Accelerating Expansion Announced
Perlmutter publicly presents Supernova Cosmology Project evidence that the expansion of the universe is not being halted by gravity and is instead accelerating.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1998 in United States of America
Explore 108 historical events and records for United States of America in 1998.
Historical records for United States of America in 1998
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 40 of 108 unique records.
108Unique records
1 of 3Page
26Named events on this page
13Named people on this page
10Places on this page
January
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Eagles.
ACE Solar Wind Operations Begin
Begins routine ACE science operations at the Sun-Earth L1 region, providing continuous solar-wind particle and magnetic-field measurements upstream of Earth.
February
Purchase of Minnesota Vikings
Tom Clancy signs agreement to purchase Minnesota Vikings for slightly more than $200 million
Death of Carl Wilson
Death of Carl Wilson, the Beach Boys officially break up shortly after Carl Wilson's death
Voyager Distance Record
Voyager 1 passes Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object.
Grammy Album of the Year
Wins Album of the Year for Time Out of Mind.
March
Europa March Flyby
Galileo makes another targeted pass of Europa during the extended mission.
April
From the Earth to the Moon
Produces a television miniseries about the Apollo program.
Belfast Peace Agreement
Leads a commission that establishes the principles of non-violence to which all parties in Northern Ireland adhere and chairs the all-party peace negotiations leading to the Belfast Peace Agreement signed on Good Friday
Constitution of USA
Cross-border links & constitutional & ecomomic changes in North Ireland are agreed
Good Friday Accord
Cross-border links & constitutional & ecomomic changes in North Ireland are agreed. Chairs negotiations which lead to the Good Friday Accord
Good Friday Accord
Leads a commission that establishes the principles of non-violence to which all parties in Northern Ireland adhere and chairs the all-party peace negotiations leading to the Belfast Peace Agreement signed on Good Friday
Cassini Venus Flyby
Cassini performs its first Venus gravity assist while travelling toward Saturn and conducts limited observations of the planet.
May
Death of Frank Sinatra
Death of Frank Sinatra
Peace
Says of North Ireland, "Peace is no longer a dream. It is a reality"
Europa May Flyby
Galileo conducts a further Europa encounter to examine the icy surface and surrounding environment.
June
Voyager 1 Infrared Instrument Shutdown
Voyager 1's infrared interferometer spectrometer is switched off to conserve limited electrical power.
Government
Arrives in China & receives an open letter from founders of the China Democratic Party
Government
Clinton apearrs on Chinese TV with Jing Zemin discussing human rights
Politics
Clinton apearrs on Chinese TV with Jing Zemin discussing human rights
Government
Gives a lecture at Beijing University on the importance of human rights
Politics
Gives a lecture at Beijing University on the importance of human rights
July
Medal
For his involvement in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations, Mitchell is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Liberty Medal
Europa July Flyby
Galileo returns to Europa during a sequence of repeated extended-mission encounters.
August
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda bomb the US Tanzanian embassy. Al-Qaeda bomb the US Kenyan embassy
Bombing of US Embassies
Al-Qaeda bomb the US Tanzanian embassy
Government
Al-Qaeda bomb the US Kenyan embassy
Al-Qaeda
Revenge for Al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Kenya & Tanzania on 7th Aug
Bombing of Afghanistan
Revenge for Al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Kenya & Tanzania on 7th Aug
UNSCOM
"
UNSCOM
I think the danger right now is that without effective inspections, without effective monitoring, Iraq can in a very short period of time measure the months, reconstitute chemical biological weapons, long-range ballistic missiles to deliver these weapons, and even certain aspects of their nuclear weaponization
UNSCOM
Iraq today is challenging the special commission to come up with a weapon and say where is the weapon in Iraq, and yet part of their efforts to conceal their capabilities, I believe, have been to disassemble weapons into various components and to hide these
UNSCOM
Ritter said: "Iraq still has proscribed weapons capability. There needs to be a careful distinction here.
UNSCOM
components throughout Iraq.
UNSCOM
program.
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
"
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
I think the danger right now is that without effective inspections, without effective monitoring, Iraq can in a very short period of time measure the months, reconstitute chemical biological weapons, long-range ballistic missiles to deliver these weapons, and even certain aspects of their nuclear weaponization
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
Iraq today is challenging the special commission to come up with a weapon and say where is the weapon in Iraq, and yet part of their efforts to conceal their capabilities, I believe, have been to disassemble weapons into various components and to hide these
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
Ritter said: "Iraq still has proscribed weapons capability. There needs to be a careful distinction here.
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.