1990s Vocabulary - Foster

ENIAC

(Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) The first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer completed in 1945.

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak

Co-founders of Apple in 1976.

MS-DOS

Operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft.

ARPANET

“U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network” The first public packet-switched computer network.

James Watson & Francis Crick

Discovered the DNA molecule's three-dimensional double helix structure.

Human Genome Project

International research project to map and sequence all human genes from 1990-2003.

Family Medical Leave Act

U.S. labor law providing job-protected, unpaid leave for medical and family reasons.

AmeriCorps

U.S. government agency engaging Americans in volunteer work programs.

Brady Bill

U.S. Act mandating federal background checks on firearm purchasers.

Newt Gingrich

American politician and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Contract with America

Legislative agenda by the Republican Party during the 1994 congressional election campaign.

Health Insurance Portability Act

Law protecting patient health information privacy.

Welfare Reform Act

Legislation creating time-limited cash assistance with work requirements for needy families.

Bob Dole

Former American politician and Senate Majority Leader.

H. Ross Perot

American business magnate and politician who ran for president in 1992.

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Provides low-cost health coverage to children in families above Medicaid limits.

Whitewater Scandal

Real estate controversy involving former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

Janet Reno

First female U.S. Attorney General from 1993 to 2001.

Kenneth Starr

Investigated the Whitewater controversy involving the Clinton administration.

Monica Lewinsky

Internationally known for her affair with U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide

Haitian former priest and president.

Ethnic cleansing

Forcibly removing persons of another ethnic or religious group from an area.

Dayton Accords

Ended the Bosnian War in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Slobodan Milosevic

Former President of Serbia and Yugoslavia charged with war crimes.

PLO

(The Palestine Liberation Organization) Internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people.

NAFTA

(North American Free Trade Agreement) Agreement to eliminate trade barriers between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

European Union

Political and economic union of 27 European member states.

Timothy McVeigh

Perpetrator of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

Al Qaeda

Militant Islamist organization founded by Osama bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden

Founder of al-Qaeda until his death in 2011.