7 Events That Happened in 1999 ...

Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa. On June 16, 1999, he stepped down and that is when Thabo Mbeki took over. I was fourteen during this time, but I actually remember watching this on the news channel.

In Turkey, on August 17, 1999, a big earthquake hit. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4. Unfortunately, it killed 15,600 people and left 600,000 people without homes. Looking at the pictures of this big earthquake in Turkey after it happened is horrible.

John William King (24 years old) who is a white supremacist was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. This case involved the dragging death of a colored man. I remember this crime and couldn’t believe that there is people out there that do these things simply because they do not like the color of someone’s skin.

Carolyn Besette Kennedy, Lauren G Besette and John F. Kennedy Jr. were lost at sea during 1999 after their plane disappeared around Martha’s Vineyard on July 16, 1999. This was truly another tragedy that struck the Kennedy family.

I don’t think any of us are ever going to forget what happened at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Students Dylan Klebold (17) and Eric Harris (18) killed twelve students, a teacher, then killed themselves. Was this the result of a school bully?

During the year 1999, ER’s Dr Dough Ross said goodbye to Chicago’s General Memorial Hospital. George Clooney played the pediatrician ever since the show came out, which was 1994. Looks like he lasted a total of 5 years on this show.

During the year 1999, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace opened up. During it’s five days, it made a total of $102.7 million. Yes, it looks like this episode sure did take the box office by storm.

I remember when this movie first came out. I know, I should have automatically knew that it was a hoax, but during this time, I did a lot of research on it to figure out if it was true of not. Since this movie, I have noticed others trying to do something similar to it. To be honest with you, even though it wasn’t a true story (that’s what I determined), I still liked it. I just wish I could have gotten the chance to see what they saw in the end.

There you have 7 events that happened in 1999. Of course, some of the events I talked about were not major events, but I still felt the urge to point them out to you so that you could remember them with me. What events do you remember during this year?

Top Photo Credit: Leo Reynolds