What Happened in December 1990

Historical Events

Dec 1 55th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 16-7 in Birmingham
Dec 1 56th Heisman Trophy Award: Ty Detmer, Brigham Young (QB)

Latest Wonder of the World

Dec 1 British and French workers meet in the middle of the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel

Tunnel diggers from France and England meet half way. Photo: Rex Features

US Victory

Dec 1 Davis Cup Tennis, St. Petersburg, Florida: Rick Leach and Jim Pugh beat Australian pair Pat Cash and John Fitzgerald 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 to clinch an unassailable 3-0 lead (ends 3-2) for the US

Tennis Player and Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash

Chad Dictator Flees

Dec 1 Dictator of Chad Hissène Habré flees to Cameroon

Dec 1 Iraq accepts Bush's offer for talks
Dec 1 Lithuania, Estonia & Latvia hold their 1st joint session

Patrick Ewing

Dec 1 New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing scores career high 22 field goals in his 50 point haul in 113-96 win v Charlotte at Madison Square Garden

Dec 2 First parliamentary election in newly reunified Germany
Dec 2 First time 12 people in space at the same time
Dec 2 US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) launches into orbit
Dec 4 An Iraqi official reports that Iraq will withdraw if it can retain control of the Rumailah field and keep Bubiyan and Werbah islands; also says that demands that the Palestinian issue be treated separately would not be surmountable
Dec 4 Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in NYC
Dec 4 Iraq announces it will release all 3,300 Soviet hostages
Dec 5 Blue Jays trade F McGriff & T Fernandez to SD for R Alomar & J Carter

Rushdie Appears in Public

Dec 5 British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie appears in public for 1st time in 2 years after Iran called for his assassination

Dec 5 Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty
Dec 5 Iraq announces willingness to speak with US about resolving the Persian Gulf crisis
Dec 6 NHL grants conditional membership to Tampa Bay Lightning

Hussein Releases Hostages

Dec 6 Saddam Hussein announces release of all foreign hostages

Iraqi President and Dictator Saddam Hussein

Dec 6 Shoeless Joe Jackson's signature sells, at aucton, for $23,100
Dec 7 Iraqi Parliament endorses Saddam Hussein's decision to free hostages

Turner, Fonda Engaged

Dec 7 Ted Turner & Jane Fonda announce their engagement

Dec 8 Indians agree to a lease new ballpark in Gateway (Jacobs Field)
Dec 8 NASA discovers life on Earth - in famous control experiment looking for alien life, using spacecraft Galileo's gravity assist fly-by Earth at close altitude of 597 miles (960 km) on its way to Jupiter [1] [2]
Dec 9 23rd NAACP Image Awards: "Coming to America" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
Dec 9 Gunda Niemann skates ladies world record 3k ladies (4:10.80)
Dec 9 Houston scores most points against Cleveland, Oilers 58, Browns 14

Wałęsa Elected President

Dec 9 Lech Wałęsa wins the first direct presidential election in Poland

Polish Politician and Labor Activist Lech Wałęsa

Dec 9 NFL NY Giant Otis Anderson becomes 8th to rush for 10,000th yard
Dec 10 Hindu-Muslim rebellion in Hyderabad-Aligargh India, 140 die
Dec 10 Soyuz TM-10 lands
Dec 10 Space Shuttle STS 35 (Columbia 11) lands
Dec 11 13 die in 83 vehicle accident in Chattanooga Tn I-75, due to fog
Dec 11 US 69th manned space mission STS 35 (Columbia 11) returns from space
Dec 12 US accuses Iraq of dragging its feet on dates for talks
Dec 12 US ambassador to Kuwait, Nathaniel Howell, leaves Kuwait
Dec 13 Heavy earthquake strikes Sicily, 18 die
Dec 13 Revival of Leigh, Charlap, Styne, Comden and Green's musical "Peter Pan", starring Cathy Rigby, opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater, NYC; runs for 45 performances

Klerk, Mandela Discuss Apartheid End

Dec 13 South African President F. W. de Klerk meets with Nelson Mandela to discuss the end of apartheid

Anti-apartheid Activist and South African President Nelson Mandela

Dec 13 US Secretary of State Baker questions Iraq's seriousness about Middle East peace

Five Guys Named Moe

Dec 14 Louis Jordan's revue "Five Guys Named Moe" premieres in London

Dec 14 Right to Die case permits Nancy Cruzan to have her feeding tube removed, she dies 12 days later
Dec 16 KUSW, Salt Lake City Utah, final shortwave radio transmissions
Dec 16 Rev. Jean-Bertrand Aristide elected President of Haiti
Dec 17 KTBN, Salt Lake City Utah, begins shortwave radio transmissions
Dec 18 Bush reiterates his "no concessions" stance against Iraq
Dec 18 NL announces Buffalo, Denver, Miami, Orlando, Tampa-St Petersburg, & Washington, D.C. as 6 finalist for 1993 expansion (Miami & Denver win)
Dec 20 Pentagon warns Saddam that US air power is ready to attack on 1/15
Dec 20 Robert F X Sillerman purchases WAFL NY-NJ Knights for $11 million

Shevardnadze Resigns

Dec 20 Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigns

President of Georgia and Soviet Diplomat Eduard Shevardnadze

Dec 20 The world's first website and server go live at CERN
Dec 21 Steve & Mark Waugh complete 464* partnership for NSW v WA
Dec 22 Iraq announces it will never give up Kuwait
Dec 22 Israeli ferry capsizes killing 21 US servicemen
Dec 22 Labor activist Lech Wałęsa sworn in as Poland's first popularly elected president

Coffey 2nd to Score 1000

Dec 22 Paul Coffey becomes the second NHL defenceman to record 1000 points, doing so in a record-breaking 770 games

Dec 23 Comedy "Lettice & Lovage" closes at Barrymore Theater, NYC after 284 performances
Dec 23 Slovenians vote to secede from Yugoslavia

Raines to White Sox

Dec 24 Expos trade Tim Raines to White Sox for Ivan Calderon & Barry Jones

Dec 24 Saddam Hussein says Israel will be Iraq's 1st target

"The Godfather Part III"

Dec 25 "The Godfather Part III" directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton and Andy Garcia premieres

Dec 25 Ballon d'Or: Inter's German sweeper Lothar Matthäus is named best football player in Europe ahead of Juventus striker Salvatore Schillaci and Inter defender Andreas Brehme

Kasparov Defeats Karpov

Dec 26 Garry Kasparov defeats fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov to retain the world chess championship

Chess Grandmaster and Political Activist Garry Kasparov

Dec 26 Reggie Williams becomes 1st GM of WLAF's NY-NJ Knights
Dec 26 Senior Professional Baseball Association folds
Dec 27 Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames, 4-1 to record their 500th all-time NHL victory; set in just 915 games for a record of 500-295-120, good for a winning % of .612; best in history upon reaching milestone
Dec 28 2 die and 188 injured in a NYC subway electrical fire in tunnel near Clark Street, Brooklyn
Dec 28 Blockbuster Bowl 1: Florida State beats Penn State, 24-17
Dec 30 "Miser" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 93 performances
Dec 30 11th United Negro College Fund raises $10,000,000
Dec 31 Iraq begins a military draft of 17-year-olds
Dec 31 Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting
Dec 31 United Somali Congress seizes Presidential Palace

Events in 1990

Famous Birthdays

Dec 1 Chanel Iman, American model (Victoria's Secret Angel), born in Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 2 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ghanaian soccer midfielder (78 caps; Udinese), born in Berekum, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana
Dec 2 Gastón Ramírez, Uruguayan soccer midfielder (43 caps; Sampdoria), born in Fray Bentos, Uruguay
Dec 3 Christian Benteke, Belgian soccer striker (93 caps; Genk, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Aston Villa), born in Kinshasa, Zaire
Dec 7 Marte Olsbu Røiseland, Norwegian biathlete (Olympic gold women's sprint, pursuit, mixed relay 2022; 11 x World C'ship gold), born in Arendal, Norway
Dec 8 Jakub Józef Orliński, Polish operatic countertenor singer, and break-dancer, born in Warsaw, Poland
Dec 9 LaFee [Christina Klein], German pop-rock singer, and actress, born in Büsbach, Germany
Dec 10 Giulia Boverio, Italian actress
Dec 10 Teyana Taylor, American singer-songwriter, actress and TV personality (Teyana and Iman), born in New York City
Dec 11 Alexa Demie, American actress (Euphoria), born in Los Angeles, California
Dec 12 Victor Moses, Nigerian footballer, born in Lagos, Nigeria
Dec 19 Sally Fitzgibbons, Australian surfer (ISA World Games gold 2008, 18, 21; WSL World Tour 2010, 11, 12 runner-up), born in Gerroa, Australia
Dec 20 Bugzy Malone [Aaron Davies], English rapper and songwriter ("Out of Nowhere"), born in Manchester, England

JoJo [Joanna Levesque] (33 years old)

Dec 20 American pop singer-songwriter ("Too Little Too Late"; "Baby It's You"), born in Brattleboro, Vermont

Dec 21 Gianluca Buccellati, American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Arlo Parks; Tei Shi,; White China), born in Mount Kisco, New York
Dec 22 Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor, born in Brignoles, France
Dec 22 Josef Newgarden, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 2023; IndyCar Series 2017, 19; Indy Lights 2011), born in Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 23 Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress, model, and singer, born in San Francisco, California
Dec 26 Aaron Ramsey, Welsh footballer, born in Caerphilly, United Kingdom
Dec 27 Luis Trujillo, Peruvian Football Player
Dec 27 Milos Raonic, Canadian tennis player (8 ATP titles), born in Titograd, Montenegro
Dec 28 David Archuleta, American singer (American Idol runner-up), born in Miami, Florida
Dec 30 Joe Root, English cricket batsman and captain (HS 254; Yorkshire CCC), born in Sheffield, England

Born in 1990

Famous Weddings

John Carpenter

Dec 1 Film director John Carpenter (36) weds producer Sandy King

David Lean

Dec 15 British Academy Award-winning "Lawrence of Arabia" director David Lean (82) weds 6th (and final) wife, British interior designer Sandra Cooke (51), until his death 4 months later

Natasha Richardson

Dec 15 British actress Natasha Richardson (27) weds British stage and screen producer Robert Fox (37); divorce in 1992

Rod Stewart

Dec 15 British singer Rod Stewart (45) weds American supermodel Rachel Hunter (21); divorce in 2006

Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise

Dec 24 Actor Tom Cruise (28) marries actress Nicole Kidman (23)

Dec 29 Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton weds Shannon Kelley

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Jan Hendrik de Groot, Dutch co-founder of Vrij Nederland), dies at 89
Dec 1 Robert Gordon, American child actor (billed as "Bobby" - The Jazz Singer; Mountains of Manhattan), and director (The Joe Louis Story), dies at 77

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900-1990)

Dec 1 Indian diplomat and politician who was the 1st woman to hold a cabinet post in India, dies at 90

Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Dec 2 American composer (Billy the Kid, Fanfare for Common Man), dies of Alzheimer's disease and respiratory failure at 90

Dec 2 Robert Cummings, American actor (Love that Bob, Dial M For Murder), dies of kidney failure at 80
Dec 3 Gavin Reed, actor (Body Beneath), dies at 59
Dec 4 Edward Binns, American actor (12 Angry Men; Fail-Safe), dies of a heart attack at 74
Dec 5 Steven Shaw, dies at 25
Dec 6 Bob Hamilton, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1944), dies at 74
Dec 6 Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek rock singer, songwriter and guitarist (Electric Theseus), dies from a heroin overdose at 42

Tunku Abdul Rahman (1903-1990)

Dec 6 Malaysia's founding father, 1st Prime Minister of Malaya (1957-63) and Malaysia (1963-70), dies at 87

Dec 7 Dee Clark, American pop singer ("Raindrops"), dies at 52
Dec 7 Horst Bienek, German writer and director (The First Polka), dies at 60
Dec 7 Jean Duceppe, Quebec actor (Mon oncle Antoine), dies at 67
Dec 7 Jean Paul Lemieux, Canadian painter, dies at 86
Dec 7 Joan Bennett, American actress (House Across the Bay), dies at 80
Dec 7 Peter Mieg, Swiss composer, dies at 84
Dec 7 Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban poet and novelist (Pentagonia), dies at 47
Dec 8 Boris Kochno, Russian ballet dancer (La Chatte) and librettist, dies at 86
Dec 8 Martin Ritt, American actor and director (The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, Slugger's Wife, End of the Game), dies at 76
Dec 8 Pony Sherrell Metcalf, American singer, dies of heart attack at undisclosed age
Dec 9 Mike Mazurki, Austrian-American actor and professional wrestler (Some Like It Hot, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World), dies at 82
Dec 10 Armand Hammer, American industrialist (Occidental Petroleum), dies at 92
Dec 11 Fernand Collin, Belgian economist and banker, dies at 92

Alice Marble (1913-1990)

Dec 13 American tennis player (US Open 1936, 1938-40), dies of pernicious anaemia at 77

Dec 14 Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss playwright and novelist (The Physicists, The Visit). dies of heart failure at 69
Dec 14 Hope Sansberry, American actress (Rats are Coming), dies at 94
Dec 14 Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn und Taxis, German businessman, dies at 64
Dec 15 Betty Warren, British actress (Passport to Pimlico), dies at 83
Dec 15 Jean Paige, American silent film actress (Capt Blood; Black Beauty), dies at 95
Dec 16 Douglas Campbell, American aviator and World War I flying ace, dies at 94
Dec 17 Don Draper, American actor (Pepper Agent 00X), dies of AIDS at 61
Dec 17 Mieke Verstraete [Maria Augustina De Graef], Belgian-Dutch actress (Pleasantly Settled), dies at 79
Dec 18 Anne Revere, actress (National Velvet), dies of pneumonia at 87
Dec 18 Connie Russell, American singer (Club Embassy; Garroway at Large), dies at 67
Dec 18 Paul Tortelier, French concert cellist, composer, and teacher, dies at 76
Dec 19 Basil Henson, actor (Change Partners), dies of stroke at 71
Dec 19 Massimo Amfiteatrof [Maksim Amfiteatrov], Russian-Italian classical musician, known as 'the Cellists' Caruso', dies at 83
Dec 20 (William) Elmo Tanner, American big band singer, whistler (Ted Weems Orchestra - "Heartaches"), bandleader, and DJ, dies at 86
Dec 21 Kelly Johnson, American aircraft engineer (Lockheed Skunk Works, Lockheed U-2, SR-71 Blackbird), dies at 80
Dec 22 Cecil Effinger, American oboist, composer, and inventor of a music typewriter, dies at 76
Dec 22 Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league winger (31 Tests; NSW 24 games; North Sydney RLFC, Manly-Warringah RLFC; record first-grade career tries–212), dies from chronic myeloid leukaemia at 50
Dec 23 Frank King, West Indian cricketer (WI fast bowler played 14 Tests 1953-56), dies at 64
Dec 23 Wendell Scott, American auto racer (first black driver to win a race at NASCAR's premier level [Jacksonville 200 1963]), dies from spinal cancer at 69
Dec 24 Thorbjørn Egner, Norwegian author (b. 1922)
Dec 25 Marguerite N Wittenberg, entertainer, dies of cancer at 77
Dec 26 Nancy Cruznan, accident victim/right-to-die case, dies at 33
Dec 27 Helene Stanley, American actress (Carnival Story, Roar of the Crowd),and live-action model for Disney animators (Cinderealla; Sleeping Beauty), dies at 61
Dec 28 Ed van der Elsken, Dutch photographer (Sweet Life), dies at 65
Dec 28 Kiel Martin, American actor (Hill Street Blues - "Det. LaRue"), dies of cancer at 46
Dec 28 Lucas Polhaupessy, Moluccan leader, dies
Dec 28 Walter Burle Marx, Brazilian pianist and composer, dies at 88
Dec 31 Dalton Cathey, American actor dies of AIDS at 44
Dec 31 George Allen, American Pro Football HOF coach (NFL Coach of the Year 1967, 71; LA Rams, Washington Redskins), dies at 72
Dec 31 Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev, Soviet Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, Soyuz 18A), dies at 62

On This Day