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1999 in science
open-in-new
<h2 id="aeronautics">Aeronautics</h2> <ul><li>February 27 – While trying to <a href="/facts/Circumnavigation/8R6vSgTM">circumnavigate</a> the world in a <a href="/facts/Hot_air_balloon/k2LHQvXH">hot air balloon</a>, Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new endurance record after being in their balloon for 233 hours and 55 minutes.</li> <li>March 3–20 – <a href="/facts/Bertrand_Piccard/fBFrMmnl">Bertrand Piccard</a> and <a href="/facts/Brian_Jones_(aeronaut)/GNlrro9c">Brian Jones</a> successfully complete a non-stop circumnavigation of the world in a hot air balloon.</li></ul> <h2 id="astronomy-and-space-exploration">Astronomy and space exploration</h2> <ul><li>January 31 – <a href="/facts/January_1999_lunar_eclipse/vqrA91R1">A total penumbral lunar eclipse</a>.</li> <li>February 7 – <i><a href="/facts/Stardust_(spacecraft)/bEcy98J3">Stardust</a></i> is launched on a mission to collect samples of a <a href="/facts/Comet/w34utQCd">comet</a> <a href="/facts/Coma_(cometary)/o6eNWYyL">coma</a>, and return them to Earth.</li> <li>February 16 – <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse_of_February_16,_1999/2hgY9GPu">Annular solar eclipse</a>, visible from Australia.</li> <li>July 20 – <a href="/facts/Mercury_program/H8zqFzbC">Mercury program</a>: <i><a href="/facts/Liberty_Bell_7/TXol5Hrv">Liberty Bell 7</a></i> is raised from the Atlantic Ocean.</li> <li>July 28 – <a href="/facts/July_1999_lunar_eclipse/4Xmr42Ne">Partial lunar eclipse</a>, visible from Australia, eastern Asia, and western North America.</li> <li>July 31 – <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> intentionally crashes the <i><a href="/facts/Lunar_Prospector/fQKUfeWF">Lunar Prospector</a></i> spacecraft into the <a href="/facts/Moon/zKHqEMPb">Moon</a>, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon's surface.</li> <li>August 11 – <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse_of_August_11,_1999/dMTJ24Xm">Total solar eclipse</a>, visible from Europe, across the Middle East, and ending in India.</li> <li>December 16 – The <a href="/facts/Beethoven_Burst_(GRB_991216)/fWJEM99d">Beethoven Burst (GRB 991216)</a> is one of the most powerful detected <a href="/facts/Gamma-ray_bursts/oRRU6Fhn">Gamma-ray bursts</a>.</li> <li>NASA loses two <a href="/facts/Mars/AQGtVvz0">Mars</a> probes, the <i><a href="/facts/Mars_Climate_Orbiter/4ef8hLnm">Mars Climate Orbiter</a></i> and the <a href="/facts/Mars_Polar_Lander/UCARCj7C">Mars Polar Lander</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Subaru_(telescope)/AwJtFuKv">Subaru</a> 8.3 m and <a href="/facts/Gemini_telescope/Yz6vJvms">Gemini North</a> 8.1 m <a href="/facts/Reflecting_telescope/5Y4aXFvF">reflecting telescopes</a> open at the <a href="/facts/Mauna_Kea_Observatory/UTo3GMuv">Mauna Kea Observatory</a> in Hawaii.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Cetus_Dwarf/t6equCjY">Cetus Dwarf</a> galaxy is discovered.</li> <li><a href="/facts/M%E2%80%93sigma_relation/CnU82b7D">M–sigma relation</a> first presented.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li>November 1 – <a href="/facts/Agreement_on_the_Conservation_of_African-Eurasian_Migratory_Waterbirds/obnFlt08">Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds</a> comes into force.</li> <li>Late – <a href="/facts/Pest-exclusion_fence/QA43YVUc">Pest-exclusion fence</a> around <a href="/facts/Zealandia_(wildlife_sanctuary)/jXWfKYMe">Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary)</a> in <a href="/facts/Wellington/tX6IT5oj">Wellington</a>, New Zealand, completed.</li> <li>The bacterium <i><a href="/facts/Thiomargarita_namibiensis/blkQKIYY">Thiomargarita namibiensis</a></i> is discovered off the coast of <a href="/facts/Namibia/ahXuaypy">Namibia</a>. At 0.3mm in diameter, it is largest bacteria yet<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1999_in_science&action=edit">[update]</a> discovered.</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Oganesson/zs5MQDjV">Elements 118</a> and <a href="/facts/Livermorium/nQc1FE6E">116</a> are claimed to be made for the first time; later retracted when results cannot be replicated.</li></ul> <h2 id="computer-science">Computer science</h2> <ul><li>March 26 – The <a href="/facts/Melissa_worm/f89oDp4k">Melissa worm</a> attacks the Internet.</li> <li>June – <a href="/facts/RFC_(identifier)/esftTvE7">RFC</a> <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2616">2616</a> defines HTTP/1.1, the version of <a href="/facts/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol/TWtvf7JD">Hypertext Transfer Protocol</a> in common use.</li> <li>September 21 – <a href="/facts/David_Bowie/7nMplAnf">David Bowie</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/Hours_(David_Bowie_album)/Te82zSYf">Hours</a></i> becomes the first complete music <a href="/facts/Album/C3kkyHHT">album</a> by a major artist available to download over the Internet in advance of the physical release.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li> <li>First working 3-<a href="/facts/Qubit/WveeEubw">qubit</a> NMR computer demonstrated at <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a>'s Almaden Research Center. First execution of <a href="/facts/Grover%27s_algorithm/SJuxBPpA">Grover's algorithm</a>.</li> <li>The term '<a href="/facts/Web_2.0/mn8W4Xnu">Web 2.0</a>' is coined by <a href="/facts/Darcy_DiNucci/nYxXRX8t">Darcy DiNucci</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li>Probable date – First <a href="/facts/Emoji/Qkp7gwBH">emojis</a> introduced, in Japan.</li></ul> <h2 id="geology">Geology</h2> <ul><li>January 25 – A 6.0 <a href="/facts/Richter_magnitude_scale/UDhqkAX1">Richter scale</a> <a href="/facts/Earthquake/NGjIzagw">earthquake</a> hits western <a href="/facts/Colombia/nl7r8Q2u">Colombia</a>, killing at least 1,000.</li> <li>August 17 – The 7.6 Mw <a href="/facts/1999_%C4%B0zmit_earthquake/9FzLnmjl">İzmit earthquake</a> shakes northwestern <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a> with a maximum <a href="/facts/Mercalli_intensity_scale/4g4ESKmq">Mercalli intensity</a> of IX (<i>Violent</i>), leaving 17,118–17,127 dead and 43,953–50,000 injured.</li></ul> <h2 id="history-of-science-and-technology">History of science and technology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Boris_Chertok/KkxvLCCm">Boris Chertok</a> publishes «Ракеты и люди» (<i>Rockets and people</i>), a history of the Soviet rocket program.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li>Eric M. Rains and <a href="/facts/Neil_Sloane/kLWw29Me">Neil Sloane</a> extend tree counting.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Thomas_Callister_Hales/c0cWXvC0">Thomas Callister Hales</a> proves the <a href="/facts/Honeycomb_conjecture/g45j09Io">honeycomb conjecture</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="paleontology">Paleontology</h2> <ul><li>First <a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossil</a> of <i><a href="/facts/Kenyanthropus/DfCj8nnL">Kenyanthropus</a></i> <a href="/facts/Pliocene/MjcIVQ86">Pliocene</a> <a href="/facts/Hominin/SflaMavS">hominin</a> discovered in <a href="/facts/Lake_Turkana/PbSJMpS3">Lake Turkana</a>, <a href="/facts/Kenya/Y9Ko9pQu">Kenya</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="physics">Physics</h2> <ul><li>June 18 – <a href="/facts/Bulgaria/Er5pY3YS">Bulgaria</a> becomes a member of <a href="/facts/CERN/y1gwRchm">CERN</a>.</li> <li>October 25 – <a href="/facts/Randall%E2%80%93Sundrum_model/EfI3x8uK">Randall–Sundrum model</a> presented by <a href="/facts/Lisa_Randall/3kp0wIlf">Lisa Randall</a> and <a href="/facts/Raman_Sundrum/fKU9YBnG">Raman Sundrum</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="physiology-and-medicine">Physiology and medicine</h2> <ul><li>April 16 – <a href="/facts/Russell_Foster/V2MkcVp1">Russell Foster</a> and his team at <a href="/facts/Imperial_College_London/SoXBRyax">Imperial College London</a> publish their discovery of the non-<a href="/facts/Rod_cell/mNd9Sf1E">rod</a>, non-<a href="/facts/Cone_cell/JoQeEzoF">cone</a>, <a href="/facts/Intrinsically_photosensitive_retinal_ganglion_cell/7mLNDzSX">intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells</a> (ipRGCs) in the mammalian eye which provide input to the <a href="/facts/Circadian_rhythm/rwQh0ClJ">circadian rhythm</a> system.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li>October – <a href="/facts/Huda_Zoghbi/tEMTeyKH">Huda Zoghbi</a> demonstrates that <a href="/facts/Rett_syndrome/dIXIgILQ">Rett syndrome</a> is caused by mutations in the gene <a href="/facts/MECP2/DKY8JUdt">MECP2</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="telecommunications">Telecommunications</h2> <ul><li>January 19 – The first <a href="/facts/BlackBerry/k9LGPyg5">BlackBerry</a> is released, using the same hardware as the Inter@ctive pager 950, and running on the <a href="/facts/Mobitex/t8JLf17g">Mobitex</a> network.</li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prizes</a> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Physics</a> – <a href="/facts/Gerardus_%27t_Hooft/zNLVwVth">Gerardus 't Hooft</a>, <a href="/facts/Martinus_J.G._Veltman/9QlScWxF">Martinus J.G. Veltman</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Chemistry</a> – <a href="/facts/Ahmed_H._Zewail/aKJuw0a7">Ahmed H. Zewail</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Medicine</a> – <a href="/facts/G%C3%BCnter_Blobel/uBLhGbkn">Günter Blobel</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Turing_Award/HbEEp0GF">Turing Award</a>: <a href="/facts/Fred_Brooks/1FNtgMgE">Fred Brooks</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Wollaston_Medal/uVkuXBYJ">Wollaston Medal for Geology</a>: <a href="/facts/John_Frederick_Dewey/5s6W441D">John Frederick Dewey</a></li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>February 21 – <a href="/facts/Gertrude_B._Elion/LCnPQTxs">Gertrude B. Elion</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1918_in_science/pShT8ADH">1918</a>), American <a href="/facts/Pharmacologist/4Rx8s7Ie">pharmacologist</a>, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine.</li> <li>February 25 – <a href="/facts/Glenn_T._Seaborg/w1a3mume">Glenn T. Seaborg</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1912_in_science/ro3op4mA">1912</a>), American physical chemist, Nobel laureate in Chemistry.</li> <li>March 17 – <a href="/facts/Herbert_E._Grier/WR5IsAyX">Herbert E. Grier</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1911_in_science/gnx7WAwC">1911</a>), American <a href="/facts/Electrical_engineer/YYXW1KLW">electrical engineer</a>.</li> <li>April 28 – <a href="/facts/Arthur_Leonard_Schawlow/ScTErtNV">Arthur Leonard Schawlow</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1921_in_science/jqlgdekP">1921</a>), American physicist, Nobel laureate in Physics.</li> <li>May 8 – <a href="/facts/Edward_Abraham/BQDAebQL">Edward Abraham</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1913_in_science/6nl9Anqy">1913</a>), English <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a>.</li> <li>May 26 – <a href="/facts/Waldo_Semon/Ic02lVRm">Waldo Semon</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1898_in_science/fdxwBTSM">1898</a>), American inventor.</li> <li>July 8 – <a href="/facts/Pete_Conrad/PdxUcucK">Pete Conrad</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1930_in_science/5KHEm9z9">1930</a>), American astronaut.</li> <li>November 11 – <a href="/facts/Vivian_Fuchs/U08IUJaj">Vivian Fuchs</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1908_in_science/zY4oD4uc">1908</a>), English geologist and <a href="/facts/List_of_explorers/83eyR34D">explorer</a>.</li> <li>November 25 – <a href="/facts/Pierre_B%C3%A9zier/Ho3FBwCV">Pierre Bézier</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1910_in_science/Auegqwd7">1910</a>), French design engineer.</li></ul> <ul> <li>1990s portal</li><li>Science portal</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Merritt, David (1999). "Black holes and galaxy evolution". In Combes, F.; Mamon, G. A.; Charmandaris, V. (eds.). Dynamics of Galaxies: From the Early Universe to the Present. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Vol. 197. pp. 221–232. arXiv:astro-ph/9910546. Bibcode:2000ASPC..197..221M. ISBN 978-1-58381-024-8. <a href="978-1-58381-024-8" target="_blank">978-1-58381-024-8</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Cummings, Sue (1999-09-22). "The Flux in Pop Music Has a Distinctly Download Beat to It". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-01. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/22/business/the-flux-in-pop-music-has-a-distinctly-download-beat-to-it.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/22/business/the-flux-in-pop-music-has-a-distinctly-download-beat-to-it.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>DiNucci, Darcy (1999). "Fragmented Future" (PDF). Print. 53 (4): 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-11-04. <a href="http://darcyd.com/fragmented_future.pdf" target="_blank">http://darcyd.com/fragmented_future.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Crilly, Tony (2007). 50 Mathematical Ideas you really need to know. London: Quercus. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-84724-008-8. <a href="978-1-84724-008-8" target="_blank">978-1-84724-008-8</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Hales, Thomas C. (January 2001). "The Honeycomb Conjecture". Discrete and Computational Geometry. 25 (1): 1–22. arXiv:math/9906042. doi:10.1007/s004540010071. MR 1797293. S2CID 14849112. <a href="/wiki/Discrete_and_Computational_Geometry" target="_blank">/wiki/Discrete_and_Computational_Geometry</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Randall, Lisa; Sundrum, Raman (1999). "Large Mass Hierarchy from a Small Extra Dimension". Physical Review Letters. 83 (17): 3370–3. arXiv:hep-ph/9905221. Bibcode:1999PhRvL..83.3370R. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.3370. <a href="/wiki/Physical_Review_Letters" target="_blank">/wiki/Physical_Review_Letters</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Randall, Lisa; Sundrum, Raman (1999). "An Alternative to Compactification". Physical Review Letters. 83 (23): 4690–3. arXiv:hep-th/9906064. Bibcode:1999PhRvL..83.4690R. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.4690. S2CID 18530420. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Lucas, R. J.; Freedman, M. S.; Muñoz, M.; Garcia-Fernández, J. M.; Foster, R. G. (1999-04-16). "Regulation of the mammalian pineal by non-rod, non-cone, ocular photoreceptors". Science. 284 (5413): 505–507. Bibcode:1999Sci...284..505L. doi:10.1126/science.284.5413.505. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 10205062. <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.284.5413.505" target="_blank">https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.284.5413.505</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Amir, Ruthie E.; Van den Veyver, Ignatia; Wan, Mimi; Tran, Charles; Francke, Uta; Zoghbi, Huda Y. (1999). "Rett syndrome is caused by mutations in X-linked MECP2, encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2". Nature Genetics. 23 (2): 185–8. doi:10.1038/13810. PMID 10508514. S2CID 3350350. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1099_185" target="_blank">https://www.nature.com/articles/ng1099_185</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>