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← All historyTHE ARCHIVE · 19 STORIES

1946–1999

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MOMENTS FROM THIS ERA

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19 illustrated stories · growing daily
Women delegates wearing translation headphones discuss papers around a conference table.World events

Beijing Declaration adopted on 15 September 1995

The Beijing agreement framed women's equality as a concern of public institutions, economic life and responsibilities within the family.

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An imagined scene of a couple leaving open prison gates as a hopeful crowd looks on.World events

Nelson Mandela leaves prison: February 11, 1990

Nelson Mandela left Victor Verster Prison on February 11, 1990, after approximately twenty-seven years in custody. His unconditional release became a defining moment in South Africa’s transition, but apartheid had not ended: negotiations and the struggle for democratic government still lay ahead.

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An imagined nighttime crowd celebrating at an opened border checkpoint in 1989.World events

The fall of the Berlin Wall: November 9, 1989

On November 9, 1989, an announcement about East German travel rules sent crowds to Berlin’s border crossings. Guards eventually opened the barriers. The night transformed movement through a divided city, while the physical dismantling of the Wall unfolded over subsequent months.

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An aerosol can and refrigerator components sit before an imagined 1980s international conference.World events

The Montreal Protocol is adopted, 16 September 1987

The Montreal Protocol turned concern about ozone-depleting chemicals into an international system of controls. Its original provisions addressed CFCs and halons; later agreements strengthened and expanded the response.

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A Māori elder and preschool children share a conversation on a woven mat in a modest early-1980s room.World events

Opening of Pukeatua, the first kōhanga reo

Pukeatua Kōhanga Reo opened in Wainuiomata on 13 April 1982. Its Māori-language immersion environment brought elders, children and families together in a community-led response to the decline of te reo Māori.

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Zimbabwean spectators watch a national flag above an illuminated stadium during independence celebrations.World events

Zimbabwe gains internationally recognized independence, 18 April 1980

Zimbabwe's independence followed negotiations, a ceasefire and elections. The new republic's international recognition distinguished it from the earlier unilateral declaration made by Rhodesia's white-minority government.

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Adults in 1970s winter clothes walk together along a lamplit Sydney street behind a loudspeaker truck.World events

Sydney’s first Mardi Gras parade and civil-rights campaign

Sydney’s first Mardi Gras took place on June 24, 1978. Its street celebration promoted gay and lesbian culture while challenging discrimination; the police response made the event a major moment in Australian civil-rights history.

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Women in wool coats and knitted sweaters stand together at an autumn outdoor rally in Reykjavik.World events

Iceland’s Women’s Day Off on October 24, 1975

On October 24, 1975, Icelandic women withdrew both paid work and domestic labour. The Women’s Day Off made the country’s dependence on women’s contributions visible in workplaces, households and a major public rally.

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Whina Cooper walks with Māori land marchers carrying a petition toward Wellington's Parliament buildings.World events

Whina Cooper and the Māori Land March reach Parliament

On 13 October 1975, the Māori Land March reached New Zealand's Parliament in Wellington. Led by Whina Cooper, it brought a petition against continuing land loss and made a collective claim visible across the country.

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Two young pandas in wooden transport crates receive bamboo from an airfield keeper at dawn.World events

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing arrive in Washington in 1972

Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing arrived at Washington’s National Zoo on April 16, 1972, as gifts from China. Their celebrated arrival formed one half of a diplomatic animal exchange: the United States gave China two musk oxen.

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Migratory ducks fly over a reed-fringed Iranian wetland with mountains beyond.World events

Adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Adopted in Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971, the wetlands convention connected habitat protection with international cooperation. Migrating waterbirds supplied a clear reason why conserving an ecosystem could not stop at a national border.

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A woman examines a small copper coin with a magnifying glass at a 1960s New Zealand bank counter.World events

New Zealand's decimal currency launch and the Bahamas mule coins

New Zealand introduced dollars and cents on 10 July 1967. Amid the nationwide changeover, some two-cent pieces appeared with a New Zealand design on one side and a Bahamian design on the other, creating a memorable minting error.

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