10 Years After the Berlin Wall Fell: Key Events of 1999

The Berlin Wall fell November 9, 1989. Ten years later, 1999 marked a pivotal year globally:

• Jan 1: Euro launched as accounting currency in 11 EU nations (coins/notes 2002).
• Feb 11: U.S. Senate rejects CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty) — 51–48.
• Mar 24: NATO bombs Yugoslavia (Operation Allied Force) — 78 days to halt Kosovo ethnic cleansing.
• Apr 20: Columbine High School massacre (Colorado) — 13 killed, 24 wounded; watershed for U.S. gun/school safety debate.
• Jul 2: Mexico's PRI loses Chamber of Deputies — first opposition majority in 71 years.
• Sep 30: Athens M7.4 quake — 143 dead, 2,000+ injured, widespread damage.
• Dec 31: Y2K preparations peak; world awaits millennium bug (largely averted).

Other 1999 milestones: Kosovo Force (KFOR) deploys; East Timor independence vote; Putin becomes PM then Acting President (Russia); WTO Seattle protests; The Matrix, Star Wars: Episode I, Fight Club released; Napster launches.