Big events that shape our lives are often called milestones. The word originally described real stone markers that were placed at every mile along a road to help travelers track how far they had come and how far they had yet to go.
The big events of 1998 stand out in our memory just as those stone markers once stood out along the road. This year brought the youngest figure-skating champ, the oldest astronaut, the greatest home-run hitter and the most watched movie of all time. It brought tragedy to Central America, troubles for the President and hope (at last!) to Northern Ireland. Take a trip past these memorable milestones of 1998.
January
Pope John Paul II, leader of the world's 1 billion Roman Catholics, became the first Pope to visit Cuba. Fidel Castro, Cuba's leader, had long discouraged religion in the island nation. Below, NASA's Lunar Prospector mission blasted off to map and explore the moon from 60 miles above its surface.
February
American Tara Lipinski, 15, edged out teammate Michelle Kwan to become the youngest Olympic figure-skating gold medalist in history, at the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
March
Bill Clinton made the most extensive trip to Africa of any President, visiting six nations in 12 days. Above, he spoke to a crowd in Ghana with Hillary Rodham Clinton. Below, one of many scenes of weather-related destruction blamed on 1998's El Niño, a climate shift caused by an area of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean. This truck in Redding, California, was swept away by raging waters during an El Nino-related flash flood. Its driver and passenger survived.
April
After decades of deadly fighting, Northern Ireland's Catholics and Protestants reached a peace agreement. In May it was approved by voters. Though too young to vote, these Irish girls show their enthusiastic support.
May
The world shook with worry when two enemy countries, Pakistan and India, tested nuclear bombs to show off their deadly weapons. Although much of the world spoke out against the tests, the Indians above declared their country's right to have nuclear weapons.
June
Is Michael Jordan the greatest athlete ever? Lots of people thought so after he led the Chicago Bulls to their sixth national championship. Jordan vowed it would be his last game: "Hopefully, the fans understand."
July
"We are the champions!" shouted French soccer fans when underdog France beat mighty Brazil 3-0 to win the World Cup on July 12.
August
First there was one violent blast, then another. On August 7, bombs ripped through U.S. embassy buildings in two African countries: Kenya, right, and Tanzania. The bombs killed nearly 300 people. The U.S. blamed a group of terrorists led by Osama bin Laden and fired missiles against them on August 20.
September
A historic report arrived in Congress. It said President Clinton may have committed crimes that could result in his removal from office. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa both set home-run records. Big Mac was the big winner, ending the season with 70 homers.
October
Americans cheered the return to space of John Glenn. At 77, Senator Glenn is the world's oldest astronaut. In 1962 Glenn became the first American to orbit the earth. This time he circled the planet 134 times aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Glenn, shown getting ready for lift-off, above, took part in experiments to study the effects of aging on health.
November
Hurricane Mitch's heavy rains and high winds devastated Central America. A muddy river in Honduras, top, overflowed its banks. Three days after the elections, Newt Gingrich, middle, quit his job as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Meteoroids from the comet Tempel-Tuttle streaked across the sky. Folks in Alaska witnessed this dazzling light show.
December
As 1998 came to an end, President Clinton had reason to worry. The House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment against him. Now the full House of Representatives must decide whether the President will have a trial in the Senate.