1999

1999	UK [work and unemployment]	The new UK minimum wage of £3.60 per hour, announced in June 1998, comes into effect.
1 January 1999	Europe [economics]	The single European currency, the euro, is launched in 11 participating European Union (EU) countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. It performs strongly when trading begins on 4 January.
9 January 1999	USA [astronomy]	Astronomers from San Francisco State University announce the discovery of three more planets orbiting around neighbouring stars, bringing the total number of known planets outside our Solar System to 17.
14 January 1999	USA [administration]	The impeachment trial of US president Bill Clinton opens in the Senate in Washington, DC. It is the first-ever impeachment trial of an elected US president. The president is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in his testimony about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
23 January 1999	USA [astronomy]	NASA scientists photograph light emitted by a gamma-ray burst for the first time.
February 1999	World [physics]	Scientists succeed in slowing down the speed of light from its normal speed of 299,792 km/186,282 mi per second to 61 km/38 mi per hour, opening up potential for the development of high-precision computer and telecommunications technologies, as well as for the advanced study of quantum mechanics.
7 February 1999	Jordan [births and deaths]	Hussein bin Talal, King of Jordan 1953–99, dies in Jordan (63).
7 February 1999	France, Kosovo [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	Serbs and ethnic Albanian leaders from Kosovo meet at Rambouillet chateau outside Paris, France, to begin peace talks, with the threat of NATO attacks if they do not find a peaceful solution to the violence in the region within two weeks.
8 February 1999	England [births and deaths]	Iris Murdoch (Jean Iris Bayley), novelist and philosopher, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, dies in Oxford, England (79).
12 February 1999	USA [administration]	After a month-long impeachment trial, the US Senate acquits President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice, 55–45 and 50–50. The charges would have needed a two-thirds majority to dismiss the president from office.
March 1999	Russia [chemistry]	Russian scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Dubna create ununquadium (atomic number 114).
March 1999	USA [natural disasters]	Scientists discover a previously undetected fault running under Los Angeles, California, that could potentially cause a major earthquake. The Puente Hills fault extends for 40 km/25 mi.
1 March 1999	Switzerland [weapons]	An international treaty banning the use of antipersonnel land mines, signed by 133 countries, comes into effect, marked by a ceremony at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
18 March 1999	France, Albania, Serbia [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	Ethnic Albanian representatives sign a peace agreement in Paris, France, designed to end the conflict with the Serbian government over the autonomy of Kosovo. Serbian delegates, however, refuse to sign the accord because of its inclusion of a planned NATO peacekeeping force in the region.
25 March 1999	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Russia, China [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	Russia and China denounce the NATO air strikes against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, demanding a political rather than military solution to the conflict in Kosovo.
9 April 1999	Niger [political events]	Niger president Ibrahim Barre Mainassara is assassinated by members of his presidential guard at the airport in the capital, Niamey. A military government led by Daouda Wanke, head of the presidential guard, takes power.
11 April 1999	India, Pakistan [weapons]	Indian military forces conduct a test launch of a ballistic missile that is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Three days later Pakistan conducts two similar launches, renewing international concerns over the possibility of a nuclear arms race in south Asia.
12 April 1999	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	Foreign ministers from NATO's 19 member countries meet for the first time since bombing began in Kosovo. They pledge to continue the bombing campaign until Yugoslav president Slobodan Miloševic withdraws his forces from Kosovo and allows ethnic Albanian refugees to return safely.
12 May 1999	UK [political events]	The new Scottish Parliament comes into existence in Edinburgh. It is Scotland's first parliament for nearly 300 years.
19 May 1999	UK [poetry]	English poet Andrew Motion succeeds Ted Hughes as UK poet laureate.
25 May 1999	USA [weapons]	An all-party report from the US Congress claims that Chinese spies have infiltrated US weapons intelligence, stealing data on every major US nuclear warhead in recent years.
1 June 1999	Russia [space exploration]	The Russian space agency orders the cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station to return to Earth in August, abandoning the problem-ridden space station.
3 June 1999	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	The president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Miloševic formally accepts a peace plan devised by the European Union and Russia, after 72 days of NATO bombing. NATO plans to continue bombing until Serb forces begin to withdraw from the disputed region of Kosovo.
6 June 1999	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	Peace talks between Yugoslav and NATO military leaders are deadlocked when the Yugloslavs reject terms of a seven-day withdrawal out of Kosovo. NATO continues its bombing campaign, insisting it will not stop until Yugoslav president Slobodan Miloševic agrees to NATO's terms.
8 June 1999	UK [crime and punishment]	British politician Jonathan Aitken becomes the first former MP this century to be sent to prison, for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He is sentenced to 18 months in an open prison in West Sussex.
9 June 1999	Jordan [political events]	Abdullah II is crowned king of Jordan, inheriting the kingdom from his father, King Hussein, who died in February.
10 June 1999	Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [Balkan conflicts (c. 1991–2000)]	As Serb troops start to withdraw from Kosovo, NATO general secretary Javier Solana officially declares an end to the alliance's 78 days of bombing in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, marking an end to the war. NATO makes final preparations for Operation Joint Guardian, the largest peacekeeping force in modern history, which will facilitate the return of up to one million ethnic Albanian refugees to their homes in Kosovo.
11 June 1999	UK [economic conditions]	British chancellor Gordon Brown denounces the burden of debt for developing countries and pledges a $50 billion reduction from Britain, with further reductions to follow.
18 June 1999	Germany [economic conditions]	The Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations unveils a $100 billion package of debt relief for developing countries, at the end of a three-day economic summit in Cologne, Germany.
19 June 1999	UK [everyday life]	Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George's Chapel, Windsor, England. The Queen gives them the titles Earl and Countess of Wessex.
July 1999	[space exploration]	The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) crash-lands the spacecraft Lunar Prospector on the Moon, in order to stir up debris that can be analysed for evidence of water vapour.
1 July 1999	UK [law and government]	Queen Elizabeth II formally opens the Scottish Parliament, the first Scottish legislature in nearly 200 years.
14 July 1999	UK, Northern Ireland [diplomacy]	The Ulster Unionist Party rejects a peace plan proposed by British prime minister Tony Blair and Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern and refuses to attend the meeting scheduled for the following day to set up a new cabinet in Northern Ireland. The party's refusal to attend the meeting blocks the formation of the cabinet.
14 July 1999	UK [legislation]	The European Commission votes to formally end its ban on beef exports from Britain after veterinary officials reported that the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) is under control.
18 July 1999	[statistics and demography]	The US Census Bureau reports that the world population has reached 6 billion.
11 August 1999	UK [astronomy]	A total solar eclipse occurs in England. The path of the eclipse passes over Cornwall, England – the first total solar eclipse visible there since 1927. The eclipse is marred by poor visibility due to clouds and rain.
17 August 1999	Turkey [natural disasters]	An earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale strikes a densely populated industrial area of northwestern Turkey, near Izmit. The initial death toll rises to 2,000, but will exceed 13,000 by the following week.
23 August 1999	Germany [political events]	German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder formally inaugurates Berlin as the new capital of Germany. The German parliament held its final session in Bonn in July.
October 1999	Russia [biology]	A Russian expedition led by scientist Bernard Buigues discovers the carcass of a 23,000-year-old woolly mammoth frozen in Siberia. The carcass is flown to Khatanga, Russia, where scientists plan to clone the mammoth using an elephant as a surrogate mother.
26 October 1999	the Netherlands [legislation]	The Dutch parliament votes 49–26 to end the ban on brothels imposed in 1912. The law, which will go into effect in 2000, will legalise the Netherlands' sex industry.
29 October 1999	UK [legislation]	A European Union scientific committee rejects French claims that British beef can not be considered safe and rules that current regulations for the British beef do not need to be changed or tightened.
3 November 1999	UK [archaeology]	Scientists from the UK and China announce that they have identified fossils of two previously unknown species of fish in southern China that are 530 million years old. The find proves that vertebrates are at least 50 million years older than previously thought.
17 November 1999	USA, Arctic [ecology]	Scientists from the University of Washington in Seattle, USA, publish data showing that the Arctic icecap has shrunk by around 40% over the past 50 years, probably due to global warming. The Canadian Wildlife Service reports that polar bears in the area are in danger of starving to death because of their shortened hunting season.
20 November 1999	China [space exploration]	China launches its first spacecraft, an uncrewed vehicle that travels for 21 hours in space, from the Jinquan satellite centre in the northwest province of Gansu.
2 December 1999	UK, Ireland [law and government]	Northern Ireland's first all-inclusive power-sharing cabinet meets for the first time, in Belfast. Irish First Minister Bertie Ahern signs away articles two and three of the Irish constitution, giving up his country's territorial claim to Northern Ireland.
12 December 1999	UK [boxing]	Former US boxer Muhammad Ali is named British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Sports Personality of the Century.
31 December 1999	Portugal, China [decolonization]	The Portuguese territory of Macau is handed over to China after 442 years of colonial rule.