40 Rare Photos of the World in 1998
The year 1998 was a cultural, political, and technological crossroads. While Google was quietly being born in a Silicon Valley garage, world leaders were forging peace deals, boy bands were topping charts, and nations reeled from economic shocks and natural disasters.
This was also the year when France stunned the world at the FIFA World Cup, and President Clinton’s personal scandal became international headline news. Amidst the global shifts and celebrity buzz, everyday life carried on, and photographers around the globe captured those fleeting moments in remarkable clarity.
Here are 40 rare and compelling images that show what the world looked like in 1998.
1. Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin in Their Stanford Dorm Office
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin
3. Apple Unveils the First iMac at Macworld Expo
4. The Good Friday Agreement Is Signed in Northern Ireland
5. A Serbian Policeman offers water to an elderly ethnic Albanian villager, Kosovo
6. India Conducts Nuclear Tests in Pokhran
7. Titanic Wins 11 Oscars at the 70th Academy Awards
8. J.K. Rowling writing Harry Potter at a cafe in Scotland
9. President Bill Clinton Denies Allegations in Televised Address
10. A Cathay Pacific flight comes into land in Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport, June 27 1998
11. U.S. Embassy Bombings Aftermath in Kenya and Tanzania
12. The Spice Girls
13. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr, & Brandy in 1998
14. Jesse Ventura Wins Minnesota Governor’s Race
15. Shops owned by ethnic Chinese are looted and goods burned on the streets in Jakarta, Indonesia. May 14 1998
16. Kosovo Refugees Flee During Rising Conflict
17. Iran vs USA soccer teams pose together pre-match
18. Ice Storm Devastates Eastern Canada
19. Windows 98 Launch Event with Bill Gates
20. Lauryn Hill Performs at the MTV Video Music Awards
21. 1998 NBA All-Star game
22. Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Liam Neeson and R2-D2 on the set of The Phantom Menace
23. Mike Tyson signs autographs at the Maricopa County “Pup Tent City” jail facility for juveniles in Phoenix December 23, 1998
24. Michael Schumacher taking a break during the Monaco Grand Prix (1998)
25. Amy Winehouse 1998
26. Jason Schwartzman on the set of Rushmore
27. “Sex and the City” Premieres on HBO
28. Pakistan Tests Nuclear Weapons in Chagai Hills
29. Hurricane Mitch Devastates Honduras and Nicaragua
30. Elton John Receives Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II
31. New York Yankees Win the World Series
32. Mark McGwire Breaks the Single-Season Home Run Record
33. Protesters in Jakarta Demand Suharto’s Resignation
34. Britney Spears Shoots “…Baby One More Time” Music Video
35. Liam & Noel meet Maradona in Buenos Aires
36. Clinton and Netanyahu at Wye River Talks
37. John Glenn Returns to Space at Age 77
38. Zinedine Zidane Becomes a Global Star
39. The Nagano Winter Olympics Open with Global Fanfare
40. A Snapshot of Times Square on New Year’s Eve, 1998
