On this day in 1990, the romantic-thriller Ghost, starring Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg, opens in theaters across the United States. The film, about a woman who communicates with her murdered husband through a sassy psychic, was a box-office hit and received multiple Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Goldberg, […]
Yeltsin Resigns From Communist Party
Just two days after Mikhail Gorbachev was re-elected head of the Soviet Communist Party, Boris Yeltsin, president of the Republic of Russia, announces his resignation from the Party. Yeltsin’s action was a serious blow to Gorbachev’s efforts to keep the struggling Soviet Union together. In July 1990, Soviet Communist Party leaders met in a congress […]
Gorbachev Re-Elected As Head Of Communist Party
Gorbachev Re-Elected As Head Of Communist PartyIn a vindication of his sweeping economic and political reforms, Mikhail Gorbachev withstands severe criticisms from his opponents and is re-elected head of the Soviet Communist Party by an overwhelming margin. Gorbachev’s victory was short-lived, however, as the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991. Gorbachev came to power in […]
Automotive Safety Expert Amos Neyhart Dies At Age 91
On this day in 1990, Amos Neyhart, an engineering professor who established the first driver education courses in the United States in the 1930s, dies in a Pennsylvania nursing home at the age of 91. Neyhart joined the faculty of Pennsylvania State University in 1929 as an assistant professor of industrial engineering. (He earned his […]
Pilgrim Stampede Kills 1,400
A stampede of religious pilgrims in a pedestrian tunnel in Mecca leaves more than 1,400 people dead on this day in 1990. This was the most deadly of a series of incidents over 20 years affecting Muslims making the trip to Mecca. To the followers of Islam, traveling to Mecca in Saudi Arabia is known […]
Earthquake Devastates Iran
An earthquake near the Caspian Sea in Iran kills more than 50,000 and injures another 135,000 people on this day in 1990. The 7.7-magnitude tremor wrecked havoc on the simply constructed houses in the area. Thirty minutes past midnight, with most people sleeping in their homes, a violent quake, centered along the shores of the […]
Luther Campbell And Fellow 2LiveCrew Members Are Arrested On Obscenity Charges
Though the First Amendment to the Constitution clearly states that the U.S. Congress “shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech,” free speech is widely understood to have its limits. It is dangerous and potentially criminal, for instance, to yell, “Fire!” in a crowded theater. But what about yelling “$&%#@!!” in a crowded nightclub? Lenny […]
As Nasty As They Wanna Be Causes Store Owner’s Arrest
Charles Freeman, the owner of E-C Records store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is charged with illegally selling the rap album As Nasty As They Wanna Be to an undercover officer. Immediately after the sale, six deputies rushed in to the store, handcuffed Freeman, and charged him with distributing obscene material. Freeman’s arrest came two days […]