The last Soviet soldier crosses the border out of Afghanistan, ending a nine-year war that helped hasten the Soviet Union's collapse.

CERN physicist Tim Berners-Lee submitted a proposal for "Information Management," the memo that quietly laid the groundwork for the World Wide Web.

The oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude into pristine waters.

Space Shuttle Atlantis deployed the Magellan probe, sending it on a journey to map the surface of Venus with radar through its thick clouds.

Premier Li Peng declared martial law in Beijing as pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square swelled past a million people.

Student-led demonstrations in Tiananmen Square swelled past a million participants as workers and citizens joined calls for political reform in China.

Nigeria's military government under Ibrahim Babangida approved the formation of two new state-sponsored political parties, part of a troubled transition to civilian rule.

Beijing art students unveiled a 33-foot plaster statue, the 'Goddess of Democracy,' in Tiananmen Square days before the military crackdown.

Chinese authorities intensify warnings against Tiananmen Square protesters just days before the June 4th military crackdown that would kill hundreds.

Prominent Chinese intellectuals and student leaders in Tiananmen Square launched a fresh hunger strike, deepening the standoff just two days before the military crackdown.

Chinese troops began advancing on Tiananmen Square as authorities prepared to clear student demonstrators by force within hours.

Chinese troops and tanks crushed weeks of pro-democracy protests in Beijing, killing hundreds if not thousands of unarmed demonstrators and bystanders.

An unidentified man stood alone before a column of tanks on Beijing's Chang'an Avenue, becoming an enduring symbol of individual defiance.

A lone man in a white shirt stood before a column of tanks near Tiananmen Square, halting them repeatedly, the day after troops crushed pro-democracy protests.

A lone man stood before a column of tanks on Chang'an Avenue, one day after Chinese troops crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

Two days after the Tiananmen Square massacre, Chinese troops continued sweeping Beijing streets as the government moved to crush all remaining dissent.

Chinese troops tightened control of Beijing days after the Tiananmen Square massacre, as authorities began mass arrests of protest leaders and participants.

Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping publicly praised the military crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters, ending days of official silence after the bloodshed.

China's government issued arrest warrants for 21 student leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests, forcing many into hiding or exile.

In the weeks after the June 4 massacre, Chinese authorities continue mass arrests of student protesters and broadcast public denunciations nationwide.

Poland's Solidarity movement swept the country's first partially free elections since World War II, dealing a fatal blow to communist rule.

Following semi-free elections that dealt a crushing blow to Poland's Communist Party, negotiations continued that would soon produce the first non-communist prime minister behind the Iron Curtain.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe, deep in its historic approach to Neptune, beamed back increasingly detailed images as it prepared for its closest flyby later that month.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe closed in on Neptune, beaming back the sharpest images yet seen of the solar system's outermost giant planet just days before its historic flyby.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, becoming the only spacecraft ever to visit the ice giant and revealing its Great Dark Spot and rings.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, the only spacecraft ever to visit the solar system's farthest major planet.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe made its closest approach to Neptune, the last planet on its grand tour, revealing the Great Dark Spot and the moon Triton's icy geysers.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, the only spacecraft ever to visit the giant blue planet, revealing its Great Dark Spot and moon Triton.

NASA's Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, the only spacecraft ever to visit the giant blue planet, revealing its Great Dark Spot and moon Triton.

Hungary's government opened its border with Austria to East German refugees, the first major breach in the Iron Curtain and a direct precursor to the Berlin Wall's fall.

Roughly half a million East Germans rallied in East Berlin's Alexanderplatz demanding democratic reform, five days before the Berlin Wall fell.

East Germany's government proposed sweeping travel reforms as hundreds of thousands protested in Leipzig and Berlin, days before the Wall fell.

East Germany's entire Communist cabinet resigned en masse amid mass protests, two days before the fall of the Berlin Wall would begin.

The entire East German cabinet resigned en masse under pressure from massive pro-democracy protests, a collapse of government authority just one day before the Berlin Wall fell.

East German spokesman Günter Schabowski announced border crossings would open immediately, and jubilant Berliners tore down the Wall that had divided their city for 28 years.

A day after East Germany opened its borders, jubilant Berliners chiseled at the Wall with hammers as guards stood aside and champagne flowed atop the concrete.

Tens of thousands of Czechoslovaks gather in Prague demanding reform, momentum building toward the Velvet Revolution that would topple communist rule within days.

Days after the Berlin Wall's fall, East German authorities open additional checkpoints, accelerating the flood of citizens crossing freely into the West.

Salvadoran soldiers murder six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter at the University of Central America during the civil war.

Riot police violently dispersed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague, sparking a wave of mass protests that toppled Czechoslovakia's Communist government within weeks.

The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which became the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.

The UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, becoming the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.

Hundreds of thousands of Czechoslovaks packed Wenceslas Square as the Velvet Revolution's mass protests swelled on its third day, demanding the Communist government's resignation.

Gunmen linked to a political clan killed 32 journalists and dozens of others in an ambush near Ampatuan, the Philippines, in the deadliest single attack on press workers in history.

East Germany's parliament voted to delete the constitutional clause guaranteeing the Communist Party's leading role, formally ending one-party rule weeks after the Berlin Wall fell.

A gunman murdered 14 women at Montreal's École Polytechnique, singling out female engineering students in an attack that reshaped Canada's gun laws.

Protests erupted in Timișoara, Romania, after authorities tried to relocate a dissident pastor, igniting the revolution that would topple Nicolae Ceaușescu within two weeks.

American forces launched Operation Just Cause, sending 27,000 troops into Panama to remove dictator Manuel Noriega from power.

American forces launched Operation Just Cause, invading Panama with over 27,000 troops to depose dictator Manuel Noriega.

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena fled by helicopter from the roof of the Communist Party headquarters as crowds stormed the building.

US troops tightened their siege around the Vatican embassy in Panama City where General Manuel Noriega had taken refuge days after the American invasion began.