ecuador and Colombia.
    • A videotape of Rodney King being beaten by four white police officers makes national headlines.
    • Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated.
    • Princess Diana and Prince Charles split.
    • Atlanta Braves lose World Series to Minnesota Twins.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: The Silence of the Lambs
    • Album of the Year: Unforgettable, Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole
    • Best New Artist: Marc Cohn
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind," Alexandra Ripley
      • 2. The Sum of All Fears, Tom Clancy
      • 3. Needful Things, Stephen King
      • 4. No Greater Love, Danielle Steel
      • 5. Heartbeat, Danielle Steel
      • 6. The Doomsday Conspiracy, Sidney Sheldon
      • 7. The Firm, John Grisham
      • 8. Night Over Water, Ken Follet
      • 9. Remember, Barbara Taylor Bradford
      • 10. Loves Music, Loves to Dance, Mary Higgins Clark

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1992

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • LA Riots sparked by not guilty verdict of the police officers who beat Rodney King.
    • El Salvador signed peace agreements between the leftist rebels and the rightist government. Open elections followed two years later.
    • Quebec votes to remain part of Canada.
    • Minnesota's Mall of America, 78 acres, becomes the largest shopping mall in the US.
    • John Gotti is found guilty on 13 counts, including racketeering and murder.
    • Congress bank check fiasco.
    • Hurricane Andrew hits Florida.
    • Johnny Carson leaves the Tonight Show.
    • Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson divorced first, then Princess Anne divorced her husband. The final and most noticeable divorce was Princess Di and Prince Charles.
    • Atlanta Braves lose to Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Unforgiven
    • Album of the Year: Unplugged, Eric Clapton
    • Best New Artist: Arrested Development
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. Dolores Claiborne, Stephen King
      • 2. The Pelican Brief, John Grisham
      • 3. Gerald's Game, Stephen King
      • 4. Mixed Blessings, Danielle Steel
      • 5. Jewels, Danielle Steel
      • 6. The Stars Shine Down, Sidney Sheldon
      • 7. Tale of the Body Thief, Anne Rice
      • 8. Mexico, James A. Michener
      • 9. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan
      • 10. All Around the Town, Mary Higgins Clark

1993

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • Clinton becomes 42nd president.
    • NAFTA ratified.
    • Menendez brothers go on trial for murder of parents.
    • Czechoslovakia splits.
    • Car bomb explodes at the World Trade Center in New York.
    • 98 million watch the final episode of Cheers.
    • Cult leader David Koresh and Davidian Compound members defy authorities in Waco Texas.
    • Bush and Yeltsin sign "Start II" treaty.
    • "Storm of the century" strikes eastern seaboard, killing approx. 270.
    • "Don't ask don't tell" is adopted by military to deal with Gays.
    • Brady Bill is passed mandating waiting period to buy guns.
    • European Union created.
    • Intel's "Pentium Processor" unveiled.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Schindler's List
    • Album of the Year: The Bodyguard, Original Soundtrack Album, Whitney Houston
    • Best New Artist: Toni Braxton
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Bridges of Madison County, Robert James Waller
      • 2. The Client, John Grisham
      • 3. Slow Waltz at Cedar Bend, Robert James Waller
      • 4. Without Remorse, Tom Clancy
      • 5. Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Stephen King
      • 6. Vanished, Danielle Steel
      • 7. Lasher, Anne Rice
      • 8. Pleading Guilty, Scott Turow
      • 9. Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel
      • 10. The Scorpio Illusion, Robert Ludlum

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1994

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • OJ Simpson makes a break for it in a Bronco.
    • Civil war in Rwanda, 500,000 people killed.
    • IRA peace talks result in a cease-fire.
    • Existence of black holes proved.
    • Major League baseball players strike and the World Series was canceled.
    • Soccer World Cup held in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena.
    • Whitewater scandal begins.
    • Chunnel opens in May.
    • Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Encounters Jupiter
    • Republican majority in both houses of Congress.
    • Oldest Human Remains Found. The oldest known human ancestor (Ardipithecus ramidus) is found in Kenya, East Africa. The find was estimated at 4.4 million years old.
    • Northridge earthquake.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Forest Gump
    • Album of the Year: MTV Unplugged, Tony Bennett
    • Best New Artist: Sheryl Crow
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Chamber, John Grisham
      • 2. Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy
      • 3. The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield
      • 4. The Gift, Danielle Steel
      • 5. Insomnia, Steven King
      • 6. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, James Finn Garner
      • 7. Wings, Danielle Steel
      • 8. Accident, Danielle Steel
      • 9. The Bridges of Madison County, Robert James Waller
      • 10. Disclosure, Michael Crichton

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1995

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • Dow Jones Index hits record 4303.98.
    • The Oklahoma City bombing.
    • Large earthquake in Japan.
    • OJ Simpson found innocent.
    • Ebola virus kills 244 Africans in Kikwit, Zaire.
    • Atlanta Braves win World Series vs Cleavland.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Braveheart
    • Album of the Year: Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette
    • Best New Artist: Hootie and the Blowfish
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Rainmaker, John Grisham
      • 2. The Lost World, Michael Crichton
      • 3. Five Days in Paris, Danielle Steel
      • 4. The Christmas Box, Richard Paul Evans
      • 5. Lightning, Danielle Steel
      • 6. The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield
      • 7. Rose Madder, Stephen King
      • 8. Silent Night, Mary Higgins Clark
      • 9. Politically Correct Holiday Stories, James Finn Garner
      • 10. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans

1996

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • The unabomber, Kaczynski arrested in Montana.
    • Olympic Park bombing. After killing one person, a security guard named Richard Jewell came under suspicion initially but was cleared in the incident. No one has been convicted of setting the bomb.
    • The Oakland, California School board elects to recognize black English, termed Ebonics as a separate language.
    • Princess Diana and Prince Charles are divorced. She has her 'HRH' removed.
    • Highest scoring baseball game in 17 years - Twins 24, Tigers 11
    • Atlanta Braves lose to NY Yankees in the World Series.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: The English Patient
    • Record of the Year: Change the World, Eric Clapton
    • Album of the Year: Falling Into You, Celine Dion
    • Best New Artist: LeAnn Rimes
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Runaway Jury, John Grisham
      • 2. Executive Orders, Tom Clancy
      • 3. Desperation, Stephen King
      • 4. Airframe, Michael Crichton
      • 5. The Regulators, Richard Bachman
      • 6. Malice, Danielle Steele
      • 7. Silent Honor, Danielle Steel
      • 8. Primary Colors, Anonymous
      • 9. Cause of Death, Patricia Cornwell
      • 10. The Tenth Insight, James Redfield

1997

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • England handed Hong Kong to China after 156 years of British rule.
    • Scientists cloned Dolly the sheep.
    • Heaven's Gate Cult mass suicide. They believed they would be sent up to a spaceship behind the passing Hale Bopp comet.
    • Mars Pathfinder lands on Mars.
    • Princess Diana's Funeral.
    • Comet Hale-Bopp 1st spotted, about 80% of Americans saw it without a telescope.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Titanic
    • Album of the year: Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan
    • New Artist: Paula Cole
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Partner, John Grisham
      • 2. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
      • 3. The Ghost, Danielle Steel
      • 4. The Ranch, Danielle Steel
      • 5. Special Delivery, Danielle Steel
      • 6. Unnatural Exposure, Patricia Cornwell
      • 7. The Best Laid Plans, Sidney Sheldon
      • 8. Pretend You Don't See Her, Mary Higgins Clark
      • 9. Cat & Mouse, James Patterson
      • 10. Hornet's Nest, Patricia Cornwell

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1998

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • India resumes nuclear testing May 12th, violating a worldwide ban on nuclear testing.
    • Clinton admits to Lewinsky affair.
    • The House approves impeachment inquiry.
    • The year of El Nino.
    • Peace in Northern Ireland. A historic agreement was made, which brought a final peace to Northern Ireland.
    • Bob Barker's game show The Price is Right, aired his 5,000th episode on CBS in the summer.
    • John Glenn returns to space.
    • Home Run Chase: Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both chased the home run record set by Roger Maris in 1961, in the end, both broke it, with 70 and 66 home runs.
    • Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, announced through her lawyer that she would be leaving the Spice Girls due to differences in the band.
    • Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Shakespeare in Love
    • Record: My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion
    • Album of the year: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill
    • New Artist: Lauryn Hill
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Street Lawyer, John Grisham
      • 2. Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy
      • 3. Bag of Bones, Stephen King
      • 4. A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe
      • 5. Mirror Image, Danielle Steel
      • 6. The Long Road Home, Danielle Steel
      • 7. The Klone and I, Danielle Steel
      • 8. Point of Origin, Patricia Cornwell
      • 9. Paradise, Toni Morrison
      • 10. All Through the Night, Mary Higgins Clark

    PERSONAL EVENTS

1999

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • The Year of the Columbine shooting.
    • Earthquake in Turkey kills 13,000.
    • The world's six billionth person is born.
    • NASA loses two Mars bound space probes. The first in October, the Climate Orbiter is lost when a team of scientists fails to covert between English units and the Metric system. The second in December is the Polar Lander, a $165 million probe.
    • Panama Canal is handed back to Panama.
    • Pokemon fever grips the US becoming the hottest toy for children in 1999.
    • First non-stop world trip in a balloon.
    • The Elian Gonzales custody battle.
    • Creation of the Euro.
    • Ahmed Zewail wins Nobel Chemistry prize for creating the world's fastest camera, which captures atoms in motion.
    • Atlanta Braves lose to NY Yankees in the World Series.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: American Beauty
    • Album of the year: Supernatural, Santana
    • New Artist: Christina Aguilera
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Testament, John Grisham
      • 2. Hannibal, Thomas Harris
      • 3. Assassins, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
      • 4. Star Wars: Episode 1, The Phantom Menace, Terry Brooks
      • 5. Timeline, Michael Crichton
      • 6. Hearts in Atlantis, Stephen King
      • 7. Apollyon, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
      • 8. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Stephen King
      • 9. Irresistible Forces, Danielle Steel
      • 10. Tara Road, Maeve Binchy

    PERSONAL EVENTS

2000

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • New millennium begins.
    • Stocks plunge beginning of the end of the Internet stock boom.
    • Nobel Prize in Literature: Gao Xingjian (China) for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights, and linguistic ingenuity, which has opened new paths for the Chinese novel and drama.
    • Mad cow disease alarms Europe.
    • 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney, Australia.
    • Charles Shultz dies.
    • Richard Hatch wins first Survivor show.
    • Human genome deciphered.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Gladiator
    • Album of the year: Two Against Nature, Steely Dan
    • New Artist: Shelby Lynne
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. The Brethren, John Grisham
      • 2. The Mark: The Beast Rules the World, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
      • 3. The Bear and the Dragon, Tom Clancy
      • 4. The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
      • 5. The Last Precinct, Patricia Cornwell
      • 6. Journey, Danielle Steel
      • 7. The Rescue, Nicholas Sparks
      • 8. Roses Are Red, James Patterson
      • 9. Cradle and All, James Patterson
      • 10. The House on Hope Street, Danielle Steel

    PERSONAL EVENTS

2001

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • US spy plane and Chinese jet collide.
    • Without the US, 178 nations reach agreement on climate accord to limit greenhouse gases.
    • In response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. and British forces launch bombing campaign on Taliban government and al-Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan.
    • Lakers win NBA championship
    • Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes 80 mi outside of Pittsburgh (Sept. 11).
    • Anthrax scare rivets nation, as anthrax-laced letters are sent to various media and government officials.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: A Beautiful Mind
    • Album: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
    • New Artist: Alicia Keys
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. Desecration, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
      • 2. Skipping Christmas, John Grisham
      • 3. A Painted House, John Grisham
      • 4. Dreamcatcher, Stephen King
      • 5. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
      • 6. Black House, Stephen King and Peter Straub
      • 7. The Kiss, Danielle Steel
      • 8. Valhalla Rising, Clive Cussler
      • 9. A Day Late and a Dollar Short, Terry McMillan
      • 10. Violets Are Blue, James Patterson

    PERSONAL EVENTS

2002

    POLITICS and HISTORY

    • China's Jiang Zemin officially retires as general secretary; Hu Jintao named as his successor.
    • East Timor becomes a new nation.
    • International Criminal Court wins UN ratification; U.S. refuses to ratify.
    • U.S. and Afghan troops launch Operation Anaconda against remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
    • Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize.
    • Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.

    ENTERTAINMENT and AWARDS

    • Academy Award, Best Movie: Chicago
    • Album of the year: Come Away with Me, Norah Jones
    • New Artist: Norah Jones
    • Books: Best Sellers (Fiction)
      • 1. Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark
      • 2. Star Wars: Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones by R. A. Salvatore
      • 3. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
      • 4. City of Bones by Michael Connelly
      • 5. A Thousand Country Roads by Robert James Waller
      • 6. Everything's Eventual by Stephen King
      • 7. The Summons by John Grisham
      • 8. Three Fates by Nora Roberts
      • 9. The Short Forever by Stuart Woods
      • 10. Atonement by Ian McEwan
      • The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold has a character named Susie Salmon.

PERSONAL EVENTS

2003

Lynn Garry Salmon <>{