Year by year · 20th century

1995

1995 in world history: 13 events, 9 deaths, 1 state founded and 1 that came to an end. 190 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 1 January

    The World Trade Organization is established

    The WTO began work in Geneva, succeeding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1947. Unlike GATT, it covered services and intellectual property and had a binding system for settling trade disputes.

  2. 17 January

    Great Hanshin earthquake devastates Kobe

    A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Kobe region before dawn, killing 6,434 people and destroying over 100,000 buildings. The slow official response prompted reform of Japan's disaster planning.

  3. 26 March

    Schengen Agreement abolishes border checks in Europe

    Seven European countries, including France and Germany, removed passport controls at their common borders. The Schengen Area now covers most of the European Union and several other states.

    European Union

  4. 19 April

    Truck bomb kills 168 in Oklahoma City

    Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, including 19 children. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in US history.

  5. 29 June

    Sampoong Department Store collapses in Seoul

    The five-storey store fell in seconds, killing 502 people. Investigators found illegal alterations and ignored warnings, prompting reforms of South Korean building safety.

  6. 24 August

    Microsoft launches Windows 95

    Microsoft released Windows 95 with a huge marketing campaign; customers queued at midnight. Its Start menu and taskbar set the pattern of the personal computer desktop for decades.

  7. 21 November

    The Dayton Agreement is initialled, ending the Bosnian War

    After three weeks of talks at an air base in Ohio, the leaders of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia initialled a peace agreement. The war had killed about 100,000 people, including some 8,000 at Srebrenica.

    Serbia

  8. 30 November

    Bill Clinton becomes the first US president to visit Northern Ireland

    Bill Clinton addressed crowds in Belfast and Derry in support of the peace process. The visit added momentum to the talks that produced the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

  9. War

    Cenepa War

    The Cenepa War was a short conflict between Ecuador and Peru fought in January and February 1995 over outposts in the upper Cenepa valley, in an undemarcated stretch of the Cordillera del Cóndor.

ProfileState187 states with a known seat in 1995Open the atlas at 1995 →

In the profiles

Wars and longer events

Died in 1995 9

States founded 1

States that came to an end 1

All years → The 20th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1995. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1995
MLA
“1995.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1995. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1995.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1995.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1995’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1995 (Accessed: ).