1st Black NYC Mayor
Appointed Mayor of New York, 1st black NYC Mayor
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1990 in United States of America
Explore 98 historical events and records for United States of America in 1990.
Historical records for United States of America in 1990
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 98 unique records.
98Unique records
1 of 3Page
37Named events on this page
20Named people on this page
8Places on this page
January
Mayor
Appointed Mayor of New York, 1st black NYC Mayor
Voyager Interstellar Mission Begins
The Voyager Interstellar Mission formally begins after completion of the spacecrafts' planetary encounters.
1st African-American Governor
1st elected African-American Governor in the United States
Election
1st elected African-American Governor in the United States
Death of Ava Gardner
Death of Ava Gardner
Film
Death of Ava Lavinia Gardner
February
Galileo Venus Flyby
Galileo flies past Venus for a gravity assist on its journey to Jupiter and obtains additional planetary observations.
Venus Cloud Observations
Galileo instruments observe Venus's clouds and atmospheric properties during the spacecraft's gravity-assist encounter.
Pale Blue Dot
Persuades NASA to command Voyager 1 to photograph Earth from beyond Neptune.
Solar System Family Portrait
Voyager 1 photographs a family portrait of the Solar System at Sagan's long-standing urging.
Voyager 1 Cameras Off
Voyager 1's imaging cameras are switched off after completion of the Solar System family portrait.
Election
The US backed coalition defeats Ortegas Sandanista Government
March
Congressional Gold Medal
Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by George HW Bush
Honours
Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by George HW Bush
April
Songs for Drella
Releases Songs for Drella with John Cale, a tribute to Andy Warhol.
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope, named in honour of astronomer Edwin Hubble, is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-31. It is deployed into orbit the following day.
May
Hubble First Light
Westphal's Wide Field and Planetary Camera team obtains Hubble's first image, demonstrating sharper resolution than typical ground-based observations.
June
Threshold Test Ban Verification Protocol
Signs verification protocols strengthening implementation of the Threshold Test Ban and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions treaties.
US Soviet Chemical Weapons Destruction Accord
Signs a bilateral agreement with Mikhail Gorbachev providing for destruction and non-production of chemical weapons.
Hubble Mirror Spherical Aberration
NASA identifies spherical aberration in Hubble's primary mirror, explaining the blurred appearance of the telescope's early images.
July
Trial
Declares in front of the Iran-Contra hearings his actions were sanctioned by superiors
August
Invasion Condemned
Supports an emergency Security Council response to the attack.
Invasion of Saudi Arabia
Sends US forces to Saudi Arabia to prevent an Iraqi invasion
Operation Desert Shield
Orders major US forces to deploy to Saudi Arabia.
Operation Desert Shield Ordered
Orders US forces to deploy to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Defence Deployment
The deployment deters further Iraqi expansion after Kuwait's invasion.
Venus Radar Mapping
Magellan enters Venus orbit and begins radar mapping.
Coalition Basing Agreement
Helps secure permission for major US deployments protecting the kingdom.
Coalition Force Planning
Advises the president during the coalition military buildup.
Coalition Headquarters Established
Organizes multinational forces preparing to protect Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Coalition Military Planning
Advises Bush during the coalition military buildup.
Desert Shield Buildup
Supports the military buildup intended to deter further Iraqi expansion.
Desert Shield Command
Commands US Central Command during Operation Desert Shield.
Desert Shield Command
Commands US Central Command during the defensive buildup.
Military Advice on Kuwait Crisis
Supports overwhelming force for any operation liberating Kuwait.
Saudi Deployment Discussions
Helps secure Saudi acceptance of large US force deployments.
Saudi Security Mission
Meets Saudi leaders during the early Gulf crisis.
September
During a speech in a special joint session of the US Congress
During a speech in a special joint session of the US Congress given on 11 September 1990, US President George H.
During a speech in a special joint session of the US Congress
During a speech in a special joint session of the US Congress given on 11 September 1990, US President George H.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.