1996
Encyclopedia
1996 was a leap year that started on a Monday
. In the Gregorian calendar
, it was the 1996th year of the Common Era
, or of Anno Domini
; the 996th year of the 2nd millennium
; the 96th year of the 20th century
; and the 7th of the 1990s
. The year 1996 was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty.
Leap year starting on Monday
This is the calendar for any leap year starting on Monday, January 1 , such as 1940, 1968, 1996, 2024 or 2052.MillenniumCenturyYear2nd Millennium:18th century: 1720 1748 1776...
. In the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
, it was the 1996th year of the Common Era
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, or of Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
; the 996th year of the 2nd millennium
2nd millennium
File:2nd millennium montage.png|From left, clockwise: In 1492, Christopher Columbus; The American Revolution; The French Revolution; The Atomic Bomb from World War II; An alternate source of light, the Light Bulb; For the first time, a human being sets foot on the moon in 1969 during the Apollo 11...
; the 96th year of the 20th century
20th century
Many people define the 20th century as running from January 1, 1901 to December 31, 2000, others would rather define it as beginning on January 1, 1900....
; and the 7th of the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
. The year 1996 was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty.
January
- January 1 – King Fahd of Saudi ArabiaFahd of Saudi ArabiaFahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005...
temporarily gives power to Crown Prince AbdullahAbdullah of Saudi ArabiaAbdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
, his legal successor, due to illness. - January 3 – MotorolaMotorolaMotorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
introduces the Motorola StarTACMotorola StarTACThe Motorola StarTAC is a clamshell mobile phone manufactured by Motorola. It was released on 3 January 1996, being the first ever clamshell/flip mobile phone. The StarTAC is the successor of the MicroTAC, a semi-clamshell design that had been launched in 1989. Whereas the MicroTAC's shell folded...
Wearable Cellular Telephone, the world's smallest and lightest mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
at that time. - January 4 – Hosni MubarakHosni MubarakMuhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, the president of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, appoints a new government in response to accusations of corruption in the parliamentary elections in late 1995. - January 7 – One of the worst blizzardsNorth American blizzard of 1996The Blizzard of 1996 was a severe nor'easter that paralyzed the U.S. East Coast with up to of wind-driven snow from January 6 to January 8, 1996. It was followed by another storm on January 12th, then unusually warm weather and torrential rain which caused rapid melting and river...
in American history hits the eastern states, killing more than 150 people. Philadelphia, PA receives a record 30.7 inches (78 cm) of snowfall, New York City's public schools close for the first time in 18 years and the federal government in Washington, D.C. is closed for days. - January 8 – A ZaireZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
an cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital KinshasaKinshasaKinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, killing 350. - January 9 – Art forger Eric HebbornEric HebbornEric Hebborn was a British painter and art forger and later an author.-Early life:Eric Hebborn was born in the London suburb of South Kensington to a Cockney family in 1934, although his mother was a gypsy. According to his autobiography, his mother beat him constantly as a child...
is assassinated in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. - January 9–January 20 – Serious fighting breaks out between RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n soldiers and rebel fighters in ChechnyaChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. - January 11 – Ryutaro HashimotoRyutaro Hashimotowas a Japanese politician who served as the 82nd and 83rd Prime Minister of Japan from January 11, 1996 to July 30, 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politics until scandal...
, leader of the Liberal Democratic PartyLiberal Democratic Party (Japan)The , frequently abbreviated to LDP or , is a centre-right political party in Japan. It is one of the most consistently successful political parties in the democratic world. The LDP ruled almost continuously for nearly 54 years from its founding in 1955 until its defeat in the 2009 election...
, becomes Prime Minister of JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. - January 13– ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
's prime minister, Lamberto Dini, resigns after the failure of all-party talks to confirm him. New talks are initiated by president Oscar Luigi ScalfaroOscar Luigi ScalfaroOscar Luigi Scalfaro , Italian politician and magistrate, was the ninth President of the Italian Republic from 1992 to 1999, and is currently a senator for life...
to form a new government. - January 14 – Jorge Sampaio is elected president of PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. - January 16 – President of Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
Valentine StrasserValentine StrasserValentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser served as head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. He had been a junior military officer but in 1992, he became the world's youngest Head of State when he seized power three days after his 25th birthday...
is deposed by the chief of defence, Julius Maada BioJulius Maada BioBrigadier Julius Maada Bio is a Sierra Leonean politician who was the military Head of State of Sierra Leone from January 16, 1996 to March 29, 1996 under the National Provisional Ruling Council military junta government....
. Bio promises to restore power following elections scheduled for February. - January 19
- The North Cape Oil Spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode IslandRhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. The North Cape Barge is pulled along with it and leaks 820,000 gallons of home heating oil. - An IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n ferry sinks off the northern tip of SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, drowning more than 100 people.
- The North Cape Oil Spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island
- January 20 – Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
is re-elected president of the Palestinian Authority.
- January 22 – Andreas PapandreouAndreas PapandreouAndreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...
, Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
, resigns due to health problems; a new government forms under Costas SimitisCostas SimitisKonstantinos Simitis , usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis, was Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement from 1996 to 2004.- Biography :...
. - January 24 – Polish Premier Józef OleksyJózef OleksyJózef Oleksy is a post-communist Polish politician, former chairman of Democratic Left Alliance ....
resigns amid charges that he spied for MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. He is replaced by Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz. - January 26 – Whitewater scandal: U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
testifies before a grand jury. - January 27 – Colonel Ibrahim Baré MaïnassaraIbrahim Baré MaïnassaraColonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara was a military officer in the West African country of Niger who seized power in a January 1996 coup d'état and ruled the country until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999....
deposes the first democratically elected president of NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Mahamane OusmaneMahamane OusmaneMahamane Ousmane is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993 until his ouster in a military coup d'état on 27 January 1996. He has continued to run for President in each election since his ouster, and he was President...
, in a military coup. - January 29
- President Jacques ChiracJacques ChiracJacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear testingNuclear testingNuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the effectiveness, yield and explosive capability of nuclear weapons. Throughout the twentieth century, most nations that have developed nuclear weapons have tested them...
. - Fire destroys La FeniceLa FeniceTeatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
, VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
's opera house. - Imia-Kardak crisis: A Greek flag is hoisted on a small rocky island named Imia (GreekGreek languageGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
) / Kardak (TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
).
- President Jacques Chirac
- January 30 – Irish National Liberation ArmyIrish National Liberation ArmyThe Irish National Liberation Army or INLA is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group that was formed on 8 December 1974. Its goal is to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a socialist united Ireland....
leader Gino GallagherGino GallagherGino Gallagher was an Irish republican who was Chief of Staff of the Irish National Liberation Army. He was killed in Belfast on 30 January 1996, while waiting in line for his unemployment benefit....
is killed in an internal feud. - January 30–February 5 – Sarah BalabaganSarah BalabaganSarah Balabagan was a Filipina prisoner in the United Arab Emirates during 1994 - 96 whose case caused a good deal of controversy...
is caned in the United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. - January 31
- An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400. - An explosion in ShaoyangShaoyang-Administrative divisions:*Shuangqing District *Daxiang District *Beita District *Wugang City *Shaodong County *Shaoyang County *Xinshao County *Longhui County *Dongkou County *Suining County...
, ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
kills 122 and injures over 400 when 10 tons of dynamiteDynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
in an illegal explosives warehouse underneath an apartment building detonate. - A bomb planted by the Tamil Tigers explodes in ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, killing 88 and injuring hundreds more.
- An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo
February
- February 4 – An earthquake near Lijiang in southwest ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, measuring up to 7 on the Richter scale, kills at least 240 people, injures more than 14,000 and makes hundreds of thousands homeless. - February 6 – Birgenair Flight 301Birgenair Flight 301Birgenair Flight 301 was a flight chartered by Turkish-managed Birgenair partner Alas Nacionales from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic to Frankfurt, Germany via Gander, Canada and Berlin, Germany...
, on an unauthorised charter flight from the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
to GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, crashes into the Atlantic OceanAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
off the coast of the Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, killing all 189 passengers and crew. - February 7 – René PrévalRené PrévalRené Garcia Préval is a Haitian politician and agronomist who was the President of the Republic of Haiti from 14 May 2006 to 14 May 2011. He previously served as President from February 7, 1996, to February 7, 2001, and as Prime Minister from February 1991 to October 11, 1991.-Early life and...
succeeds Jean-Bertrand AristideJean-Bertrand AristideJean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
as president of HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, in the first peaceful handover of power since the nation achieved independence. - February 8 – An IRA ceasefire ends with a half-tonne bomb1996 Docklands bombingThe Docklands bombing occurred on 9 February 1996. It was conducted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army and brought an end to their seventeen-month ceasefire...
in London's Canary Wharf DistrictCanary WharfCanary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
, killing 2 and causing over £85 million worth of damage. - February 9 – The element Copernicium is discovered.
- February 10
- Chess computerComputer chessComputer chess is computer architecture encompassing hardware and software capable of playing chess autonomously without human guidance. Computer chess acts as solo entertainment , as aids to chess analysis, for computer chess competitions, and as research to provide insights into human...
"Deep Blue" defeats world chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
champion Garry KasparovGarry KasparovGarry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
for the first time. - Bosnian Serbs break off contact with the BosniaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
n government and with representatives of Ifor, the NATO localised force, in reaction to the arrest of several Bosnian Serb war criminals.
- Chess computer
- February 14 – Violent clashes erupt between FilipinoPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
soldiers and VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese boat peopleBoat peopleBoat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...
, as the Philippines government attempts to forcibly repatriate hundreds of Vietnamese asylum seekers. - February 15
- In south-west WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, the oil tanker Sea EmpressSea EmpressThe MV Sea Empress was a single-hull oil tanker that ran aground near the southwest coast of Wales in February 1996. The ensuing oil spill affected a considerable area of nearby coastline.Pembrokeshire was suffering for over a year after the incident...
runs aground, spilling 73,000 tonnes of crude oil, killing many birds. - The U.S. Embassy in Athens, GreeceAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
comes under mortar fire. - A Long March 3Long March 3The Long March 3 , also known as the Chang Zheng 3, CZ-3 and LM-3, was a Chinese orbital carrier rocket. It was launched from Launch Complex 1 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre. It was a 3-stage rocket, and was mostly used to place DFH-2-class communications satellites into geosynchronous...
rocket at the Xichang Satellite Launch CenterXichang Satellite Launch CenterThe Xichang Satellite Launch Center also known as Base 27 , is a People’s Republic of China space vehicle launch facility approximately 64 km northwest of Xichang City, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province....
in ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing as many as 50. - Begum Khaleda Zia is reelected as prime minister of BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. The country's second democratic election is marred by low voter turnout, due to several boycotts and pre-election violence, which result in at least 13 deaths. - The UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
government publishes the Scott ReportScott ReportThe Scott Report was a judicial inquiry commissioned in 1992 after reports of arms sales in the 1980s to Iraq by British companies surfaced. The report was conducted by Sir Richard Scott, then a Lord Justice of Appeal. It was published in 1996...
.
- In south-west Wales
- February 17
- In Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Garry KasparovGarry KasparovGarry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
beats "Deep Blue" in a second chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
match. - In Irian Jaya, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and associated tidal waves kills 102 people and causes widespread devastation.
- In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- February 18 – An IRA briefcase bomb in a bus kills the bomber and injures 9 in the West End of LondonWest End of LondonThe West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
. - February 19 – A wooden ferry capsizes as it enters the port of CádizCádizCadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, killing 54 people. - February 21 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia announces his medical recovery in the national press and assumes power again from his brother, Crown Prince AbdullahAbdullah of Saudi ArabiaAbdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. When Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1998 to 2005...
. - February 24 – CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n fighter jets shoot down 2 AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aircraft belonging to the Cuban exile group, Brothers to the RescueBrothers to the RescueBrothers to the Rescue is a Miami-based activist organization headed by José Basulto. Formed by Cuban exiles, the group is widely known for its opposition to the Cuban government and, then President, Fidel Castro...
. Cuban officials assert that they invaded Cuban airspace. - February 25 – Two suicide bombs in Israel kill 25 and injure 80; HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
claims responsibility. - February 27 – Pokemon Green was released in Japan as the first game in the world famous PokemonPokémonis a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
series. - February 28 – Canadian singer Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
wins the top honor, Album of the Year award, at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards. She is the youngest person to ever win this award, a record she held until 2010. - February 29
- In Lumberton, North CarolinaLumberton, North CarolinaLumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 20,795 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Robeson County. Lumberton, located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, is located on the Lumber River...
, Daniel Green is convicted of the murder of James JordanJames R. Jordan, Sr.James Raymond Jordan, Sr. was the father of basketball legend Michael Jordan and Army Command Sergeant Major James R. Jordan, Jr., and the grandfather of University of Central Florida players Jeffrey Jordan and Marcus Jordan. A life-long baseball fan, Jordan had played a large role in inspiring...
, the father of basketball star Michael JordanMichael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
. - Faucett Flight 251Faucett Flight 251Faucett Flight 251 was a flight that crashed on February 29, 1996, while on approach to Rodriguez Ballon Airport in Arequipa, Peru. The airplane was a Boeing 737-222, registration OB-1451, built in 1968. All 123 people on board died in the accident....
in route from LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
to Rodriguez Ballon airport crashes into a mountain near ArequipaArequipaArequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
; all 123 people on board are killed. - At least 81 people drown when a boat capsizes 120 kilometres east of KampalaKampalaKampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. - The Bosnian governmentPolitics of Bosnia and HerzegovinaPolitics of Bosnia and Herzegovina takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power...
declares the end of the Siege of SarajevoSiege of SarajevoThe Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...
.
- In Lumberton, North Carolina
March
- March 1 – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: Iraqi forces refuse UNSCOM inspection teams access to 5 sites designated for inspection. The teams enter the sites only after delays of up to 17 hours. - March 2
- Ranabima Royal CollegeRanabima Royal College-Location:Ranabima Royal College is a public school located in Gannoruwa, near Kandy, the hill capital of Sri Lanka. The college is surrounded by Gannoruwa and Hanthana Mountains, and is situated on the bank of the Mahaweli river. Dividos sanctuary is located just beside Ranabima Royal College, as...
is established in Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. - Australian federal election, 1996 is held. Labor's Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
loses to Liberal leader John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
- Ranabima Royal College
- March 3 – José María AznarJosé María AznarJosé María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...
, leader of the Popular PartyPeople's Party (Spain)The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, is elected prime minister of SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, replacing Felipe GonzálezFelipe GonzálezFelipe González Márquez is a Spanish socialist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party from 1974 to 1997. To date, he remains the longest-serving Prime Minister of Spain, after having served four successive mandates from 1982 to 1996.-Early life:Felipe was...
. - March 3–March 4 – Two more suicide bombs explode in IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, killing 32. The Yahya Ayyash Units admit responsibility, and PalestinianPalestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
president Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
condemns the killings in a televised address. Israel warns of retaliation. - March 6
- Mesut YılmazMesut YilmazAhmet Mesut Yılmaz is the former leader of the Motherland Party and was the Turkish prime minister in the 1990s.Mesut Yılmaz was a rising star in the Motherland Party of Turgut Özal, representing the Black Sea province of Rize in the parliament and serving as tourism minister in Ozal's cabinet...
, of ANAPMotherland Party (Turkey)The Motherland Party, was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 1983 by Turgut Özal. It was merged to Democratic Party in October 2009...
forms the new government of TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(53rd government) - A boat carrying market traders capsizes outside FreetownFreetownFreetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
harbour, in Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, killing at least 86. - ChechenChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
rebels attack the RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n government headquarters in GroznyGroznyGrozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
; 70 Russian soldiers and policemen and 130 Chechen fighters are killed.
- Mesut Yılmaz
- March 8 – The People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
begins surface-to-surface missileSurface-to-surface missileA surface-to-surface missile is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. They are often powered by a rocket motor or sometimes fired by an explosive charge, since the launching platform is typically stationary or moving...
testing and military exercises off TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese coastal areas. The United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government condemns the act as provocation, and the TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
ese government warns of retaliation. - March 9 – Jorge Sampaio is the new PortuguesePortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
president. - March 11 – John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Australia. - March 13 – Dunblane massacreDunblane massacreThe Dunblane massacre was a multiple murder-suicide which occurred at Dunblane Primary School in the Scottish town of Dunblane on 13 March 1996. Sixteen children and one adult were killed by Thomas Hamilton before he committed suicide.-Timeline of events:...
: Unemployed former shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton walks into the Dunblane Primary School in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and opens fire, killing 16 infant school pupils and one teacher before fatally shooting himself. - March 14 – An international peace summit is held in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in response to escalating terrorist attacks in the Middle East. - March 16 – Robert MugabeRobert MugabeRobert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
is reelected president of ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, although only 32 percent of the electorate actually voted. - March 17 – Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
wins the Cricket World Cup by storming to a famous victory against the tournament favourite AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - March 18 – The Ozone Disco Club fireOzone Disco Club fireA fire at the Ozone Disco Club in Quezon City, Philippines broke out shortly after midnight, Philippine Standard Time, March 18, 1996 leaving at least 162 people dead...
in Quezon CityQuezon CityQuezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
kills 163. - March 20 – The British Government announces that Bovine spongiform encephalopathyBovine spongiform encephalopathyBovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
has been likely transmitted to people. - March 23 – The Republic of ChinaRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
or TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
holds its first direct elections for president; Lee Teng-huiLee Teng-huiLee Teng-hui is a politician of the Republic of China . He was the 7th, 8th, and 9th-term President of the Republic of China and Chairman of the Kuomintang from 1988 to 2000. He presided over major advancements in democratic reforms including his own re-election which marked the first direct...
is re-elected. - March 24
- IslamistsIslamismIslamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...
clash with security forces in KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, killing 11. - The devastating Marcopper mining disasterMarcopper Mining DisasterThe Marcopper mining disaster was one of the Philippines' largest mining disasters to date. The disaster occurred on the Philippine island of Marinduque a province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region in Luzon....
on the island of MarinduqueMarinduqueIn 1945, combined American and Philippine Commonwealth troops attacked from the Japanese Troops liberated to the Battle of Marinduque in the Second World War.-Archaeology:...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
takes place.
- Islamists
- March 25
- An 81-day long standoff begins between antigovernment FreemenMontana FreemenThe Montana Freemen were a Christian Patriot movement based outside the town of Jordan, Montana. The members of the group referred to their land as "Justus Township" and had declared themselves no longer under the authority of any outside government...
and federal officers in Jordan, MontanaJordan, MontanaJordan is a town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States. The population was 364 at the 2000 census.-History:Originally settled in 1896, Jordan received a post office on July 11, 1899...
. - The 68th Academy Awards68th Academy AwardsThe 68th Academy Awards were held on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. The ceremony was watched 44.48 million viewers, with 30.5% households watching...
, hosted by Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
, are held at the Dorothy Chandler PavilionDorothy Chandler PavilionThe Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center . The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.The Pavilion has 3,197 seats spread over four tiers, with chandeliers, wide curving stairways and rich décor...
in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with BraveheartBraveheartBraveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
winning Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
.
- An 81-day long standoff begins between antigovernment Freemen
- March 26 – The International Monetary FundInternational Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
approves a $10.2 billion loan to RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
for economic reform. - March 28
- Fire breaks out at the Pasar Anyar shopping centre in BogorBogorBogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
, West JavaWest JavaWest Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
. The first death toll estimate is 78 until rescuers notice that 68 of them are mannequinMannequinA mannequin is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, and others especially to display or fit clothing...
s. - Three BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soldiers are found guilty of the manslaughter of Danish tour guide Louise JensenLouise JensenLouise Jensen was a tour guide from Denmark who was abducted by British soldiers, Allan Ford, Justin Fowler, and Geoffrey Pernell, while working in Cyprus...
in CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. Allan Ford, Justin Fowler and Geoffrey Pernell receive life sentences for the September, 1994 rape/murder.
- Fire breaks out at the Pasar Anyar shopping centre in Bogor
April
- April 1
- The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
is created. - An overcrowded ferry sinks off the coast of Irois, HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, killing more than 200 people.
- The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia
- April 3
- A Boeing 737Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
military jet crashes into a mountain north of DubrovnikDubrovnikDubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. All 35 people on board die, including United States Secretary of CommerceUnited States Secretary of CommerceThe United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
Ron BrownRon Brown (U.S. politician)Ronald Harmon "Ron" Brown was the United States Secretary of Commerce, serving during the first term of President Bill Clinton. He was the first African American to hold this position...
(see 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crashOn April 3, 1996, a United States Air Force CT-43A crashed on approach to Dubrovnik, Croatia while on an official trade mission. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-253 built as a T-43 navigation trainer, was carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and 34 other people, including The New York...
). - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore KaczynskiTheodore KaczynskiTheodore John "Ted" Kaczynski , also known as the "Unabomber" , is an American mathematician, social critic, anarcho-primitivist, and Neo-Luddite who engaged in a mail bombing campaign that spanned nearly 20 years, killing three people and injuring 23 others.Kaczynski was born in Chicago, Illinois,...
is arrested at his MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
cabin. - Massacres of HutuHutuThe Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
s by TutsiTutsiThe Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
s in BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
take place, with more than 450 killed in a few days.
- A Boeing 737
- April 6
- Fighting breaks out in MonroviaMonroviaMonrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
between various rebel factions struggling for power in the country's interrupted civil war. Several foreign nationals leave the nation. - Major League SoccerMajor League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
kicks off in front of an overflow crowd of 31,683 packed in Spartan StadiumSpartan Stadium (San Jose)Spartan Stadium, located in San Jose, California, is the official stadium of the San José State University Spartans athletics teams. It is currently the home of the Spartan football and soccer teams....
, to witness the historic first game. San Jose Clash forward Eric WynaldaEric WynaldaEric Boswell Wynalda is a retired American soccer player, and former sports broadcaster. He was the co-host of Fox Football Fone-In on Fox Soccer Channel and is currently employeed as the president of international operations at Mexican third division club Murcielagos.Wynalda scored the first goal...
scores the league's first goal in a 1–0 victory over D.C. UnitedD.C. UnitedD.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, in 1996.Over the...
. - TurkishTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
authorities begin Operation Hawk, an army offensive against rebels from the Kurdish Worker's Party in southeastern Turkey.
- Fighting breaks out in Monrovia
- April 11 – The IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i government launches Operation Grapes of WrathOperation Grapes of WrathOperation Grapes of Wrath is the Israeli Defense Forces code-name for a sixteen-day campaign against Lebanon in 1996 in an attempt to end shelling of Northern Israel by Hezbollah. Israel conducted more than 1,100 air raids and extensive shelling...
, consisting of massive attacks on LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, in retaliation for prior terrorist attacks, and sparking off a violent series of retaliations. - April 18
- Qana Massacre1996 shelling of QanaThe 1996 shelling of Qana or the First Qana massacre, took place on April 18, 1996 near Qana, a village in Southern Lebanon, when artillery shells fired by the Israeli Defence Force hit a United Nations compound. Of 800 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge in the compound, 106 were killed and...
: Over 100 LebaneseLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
civilians are killed after Israel shells the UN compound in QanaQanaQana also spelled Cana is a village in southern Lebanon located southeast of the city of Tyre and north of the border with Israel. The 10,000 residents of Qana are primarily Shiite Muslim although there is also a Christian community in the village....
. - In reaction to the Qana Massacre1996 shelling of QanaThe 1996 shelling of Qana or the First Qana massacre, took place on April 18, 1996 near Qana, a village in Southern Lebanon, when artillery shells fired by the Israeli Defence Force hit a United Nations compound. Of 800 Lebanese civilians who had taken refuge in the compound, 106 were killed and...
, an Islamist group in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
open fire on a hotel, killing 18 Greek tourists and injuring 17 others.
- Qana Massacre
- April 21 – A general election in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
proclaims a new government headed by Romano ProdiRomano ProdiRomano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...
and his Olive Tree coalition, replacing Silvio BerlusconiSilvio BerlusconiSilvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
. - April 24 – At the urging of Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
, the Palestine Liberation OrganizationPalestine Liberation OrganizationThe Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
drops its clause calling for the removal of IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. The Israeli government responds by dropping a similar clause concerning the existence of PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. - April 26 – Regional security treaty signed by the “Shanghai Five”.
- April 28
- Port Arthur massacre: Martin BryantMartin BryantMartin Bryant is an Australian who has been convicted of murdering 35 people and injuring 21 others in the Port Arthur massacre, a shooting spree in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, in 1996. He is currently serving 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole in the psychiatric wing of...
kills 35 people at the Port Arthur, TasmaniaPort Arthur, TasmaniaPort Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. Port Arthur is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and the open air museum is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. It is located approximately 60 km south east of...
tourist site, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - A bomb explodes in Bhaiperu, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, killing more than 60 people.
- Port Arthur massacre: Martin Bryant
May
- May – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: UNSCOM supervises the destruction of Al-Hakam, Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents. - May 4 – A Sudanese Federal Airlines jet crashes on a domestic flight in a severe dust stormDust stormA dust / sand storm is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, causing soil to move from one place and deposition...
, while making an emergency landing 325 kilometres northeast of KhartoumKhartoumKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
, killing all 53 passengers and crew. - May 8 – The Keck II telescope is dedicated in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. - May 9
- South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's National PartyNational Party (South Africa)The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
pulls out of the 2-year-old coalition government, and the African National CongressAfrican National CongressThe African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
assumes full political control. - UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
n president Yoweri MuseveniYoweri MuseveniYoweri Kaguta Museveni is a Ugandan politician and statesman. He has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985...
wins a landslide victory in the country's first direct presidential elections, securing 75% of the vote.
- South Africa
- May 10
- 1996 Everest disaster1996 Everest DisasterThe 1996 Mount Everest disaster refers to the events of 10-11 May 1996, when eight people died on Mount Everest during summit attempts. In the entire season, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest single year in Mount Everest's history...
: A sudden storm engulfs Mount EverestMount EverestMount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
with several climbing teams high on the mountain, leaving 8 dead. By the end of the month, at least 4 other climbers die in the worst season of fatalities on the mountain to date. - The AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n government introduces a nationwide ban on the private possession of both automaticAutomatic rifleAutomatic rifle is a term generally used to describe a semi-automatic rifle chambered for a rifle cartridge, capable of delivering both semi- and full automatic fire...
and semi-automatic rifleSemi-automatic rifleA semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...
s, in response to the Port Arthur massacre. - VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese boat peopleBoat peopleBoat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...
in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, facing forced repatriationRepatriationRepatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
due to their classification as economic migrants rather than refugeeRefugeeA refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s, stage a protest at the Whitehead Detention Centre.
- 1996 Everest disaster
- May 11 – After takeoff from Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, a fire started by improperly handled oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
canisters in the cargo hold of AtlantaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
-bound ValuJet Flight 592ValuJet Flight 592ValuJet Flight 592 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida, and William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia...
, causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida EvergladesEvergladesThe Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
, killing all 110 on board. - May 13 – Severe thunderstormThunderstormA thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s and a tornadoTornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
in BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
kill 600. - May 15 – Nine hostages held by the Free Papua Organization in Irian Jaya are rescued after an operation by the IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n military; 2 other hostages are later found dead. - May 17–May 28 – Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
, leader of the Bharatiya Janata PartyBharatiya Janata PartyThe Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
, is elected the new prime minister of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, replacing P. V. Narasimha RaoP. V. Narasimha RaoPamulaparti Venkata "Narasimha Rao" was the ninth Prime Minister of India . He led an important administration, overseeing a major economic transformation and several home incidents affecting national security of India. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj. He is often referred to as...
of the Indian National CongressIndian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. However, the party does not receive an overall majority and Vajpayee resigns 13 days later rather than face a no confidence vote, and is replaced by the United FrontUnited Front (India)The United Front was a coalition government of 13 political parties formed in India after the 1996 general elections. The coalition formed two governments in India between 1996 and 1998. The government was headed by two Prime Ministers from Janata Dal - H. D. Deve Gowda, and I. K. Gujral...
, led Deve Gowda. - May 18 – The X Prize FoundationX Prize FoundationThe X PRIZE Foundation is a non-profit organization that designs and manages public competitions intended to encourage technological development that could benefit mankind....
launches the $10 million Ansari X PrizeAnsari X PrizeThe Ansari X Prize was a space competition in which the X Prize Foundation offered a US$10,000,000 prize for the first non-government organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks...
, which is won in 2004, by Burt RutanBurt RutanElbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an American aerospace engineer noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft...
's SpaceShipOne. - May 19 – Bosnian Serb President Radovan KaradžićRadovan KaradžicRadovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
resigns from public office after being indicted for war crimeWar crimeWar crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s. - May 20 – Gay rights – Romer v. EvansRomer v. EvansRomer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with civil rights and state laws. It was the first Supreme Court case to deal with LGBT rights since Bowers v...
: The Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
rules against a law that prevents any city, town or county in the state of ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of homosexualsHomosexualityHomosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. - May 21
- The MV BukobaMV BukobaMV Bukoba was a Lake Victoria ferry that carried passengers and cargo between the Tanzanian ports of Bukoba and Mwanza. On 21 May 1996 she sank with great loss of life, reported as up to 1000 passengers drowned. This occurred in of water, off Mwanza....
sinks in TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
n waters in Lake VictoriaLake VictoriaLake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
, killing nearly 1,000 in one of AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
's worst maritime disasters. - The TrappistTRAPPISTTRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
Martyrs of AtlasMartyrs of AtlasOn the night of 26–27 March 1996, seven monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, belonging to the Roman Catholic Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , were kidnapped in the Algerian Civil War. They were held for two months, and were found dead on 21 May 1996...
are executed.
- The MV Bukoba
- May 23
- Swede Göran KroppGöran KroppGöran Kropp was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer, born in Eskilstuna in south Sweden. He is most famous for his May 23, 1996 solo ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support, travelling only by bicycle from Sweden.-Early life:In 1972, at the age of 6, Kropp's father took...
reaches the Mount EverestMount EverestMount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
summit alone without oxygenOxygenOxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, after having bicycled there from SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. - Members of the Armed Islamic GroupArmed Islamic GroupThe Armed Islamic Group is an Islamist organisation that wants to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state...
in AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
kill 7 FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
TrappistTRAPPISTTRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
monks, after talks with French government concerning the imprisonment of several GIA sympathisers break down.
- Swede Göran Kropp
- May 25 – Bradley Nowell of the band Sublime dies from a drug O.D.
- May 27 – First Chechnya War: RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n President Boris YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
meets with ChechnyaChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
n rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire in the war. - May 28 – AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
's general election of May 26 is declared unfair by international monitors, and the ruling Democratic PartyDemocratic Party of AlbaniaThe Democratic Party of Albania is a center-right, Conservative, political party in Albania and the leading party in the governing coalition since the 2005 parliamentary elections...
under President Sali BerishaSali BerishaSali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....
is charged by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeOrganization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeThe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
with rigging the elections. Several hundred protestors gather in TiranaTiranaTirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
to demonstrate against the election result. - May 30
- The Likud Party, led by Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin NetanyahuBenjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
, wins a narrow victory in the IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i general election. - The Hoover InstitutionHoover InstitutionThe Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
releases an optimistic report that global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
will probably reduce mortality in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and provide Americans with valuable benefits.
- The Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu
- May 31 – FIFAFIFAThe Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
decides to give the FIFA World Cup 2002, the first World Cup in AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, to JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, becoming the first World Cup with co-host countries in the history of the event.
June
- June – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: As Iraq continues to refuse inspectors access to a number of sites, the U.S. fails in its attempt to build support for military action against Iraq in the UN Security Council. - June 1–June 3 – The Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
's first general election ends inconclusively. Prime Minister Václav KlausVáclav KlausVáclav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
and his incumbent Civic Democratic Party emerge as the winners, but are unable to form a majority government. President Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
refuses to invite Klaus to form a coalition. - June 4 – The space rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
Ariane 5Ariane 5Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit . Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales...
explodes 40 seconds after takeoff in French GuianaFrench GuianaFrench Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
. The project costs European governments 7.5 billion US dollars over 11 years. - June 6 – Leighton W. Smith, Jr. resigns as NATO commander in the face of increasing criticism.
- June 7 – An IRAProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
gang kills Detective Garda Jerry McCabeJerry McCabeDetective Garda Jerry McCabe was a member of the Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. McCabe was murdered in Adare, County Limerick on 7 June 1996, by members of the paramilitary group, the Provisional IRA, during the attempted robbery of a post office van.-Early...
during a botched armed robbery in Adare, County LimerickCounty LimerickIt is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
. - June 8
- The 10th European Football ChampionshipUEFA European Football ChampionshipThe UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
(UEFA Euro 96) begins in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. - Steffi GrafSteffi GrafSteffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
defeats Arantxa Sánchez VicarioArantxa Sánchez VicarioAránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
in the longest ever women's final at the French Open, to win her 19th Grand SlamGrand Slam (tennis)The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
title.
- The 10th European Football Championship
- June 10 – Peace talks begin in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
without Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
. - June 11
- An explosion in a São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
suburban shopping centre kills 44 and injures more than 100. - A peace convoy carrying ChechenChechen peopleChechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
separatist leaders and international diplomats is targeted by a series of remotely controlled land mines; 8 are killed.
- An explosion in a São Paulo
- June 12 – In Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, a panel of federal judges blocks a law against indecency on the internetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The panel says that the 1996 Communications Decency ActCommunications Decency ActThe Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions of the Act.The Act was...
would infringe upon the free speech rights of adults. - June 13 – An 81-day standoff between the Montana FreemenMontana FreemenThe Montana Freemen were a Christian Patriot movement based outside the town of Jordan, Montana. The members of the group referred to their land as "Justus Township" and had declared themselves no longer under the authority of any outside government...
and FBI agents ends with their surrender in MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. - June 15 – In ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, a massive IRA bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre. - June 19 – Boris YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
emerges as the winner in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's first round of presidential elections. - June 20 – Thousands of Megawati SukarnoputriMegawati SukarnoputriIn this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
supporters clash with police in JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. - June 23
- The Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
video game system is released in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. - ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Desmond TutuDesmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
is given an official farewell at his retirement service.
- The Nintendo 64
- June 25 – The Khobar Towers bombingKhobar Towers bombingThe Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, located near the national oil company headquarters of Dhahran. In 1996, Khobar Towers was being used to house foreign military personnel.Al-Qaeda has incorrectly been described by...
in Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
kills 19 U.S. servicemen. - June 26 – Journalist Veronica GuerinVeronica GuerinVeronica Guerin was an Irish crime reporter who was murdered on 26 June 1996 by drug lords, an event which, alongside the murder of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe three weeks earlier, helped establish the Criminal Assets Bureau....
is shot and killed in her car just outside Dublin. - June 28 – A new government is formed in TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, with Necmettin ErbakanNecmettin ErbakanNecmettin Erbakan was a Turkish engineer, academic, politician , who was the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1996 until 1997. He was Turkey's first Islamist Prime Minister...
of Refah Partisi becoming prime minister of the coalition government, and deputy and foreign minister Tansu ÇillerTansu ÇillerTansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...
of the True Path PartyTrue Path PartyThe Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is a centre-right, conservative Turkish political party, established by Suleyman Demirel in 1983 as the Right Path Party...
succeeding him after two years. - June 29
- The Prince's TrustThe Prince's TrustThe Prince's Trust is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by Charles, Prince of Wales to help young people. They run a range of training programmes, provide mentoring support and offer financial grants to build the confidence and motivation of disadvantaged young people...
concert is held in Hyde Park, LondonHyde Park, LondonHyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, and is attended by 150,000 people. The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
headlines the event in their first performance since 1989. - An explosion in a firecrackers factory in Sichuan Province, ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
kills at least 36 people and injures another 52.
- The Prince's Trust
- June 30
- Costas SimitisCostas SimitisKonstantinos Simitis , usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis, was Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement from 1996 to 2004.- Biography :...
is elected President of the Panhellenic Socialist MovementPanhellenic Socialist MovementThe Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
of GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan KaradžićRadovan KaradžicRadovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
reliquishes power to his deputy, Biljana PlavšićBiljana PlavšicBiljana Plavšić is a former president of Republika Srpska and war criminal. She is the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. She was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war...
. - GermanyGermany national football teamThe Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
defeats the Czech RepublicCzech Republic national football teamThe Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...
2-1 after extra time in the final of the European Championships.
- Costas Simitis
July
- July
- Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: U.N. Inspector Scott RitterScott RitterWilliam Scott Ritter, Jr. was an important United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, and later a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass...
attempts to conduct surprise inspections on the Republican Guard facility at the airport, but is blocked by IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i officials. - The Prague ManifestoPrague Manifesto (Esperanto)The Prague Manifesto is a set of seven widely-shared principles of the Esperanto movement. It was drafted at the 1996 World Congress of Esperanto which occurred in Prague by officials from UNESCO and attendees of the congress...
declares the principles of the EsperantoEsperantois the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
movement. - Confrontations occur in Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
between police and Orange Order protestors at Drumcree ChurchDrumcree ChurchDrumcree Parish Church, officially The Church of the Ascension, is the parish church of Drumcree Church of Ireland parish. The church is within the townland of Drumcree, roughly 1.5 miles to the northeast of Portadown, County Armagh....
(see Drumcree conflictDrumcree conflictThe Drumcree conflict or Drumcree standoff is an ongoing dispute over a yearly parade in the town of Portadown, Northern Ireland. The dispute is between the Orange Order and local residents. The residents are currently represented by the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition ; before 1995 they were...
).
- Iraq disarmament crisis
- July 1 – The Northern TerritoryNorthern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
legalises voluntary euthanasiaEuthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. - July 2 – Lyle and Erik MenendezLyle and Erik MenendezJoseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez are brothers who are known for their conviction in a highly publicized trial for the shotgun murders in 1989 of their wealthy parents, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife Mary "Kitty" Menendez , residents of Beverly Hills, California...
are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. - July 3 – Boris YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
is reelectedRussian presidential election, 1996Presidential elections were held in Russia in 1996. Incumbent Russian President Boris Yeltsin was seeking a four-year term after officially winning the 1991 presidential election. The first round was held on 16 June 1996...
as President of Russia after the second round of elections. - July 5 – Dolly the sheepDolly the SheepDolly was a female domestic sheep, and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in Scotland...
, the first mammalMammalMammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
to be successfully clonedCloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
from an adult cellCell (biology)The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
, is born at the Roslin Institute in MidlothianMidlothianMidlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. - July 8 – Martina HingisMartina HingisMartina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
becomes the youngest person in historyHistoryHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
(age 15 years and 282 days) to win at Wimbledon in the Ladies' Doubles event. - July 11 – Arrest warrants are issued for Bosnian Serb war criminals Radovan KaradžićRadovan KaradžicRadovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
and Ratko MladićRatko MladićRatko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
by the Russell TribunalRussell TribunalThe Russell Tribunal, also known as the International War Crimes Tribunal or Russell-Sartre Tribunal, was a public body organized by British philosopher Bertrand Russell and hosted by French philosopher and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre...
in The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. - July 12 – Hurricane BerthaHurricane Bertha (1996)Hurricane Bertha was a strong, early season major hurricane which impacted areas from the Leeward Islands to Atlantic Canada. Bertha originated from a tropical wave which moved off the eastern coast of Africa in early July. By July 3, an area of low pressure developed along the wave...
: made landfall in North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
as a Category 2 storm, causing $270 million in damage to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and its possessions and many indirect deaths. - July 13 – A Republican Sinn FéinRepublican Sinn FéinRepublican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
bomb explodes outside of a hotel in EnniskillenEnniskillenEnniskillen is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census...
, Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, disrupting a wedding reception and injuring 17 people. - July 16 – An outbreak of E. coli food poisoning in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
reaches 6,000 fatalities, after a group of school children who have eaten contaminated lunches die. - July 17
- Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) constituted.
- ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
-bound TWA Flight 800TWA Flight 800Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...
(Boeing 747Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
) explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board. - Joe KleinJoe KleinJoe Klein is a longtime Washington, D.C. and New York journalist and columnist, known for his novel Primary Colors, an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. Klein is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim...
admits that he is "Anonymous", the author of Primary Colors.
- July 18 – Howard Hughes is sentenced to life imprisonment at ChesterChesterChester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
Crown CourtCrown CourtThe Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Sophie Hook at LlandudnoLlandudnoLlandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
12 months previously. The trial judge recommends that Hughes, 31, should never be released. - July 19
- An F3Fujita scaleThe Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
tornado 5.5 miles (8.9 km) away from the Westminster, MarylandWestminster, MarylandWestminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
city center injures 3 people and causes $5 million in damages. - The 1996 Summer Olympics1996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, begin. - Radovan KaradžićRadovan KaradžicRadovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
steps down as president of the Serb enclave in BosniaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
- An F3
- July 21 – Storms provoke severe floodFloodA flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing on Saguenay RiverSaguenay RiverThe Saguenay River is a major river of Quebec, Canada.It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east, and passes the city of Saguenay. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River at Tadoussac....
in QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, in one of CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's most costly natural disasterNatural disasterA natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
s. - July 24 – The Dehiwala train bombing kills 56 commuters outside ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. - July 25 – The TutsiTutsiThe Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
-led BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
an army performs a coup1996 Burundian coup d'étatThe 1996 Burundian coup d'état was a military coup d'état that took place in Burundi on 25 July 1996. In the midst of the Burundi Civil War, former president Pierre Buyoya deposed Hutu President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya. According to Amnesty International, in the weeks following the coup, more...
and reinstalls previous president Pierre BuyoyaPierre BuyoyaMajor Pierre Buyoya is a Burundian politician who has ruled Burundi twice, from 1987 to 1993 and from 1996 to 2003...
, ousting current president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya. - July 27 – The Centennial Olympic Park bombingCentennial Olympic Park bombingThe Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
at the 1996 Summer Olympics1996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
kills 1 and injures 111. - July 29 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency ActCommunications Decency ActThe Communications Decency Act of 1996 was the first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU, the United States Supreme Court struck the anti-indecency provisions of the Act.The Act was...
(1996) is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court.
August
- August 1
- Sarah BalabaganSarah BalabaganSarah Balabagan was a Filipina prisoner in the United Arab Emirates during 1994 - 96 whose case caused a good deal of controversy...
returns to the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. - A pro-democracy demonstration supporting Megawati SukarnoputriMegawati SukarnoputriIn this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
is broken up by riot police.
- Sarah Balabagan
- August 3 – a Il-76 piloted by a Russian crew was forced down by Taliban fighter plane sparking the Aerostan incident
- August 4 – The 1996 Summer Olympics1996 Summer OlympicsThe 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
conclude. - August 6
- NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, contains evidence of primitive life-forms. - The AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n censusAustralian Bureau of StatisticsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
is conducted.
- NASA
- August 7 – Heavy rains kill more than 80 campers near HuescaHuescaHuesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. - August 9 – Boris YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
is sworn in at the KremlinKremlinA kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
for a second term as President of Russia. - August 11 – The British rock band OasisOasis (band)Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
plays the biggest free-standing concert in UK history at Knebworth, Hertfordshire. - August 13 – Data sent back by the Galileo space probe indicates there may be waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
on one of JupiterJupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
's moons. - August 14 – A rocket ignited during a fireworksFireworksFireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
display in ArequipaArequipaArequipa is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
knocks down a high-tension power cable into a dense crowd, electrocuting 35 people. - August 15 – Bob DoleBob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
is nominated for President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, and Jack KempJack KempJack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
for Vice President, at the Republican National ConventionRepublican National ConventionThe Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
in San Diego, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. - August 16 – Brookfield ZooBrookfield ZooThe Brookfield Zoo is zoo located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois. The zoo covers an area of and houses around 450 species of animals....
, Chicago, Illinois. After a three year old boy falls into the 20 feet (6.1 m) deep gorilla enclosure, Binti JuaBinti JuaBinti Jua is a Western Lowland Gorilla female in the Brookfield Zoo, in Brookfield, Illinois, outside of Chicago.Binti Jua is the niece of Koko, the world famous gorilla that knows and communicates using American Sign Language...
, a male silverback gorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
sits with the injured boy until his rescue. Video of the ape's actions make him world famous. - August 18 The San Jose Mercury News publishes Gary Webb's three-part series on the Reagan CIA's role in crack cocaine importation to fund the ContrasContrasThe contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
. - August 20 – A thousands-large protest in SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, calling for reunification with North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, is broken up by riot police. - August 21 – Former president of South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, F. W. de Klerk, makes an official policy for crimes committed under Apartheid to the Truth and Reconciliation CommissionTruth and Reconciliation CommissionThe Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected...
in Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. - August 23 – Osama bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
writes "The Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places," a call for the removal of American military forces from Saudi Arabia. - August 26
- Chun Doo-hwanChun Doo-hwanChun Doo-hwan was a ROK Army general and the President of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for his heavy-handed response to the Gwangju Democratization Movement, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam with the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung,...
is sentenced to death, after being found guilty of mutinyMutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
and treasonTreasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
. - Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
signs welfare reform into law. - IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i expatriates seeking refuge hijack a Sudanese airliner en route from KhartoumKhartoumKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
to AmmanAmmanAmman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
.
- Chun Doo-hwan
- August 28 – Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced at the High Court of JusticeHigh Court of JusticeThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. - August 29
- U.S. President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Vice President Al GoreAl GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
are renominated at the Democratic National ConventionDemocratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. - A Russian TupolevTupolevTupolev is a Russian aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Basmanny District, Central Administrative Okrug, Moscow. Known officially as Public Stock Company Tupolev, it is the successor of the Tupolev OKB or Tupolev Design Bureau headed by the Soviet aerospace engineer A.N. Tupolev...
154 jetliner crashes into a mountain as it approaches the airport at SpitsbergenSpitsbergenSpitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Constituting the western-most bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea and the Greenland Sea...
, Norway, killing all 141 people on board.
- U.S. President Bill Clinton
- August 30 – Attempted raising of a 15 tonne section of the RMS Titanic failed as 1,700 spectators, including survivors of the wreck watched.
- August 31
- Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: Iraqi forces launch an offensive into the northern No-Fly ZoneIraqi no-fly zonesThe Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
and capture Arbil. - The Big 12 ConferenceBig 12 ConferenceThe Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
is inaugurated with a football game between Kansas State UniversityKansas State UniversityKansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
and Texas Tech UniversityTexas Tech Red Raiders footballTexas Tech Red Raiders football program is a college football team that represents Texas Tech University . The team competes, as a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
in Manhattan, KansasManhattan, KansasManhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
.
- Iraq disarmament crisis
September
- September 2 – A permanent peace agreement is signed at the Malacañang PalaceMalacañang PalaceThe Malacañan Palace, commonly known simply as Malacañang, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines. Located at 1000 J. P. Laurel Street, San Miguel, Manila, the house was built in 1750 in Spanish Colonial style. It has been the residence of every...
between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation FrontMoro National Liberation FrontThe Moro National Liberation Front is a political organization that was founded by Nur Misuari in 1969. The MNLF struggles against the Philippine Government to achieve independence of the Bangsamoro Land...
. - September 3 – The U.S. launches Operation Desert StrikeOperation Desert StrikeThe 1996 cruise missile strikes on Iraq occurred in September 1996 during the Kurdish Civil War. On August 31, 1996, the Iraqi military launched its biggest offensive since 1991 against the city of Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. This attack stoked American fears that Saddam intended to launch a...
against IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in reaction to the attack on Arbil. - September 4 – The Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaRevolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaThe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
attack a military base in GuaviareGuaviare DepartmentGuaviare is a department of Colombia. It is in the southern central region of the country. Its capital is San José del Guaviare. Guaviare was created on July 4, 1991 by the new Political Constitution of Colombia...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, starting 3 weeks of guerrilla warfareGuerrilla warfareGuerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
that will claim the lives of at least 130 ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
ns. - September 10 – Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) signed (it will be ratified 180 days after ratification by 44 Annex 2 countries).
- September 14 – Alija IzetbegovićAlija IzetbegovicAlija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
is elected president of Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
in the country's first election since the Bosnian WarBosnian WarThe Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
. - September 16 – Beast WarsBeast WarsTransformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
first airs and becomes a milestone in the TransformersTransformersA transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
franchise through the use of CGIComputer-generated imageryComputer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. - September 18 – A North Korean Sang-O class submarineSang-O class submarineThe Sang-O class submarines are in use by North Korea, and are the country's largest home-built submarines. A single unit was captured by the Republic of Korea Navy after it ran aground on 18 September 1996 in the 1996 Gangneung submarine infiltration incident...
runs aground in South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. The crew are described as spies by the South Korean government and killed by the South Korean military. - September 19 – The scoreboard at Buffalo's $127.5 million dollar HSBC Arena falls to the ice just hours before a National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
game; no one is injured. - September 20 – Leader of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i opposition party Pakistan Peoples PartyPakistan Peoples PartyThe Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
Murtaza BhuttoMurtaza BhuttoDr. Mir Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto was a Pakistani politician and the Member of the Parliament of Pakistan, representing Pakistan People's Party from the Larkana constituency...
is killed during a gun battle with police. - September 22 – The Panhellenic Socialist MovementPanhellenic Socialist MovementThe Panhellenic Socialist Movement , known mostly by its acronym PASOK , is one of the two major political parties in Greece. Founded on 3 September 1974 by Andreas Papandreou, in 1981 PASOK became Greece's first social democratic party to win a majority in parliament.The party is a socialist party...
under the leadership of Costas SimitisCostas SimitisKonstantinos Simitis , usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis, was Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement from 1996 to 2004.- Biography :...
succeeds in the 1996 Greek legislative election. - September 24 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. - September 25 – The last of the Magdalene Asylums is closed in IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. - September 27 – In AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, the Taliban capture the capital city of KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, after driving out President Burhanuddin RabbaniBurhanuddin RabbaniProfessor Burhanuddin Rabbani was President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996. After the Taliban government was toppled during Operation Enduring Freedom, Rabbani returned to Kabul and served as a temporary President from November to December 20, 2001, when Hamid Karzai was...
and executing former leader Mohammad NajibullahMohammad NajibullahMohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai , originally merely Najibullah, was the fourth and last President of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is also considered the second President of the Republic of Afghanistan.-Early years:Najibullah was born in August 1947 to the Ahmadzai...
.
October
- October 2
- The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. - The former prime minister of BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Andrei Lukanov, is assassinated. - An AeroperúAeroperuAeroperú was the former national flag carrier of Peru, and from 1993 to 2000 was a subsidiary of AeroMéxico. Its headquarters were in Miraflores, Lima. It went bankrupt in 1999...
Boeing 757Boeing 757The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
crashes into the Pacific Ocean when the instruments fail just after takeoff from LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
Airport, killing all 70 on board.
- The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton
- October 6 – The government of New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
agrees to pay $130 million dollars worth of compensation for the loss of land suffered by the Māori population between the years of 1844 and 1864. - October 15 – Several large strikes begin in various industries across BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in protest to the dismissal of the magistrate Jean-Marc Connerotte by the Supreme Court. - October 22 – A fire at La Planta prison in southwest CaracasCaracasCaracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
kills 30 prisoners. - October 23 – The O. J. SimpsonO. J. SimpsonOrenthal James "O. J." Simpson , nicknamed "The Juice", is a retired American collegiate and professional football player, football broadcaster, and actor...
civil trial begins in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. - October 24 – The Marcopper Mine Disaster occurs dumping toxic copper tailings into the Boac River.
- October 30 – Fighting erupts when Banyamulenga TutsiTutsiThe Tutsi , or Abatutsi, are an ethnic group in Central Africa. Historically they were often referred to as the Watussi or Watusi. They are the second largest caste in Rwanda and Burundi, the other two being the Hutu and the Twa ....
s of Laurent Kabila in ZaireZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
seize UviraUviraUvira is a city in Sud-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, located at the extreme north end of Lake Tanganyika. There is a lake port called Kalundu at the southern end of the town, which provides links by boat to Kalemie, Kigoma in Tanzania, and Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi.The town...
and proceed to kill HutuHutuThe Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...
refugees. - October 31 – A Brazilian TAM FokkerFokkerFokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
airliner crashes into a densely populated area of São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, killing 103.
November
- November – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: UNSCOM inspectors uncover buried prohibited missile parts. Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM teams to remove remnants of missile engines for analysis outside of the country - November 5
- U.S. presidential election, 1996: Democratic incumbent Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
defeats Republican challenger Bob DoleBob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
to win his second term. - PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i prime minister Benazir BhuttoBenazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
's government is dismissed by President Farooq LeghariFarooq LeghariSardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari was the eighth President of Pakistan from November 14, 1993 until December 2, 1997...
after widespread allegations of corruption.
- U.S. presidential election, 1996: Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton
- November 7
- A devastating category 4Saffir-Simpson Hurricane ScaleThe Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
CycloneCycloneIn meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
strikes Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The storm surge sweeps fishing villages out to sea, over 2,000 people die. 95 percent of the crops are completely destroyed. - NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
launches the Mars Global SurveyorMars Global SurveyorThe Mars Global Surveyor was a US spacecraft developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. It began the United States's return to Mars after a 10-year absence. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on 2...
.
- A devastating category 4
- November 8 – All 141 people on board a NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n-owned Boeing 727Boeing 727The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
die when the aircraft crashes into the Atlantic Ocean while approaching LagosLagosLagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
airport. - November 12 – Saudi Arabian AirlinesSaudi Arabian AirlinesSaudi Arabian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia, based in Jeddah. It operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 90 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America...
Boeing 747 collides in mid-air with Kazakhstan Airlines Il-76, resulting in the loss of 349 lives. - November 15 – State StreetState Street (Chicago)State Street is a large south-north street in Chicago, Illinois, USA and its south suburbs. It begins on the Near North Side at North Avenue. For much of its course, it lies between Wabash Avenue on the east and Dearborn Street/Lafayette Avenue on the west...
in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
is re-opened to pedestrian traffic. - November 16 – Mother TeresaMother TeresaMother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
receives honorary U.S. citizenship. - November 17
- A bomb explosion in KaspiyskKaspiyskKaspiysk , until 1947 known as Dvigatelstroy , is a city in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea, southeast of Makhachkala. Population: 43,000 ....
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
kills 32 people. - Emil ConstantinescuEmil ConstantinescuEmil Constantinescu was President of Romania from 1996 to 2000.He graduated from the law school of the University of Bucharest, and subsequently started a career as a geologist...
is elected president of RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
- A bomb explosion in Kaspiysk
- November 18
- World-renowned birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
expert Tony SilvaTony SilvaTony Silva is an American ornithologist and aviculturist that has authored several books on parrots, hundreds of articles and was curator of birds at Tenerife's Loro Parque, the largest parrot park in the world...
is sentenced to 7 years in prison without paroleParoleParole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
, for leading an illegal parrotParrotParrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
smuggling ring. - Frederick ChilubaFrederick ChilubaFrederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , defeating long-time President...
is reelected president of ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
.
- World-renowned bird
- November 19
- Martin Bryant is sentenced to 35 consecutive sentences of life imprisonment plus 1035 years without parole for murdering 35 people in a shooting spree in TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
earlier this year. - Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Organization (CTBTO) established.
- STS-80STS-80-Mission parameters:* Mass: payload* Perigee: * Apogee: * Inclination: 28.5°* Period: 91.5 min-Mission highlights:* The mission deployed two satellites and successfully recovered them after they had performed their tasks....
: Space Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
conducts the longest mission of the Space Shuttle programSpace Shuttle programNASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011...
.
- Martin Bryant is sentenced to 35 consecutive sentences of life imprisonment plus 1035 years without parole for murdering 35 people in a shooting spree in Tasmania
- November 21
- A propanePropanePropane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
explosion at the Humberto Vidal shoe store and office buildingHumberto Vidal ExplosionThe Humberto Vidal Explosion was a gas explosion that occurred on November 21, 1996 at the Humberto Vidal shoe store located in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The explosion killed 33 and wounded more than 80 others when the building collapsed...
in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
kills 33. - Demonstrators in ZagrebZagrebZagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
demand the survival of Radio 101Radio 101 (Croatia)Radio 101 - Independent radio station, with alternative and latest music and breaking news in Croatia. It broadcasts from Zagreb and has a regional license for the City of Zagreb and the Zagreb County, an audience of about 1,200,000 people. It is one of the most popular radio stations in Zagreb...
.
- A propane
- November 23
- The Republic of AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
officially joins the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
, as Angola. - Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, a Boeing 767-260ER, was hijacked on , en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi on a Bombay–Addis Ababa–Nairobi–Brazzaville–Lagos–Abidjan service, by three Ethiopians seeking political asylum in Australia. The plane crash-landed in the Indian Ocean near Comoros due to fuel...
is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
off the coast of ComorosComorosThe Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
after running out of fuel, killing 125.
- The Republic of Angola
- November 25
- An ice stormIce stormAn ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a glaze event or in some parts of the United States as a silver thaw. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on exposed surfaces...
strikes the U.S., killing 26 directly, hundreds more from accidents. A powerful windstorm blasts FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; winds gust to 90 mph. - The U.S. stock marketStock marketA stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
, especially the Dow Jones Industrial AverageDow Jones Industrial AverageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
, gains at an incredibly fast pace following the 1996 Presidential election. It gains 10 days in a row during the month. - The APEC Summit opens in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
- An ice storm
- November 26 – The Sands HotelSands HotelThe Sands Hotel was a historic Las Vegas Strip hotel/casino that operated from December 15, 1952 to June 30, 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, the Sands was the seventh resort that opened on the Strip....
in Las VegasLas Vegas StripThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
is imploded to make way for the Venetian Hotel.
December
- December 2
- U.S. President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
signs the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments. - Widespread student pro-democracy protests are broken up in Burma.
- U.S. President Bill Clinton
- December 5 – Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan GreenspanAlan GreenspanAlan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
gives a speech in which he suggests that "irrational exuberance" may have "unduly escalated asset values". - December 9 – Jerry RawlingsJerry RawlingsJerry John Rawlings is a former leader of the Republic of Ghana and now the African Union envoy to Somalia. Rawlings ruled Ghana as a military dictator in 1979 and from 1981 to 1992 and then as the first elected president of the Fourth Republic from 1993 to 2001...
is reelected president of GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. - December 11 – Tung Chee HwaTung Chee HwaTung Chee Hwa, GBM was the first Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....
is appointed to become the new leader of Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
after it reverts to Chinese rule in 1997. - December 12 – Uday HusseinUday HusseinUday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...
is seriously injured in an assassination attempt. - December 13 – Kofi AnnanKofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
is elected by the United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. - December 17 – The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary MovementTúpac Amaru Revolutionary MovementThe Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was a Marxist revolutionary group active in Peru from the early 1980s to 1997 and one of the main actors in the internal conflict in Peru...
takes 72 hostages in the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Embassy in LimaLimaLima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. - December 18 – The loi CarrezLoi CarrezThe loi Carrez, or Carrez law is a French law enacted on 18 December 1996 which obliges the vendor of a property lot in a condominium to specifically mention the surface area in all documents relating to the property sold...
, or Carrez law governing property transactions was enacted in France - December 20
- HM The Queen advises "an early divorce" to Lady Diana Spencer and Charles, Prince of Wales. The divorce was finalized on 28 August 1996.
- Steve JobsSteve JobsSteven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
' company NeXTNeXTNext, Inc. was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets...
is bought by Apple Computer, the company co-founded by Jobs.
- December 26 – The largest strike1996-1997 strikes in South KoreaIn December 1996 and January 1997, South Korea experienced the largest organized strike in its history, when workers in the automotive and shipbuilding industries refused to work in protest against a law which was to make firing employees easier for employers and curtail labor organizing...
in South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n history begins. - December 25 – JonBenét RamseyJonBenét RamseyJonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
, 6, is murdered in the basement of her parents' home in Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. - December 27 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Air BaseBagram Air BaseBagram Airfield, also referred to as Bagram Air Base, is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. The base is run by a US Army division headed by a major general. A large part of the base,...
, which solidifies their buffer zone around KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
. - December 29 – GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and the leaders of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord that ends a 36-year civil warCivil warA civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. - December 30
- In the IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state of AssamAssamAssam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, a passenger train is bombed by BodoBodo peopleThe Bodos are an ethnic and linguistic community, early settlers of Assam in the North-East of India. According to the 1991 census, there were 1.2 million Bodos in Assam which makes for 5.3% of the total population in the state. Bodos belong to a larger ethnic group called the Bodo-Kachari. The...
separatists, killing 26. - Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin NetanyahuBenjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
spark protests from 250,000 workers, who shut down services across IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
- In the India
- December 31
- The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
is merged with the Burlington Northern RailroadBurlington Northern RailroadThe Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....
to form the BNSF RailwayBNSF RailwayThe BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
, making it one of the largest railroad mergers in U.S. history. - The HaciendaHacienda (resort)The Hacienda was a Paradise, Nevada hotel/casino that operated on the Las Vegas Strip from 1956 to 1996. It was one of four Hacienda properties owned by Standard Motels, Inc., with the other three being located in Fresno, Bakersfield, and Indio, California. The other Haciendas also featured the...
in Las VegasLas Vegas StripThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
is imploded to make way for the Mandalay Bay.
- The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Date unknown
- The General Motors EV1General Motors EV1The General Motors EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by the General Motors Corporation from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker, and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the...
, the first production electric carElectric carAn electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
of the modern era is launched and becomes available for lease. - The invasive speciesInvasive species"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
Asian long-horned beetleAsian long-horned beetleThe Asian long-horned beetle known as the starry sky or sky beetle is native to eastern China, Japan, and Korea. This species has now been accidentally introduced to the United States, where it was first discovered in 1996, as well as Canada and several countries in Europe, including Austria,...
is found in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
January
- January 5 – Max BaldryMax BaldryMaxim Alexander "Max" Baldry is an English actor and student. He was most successful for playing the role of Stepan in the 2007 comedy film Mr. Bean's Holiday....
, English/Russian actor - January 31 – Joel CourtneyJoel CourtneyJoel Courtney is an American actor. Courtney is most known for his role of Joseph "Joe" Lamb in the 2011 J. J. Abrams film Super 8. Courtney currently resides in Moscow, Idaho.-Acting career:...
, American actor
February
- February 7 – Mai HagiwaraMai Hagiwarais a Japanese pop singer, currently a member of C-ute and Hello! Project Kids.Hagiwara joined Hello! Project after passing the 2002 Hello! Project Kids audition. She is the youngest out of the fifteen Hello! Project Kids and is also the youngest member in C-ute. As a member of Hello! Project, she...
, Japanese singer - February 9 – Jimmy BennettJimmy BennettJames Michael "Jimmy" Bennett is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, Poseidon, and more recently in Orphan and as young James T. Kirk in Star Trek...
, American actor - February 17 – Sasha PieterseSasha PieterseSasha Pieterse is a South African-born American actress.-Career:She began acting in 2002, when she was given the role of Buffy Davis on the Warner Brothers remake of the popular show Family Affair. In 2004, she appeared in Stargate SG-1 and House...
, South African/American actress
April
- April 14 – Abigail BreslinAbigail BreslinAbigail Kathleen Breslin is an American teen actress. She is one of the youngest actresses ever to be nominated for an Academy Award....
, American actress - April 25 – Allisyn Ashley ArmAllisyn Ashley Arm- External links :* on Twitter* on Youtube...
, American actress
May
- May 3 – Noah MunckNoah MunckNoah Bryant Munck is an American actor and comedian. His roles include Gibby Gibson in iCarly and Bobby Sinclair, the junior lawn-mowing entrepreneur in the TruGreen commercials.-Early life:...
, American actor - May 17 – Ryan OchoaRyan OchoaRyan Ochoa is an American teen actor. He is most famous for his role of Lanny on the Disney XD series Pair of Kings and his recurring role as Chuck Chambers on the Nickelodeon series iCarly.-Early life:...
, American actor
August
- August 1 – Cymphonique MillerCymphonique MillerCymphonique Miller , known publicly as Cymphonique, is an American teen actress and singer. She is the daughter of Percy Robert Miller and the sister of Romeo Miller.-Career:...
, American actress and singer - August 7 – Liam JamesLiam JamesLiam James is a Canadian child actor. He is best known for his role as Noah Curtis in 2009 film 2012 and for portraying young Shawn Spencer on the USA Network TV series Psych....
, Canadian actor
December
- December 6 – Stefanie ScottStefanie ScottStefanie Scott is an American actress and singer. Scott is best known for her roles as Dana Tressler in the feature film Flipped in which she won a 2011 Young Artist Award and in No Strings Attached as Young Emma. In the television industry, Scott currently portrays Lexi Reed on Disney Channel's...
, American actress - December 11 – Hailee SteinfeldHailee SteinfeldHailee Steinfeld is an American actress. She rose to fame for her portrayal as Mattie Ross in the 2010 film True Grit, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.-Early life:Steinfeld was born in Tarzana, Los...
, American actress - December 29 – Dylan MinnetteDylan MinnetteDylan Christopher Minnette is an American teen actor and musician.-Life and career:Minnette was born in Evansville, Indiana to Robyn Maker-Minnette, moved briefly to Champaign, Illinois for 5 years, and later moved to Los Angeles to continue his acting career.His first role was a single episode of...
, American actor
January
- January 1 – Arleigh BurkeArleigh BurkeAdmiral Arleigh Albert '31-knot' Burke was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.-Early life and naval career:Burke was born in Boulder,...
, U.S Navy Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations (b.1901) - January 2 – Karl TargownikKarl TargownikKarl Kalman Targownik was a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor.Dr. Targownik was born in Budapest, Hungary, to a Jewish family. While studying in Poland to become a medical doctor, Targownik was captured and sent to a concentration camp. For a period of time, Targownik was a prisoner at the...
, Hungarian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor (b. 1915) - January 5
- Yahya AyyashYahya AyyashYahya Abd-al-Latif Ayyash was the chief bombmaker of Hamas and the leader of the West Bank battalion of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, Palestinian terrorist (b. 1966) - Lincoln KirsteinLincoln KirsteinLincoln Edward Kirstein was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, and cultural figure in New York City...
, American writer and impressario (b. 1907)
- Yahya Ayyash
- January 8 – François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
, President of France (b. 1916) - January 9
- Fearless NadiaFearless NadiaFearless Nadia was an Indian film actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered the masked, cloaked adventuress in Hunterwali made in 1935 , which was one of the earliest female lead Indian films .-Early life:Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in Perth, Western Australia...
, Indian actress and stuntwoman (b. 1908) - Sultan RahiSultan RahiSultan Muhammad , popularly known as Sultan Rahi, in a Muslim family of Saharanpur, was a notable Pakistani film actor who was prominent in Pakistan in Punjabi films during the 1970s and 1980s. He was mostly popular among people in Punjab, Pakistan and among Sikh and Punjabi community of India...
, Pakistani film actor (b. 1938)
- Fearless Nadia
- January 15
- Les BaxterLes BaxterLes Baxter was an American musician and composer.Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory before moving to Los Angeles for further studies at Pepperdine College. Abandoning a concert career as a pianist, he turned to popular music as a singer...
, American musician and composer (b. 1922) - Paramount Chief Moshoeshoe II of LesothoMoshoeshoe II of LesothoMoshoeshoe II , previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the paramount chief of Lesotho, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966...
(b. 1938) - Amber HagermanAmber HagermanAmber Rene Hagerman was a young girl who became a victim of an abduction and murder. On January 13, 1996, she was riding her bike near her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas, and was kidnapped soon thereafter...
, American murder victim and namesake for the AMBER alert system (b. 1986)
- Les Baxter
- January 17 – Barbara JordanBarbara JordanBarbara Charline Jordan was an American politician who was both a product and a leader, of the Civil Rights movement. She was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern black female elected to the United States House of Representatives...
, American politician (b. 1936) - January 18
- Leonor FiniLeonor FiniLeonor Fini was an Argentine surrealist painter.-Life and work:Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she was raised in Trieste, Italy. She moved to Milan at the age of 17, and then to Paris, in either 1931 or 1932...
, Argentine artist (b. 1908) - Endel PuuseppEndel PuuseppEndel Puusepp or Endel Pusep was a Soviet Estonian World War II pilot who successfully completed over 30 night-time long-range bombing missions against Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union award for flying a high-ranking Soviet delegation over the front line from...
, Soviet Estonian World War II pilot (b. 1909) - Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Indian (Telugu) film actor (b. 1923)
- Leonor Fini
- January 19 – Don SimpsonDon SimpsonDonald Clarence "Don" Simpson was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for producing such hits as Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun and The Rock...
, American film producer (b. 1943) - January 20 – Gerry MulliganGerry MulliganGerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
, American musician (b. 1927) - January 25 – Jonathan LarsonJonathan LarsonJonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia explored in his work. Typical examples of his use of these themes are found in his works, Rent and tick, tick... BOOM!...
, American composer and playwright (b. 1960) - January 26 – Duke Georg Alexander of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1921)
- January 28
- Joseph BrodskyJoseph BrodskyIosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...
, Russian-born poet, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
laureate (b. 1940) - Jerry SiegelJerry SiegelJerome "Jerry" Siegel , who also used pseudonyms including Joe Carter, Jerry Ess, and Herbert S...
, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- Joseph Brodsky
- January 31 – Gustave SolomonGustave SolomonGustave Solomon was a mathematician and engineer who was one of the founders of the algebraic theory of error-correction. He received Ph.D. in Mathematics at MIT in 1956 under direction of Kenkichi Iwasawa....
, American mathematician and engineer (b. 1930)
February
- February 2 – Gene KellyGene KellyEugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, American actor and dancer (b. 1912) - February 3 – Audrey MeadowsAudrey MeadowsAudrey Meadows was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners.-Early life:...
, American actress (b. 1926) - February 6 – Guy MadisonGuy MadisonGuy Madison was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in...
, American actor (b. 1922) - February 7 – Boris Alexandrovich TchaikovskyBoris TchaikovskyBoris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky was a Soviet composer, born in Moscow, whose oeuvre includes orchestral works, chamber music and film music. He is considered as part of the second generation of Russian composers, following in the steps of Pyotr Tchaikovsky and especially Mussorgsky.He was admired...
, Russian composer (b. 1925) - February 11
- Kebby MusokotwaneKebby MusokotwaneKebby Musokotwane was a politician from Zambia. He was a member of the United National Independence Party and one of the closest allies of former President Kenneth Kaunda. Musokotwane served as Prime Minister of Zambia from 24 April 1985 until 15 March 1989. He then became secretary-general of the...
, Prime Minister of ZambiaPrime Minister of Zambia-Prime Ministers of Zambia :-External links:*...
(b. 1946) - Cyril PooleCyril PooleCyril John Poole was an English cricketer, who played for Nottinghamshire and in three Tests for England...
, English cricketer (b. 1921) - Phil ReganPhil Regan (actor)Phil Regan was an American singer and actor, who later served time for bribery in a real estate scandal.Regan was born in 1906 in New York. He worked as a detective on the NYPD, before his singing was overheard by a radio producer at a party. This earned him the nickname "The Singing Cop"...
, American actor (b. 1906) - Amelia RosselliAmelia RosselliAmelia Rosselli was an Italian poet. She was the daughter of Marion Cave, an English political activist, and Carlo Rosselli, who was a hero of the Italian anti-Fascist Resistance—founder, with his brother Nello, of the liberal socialist movement "Justice and Liberty." He and his brother were...
, Italian poet (b. 1930)
- Kebby Musokotwane
- February 12 – Bob ShawBob ShawBob Shaw, born Robert Shaw, was a science fiction author and fan from Northern Ireland. He was noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980...
, Irish writer (b. 1931) - February 13 – Martin BalsamMartin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
, American actor (b. 1919) - February 14
- Eva HartEva HartEva Miriam Hart MBE was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.-Early life:Eva Miriam Hart was born on 31 January , 1905 in Ilford, Essex, England to Benjamin Hart and Esther Bloomfield...
, British survivor of RMS Titanic (b. 1905) - Bob PaisleyBob PaisleyRobert "Bob" Paisley OBE was an English football half back turned manager. His association with Liverpool was to span nearly half a century including his contribution to the club, first as a player, then as a physiotherapist and coach, and finally as manager.In nine years as manager between 1974...
, English football manager (b. 1919)
- Eva Hart
- February 15
- Tommy RettigTommy RettigThomas Noel "Tommy" Rettig was an American child actor,computer software engineer, and author. Rettig is best remembered for portraying the character "Jeff Miller" in the first three seasons of CBS's Lassie television series, from 1954–1957, later seen in syndicated re-runs as Jeff's Collie...
, American actor (b. 1941) - McLean StevensonMcLean StevensonEdgar McLean Stevenson, Jr. , better known as McLean Stevenson, was an American actor most recognized for his role as Lt. Colonel Henry Blake on the TV series M*A*S*H...
, American actor (b. 1929)
- Tommy Rettig
- February 16
- Pat BrownPat BrownEdmund Gerald "Pat" Brown, Sr. was the 32nd Governor of California, serving from 1959 to 1967, and the father of current Governor of California Jerry Brown.-Background:...
, Governor of California (b. 1905) - Brownie McGheeBrownie McGheeWalter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
, American musician (b. 1915) - Roger BowenRoger BowenRoger Bowen was an American comedic actor and novelist, known for his portrayal of Lt. Col. Henry Blake in the 1970 film MASH. He often portrayed roles as a stuffy defender of the upper class and had regular roles on a number of television series...
, American actor (b. 1932)
- Pat Brown
- February 17 – Evelyn LayeEvelyn LayeEvelyn Laye, CBE was an English theatre and film actress.-Early years and career:Born as Elsie Evelyn Lay in Bloomsbury, London, Laye made her first stage appearance in August 1915 at the Theatre Royal, Brighton as Nang-Ping in Mr...
, British actress (b. 1900) - February 20 – Tōru TakemitsuToru Takemitsuwas a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
, Japanese composer (b. 1930) - February 21 – Morton GouldMorton GouldMorton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.Born in Richmond Hill, New York, Gould was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities in improvisation and composition. His first composition was published at age six...
, American musician and composer (b. 1913) - February 23 – Helmut SchonHelmut SchönHelmut Schön was a German football player and manager. He is best remembered for his exceptional career as manager of West Germany....
, German football player and manager (b. 1915) - February 25 – Haing S. NgorHaing S. NgorDr. Haing Somnang Ngor was a Cambodian American physician, actor and author who is best known for winning the 1985 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his debut performance in the movie The Killing Fields, in which he portrayed Cambodian journalist and refugee Dith Pran. His mother was...
, Cambodian actor (b. 1940) - February 26 – Mieczysław Weinberg, Polish composer (b. 1919)
- February 27
- Sarah Palfrey CookeSarah Palfrey CookeSarah Hammond Palfrey Fabyan Cooke Danzig was a female tennis player from the United States....
, American tennis champion (b. 1912) - Pat SmythePat SmythePatricia Rosemary Smythe , most commonly known as Pat Smythe, was one of Britain's premier female showjumpers. She later married in 1960 after the Summer Olympics of the year to childhood friend Sam Koechlin and became Patricia Koechlin-Smythe...
, British showjumper and author (b. 1928)
- Sarah Palfrey Cooke
March
- March 2 – Lyle TalbotLyle TalbotLyle Talbot , born Lisle Henderson, was an American actor on stage and screen, best known for his long career in movies from 1931 to 1960 and for his frequent appearances on TV in the 1950s and '60s, including his decade-long role as Joe Randolph on television's The Adventures of Ozzie and...
, American actor (b. 1902) - March 3 – Marguerite DurasMarguerite DurasMarguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
, French author and director (b. 1914) - March 4 – Minnie PearlMinnie PearlSarah Ophelia Colley Cannon , known professionally as Minnie Pearl, was an American country comedienne who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and on the television show Hee Haw from 1969 to 1991.-Early life:Sarah Colley was born in Centerville, in Hickman County, Tennessee,...
, American comedian (b. 1912) - March 9 – George BurnsGeorge BurnsGeorge Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
, American actor and singer (b. 1896) - March 10 – Ross HunterRoss HunterRoss Hunter was a Hollywood film producer.-Biography:Hunter was born in Cleveland, Ohio as Martin Fuss. After serving in Army intelligence during World War II, he signed a movie contract with Columbia Pictures and acted in a number of B-movie musicals...
, American film producer (b. 1920) - March 11 – Vince EdwardsVince EdwardsVince Edwards was an American actor, director, and singer, best known for the roles of TV doctor "Ben Casey", and Maj. Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film The Devil's Brigade.-Early life:...
, American actor (b. 1928) - March 13 – Krzysztof KieślowskiKrzysztof KieslowskiKrzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...
, Polish film director (b. 1941) - March 15 – Olga RudgeOlga RudgeOlga Rudge was an American-born concert violinist, now mainly remembered as the long-time mistress of the poet Ezra Pound, by whom she had a daughter, Mary....
, American violinist (b. 1895) - March 16 – Charlie BarnettCharlie Barnett (actor)Charlie Barnett was an American actor and comedian.Barnett was born in Bluefield, West Virginia, USA. He first made a name for himself in the late 1970s and early 1980s, performing several shows of raunchy comedy a day at outdoor parks in New York City, most notably in Washington Square Park,...
, American actor (b. 1954) - March 17 – René Clément, French film director (b. 1913)
- March 18 – Odysseas ElytisOdysseas ElytisOdysseas Elytis was regarded as a major exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. In 1979 he was bestowed with the Nobel Prize in Literature.-Biography:...
, Greek writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911) - March 19
- Virginia HendersonVirginia HendersonVirginia Henderson, FRCN was a nurse, researcher, theorist and author. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the fifth of eight children of Lucy Abbot Henderson and Daniel B. Henderson. She graduated from the Army School of Nursing, Washington, D.C. in 1921. She graduated from Teachers College,...
, American nurse theorist (b. 1897) - Chen JingrunChen JingrunChen Jingrun was a Chinese mathematician who made significant contributions to number theory.- Personal life :Chen was the third son in a large family from Fuzhou, Fujian, China. His father was a postal worker. Chen Jingrun graduated from the Mathematics Department of Xiamen University in 1953...
, Chinese mathematician (b. 1933)
- Virginia Henderson
- March 25 – John SnaggeJohn SnaggeJohn Derrick Mordaunt Snagge OBE was a long-time British newsreader and commentator on BBC Radio.Born in Chelsea, London, he was educated at Winchester College and Pembroke College, Oxford, where he obtained a degree in law. He then joined the BBC, taking up the position of assistant director at...
, British radio personality (b. 1904) - March 26
- Edmund MuskieEdmund MuskieEdmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
, American politician (b. 1914) - David PackardDavid PackardDavid Packard was a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard , serving as president , CEO , and Chairman of the Board . He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969–1971 during the Nixon administration...
, American engineer (b. 1912)
- Edmund Muskie
- March 29 – Frank DanielFrank DanielFrank Daniel was a film director, producer and screenwriter born in Kolín, Czechoslovakia . He is known for developing the sequence paradigm of screenwriting.-Life:...
, Czech-born writer, director, producer, teacher (b. 1926) - March 31 – Jeffrey Lee PierceJeffrey Lee PierceJeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was one of the founding members of the 1980s punk band The Gun Club...
, American musician (b. 1958)
April
- April 3
- Carl Stokes, American politician (b. 1927)
- Herk HarveyHerk HarveyHarold Arnold "Herk" Harvey was an American film director, actor, and film producer.-Early life:Harvey was born in Windsor, Colorado, the son of Everett and Minnie R. Prewitt Harvey. He grew up in Fort Collins and was a graduate of Fort Collins High School before serving in the U.S...
, American film director (b. 1924)
- April 4
- Barney EwellBarney EwellHarold Norwood "Barney" Ewell was an American athlete, winner of one gold and two silver medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics....
, American athlete (b. 1918) - Boone GuytonBoone GuytonBoone Tarleton Guyton United States Navy, was a Naval Aviation Cadet, experimental test pilot, author and businessman...
, American test pilot (b. 1913) - Larry LaPriseLarry LaPriseLarry LaPrise at one point held the U.S. copyright for the song Hokey Pokey....
, American songwriter (b. 1912)
- Barney Ewell
- April 6
- John D. BulkeleyJohn D. BulkeleyJohn Duncan Bulkeley was a Vice Admiral in United States Navy and was one of the most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II...
, U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, and Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1911) - Greer GarsonGreer GarsonGreer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, English actress (b. 1904)
- John D. Bulkeley
- April 8
- George W. JenkinsGeorge W. JenkinsGeorge Washington Jenkins was an American businessman and founder of Publix Super Markets. In 1930, despite the Great Depression, Jenkins risked his career and everything he had to start a new grocery store. He named the store, which would soon become a chain, Publix.Jenkins was affectionately...
, American businessman (b. 1907) - Ben JohnsonBen Johnson (actor)Ben "Son" Johnson, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was mainly cast in Westerns. He was also a rodeo cowboy, stuntman, and rancher.-Personal life:...
, American actor (b. 1918)
- George W. Jenkins
- April 16 – Leila MackinlayLeila MackinlayLeila Antionette Sterling Mackinlay was a British writer of romance novels from 1930 to 1979 as Leila S. Mackinlay or Leila Mackinlay and also under the pseudonym Brenda Grey...
, British writer (b. 1910) - April 16 – Lucille BremerLucille BremerLucille Bremer was an American film actress and dancer.Bremer was born in Amsterdam, New York and began her career as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, aged 16. Bremer, along with fellow stars Vera-Ellen and June Allyson, appeared as a 'Pony Girl' in the Broadway musical Panama...
, American actress (b. 1917) - April 20 – Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
, English Actor (b. 1919) - April 20 – Christopher Robin MilneChristopher Robin MilneChristopher Robin Milne was the son of author A. A. Milne. As a child, he was the basis of the character Christopher Robin in his father's Winnie-the-Pooh stories and in two books of poems.-Early life:...
, English author and bookseller (b. 1920) - April 21 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen President (b. 1944)
- April 22 – Erma BombeckErma BombeckErma Louise Bombeck was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for her newspaper column that described suburban home life from the mid-1960s until the late 1990s...
, American humorist and writer (b. 1927) - April 23 – P. L. TraversP. L. TraversPamela Lyndon Travers OBE was an Australian novelist, actress and journalist, popularly remembered for her series of children's novels about the mystical and magical nanny Mary Poppins...
, Australian writer (b. 1899) - April 25 – Saul BassSaul BassSaul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences....
, American graphic designer (b. 1920) - April 26 – Stirling SilliphantStirling SilliphantStirling Dale Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Glendale, California as a child, graduated from Hoover High School, and was educated at the University of Southern California...
, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
May
- May 1 – Luana PattenLuana Patten-Career:Patten made her first film appearance in Joel Chandler Harris's Song of the South with Bobby Driscoll, and they both appeared in Song of the Souths sister film So Dear to My Heart. She appeared again with Bobby Driscoll in the Pecos Bill segment of Disney's Melody Time...
, American actor (b. 1938) - May 3 – Jack Weston, American actor (b. 1924)
- May 11
- Nnamdi AzikiweNnamdi AzikiweBenjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe , usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe and popularly known as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism who became the first President of Nigeria after Nigeria secured its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960; holding the...
, President of NigeriaPresident of NigeriaThe President of Nigeria is the Head of State and head of the national executive. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The current President of Nigeria is Goodluck Jonathan.-History:On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained...
(b. 1904) - Rob HallRob HallRob Hall , a native of New Zealand, was a mountaineer best known for being head guide of a 1996 Mount Everest expedition in which he, a fellow guide, and two clients perished. A best-selling account of the expedition was given in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air...
, New Zealand mountaineer (b. 1961)
- Nnamdi Azikiwe
- May 15 – Charles B. FultonCharles B. FultonCharles Britton Fulton was a lawyer and United States federal judge.Born in Fallon, Nevada, he worked his way through college at the University of Florida and completed his law degree there in 1935. He immediately set up his private law practice in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was named Florida's...
, American judge (b. 1910) - May 17
- Kevin GilbertKevin GilbertKevin Matthew Gilbert was an American songwriter, musician, composer, producer and collaborator born in Sacramento, California, later living in San Mateo, California where he attended Junipero Serra High School...
, American musician, composer, and record producer (b. 1966) - Scott BraytonScott BraytonScott Everets Brayton was a race car driver from Coldwater, Michigan, on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event...
, American race car driver (b. 1959)
- Kevin Gilbert
- May 20 – Jon PertweeJon PertweeJohn Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
, British actor (b. 1919) - May 21
- Paul DelphPaul DelphPaul Delph was a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, producer, engineer, and studio musician whose catalog includes work with many well-known recording artists from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. Delph died from complications of HIV/AIDS at his parents home in Cincinnati, Ohio. His ashes...
, American musician and producer (b. 1957) - Lash La RueLash La RueAlfred "Lash" LaRue was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional skill with the bull whip, and taught Harrison Ford how to use a bullwhip in the Indiana Jones movies...
, American actor (b. 1917)
- Paul Delph
- May 22 – Seymour H. Knox III, hockey team owner (b. 1926)
- May 24
- Jacob DruckmanJacob DruckmanJacob Druckman was an American composer born in Philadelphia. A graduate of the Juilliard School, Druckman studied with Vincent Persichetti, Peter Mennin, and Bernard Wagenaar. In 1949 and 1950 he studied with Aaron Copland at Tanglewood and later continued his studies at the École Normale de...
, American composer (b. 1928) - Joseph Mitchell, American writer (b. 1908)
- Enrique Álvarez FélixEnrique Álvarez FélixEnrique Álvarez Félix was a Mexican actor, he died of a heart attack on 24 May 1996. He was the son of legendary Mexican actress, María Félix, and her first husband, Enrique Álvarez.-Telenovelas:* Corazón salvaje...
, Mexican actor (b. 1934)
- Jacob Druckman
- May 25 – Brad Nowell, American musician (b. 1968)
- May 29 – Tamara ToumanovaTamara ToumanovaTamara Toumanova was an American ballerina and actress. "Toumanova" was a stage name proposed by Olga Preobrazhenskaya, after her mother’s family name of Tumanishvili.-Personal life:...
, Russian dancer and actress (b. 1919) - May 31 – Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
, American writer, psychologist, and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use (b. 1920)
June
- June 2
- John AltonJohn AltonJohn Alton A.S.C. , born Johann Altmann, in Sopron/Ödenburg, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary, was an American cinematographer...
, American cinematographer (b. 1901) - Ray CombsRay CombsRaymond Neil "Ray" Combs, Jr. was an American comedian, actor, and host of the game show Family Feud on CBS and in syndication from 1988 to 1994.-Early life and career:...
, American game show host, and comedian (b. 1956) - Leon GarfieldLeon GarfieldLeon Garfield was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for his historical novels for children, though he also wrote for adults...
, English children's author (b. 1921)
- John Alton
- June 3 – Peter GlenvillePeter GlenvillePeter Glenville , born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne, was an English film and stage actor and director.-Biography:...
, English film director (b. 1913) - June 5 – Vito ScottiVito ScottiVito Scotti was a veteran character actor who played many roles, primarily from the late-1940s to the mid-1990s. He was known as a man of a thousand faces, for his ability to assume so many divergent roles in more than 200 screen roles, in a nearly 50 year career. He was known for his resourceful...
, American character actor (b. 1918) - June 6
- Kusuo KitamuraKusuo Kitamurawas a Japanese swimmer who competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics.There he won a gold medal in the 1500 m freestyle event. He was born in Kōchi, Japan.-External links:*...
, Japanese Olympic swimmer (b. 1917) - George Davis SnellGeorge Davis SnellGeorge Davis Snell was an American mouse geneticist and basic transplant immunologist.-Work:George Snell shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Baruj Benacerraf and Jean Dausset for their discoveries concerning "genetically determined structures on the cell surface that...
, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
(b. 1903)
- Kusuo Kitamura
- June 10
- Marie-Louise von MotesiczkyMarie-Louise Von MotesiczkyMarie-Louise von Motesiczky was an Austrian painter.- Life and work :She was born in Vienna in 1906 to an aristocratic family. Her father Edmund von Motesiczky was a talented cellist and keen huntsman. Her mother Henriette von Lieben, came from one of the most wealthy and cultured families in the...
, Austrian painter (b. 1906) - Jo Van FleetJo Van FleetJo Van Fleet was an American theatre and film actress.-Career:Van Fleet established herself as a notable dramatic actress on Broadway over several years, winning a Tony Award in 1954 for her skill in a difficult role, playing an unsympathetic, even abusive character, in Horton Foote's The Trip to...
, American actress (b. 1914)
- Marie-Louise von Motesiczky
- June 11 – Brigitte HelmBrigitte HelmBrigitte Helm was a German actress, best remembered for her dual role as Maria and her double, the Maschinenmensch, in Fritz Lang's 1927 silent film Metropolis.-Career:...
, German actress (b. 1908) - June 15 – Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, American singer (b. 1917) - June 16 – Mel AllenMel AllenMel Allen was an American sportscaster, best known for his long tenure as the primary play-by-play announcer for the New York Yankees. During the peak of his career in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Allen was arguably the most prominent member of his profession, his voice familiar to millions...
, American sportscaster (b. 1913) - June 19
- G. David SchineG. David SchineGerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine or David Schine, was the wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who received national attention when he became a central figure in the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954 in his role as the chief consultant to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on...
, American businessman (b. 1927) - Hillevi RombinHillevi RombinHillevi Schine, , crowned as Miss Sweden and is the fourth winner of Miss Universe in 1955. She was the first deceased Miss Universe title holder since the pageant's inception.-Biography:...
, Miss Universe 1955Miss Universe 1955The fourth edition of Miss Universe was held on 22 July 1955, at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, USA. They had 33 young ladies in the competition...
(b. 1933)
- G. David Schine
- June 23 – Andreas PapandreouAndreas PapandreouAndreas G. Papandreou ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, a socialist politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics. The son of Georgios Papandreou, Andreas was a Harvard-trained academic...
, Prime Minister of GreecePrime Minister of GreeceThe Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
(b. 1919) - June 26 – Veronica GuerinVeronica GuerinVeronica Guerin was an Irish crime reporter who was murdered on 26 June 1996 by drug lords, an event which, alongside the murder of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe three weeks earlier, helped establish the Criminal Assets Bureau....
, Irish journalist (b. 1958) - June 27 – Albert R. BroccoliAlbert R. BroccoliAlbert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
, American film producer (b. 1909)
July
- July 1
- William T. CahillWilliam T. CahillWilliam Thomas Cahill was an American Republican Party politician who served as the 46th Governor of New Jersey, from 1970 to 1974, and who represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district in the U.S...
, America politician (b. 1912) - Margaux HemingwayMargaux HemingwayMargaux Hemingway was an American fashion model and actress.- Early life :Margot Louise Hemingway was born in Portland, Oregon, and was the older sister of actress Mariel Hemingway and the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway...
, American fashion model and actress (b. 1955)
- William T. Cahill
- July 3 – Raaj KumarRaaj KumarRaaj Kumar , born Kulbushan Pandit was an Indian actor in Hindi movies. Raaj Kumar started out as sub-inspector of Mumbai police in the late 1940s before he turned to acting with the 1952 film Rangili...
, Indian film actor (b. 1926) - July 5 – Erik WickbergErik WickbergErik Wickberg was the 9th General of The Salvation Army .Born in Stockholm to Officers David and Betty Wickberg, he was constantly moving around the world to follow his parents' appointments. As a teenager, he once beat the national Swiss chess champion...
, Salvation Army general (b. 1904) - July 9 – Eno RaudEno RaudEno Raud was an Estonian children's books author. He graduated from university with a course in Estonian language study in 1952. From 1952 to 1956 he worked in the Estonian National Library. From 1956 to 1965 he worked in the Estonian national publishing association. After that he retired and...
, Estonian children's writer (b. 1928) - July 12
- John ChancellorJohn ChancellorJohn William Chancellor was a well-known American journalist who spent most of his career with NBC News...
, American journalist (b. 1927) - Jonathan MelvoinJonathan MelvoinJonathan Melvoin was an American musician active in the 1980s and 1990s.He was the brother of Susannah and Wendy Melvoin of Prince and the Revolution. He first learned to play drums, and was cited by friends and relatives as one of those people who could play anything...
, American musician (b. 1961)
- John Chancellor
- July 13 – Pandro S. BermanPandro S. BermanPandro Samuel Berman , was an American film producer.-Biography:His father, Henry Berman, was general manager of Universal Pictures during Hollywood's formative years. The younger Berman, Pandro Samuel, was an assistant director during the 1920s under Mal St. Clair and Ralph Ince...
, American film producer (b. 1905) - July 14 – Jeff KrosnoffJeff KrosnoffJeffrey John Krosnoff was an American race car driver. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in La Cañada, California. Krosnoff attended Flintridge Prep, a private high school, and enrolled at University of California, San Diego in September 1982. After one year, he transferred to UCLA,...
, American race car driver (b. 1964) - July 15 – Dana HillDana HillDana Hill was an American actress and voice actor with a raspy voice and childlike appearance, which allowed her to play adolescent roles into her 30s...
, American actress (b. 1964) - July 16 – John PanozzoJohn PanozzoJohn Anthony Panozzo was an American drummer best known for his work with rock band Styx.Panozzo grew up in the Roseland neighborhood, the south side of Chicago, Illinois, with his fraternal twin brother, Chuck . At age 7, the twins took musical lessons from their uncle in which John took an...
, American drummer (b. 1948) - July 20 – František PláničkaFrantišek PlánickaFrantišek Plánička was a Czech football goalkeeper and one of the most honoured players in the history of Czechoslovakian football. He played the majority of his career for Slavia Prague, during which time the club won the Czech league eight times and the Mitropa Cup once...
, Czech footballer (b. 1904) - July 21 – Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
, American actor (b. 1933) - July 22 – Jessica MitfordJessica MitfordJessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford was an English author, journalist and political campaigner, who was one of the Mitford sisters...
, Anglo-American writer (b. 1917) - July 23 – Aliki VougiouklakiAliki VougiouklakiAliki Vougiouklaki was a Greek actress. She is considered as one of the most popular and successful actresses of Greek cinema.-Biography:...
, Greek actress (b. 1933) - July 27 – Jane DrewJane DrewDame Jane Drew, DBE, FRIBA was an English modernist architect and town planner. She qualified at the AA School in London, and prior to World War II became one of the leading exponents of the Modern Movement in London....
, English architect (b. 1911) - July 28 – Roger Tory PetersonRoger Tory PetersonRoger Tory Peterson , was an American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator, and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.-Background:...
, American naturalist and artist (b. 1908) - July 29 – Jason ThirskJason ThirskJason Matthew Thirsk was the former bass player of the California punk rock band Pennywise who grew up in Hermosa Beach, California....
, American bass player (b. 1967) - July 30 – Claudette ColbertClaudette ColbertClaudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
, American actress (b. 1903)
August
- August 1 – Tadeus ReichsteinTadeus ReichsteinTadeusz Reichstein was a Polish-born Swiss chemist and Nobel laureate.Reichstein was born into a Jewish family at Włocławek, Congress Poland, and spent his early childhood at Kiev, where his father was an engineer...
, Polish-born chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
(b. 1897) - August 2 – Obdulio VarelaObdulio VarelaObdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela was a Uruguayan football player. He was the captain of the Uruguayan national team that won the 1950 World Cup after beating Brazil in the decisive final round match popularly known as the Maracanazo...
, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1917) - August 8 – Nevill Francis MottNevill Francis MottSir Nevill Francis Mott, CH, FRS was an English physicist. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1977 for his work on the electronic structure of magnetic and disordered systems, especially amorphous semiconductors. The award was shared with Philip W. Anderson and J. H...
, English physicist, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
laureate (b. 1905) - August 11
- Rafael KubelíkRafael KubelíkRafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
, Czech-born conductor (b. 1914) - VangaBaba VangaVanga , born Vangelia Pandeva Dimitrova after marriage Vangelia Gushterova was a blind Bulgarian mystic, clairvoyant and herbalist who spent most of her life in the Rupite area in the Kozhuh mountains, Bulgaria...
, Bulgarian prophet, mystic, clairvoyant and herbalist (b. 1911)
- Rafael Kubelík
- August 12 – Viktor HambardzumyanViktor HambardzumyanViktor Hambardzumyan was a Soviet Armenian scientist, and one of the founders of theoretical astrophysics. He worked in the field of physics of stars and nebulae, stellar astronomy, dynamics of stellar systems and cosmogony of stars and galaxies, contributed to Mathematical physics...
, Soviet Armenian scientist (b. 1908) - August 13 – David TudorDavid TudorDavid Eugene Tudor was an American pianist and composer of experimental music.- Biography :Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan Wolpe and became known as one of the leading performers of avant garde piano music. He gave the...
, American pianist and composer (b. 1926) - August 14 – Camilla HornCamilla HornCamilla Horn was a former German dancer and a film star of the silent and sound era. She starred in several Hollywood films of the late 1920s and in a few British and Italian productions.-Biography:...
, German actress (b. 1903) - August 20 – Rio ReiserRio ReiserRio Reiser , was a German rock musician and singer of the famous rock group Ton Steine Scherben. He was born Ralph Christian Möbius in Berlin and died at the age of 46 in the little German town of Fresenhagen. Rio Reiser was politically active during his whole life...
, German rock musician and singer (b. 1950) - August 27 – Greg MorrisGreg MorrisFrancis Gregory Alan "Greg" Morris was an American television and movie actor.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Morris began his acting career in the 1960s making guest appearances on many TV shows such as The Twilight Zone and Ben Casey...
, American actor (b. 1933) - August 31 – Blaine JohnsonBlaine JohnsonBlaine H. Johnson was a professional drag racer.Blaine, along with his life-long crew chief and brother, Alan, were competitors in the NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster Series, a series which they entered in 1988...
, American racecar driver (b. 1962)
September
- September 1 – Vagn HolmboeVagn HolmboeVagn Gylding Holmboe was a Danish composer and teacher who wrote largely in a neo-classical style.-Life:At the age of 16, Holmboe began formal music training at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen on the recommendation of Carl Nielsen. He studied under Knud Jeppesen and Finn Høffding...
, Danish composer (b. 1909) - September 7 – Bibi BeschBibi BeschBibiana "Bibi" Besch was an Austrian/American actress.-Early life:Besch was born in Vienna, Austria, the daughter of theater actress Gusti Huber, who starred in German films during World War II and left Austria in the mid 1940s. Besch had a stepfather, Joseph Besch, a radio executive and former...
, Austrian-American actress (b. 1940) - September 9 – Bill MonroeBill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
, American "father of bluegrassBluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
" music (b. 1911) - September 10
- Joanne DruJoanne DruJoanne Dru was an American film and television actress, known for such films as Red River and All the King's Men.-Career:...
, American actress (b. 1922) - Hans ListHans ListHans List was a technical scientist and inventor and entrepreneur....
, Austrian inventor and automotive pioneer (b. 1896)
- Joanne Dru
- September 13 – Tupac ShakurTupac ShakurTupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
, American rapper and actor also known as "2Pac" (b. 1971) - September 14 – Juliet Prowse, American dancer and actress (b. 1936)
- September 15 – Ottis TooleOttis TooleOttis Elwood Toole was an American serial killer, arsonist and cannibal. Toole was an accomplice of convicted serial killer Henry Lee Lucas...
, American serial killer (b. 1947) - September 16 – Gene NelsonGene NelsonGene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director.-Biography:Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films when he was a child...
, American dance and actor (b. 1920) - September 17 – Spiro AgnewSpiro AgnewSpiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
, American politician, 39th Vice President of the United StatesVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
(b. 1918) - September 18 – Annabella, French actress (b. 1907)
- September 20
- Paul ErdősPaul ErdosPaul Erdős was a Hungarian mathematician. Erdős published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. He worked on problems in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, classical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory...
, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1911) - Max ManusMax ManusMaximo Guillermo "Max" Manus DSO, MC & Bar was a Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II.Manus was born in Bergen to a Norwegian father and a Danish mother...
, Norwegian resistance fighter during World War II (b. 1914)
- Paul Erdős
- September 21
- Henri NouwenHenri NouwenHenri Jozef Machiel Nouwen , was a Dutch-born Catholic priest and writer who authored 40 books about spirituality.- Writing :...
, Dutch Catholic priest and author (b. 1932) - Geoffrey WilkinsonGeoffrey WilkinsonSir Geoffrey Wilkinson FRS was a Nobel laureate English chemist who pioneered inorganic chemistry and homogeneous transition metal catalysis.-Biography:...
, English chemist, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
laureate (b. 1926)
- Henri Nouwen
- September 22 – Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
, American actress (b. 1914) - September 23 – Fujiko F. Fujio, Japanese cartoonist (b. 1933)
- September 26 – Nicu CeauşescuNicu CeausescuNicu Ceaușescu was the youngest child of Romanian leader Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu. He was a close associate of his father's political regime and considered the President's heir apparent.-Life during Communism:...
, son of RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n leader Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae CeausescuNicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
(b. 1951) - September 28 – Mohammad NajibullahMohammad NajibullahMohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai , originally merely Najibullah, was the fourth and last President of the Soviet-backed Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is also considered the second President of the Republic of Afghanistan.-Early years:Najibullah was born in August 1947 to the Ahmadzai...
, former President of AfghanistanPresident of AfghanistanAfghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
(b. 1947) - September 29 – Leslie CrowtherLeslie CrowtherLeslie Crowther, CBE was an English comedian, actor and gameshow host.-Biography:Crowther was born in West Bridgford in Nottinghamshire. At the end of 1944 he moved to London with his parents, but was evacuated for a few months to Bute until just after the war ended.His father, Leslie Frederick...
, British TV comedian and game show host (b. 1933)
October
- October 1 – Pat McGeownPat McGeownPat "Beag" McGeown was a volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike.-Background and IRA activity:...
, Provisional Irish Republican ArmyProvisional Irish Republican ArmyThe Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
member (b. 1956) - October 4
- Silvio PiolaSilvio PiolaSilvio Piola was an Italian footballer from Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set. Piola won the 1938 FIFA World Cup with Italy, scoring two goals in the final.Piola is third in the all-time...
, Italian footballer (b. 1913) - Larry Gene BellLarry Gene BellLarry Gene Bell was a double murderer in Lexington County, South Carolina, who was electrocuted for the murders of Sharon "Shari" Faye Smith and Debra May Helmick...
, American convicted felon (b. 1949) - Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese film director (b. 1916)
- Silvio Piola
- October 6 – Ted BessellTed BessellTed Bessell was an American television actor and director.-Early career:Born in Flushing, New York, Bessell grew up in Manhasset on Long Island, New York. He was originally gearing up for a career as a classical musician...
, American actor (b. 1935) - October 8 – William PrinceWilliam Prince (actor)William LeRoy Prince was an American actor who appeared in numerous soap operas and made dozens of guest appearances on primetime series as well as playing villains in movies like The Gauntlet and Spontaneous Combustion.-Biography:Prince was born in Nichols, New York, the son of Myrtle , a nurse...
, American actor (b. 1913) - October 12 – René LacosteRené LacosteJean René Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" by fans because of his tenacity on the court; he is also known worldwide as the namesake of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he introduced in 1929.Lacoste was one of The Four Musketeers, French tennis...
, French tennis champion (b. 1904) - October 13 – Beryl ReidBeryl ReidBeryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
, British actress (b. 1919) - October 14 – Laura La PlanteLaura La PlanteLaura La Plante was an American actress, best-known for her roles in silent films.-Early acting career:...
, American actress (b. 1904) - October 16
- Eric MalpassEric MalpassEric Lawson Malpass was an English novelist noted for his humorous and witty descriptions of rural family life, in particular that of his creation, the extended Pentecost family. However, Malpass also wrote historical fiction, ranging in scope from the late Middle Ages to Edwardian England...
, English novelist (b. 1910) - Jason BernardJason BernardJason Bernard was an American actor who starred in movies and on television.-Career:Bernard was born in Chicago, Illinois...
, American actor (b. 1938)
- Eric Malpass
- October 24
- Arthur Axmann, Nazi German Hitler YouthHitler YouthThe Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
leader (b. 1913) - Sorley MacLeanSorley MacLeanSorley MacLean was one of the most significant Scottish poets of the 20th century.-Early life:He was born at Osgaig on the island of Raasay on 26 October 1911, where Scottish Gaelic was the first language. He attended the University of Edinburgh and was an avid shinty player playing for the...
, Scottish poet (b 1911)
- Arthur Axmann, Nazi German Hitler Youth
- October 27 – Morey AmsterdamMorey AmsterdamMorey Amsterdam was an American television actor and comedian, best known for the role of Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s.-Early life:...
, American actor and comedian (b. 1908) - October 30 – John YoungJohn Young (actor)John Young was a Scottish actor. He is the father of the actor Paul Young.Some of his credits include Doomwatch, Monty Python and the Holy Grail , Life of Brian , Chariots of Fire, Time Bandits and Rab C. Nesbitt.-External links:...
, British actor (Monty PythonMonty PythonMonty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
) (b. 1916) - October 31 – Marcel CarnéMarcel Carné-Biography:Born in Paris, France, the son of a cabinet maker whose wife died when their son was five, Carné began his career as a film critic, becoming editor of the weekly publication, Hebdo-Films, and working for Cinémagazine and Cinémonde between 1929 and 1933. In the same period he worked in...
, French film director (b. 1909)
November
- November 1 – Junius Richard JayewardeneJunius Richard JayewardeneJunius Richard Jayewardene , famously abbreviated in Sri Lanka as JR, was the first executive President of Sri Lanka, serving from 1978 till 1989. He was a leader of the nationalist movement in Ceylon who served in a variety of cabinet positions in the decades following independence...
, former President of Sri LankaPresident of Sri LankaThe President of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the elected head of state and the head of government. The President is a dominant political figure in Sri Lanka. The office was created in 1978 but has grown so powerful there have been calls to restrict or even eliminate its power...
(b. 1906) - November 2 – Eva CassidyEva CassidyEva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
, American vocalist (b. 1963) - November 3
- Abdullah ÇatlıAbdullah ÇatliAbdullah Çatlı was a Turkish convicted drug trafficker, and contract killer for the Counter-Guerrilla. He led the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party...
, Turkish nationalist (b. 1956) - Jean-Bédel BokassaJean-Bédel BokassaJean-Bédel Bokassa , a military officer, was the head of state of the Central African Republic and its successor state, the Central African Empire, from his coup d'état on 1 January 1966 until 20 September 1979...
of Central African RepublicCentral African RepublicThe Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
/EmpireCentral African EmpireThe Central African Empire was a short-lived, self-declared autocratic monarchy that replaced the Central African Republic and was, in turn, replaced by the restoration of the republic. The empire was formed when Jean-Bédel Bokassa, President of the republic, declared himself Emperor Bokassa I on...
(b. 1921)
- Abdullah Çatlı
- November 5 – Eddie HarrisEddie HarrisEddie Harris was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ...
, American Jazz musician (b. 1934) - November 10 – Imam AlimsultanovImam AlimsultanovImam Alimsultanov was a popular Chechen bard and folk singer.-Biography:Imam was born in Kyrgyzstan in 1957 to Chechen parents, who had been relocated as a result of the forced deportations of most Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia on February 23, 1944. He returned to Chechnya and would...
, Chechen bard (b. 1957) - November 12 – Peter LeedsPeter LeedsPeter Leeds was an actor who appeared on television more than 8,000 times, and also had many film, Broadway, and radio appearances. The majority of his work took place in the 1950s and 1960s...
, American actor (b. 1917) - November 14 – Virginia CherrillVirginia CherrillVirginia Cherrill was an American actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's City Lights...
, American actress (b. 1908) - November 15 – Alger HissAlger HissAlger Hiss was an American lawyer, government official, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and U.N. official...
, American State Department official (b. 1904) - November 18 – Zinovi GerdtZinovi GerdtZinovy Efimovich Gerdt was a Soviet/Russian theatre and cinema actor, recognized with the title People's Artist of the USSR.-Biography:At 15, Gerdt graduated from a vocational school affiliated with the Valerian Kuybyshev Electrical Plant. He started working on Metrostroy as a...
, Russian actor (b. 1916) - November 21 – Abdus SalamAbdus SalamMohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk Mohammad Abdus Salam, NI, SPk (Urdu: محمد عبد السلام, pronounced , (January 29, 1926– November 21, 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the electroweak unification of the...
, Pakistani physicist, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
laureate (b. 1926) - November 22 – María CasaresMaría CasaresMaría Casares was a Spanish actress and one of the most distinguished stars of the French stage. She was usually credited in France as Maria Casarès.-Early life:...
, French-Spanish actress (b. 1922) - November 26
- Mark LenardMark LenardMark Lenard was an American actor, primarily in television.-Biography:Lenard was born Leonard Rosenson in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Abraham, and his wife, Bessie...
, American actor (b. 1924) - Paul RandPaul RandPaul Rand Paul Rand Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum, (August 15, 1914 — November 26, 1996) was an American graphic designer, best known for his corporate logo designs, including the logos for IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, ABC, and Steve Jobs’ NeXT...
, American graphic designer (b. 1914)
- Mark Lenard
- November 28 – Don McNeillDon McNeill (tennis)William Donald McNeill was an American male tennis player. He was born in Chickasha, Oklahoma and died in Vero Beach, Florida, United States....
, American tennis champion (b. 1918) - November 30 – Tiny TimTiny Tim (musician)Tiny Tim , , born in Manhattan, was an American singer and ukulele player. He was most famous for his rendition of "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" sung in a distinctive high falsetto/vibrato voice.-Rise to fame:Born to Lebanese parents in 1932, Khaury displayed musical talent at a very young age...
, American musician (b. 1932)
December
- December 3 – Babrak KarmalBabrak KarmalBabrak Karmal was the third President of Afghanistan during the period of the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. He is the best known of the Marxist leadership....
, President of AfghanistanPresident of AfghanistanAfghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
(b. 1929) - December 6 – Pete RozellePete RozelleAlvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
, American commissioner of the National Football League (b. 1926) - December 8 – Howard RollinsHoward RollinsHoward Ellsworth Rollins, Jr. was an American television, film, and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr...
, American actor (b. 1950) - December 9
- Mary LeakeyMary LeakeyMary Leakey was a British archaeologist and anthropologist, who discovered the first skull of a fossil ape on Rusinga Island and also a noted robust Australopithecine called Zinjanthropus at Olduvai. For much of her career she worked together with her husband, Louis Leakey, in Olduvai Gorge,...
, British archaeologist (b. 1913) - Diana MorganDiana Morgan (screenwriter)Mary Diana Morgan was a Welsh playwright and screenwriter, mostly associated with her work for Ealing Studios as Diana Morgan. She was married to fellow screenwriter Robert MacDermot.-Career:Mary Diana Morgan was born in Cardiff, Wales on 29 May, 1908...
, British playwright and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- Mary Leakey
- December 10 – Faron YoungFaron YoungFaron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
, American singer (b. 1932) - December 11 – Willie RushtonWillie RushtonWilliam George Rushton, commonly known as Willie Rushton was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the Private Eye satirical magazine.- School and army :William George Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in the family home at Scarsdale Villas,...
, English comedian, actor, and cartoonist (b. 1937) - December 13 – Clarence Wijewardena, Sri Lankan musician (b. 1943)
- December 13 – Edward BlishenEdward BlishenEdward Blishen was an English author. He is perhaps best known for three books: A Cack-Handed War , a story set in the backdrop of the Second World War, The God Beneath the Sea , a collaboration with Leon Garfield that won the Carnegie Medal and "Roaring Boys",an honest account of teaching in a...
, English author (b. 1920) - December 16 – Quentin BellQuentin BellQuentin Claudian Stephen Bell was an English art historian and author.Bell was the son of Clive Bell and Vanessa Bell , and the nephew of Virginia Woolf . He was educated in London and at the Quaker Leighton Park School.Principally an artist, as a potter, he was drawn to academia...
, English biographer and art historian (b. 1910) - December 17 – Stanko TodorovStanko TodorovStanko Todorov Georgiev was a Bulgarian communist politician.Todorov was born in Pernik Province. Before and during World War II he was a worker. He became interested in communism, and joined the underground Bulgarian Communist Party in 1943...
, Bulgarian communist politician (b. 1920) - December 18 – Irving CaesarIrving CaesarIrving Caesar was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for "Swanee," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "Crazy Rhythm," and "Tea for Two," one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written. He was born and died in New York.Caesar, the son of Morris Keiser, a Romanian Jew, was...
, American lyricist (b. 1895) - December 19 – Marcello MastroianniMarcello MastroianniMarcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
, Italian actor (b. 1924) - December 20 – Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, American astronomer (b. 1934) - December 21 – Margret ReyMargret ReyMargret Elizabeth Rey , born Margarete Elisabeth Waldstein, was , the co-author and illustrator of children's books, the most famous of which are the Curious George series....
, American children's author and illustrator (b. 1906) - December 25 – JonBenét RamseyJonBenét RamseyJonBenét Patricia Ramsey was an American child beauty pageant contestant who was murdered in her home in Boulder, Colorado, in 1996. The six-year-old's body was found in the basement of the family home nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. She had been struck on the head and strangled...
, child beauty queen and murder victim (b. 1990) - December 29 – Mireille HartuchMireille HartuchMireille Hartuch was a French singer, composer, and actress. She was generally known by the stage name "Mireille"....
, French singer (b. 1906) - December 30 – Lew AyresLew AyresLew Ayres was an American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front and for playing Dr...
, American actor (b. 1908)
Nobel Prizes
- PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
– David M. Lee, Douglas D. OsheroffDouglas D. OsheroffDouglas Dean Osheroff is an American physicist known for his work in experimental condensed matter physics, in particular for his co-discovery of superfluidity in Helium-3. For his contributions he shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics along with David Lee and Robert C...
, Robert C. RichardsonRobert Coleman RichardsonRobert Coleman Richardson is an American experimental physicist whose area of research includes sub-millikelvin temperature studies of helium-3... - ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
– Robert CurlRobert CurlRobert Floyd Curl, Jr. the son of a Methodist Minister is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas and is an emeritus professor of chemistry at Rice University....
, Sir Harold Kroto, Richard SmalleyRichard SmalleyRichard Errett Smalley was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry and a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University, in Houston, Texas... - MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
– Peter C. Doherty, Rolf M. ZinkernagelRolf M. ZinkernagelRolf Martin Zinkernagel AC is Professor of Experimental Immunology at the University of Zurich.-Career:... - LiteratureNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
– Wisława Szymborska - PeaceNobel Peace PrizeThe Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
– Carlos Filipe Ximenes BeloCarlos Filipe Ximenes BeloCarlos Filipe Ximenes Belo SDB, GCL is an East Timorese Roman Catholic bishop. Along with José Ramos-Horta, he received the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for work "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor."...
and José Ramos-Horta - Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – James MirrleesJames MirrleesSir James Alexander Mirrlees is a Scottish economist and winner of the 1996 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He was knighted in 1998....
, William VickreyWilliam VickreyWilliam Spencer Vickrey was a Canadian professor of economics and Nobel Laureate. Vickrey was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics with James Mirrlees for their research into the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information...
Right Livelihood Award
- Herman DalyHerman DalyHerman Daly is an American ecological economist and professor at the School of Public Policy of University of Maryland, College Park in the United States....
, The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, Kerala Sasthra Sahithya ParishadKerala Sasthra Sahithya ParishadKerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is a People's Science Movement of Kerala, India. At the time of its founding in 1962 it was a 40-member group consisting of science writers and teachers with interest in science from a social perspective...
and George VithoulkasGeorge VithoulkasGeorge Vithoulkas is a teacher and practitioner of homeopathy.He studied homeopathy in South Africa and received a diploma in homeopathy from the Indian Institute of Homeopathy in 1966...