1990

• January 13 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
• January 31 – The first McDonald's in Moscow, Russia opens.
• February 11 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison, near Cape Town, South Africa, after 27 years behind bars.
• March 9 – Antonia Novello is sworn in as Surgeon General of the United States, becoming the first female and Hispanic American to serve in that position.
• March 18 – Twelve paintings, collectively worth from $100 to $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by 2 thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest art theft in US history, and the paintings (as of 2007
  
  ) have not been recovered.
• March 26 – The 62nd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, with Driving Miss Daisy winning Best Picture.
• April 1 – Strangeways Prison riot: The longest prison riot in Britain's history begins at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, and continues for 3 weeks and 3 days, until April 25.
• May 15 – Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million.
• May 17 – The World Health Organization removes homosexuality from its list of diseases.
• May 22 – Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.
• June 7 – Universal Studios Florida opens to the public.
• July 8 – West Germany defeats Argentina 1–0 to win the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
• August 24 – Northern Ireland writer Brian Keenan is released from Lebanon after being held hostage for nearly 5 years.
• September 18 – The International Olympic Committee awards the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta, Georgia.
• October 3 – Cold War: East Germany and West Germany reunify into a single Germany.