WHAT HAPPENED IN 1999.
Look what happened the 1999.

Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted. (31. October 1999)

EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 people on board. (31. October 1999)

Australians vote to keep the Head of the Commonwealth as their head of state in the Australian republic referendum. (6. November 1999)

The House of Lords Act is given Royal Assent, restricting membership of the British House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage. (11. November 1999)

The Düzce earthquake strikes Turkey with a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale. (12. November 1999)

In College Station, Texas, 12 are killed and 27 injured at Texas A&M University when the 59-foot-tall (18 m) Aggie Bonfire, under construction for the annual football game against the University of Texas, collapses at 2:42am. (18. November 1999)

Shenzhou 1: The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft. (19. November 1999)

The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. (25. November 1999)

The left-wing Labour Party takes control of the New Zealand government with leader Helen Clark becoming the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand's history. (27. November 1999)

In Seattle, Washington, United States, demonstrations against a World Trade Organization meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies. (30. November 1999)

British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world. (30. November 1999)

Glenbrook Rail Accident: Seven passengers are killed when two trains collide near Sydney, New South Wales. (2. December 1999)

The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive. (2. December 1999)

NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere. (3. December 1999)

Six firefighters are killed in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire in Worcester, Massachusetts. (3. December 1999)

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement. (7. December 1999)

Torrential rains cause flash floods in Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure. (14. December 1999)

NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform carrying five Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT. (18. December 1999)

Macau is handed over to China by Portugal. (20. December 1999)

The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain. (21. December 1999)