1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). It was the last year of the 1990s decade. Based on popular culture, the year 1999 was the last year of the 20th Century and the 2nd millennium. However, mathematically, the year 2000 was the last year of the 20th Century and the 2nd millennium. The year 1999 was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. Events of 1999JanuaryFebruary Orbit of Pluto – polar view. - February 16 – Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrests one of their rebel leaders.
- February 27 – While trying to circumnavigate the world in a hot air balloon, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being aloft for 233 hours and 55 minutes.
MarchApril- April 8 Bill Gates personal fortune exceeds $100 Billion dollars, due to the increased value of Microsoft stock.
May- May 1 – The TV series SpongeBob SquarePants airs, its first episode is Help Wanted/Reef Blower/Tea at the Treedome. The series officially premieres in July.
June- June 1 – Napster, a revolutionary music downloading service, debuts.
- June 18 – The J18 international anti-globalization protests are organized in dozens of cities around the world, some of which lead to riots.
July- July 8 – A major flash flood in Las Vegas swamps hundreds of cars, smashes mobile homes and kills 2 people.
- July 10- USA soccer player Brandi Chastain scores the game winning penalty kick against China in the FIFA Women's World Cup.
August- August 17 – 1999 İzmit earthquake: A 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes İzmit and levels much of northwestern Turkey, killing more than 17,000 and injuring 44,000. This is the first of a long series of unrelated but frequent earthquakes throughout the world during the years 1999 and 2000.
- August 22 – GPS Week Numbers Reset to 0
September- September 12 – Under international pressure to allow an international peacekeeping force, Indonesian president BJ Habibie announced on 12 September that he would do so.
October- October 12 – Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attempts to dismiss Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf and install ISI director Ziauddin Butt in his place. Senior Army generals refuse to accept the dismissal. Musharraf, who is out of the country, attempts to return in a commercial airliner. Sharif orders the Karachi airport to not allow the plane to land. The generals lead a coup d'état, ousting Sharif's administration and taking over the airport. The plane lands with only a few minutes of fuel to spare, and Musharraf takes control of the government.
November- November 6 – Australians defeat a referendum proposing the replacement of The Queen and The Governor General with a President to make Australia a republic.
- November 12 – A 7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Duzce and northwestern Turkey, killing 845 and injuring 4,948.
- November 19 – Every digit in this date is an odd number (19/11/1999). This hitherto common event will not happen again until the year 3111.
December- December 31 – The U.S. turns over complete administration of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian Government, as stipulated in the Torrijos-Carter Treaty of 1977.
BirthsDeathsJanuaryFebruaryMarchthumb|120px|Stanley Kubrickthumb|120px|Joe DiMaggioAprilthumb|120px|Alf RamseyMayJunethumb|120px|DeForest KelleyJulythumb|120px|John F. Kennedy, Jr.thumb|120px|Hassan II of MoroccoAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecemberthumb|120px|Franjo Tuđmanthumb|120px|Desmond LlewelynTempleton PrizeNobel Prizes FictionalThe year 1999 in fiction and popular culture: - *Released after 1999 and set in the historical year:
- *Released in 1999 and stated to take place in that year:
- **Entrapment (1999): The film takes place during the week leading up to December 31.
- **The Matrix (1999): The year within the Matrix is said to be 1999.
- **Fight Club (1999) The year within Fight Club is said to be 1999, just before the beginning of the Millennium.
- *Released before 1999 and set in the "future" year:
- **Strange Days (1995): The film takes place leading up to New Year's Eve, 1999.
- *The Megadeth song "Set the World Afire", from their album So Far, So Good... So What!, contains the line "Distorted figures walk the earth, it's 1999". The song, which is a protest song against nuclear weapons, was written in 1987, implying that the Earth could be nearly completely devastated by nuclear weapons in 12 years without any action taken against them.
- *Futurama: The series' protagonist, Fry, is accidentally cryogenicly frozen on December 31 1999.
- *Space: 1999 (1975–1977): A huge explosion sends the Moon hurtling out of Earth's orbit on September 13 (a Friday in the series, but not in reality).
- *Hunter x Hunter (TV Anime Series) (1999–2001) Gon Freecs, a young boy, is aiming to become a Hunter to search for his father. He meets some new friends during the Exam, and the struggles he must face on his quest will be beyond anything he's ever imagined.
- *In Kamen Rider Kabuto (2006–2007), 1999 is the year in which a meteor struck the city of shibuya and also spawned the Worm, an alien race that forms the main antagonist in the series. In the movie based on the show, the meteor was much bigger and also dried up the oceans, resulting in a post-apocalyptic world
- *In the TV series of Quantum Leap (1988–1993) project Quantum Leap is said to be launched in New Mexico, 1999.
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