1990s History Trivia

1. In 1990, what Eastern European country was the first to denounce its state socialist economy?

From Quiz 20th-Century History in the 1990s

Answer: Poland

On 1st January 1990, Poland became the first Eastern European country to break off from the socialist economy. The country also withdrew from the Warsaw Pact.

From Quiz Events From the 1990s

Answer: 24th April 1990

The Hubble space telescope was placed into orbit by space shuttle Discovery. It was supposed to be launched in 1983, but the project was hampered by technical issues, finance issues, and the Challenger disaster in 1986. It was built by the United States space agency NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency. Spacecraft properties: manufacturer - Lockheed Martin (spacecraft) Perkin-Elmer (optics) dimensions; 13.2 m x 4.2 m (43 ft x 14 ft).

From Quiz Where did this Happen?: 1990s Edition

Answer: Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto was the daughter of former Pakistani Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. When she was elected as the Prime Minister of the country in 1988, she became the first woman to head a Muslim majority democracy. She went on to serve two separate terms as the 11th and 13th Prime Minister. On 25 January 1990 she gave birth to a daughter while the Prime Minister, becoming the first female Head of State to do so in modern times. It took nearly three decades for this feat to be repeated when New Zealand's Prime Minster Jacinda Arden gave birth while holding office in 2018.

From Quiz It Happened in 1993

Answer: Czechoslovakia

It was on the very first day of the year that Czechoslovakia ceased to exist, dissolving into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918, after World War I came to end and, with it, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although there was support for a continued federation of the two nations, the Slovaks declared in July 1992 their intention to become independent and negotiations began. The entire process was peaceful, leading to it gaining the "Velvet Divorce" moniker, similar to the peaceful Velvet Revolution of 1989.

From Quiz Fun Facts About the Year 1990

Answer: Mikhail Gorbachev

One of the most important men of the 20th century, Mikhail Gorbachev, was born on March 2, 1931 in Privolnoye, Russia to a poor family. Gorbachev's father was an agricultural mechanic on a collective farm in a village of 3,000 people. Young Mikhail was lucky enough to impress the local Communist party officials who sponsored him to enroll in the Moscow University School of Law at the age of 19. After joining the Party in 1952 Gorbachev quickly rose through the ranks becoming the youngest member of the ruling Politburo in 1980. In 1985 Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party and de facto ruler of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev inherited an empire weighed down by poor economic performance, heavy debt, and massive costs associated with Cold War hostilities. He tried to modernize the government through perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness). Gorbachev established positive ties to leading Western leaders, canceled development of new long range nuclear weapons and granted Soviet citizens greater freedoms of movement and liberty. Slowly Gorbachev desired to open Soviet society and transition from a centralized planned economy envisioned by Stalin to a form of market driven socialism. However the pace of domestic economic change was both slow and painful and by the end of the 1980s severe food shortages and inflation doomed his economic policies and emboldened submerged nationalists within the USSR to break away from the Union. In the end Gorbachev can be seen as the captain leading the USSR to dissolution. However, his steadfast unwillingness to destabilize the world with Soviet arms or take back the hard won freedom of its citizens earned him international appeal and the well deserved 1990 Nobel Peace Prize.

From Quiz Revisiting The 90s

Answer: Nelson Mandela&Mandela

Feb. 11, 1990 marked the day Nelson Mandela was freed from prison due to political reasons. He then became a driving force in ending Apartheid across South Africa.

From Quiz A Slice in Time: 1990s World History

Answer: Rum

The New Zealand Navy was the last of the former fleets of Her Majesty to stop the "rum tot." Canada ended it in 1972.

From Quiz I Love the 90's: 1991

Answer: The Sum of All Fears

"The Sum of All Fears" was part of the "Jack Ryan" series, along with "The Hunt for Red October" (1984) and "Patriot Games"(1987). It was also the fourth book of this series to be made into a film. The film starred Morgan Freeman and Ben Affleck and was released May 31, 2002.

From Quiz Quiz Like it's 1999

Answer: Hussein I bin Talal

King Hussein of Jordan ruled from 1952, upon the resignation of his father, King Talal, until his death in 1999. During that time, he oversaw the suppression of an attempted military coup by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (known as 'Black September in Jordan'), refused to support Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War (1991) and made a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. He was reportedly a great fan of the 'Austin Powers' movies, and loved to do impressions of the character 'Dr. Evil'.

From Quiz 1999

Answer: Sweden

Charlotte Nilsson's "Take Me to Your Heaven" received 163 points in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999, earning her first place. Selma Björnsdóttir from Iceland came second with 146 points singing "All out of luck", the German entrants Sürpriz with "Reise Nach Jerusalem" came close third with 140 points and Doris Dragoviæ from Croatia got 118 points and came fourth with her song "Marija Magdalena". However, Croatia's points were reduced by a third to 79 because the song used synthesised male backing voices. Her place in fourth was, however, unaffected.

From Quiz Do You Remember 1992?

Answer: Canada

Bondar's flight was on board NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery and, not only was she the first female Canadian in space (and 18th woman overall), she was also the first neurologist, male or female, to enter that realm. During her eight days in space she operated as a payload specialist and conducted experiments in respect to microgravity. Her career beyond this adventure saw her become the head of the NASA Space Medical division, where she continued her work into the body's responses to conditions of zero gravity.

From Quiz Heaven's Gate: Apocalyptic Suicides

Answer: San Diego, California, USA

Specifically, the group Heaven's Gate was located in Rancho Santa Fe, a very affluent neighborhood in San Diego.

From Quiz The Years 1986 to 2003

Answer: My Big Fat Greek Wedding

This little independent film became a bombshell at the box office. Tom Hanks also co-produced the movie. With a $1 million budget, the movie far exceeded anyone's hopes.

From Quiz Sequel to "We Didn't Start the Fire"

Answer: Moseley-Braun

Carol Moseley-Braun was elected into the Senate in 1992 breaking yet another color barrier. She introduced 14 separate bills and more than half became law!

From Quiz Timeline Questions from the 1990's

Answer: 1990

This was the first rap record to go all the way to #1. Vanilla Ice cooled off after this single, not having another hit on the billboard charts in the 1990's.

From Quiz Things That Happened in July 1998

Answer: Bill Cosby

Mikail Markhasev was convicted of killing Ennis W. Cosby. O'Connor's son committed suicide and Raphael's daughter died, but neither in 1998. As for Robert Blake, well...

From Quiz News of the 1990's

Answer: 100 hours

On February 28, 1991, President Bush ordered a cease-fire, which allowed the surviving Iraqi troops to escape back into southern Iraq.

From Quiz World Events in 1990

Answer: Panama

"Operation Just Cause" was codenamed in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. The operation was to remove General Manuel Noriega from power, who was wanted by the American authorities for racketeering and drug trafficking. The U.S force with about 27000 soldiers started the invasion on December 20, 1989. The Panamanian forces were quickly overran. Noriega managed to elude capture for several days and finally he went to seek for refuge in the Holy See diplomatic mission in Panama City. He was captured on January 3, 1990, and was deported to United States where he was tried, convicted and sentenced to 40-year jail term.

From Quiz 20th-Century History in the 1990s

Answer: Slovenia

On 25th June 1991, Slovenia declared independence from former Yugoslavia. This was followed by a brief war from 27th June to 7th July 1991 between the Slovenian Territorial Defence and the Yugoslav People's Army. The Brioni Accords were signed on 7th July 1991 to end the brief conflict.

From Quiz Events From the 1990s

Answer: 8th August 1991

The Warsaw radio mast was a radio mast located near G¹bin, Poland. Its 2 MW transmitters could send out signals that could be received almost all over the globe. The mast was initially constructed to replace the Raszyn radio transmitter. The height of the Warsaw radio mast was 646.38m (2,120.67 ft).

From Quiz Where did this Happen?: 1990s Edition

Answer: Japan

After the end of the Second World War, Japan undertook an extensive rebuilding of the country's economy. This led to a strong growth till the end of the 1980s. This coupled with relatively loose lending policies led to the creation of an asset price inflation. When this bubble burst suddenly in late 1991, it brought the economy to a grinding halt. Without sufficient global or local experience to draw on in dealing with this crisis, the stagnation continued for many years leading to this period becoming known as the "Lost Decade".

From Quiz It Happened in 1993

Answer: Bill Clinton

Then-incumbent Republican president George H W Bush was running for a second term in office, having held the position since 1989. However, Bill Clinton, the Democratic party candidate, prevailed in the election, edging out Bush by less than 6% of the vote. Clinton went on to serve two terms in office, before being succeeded by George W Bush, the son of Clinton's predecessor, returning the Republican party to government.

From Quiz Fun Facts About the Year 1990

Answer: Iraq

Kuwait was a part of the Ottoman Empire until becoming a British protectorate 1899. The British ruled both Iraq and Kuwait and did not set firm borders until 1923. Kuwait became independent in 1961 and joined the Arab League. Iraq pressed a claim that Kuwait was part of their territory but did not receive any regional or international support, so the matter was set aside. Large oil reserves fueling a highly prosperous economy caused Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to revive Iraq's claim to Kuwait. Saddam Hussein used this claim as the excuse to invade the neighboring country on August 2, 1990. The attack caught the US, Kuwait and other regional forces by surprise. Within hours the Iraqi military were only a few miles from the Kuwaiti capital city. Iraqi forces set up a perimeter at the border between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. At the urgings of both the Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian governments the US and supporting allies agreed to mount a counter-attack to liberate Kuwait. US forces entered combat under the operational name Desert Storm on January 16, 1991. Using a combination of troops, tanks and a devastating air attack, all of which was broadcast by news outlets across the globe, the US and coalition forces quickly routed the Iraqis and by February 28, 1991 had liberated Kuwait. The short "war" had cost the Iraqi's over 100,000 lives against less than 500 by the coalition. Unfortunately, the coalition mandate did not include removing Saddam Hussein from power. Despite the outcome of the war, Saddam Hussein remain the leader of Iraq until the Second Gulf War in 2003.

From Quiz A Slice in Time: 1990s World History

Answer: The USSR

Michail Gorbachev officially resigned as President of the USSR on December 25, 1991 and the office became extinct. Powers were handed over to Boris Yeltsin, as President of Russia. On December 26 the USSR's ruling government body, the Supreme Soviet, dissolved itself. This date is often seen as the true end of the nation formerly known as the United Soviet Socialist Republic, which became official on December 31. Magdalene College, in the University of Cambridge, began admitting women in 1988, the last Cambridge college to do so. The end of white rule in South Africa began with gradual reforms in the late 1980s and is said to have ended in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela as president.

From Quiz I Love the 90's: 1991

Answer: Nirvana

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was Nirvana first and biggest hit. This song was nominated for two Grammy Awards, but it lost both. Bummer! It also was number one on VH1's "Best Songs of the 90s". Awesome!

From Quiz I Love the 90s: 1990

Answer: J.K. Rowling

Of course, we all know Harry Potter is popular worldwide, both in the books and the movies. Who doesn't love Harry Potter? The train (from Manchester to London) was badly delayed and by time J K Rowling reached her apartment in south London she had already formed the idea of a school of wizardry and mental outlines of some of the characters.

From Quiz Quiz Like it's 1999

Answer: 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'

The rules were simple: answer increasingly difficult trivia questions to get to the Grand Prize Question worth 1 million U.S. dollars. It took until November 19 of that year before John Carpenter of Hamden, Connecticut became the first to win the Grand Prize.

From Quiz 1999

Answer: Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney won the Whitbread Poetry Award then went on to win the Best Book Award with "Beowulf". Tim Lott won the First Novel Award with "White City Blue", Rose Tremain won the Novel Award with "Music and Silence", David Cairns won the Biography Award with "Berlioz, Volume 2" and J K Rowling won the Children's Book Award with "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".

From Quiz Do You Remember 1992?

Answer: 500th

Held on the Isla de la Cartuia in Seville, Spain, between April 20 and October 12, that year, the event drew participants from more than 100 countries and, just under, 42 million visitors. The link with Columbus, who'd set sail for the Americas in 1492 with the support of Spain, was used to showcase the growth of Spain, and the nation's move towards modernisation. It saw the city of Seville transformed via a range of infrastructure projects, such as five new bridges, an upgraded airport and, the jewel in the crown, a high speed rail link between the city and Madrid.

From Quiz Heaven's Gate: Apocalyptic Suicides

Answer: Marshall Herff Applewhite

Marshall Herff Applewhite, the leader of the group was 66 when he died. As one of the leaders of the group, it is believed that he was one of the last ones to commit suicide.

This is category 1975
Last Updated Aug 01 2026 5:44 AM

= Top 5% Rated Quiz, Top 10% Rated Quiz, Top 20% Rated Quiz, A Well Rated Quiz
= added recently, = Editor's Pick = FunTrivia Editor = Gold Member
Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.