1998 felt like a year of big turning points, with peace and optimism showing up just as often as tension and uncertainty.
Peace talks produced the Good Friday Agreement and ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland, while India and Pakistan raised global tensions by carrying out nuclear tests.
“Saving Private Ryan” and “The Truman Show” kept cinema seats full, “The Titanic” won award after award, and Pokémon fever began spreading beyond Japan with the international release of Pokémon Red and Blue on Game Boy.
Meanwhile, the dot-com boom kept heating up, Apple released its first iMac, and the internet took over everyday life with dial-up modems screeching away in homes around the world.
In the end, 1998 blended hope and high stakes in a way that still feels familiar, with the world charging forward despite the increasing noise and chaos.
Step into 1998 and uncover the moments, quotes, and people that left their mark.
Historical Events
Join us as we rewind to 1998 and relive the exhilarating moments that made it a year to remember.
January 1998
Jan 13
Alfredo Ormando set himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, protesting against the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality.
Jan 28
Michelangelo’s famous painting “Christ of the Woman of Samaria” was sold for a staggering $7.4 million.
February 1998
Feb 6
The US Congress changed the name of the Washington National Airport to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Feb 11
A charity auction in Los Angeles saw the lyrics to “Candle in the Wind” sell to the highest bidder at a staggering $442,500.
Feb 17
The Pioneer 10 spacecraft passed NASA’s Voyager 1 to become the farthest artificial object in space.
Feb 20
Fifteen-year-old Tara Lipinski became the youngest Olympic figure skating gold medalist.
Lipinski won gold while competing for the United States of America at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Her record was only broken in 2019.
Feb 26
Oprah Winfrey was declared not guilty after cattlemen tried to sue her for saying American beef could spread mad cow disease.
March 1998
Mar 2
Jupiter’s moon was found to have a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
The Galileo probe made the discovery.
Mar 9
Eminem signed up to the record label “Aftermath Entertainment,” founded by Dr. Dre.
Mar 29
Europe’s longest bridge officially opened in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Vasco da Gama Bridge is an impressive 7.6 miles (12.3 km) long!
April 1998
Apr 10
The UK, Ireland, and Northern Ireland governments signed the Good Friday Agreement.
The agreements all but stopped The Troubles, the thirty-year conflict in Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement came into effect on December 2, 1999, after being approved by voters across Ireland in May.
Apr 30
Two new moons orbiting Uranus were announced in Nature magazine.
A team of scientists and astronomers from Cornell University discovered the moons on October 31, 1997, using a 200-inch (5.1 m) Hale telescope at Mount Palomar, California. The two moons, later named Caliban and Sycorax after characters from Shakespeare's Tempest, were the first two moons discovered in irregular orbits around Uranus.
May 1998
May 3
NASA’s Columbia Space Shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center, concluding mission STS-90.
STS-90 was the last Columbia mission that landed during the day and the last mission to carry the European Space Agency's Spacelab module into orbit. The sixteen-day mission's primary objective was to use the Neurolab Spacelab module to study the effects of microgravity on the nervous system. Tests were performed on several animals, including fish, crickets, mice, and even the astronauts themselves.
May 26
The United States Supreme Court ruled that Ellis Island is primarily located in the state of New Jersey and not New York like many think it does.
May 30
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit northern Afghanistan, which killed around 5,000 people.
June 1998
July 1998
Jul 17
American swashbuckler film “The Mask of Zorro” was released in the United States.
Filming took around one year at Estudios Churubusco in Mexico City, Mexico, and had a $95 million budget. The film grossed a total of $250 million after its release on this day. Due to its success, the film was followed by a sequel, The Legend of Zorro, released in 2005.
Jul 24
The epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg, “Saving Private Ryan,” was released in theaters.
August 1998
Aug 26
Shortly after liftoff, the first US Air Force Delta III rocket failed and was blown up mid-air.
A minor explosion within the rocket knocked it off its course, so the Air Force was forced to destroy it just 75 seconds after launch. The estimated loss from the disaster was around $255 million, as the rocket was carrying a Galaxy 10 communications satellite.
Aug 31
North Korea allegedly launched Kwangmyŏngsŏng-1, its first satellite.
The North Korean government claimed that the launch was successful, but no objects were ever tracked in orbit from the launch. Outside North Korea, the launch is considered to have been a failure.
September 1998
Sep 4
International TV game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” was shown for the first time in the UK, with Chris Tarrant as the host.
It wasn't long before the US caught on to the game, and they released their own version on ABC on August 16, 1999.
Sep 12
Nintendo released Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition in Japan for the Game Boy Color.
It wasn't released to the North American market until October the following year. Pokémon Yellow was an enhanced version of the Red and Blue Pokémon games released earlier for the Game Boy. One of the biggest differences is that your starter Pokémon is a Pikachu instead of a choice between Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle.
October 1998
Oct 19
Cher’s “Believe” was released and became the Billboard 1999 Song of the Year.
The album featured some of her most famous singles, such as "Believe" and "Strong Enough."
Oct 20
A month after launching in Japan, Metal Gear Solid was finally playable by North American PlayStation players.
Metal Gear Solid is consistently listed as one of the best and most influential video games of all time. Not only did it set the stealth genre of games up for success, but it also popularized the use of lengthy cutscenes to create a more cinematic in-game experience.
Oct 29
The first American astronaut to orbit Earth, John Glenn, returned to space aboard NASA’s STS-95 Voyager.
At age 77, Glenn was the oldest person to travel to space at the time. He returned after lobbying NASA for years to study the effects of space travel on an aging body.
November 1998
Nov 20
Zarya, the first International Space Station module, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Otherwise known as the Functional Cargo Block, it was originally designed for the Russian MIR space station. It was crucial during the initial stages of the ISS, as it provided electrical power, guidance, propulsion, and storage. It was named Zarya, meaning "Dawn" in Russian, to celebrate the dawn of a new era of international cooperation.
Nov 21
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released in Japan for the N64.
With a budget of over $12 million, Ocarina of Time was always going to impress. That said, even the developers couldn't have foreseen the legendary status it attained: the highest ranking game of all time on Metacritic.
December 1998
Dec 19
The US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton, forwarding the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial.
Famous Births
Discover the well-known names who were born in 1998.
Age
27 years old
Born IN
Kansas, USA
Age
28 years old
Born IN
California, USA
Died On
Jun 18, 2018 (Age 20)
Born IN
Florida, USA
Age
27 years old
Born IN
California, USA
Age
27 years old
Born IN
Toronto, Canada
Age
27 years old
Born IN
Nevada, USA
Famous Deaths
Some truly influential figures said goodbye in 1998.
1915 — 1998
Frank Sinatra
American Jazz Singer Frank Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915. He died on May 14, 1998, at age 82 in California, USA.
1948 — 1998
Phil Hartman
Canadian-American Actor Phil Hartman was born on September 24, 1948. He died on May 28, 1998, at age 49 in California, USA.
Quotes
Here are some of the most memorable quotes that came out of 1998.
Apr 5
“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”
Maya Angelou
(American Memoirist)
Apr 25
“Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”
Nelson Mandela
(South African President)
1998 in Music
1998 was a year that delivered an array of incredible tunes that became instant classics!
From the irresistible groove of “Too Close” by Next (which topped the year-end chart) to the blockbuster duet “The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy & Monica, these tracks helped define 1998’s chart-dominating sound.
Dive into these music highlights from 1998 that you need to know.
Album of the Year
Bob Dylan’s introspective and poetic album “Time Out of Mind” earned him the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1998, showcasing his enduring talent as a rock legend.
Song of the Year
Shawn Colvin’s soothing and melodious “Sunny Came Home” brought her the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1998.
Best New Artist
Paula Cole’s soulful and introspective songs won her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1998, establishing her as a thoughtful and expressive singer-songwriter.
Eurovision Song Contest Winner
In 1998, the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest unfolded in Birmingham, UK, setting the stage for a mix of extravagant performances.
Dana International, a trailblazing artist from Israel, captivated the audience with her empowering song “Diva,” becoming the first openly transgender performer to win Eurovision.
1998 In Numbers
Get set to explore some curious and fun facts about numbers! If you’ve ever wondered how to write 1998 in Roman numerals, it’s MCMXCVIII. And in binary, it’s 11111001110.
Harshad Number
1998 is a Harshad number, which is a number that can be evenly divided by the sum of its digits. It’s like a special math rule for some numbers.
To explain in more detail, we add up the digits (1 + 9 + 9 + 8), which equals 27. And now we see if 1998 can be divided evenly by 27, which it can! 1998 ÷ 27 = 74. So this makes 1998 a Harshad number.
Abundant Number
Also, 1998 is known as an abundant number. An abundant number is a number where, if you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into it, the total sum is greater than the number itself.
So, when you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into 1998 (1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, 27, 37, 54, 74, 111, 222, 333, 666, 999), they add up to 2562, which is greater than 1998.
Chinese Zodiac 1998
According to the Chinese zodiac system, 1998 marked The Year of the Tiger, a cycle that repeats itself once every twelve years.
However, the Chinese zodiac also includes five elements, which are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. So this makes 1998 the Year of the Earth Tiger, a cycle which happens once every sixty years.
In the Chinese zodiac system, the Year of the Tiger in 1998 actually began on January 28th, marking the unique lunar-based New Year celebration.
The Tiger represents individuals who are brave, passionate, and fiercely independent. They exhibit a bold and adventurous nature, always seeking excitement and standing up for what they believe in.
The Years of the Tiger have blessed us with influential figures such as Jaden Smith, Karan Brar and Shawn Mendes.
1998 Trivia
Did you know that in 1998, Google was founded by Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, turning their search research project into a real company?
What began as a research-driven search engine quickly turned into a standout tool, delivering cleaner, more relevant results than many cluttered web portals of the time.
That early breakthrough helped set the stage for how billions of people would navigate the internet by “googling” what they need instead of hunting for it manually.
