1996

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Centuries:	19th century - 20th century - 21st century
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s - 1990s - 2000s 2010s 2020s
Years:	1993 1994 1995 - 1996 - 1997 1998 1999

1996 by topic:
Arts
Architecture - Art - Film - Home video - Literature Music (Country , Metal) - Television
Science and technology
Archaeology - Aviation Meteorology - Rail transport - Science
By country
Australia - Canada - India Ireland - Malaysia - New Zealand - Pakistan - Singapore - South Africa - UK - Wales - Zimbabwe
Other topics
Awards - Sport - Law - State leaders - Sovereign states - Religious leaders - Video gaming
Birth and death categories
Births - Deaths
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Establishments - Disestablishments
Works category
Works v • d • e

1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. 1996 was also the Chinese New Year of the Fire Rat, a year traditionally feared for natural disasters.

**1996 in other calendars**
Gregorian calendar	1996 MCMXCVI
Ab urbe condita	2749
Armenian calendar	1445 ԹՎ ՌՆԽԵ
Bahá'í calendar	152 – 153
Buddhist calendar	2540
Chinese calendar	4632/4692-11-11 (乙亥年十一月十一日) — to — 4633/4693-11-21 (丙子年十一月廿一日)
Ethiopian calendar	1988 – 1989
Hebrew calendar	5756 – 5757
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2051 – 2052
- Shaka Samvat	1918 – 1919
- Kali Yuga	5097 – 5098
Holocene calendar	11996
Iranian calendar	1374 – 1375
Islamic calendar	1416 – 1417
Japanese calendar	Heisei 8 (平成8年)
- Imperial Year	Kōki 2656 (皇紀2656年)
- Jōmon Era	11996
Julian calendar	2041
Korean calendar	4329
Thai solar calendar	2539
v • d • e

[edit] Events

[edit] January

Yasser Arafat

January 5 - Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
January 7 - One of the worst blizzards in American history hits the eastern states, killing more than 100.
January 8 - A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital Kinshasa - 350 dead.
January 9 - Art forger Eric Hebborn is assassinated in Rome, Italy.
January 14 - Jorge Sampaio is elected president of Portugal.
January 20 - Yasser Arafat is re-elected president of the Palestinian Authority.
January 22 - Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece, resigns due to health problems; a new government forms under Costas Simitis.
January 23 - The first version of the Java programming language is released.
January 24 - Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charges that he spied for Moscow.
January 26
- Whitewater scandal: U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies before a grand jury.
- U.S. millionaire John Dupont shoots wrestler David Schultz.
January 27 - Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.
January 28 - The Dallas Cowboys become the first team to win 3 Super Bowls in a span of 4 seasons, as they defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-17, in Super Bowl XXX.
January 29
- President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear testing.
- Fire destroys La Fenice, Venice's opera house.
- Imia-Kardak crisis: A Greek flag is hoisted on a small rocky island named Imia (Greek) / Kardac (Turkish).
- Duke Nukem 3D Shareware is released to the public.
January 30 - Irish National Liberation Army leader Gino Gallagher is killed in an internal feud, while in line for his unemployment benefits.
January 30-February 5 - Sarah Balabagan is caned in the United Arab Emirates.
January 31 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
Mid-January- A major ice storm hits Ottawa and the surrounding areas, leaving thousands of people without electricity.

[edit] February

February 8 - An IRA ceasefire ends with a 1-ton bomb in London's Canary Wharf District, killing 2.
February 10 - Chess computer "Deep Blue" defeats world chess champion Garry Kasparov for the first time.
February 15
- In south-west Wales, the Sea Empress oil tanker runs aground, spilling 73,000 tonnes of crude oil.
- The U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece comes under mortar fire.
February 17 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Garry Kasparov beats "Deep Blue" in a second chess match.
February 18 - An IRA briefcase bomb in a bus kills the bomber and injures 9 in the West End of London.
February 29 - In Lumberton, North Carolina, Daniel Green is convicted of the murder of James Jordan, the father of basketball star Michael Jordan.

[edit] March

March 1 - Iraq disarmament crisis: 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
- John Howard is elected Prime Minister of Australia in a landslide, over the Labor Party's Paul Keating.
- Ranabima Royal College, Sri Lanka, is established.
March 7 - Volkswagen is renamed the 'New Beetle' from 'The Concept 1' at the Geneva Motor Show.
March 13 - The Dunblane Massacre: Unemployed former shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton walks into the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland and opens fire, killing 16 students and 1 teacher before fatally shooting himself.
March 17 - Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup by storming to a famous victory against the tournament favourite Australia.
March 19 - Sarajevo becomes a united city again when Bosniak authorities take control of the last district held by Serbs.
March 20
- In Los Angeles, California, Lyle and Erik Menendez are found guilty of first-degree murder for the shotgun killing of their parents.
- The British Government announces that Bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been likely transmitted to people.
March 23 - The Republic of China on Taiwan holds its first direct elections for president; Lee Teng-hui is re-elected.
March 25 - An 81-day long standoff between antigovernment Freemen in Jordan, Montana and federal officers begins.
March 26 - The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan to Russia for economic reform.
March 28
- Fire breaks out at the Pasar Anyar shopping centre in Bogor, West Java. The first death toll estimate is 78 until rescuers notice that 68 of them are mannequins.
- Three British soldiers are found guilty of the manslaughter of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen in Cyprus. Allan Ford, Justin Fowler and Geoffrey Pernell receive life sentences for their crime, which was committed in September 1994.
March 30 - The Jeff Kennett government is re-elected in Victoria with a 30 seat majority.
March 31 - The World Wrestling Federation presents WrestleMania 12, whose main event features a 1-hour wrestling match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart.

[edit] April

April 1 - The Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia is created.
April 2 - U.S. Mafioso John Gotti is found guilty of murdering Paul Castellano.
April 3
- A plane carrying United States Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashes near Dubrovnik, Croatia.
- Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
- The first EuroHowl is held in Aberystwyth, Wales.
- A Lunar eclipse occurs.
- Panathinaikos FC beats Ajax Amsterdam in Amsterdam 0-1 in the semi-finals of Champions League. The winning goal is scored by Krzysztof Warzycha in the 89th minute of the match
April 6 - Major League Soccer kicks off in front of an overflow crowd of 31,683 packed Spartan Stadium to witness the historic first game. San Jose Clash forward Eric Wynalda scored the league's first goal in a 1-0 victory over D. C. United.
April 9 - Atlantic Records releases the soundtrack album to the cartoon show based on Capcom's popular video game franchise:Mega Man.
April 10 - U.S. President Bill Clinton vetoes a bill that would have banned partial-birth abortion.
April 12 - Jessica Dubroff, aged 7, is killed in a crash near Cheyenne, Wyoming while attempting to set a record as the youngest person to pilot an airplane across the United States.
April 16 - The NBA's 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan's lead, go on to set a new NBA record for the most wins in a season, achieving their 70th win.
April 18 - Qana Massacre: Over 100 Lebanese civilians are killed after Israel shells the UN compound in Qana.
April 28 - Port Arthur Massacre: Martin Bryant kills 35 people at the Port Arthur, Tasmania tourist site, Australia.
April 29 - The musical Rent officially opens on Broadway.

[edit] May

May - Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM supervises the destruction of Al-Hakam, Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents.
May - The Onion launches its satirical news publication on the Internet.
May 10 - A sudden storm engulfs Mount Everest 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.
May 11 - After takeoff from Miami, Florida, a fire started by improperly-handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
May 13 - Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600.
May 20 - Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules (Romer v. Evans) against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of homosexuals.
May 21 - The MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters in Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000 in one of Africa's worst maritime disasters.
May 23 - Swede Göran Kropp reaches the Mount Everest summit alone without oxygen, after having bicycled there from Sweden.
May 25 - Bradley Nowell, lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Sublime, dies of a heroin overdose in his San Francisco hotel room.
May 27
- First Chechnya War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire in the war.
- Doctor Who makes its return to British television for the first time since 1989. Paul McGann starred in the US-made movie which pitted the Doctor against Eric Roberts' Master.
May 31
- id Software releases the first person shooter computer game Quake.
- FIFA decides to give the Football World Cup 2002, the first World Cup in Asia, to Japan and South Korea, becoming the first World Cup with co-host countries in the history of the event.

[edit] June

June - Iraq disarmament crisis: 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 - Tennessee celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
June 7 - An IRA gang murders Detective Garda Jerry McCabe during a botched armed robbery in Adare, County Limerick.
June 10 - Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without Sinn Féin.
June 12 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a panel of federal judges blocks a law against indecency on the internet. The panel says that the 1996 Communications Decency Act would infringe upon the free speech rights of adults.
June 13 - An 81-day standoff between the Montana Freemen and FBI agents ends with their surrender in Montana.
June 15 - A large bomb explosion devastates Manchester City Centre in England.
June 23 - Nintendo 64 is launched in Japan.
June 25 - The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
June 26 - Journalist Veronica Guerin is shot and killed in her car just outside Dublin.
June 29 - The Prince's Trust concert is held in Hyde Park, London, and is attended by 150,000 people. The Who headlines the event in their first performance since 1989.
June 30
- Costas Simitis is elected President of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece.
- Germany beats the Czech Republic 2-1 with a Golden goal to win Euro 96.

[edit] July

July - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.N. Inspector Scott Ritter attempts to conduct surprise inspections on the Republican Guard facility at the airport, but is blocked by Iraqi officials.
July - The Prague Manifesto declares the principles of the Esperanto movement.
July 1 - The Northern Territory in Australia legalises voluntary euthanasia.
July 5 - Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, is born at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland.
July 8 - Martina Hingis becomes the youngest person in history (age 15 years and 282 days) to win at Wimbledon in the Ladies' Doubles event.
July 17 - Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 (Boeing 747) explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board.
July 18 - Howard Hughes is sentenced to life imprisonment at Chester Crown Court for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Sophie Hook at Llandudno 12 months previously. The trial judge recommends that Hughes, 31, should never be released.
July 19 - The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, is opened by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
July 21 - Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River in Quebec, in one of Canada's most costly natural disasters.
July 27 - The Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics kills 1 and injures 111.
July 29 - The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court.

[edit] August

The electron microscope revealed chain structures in meteorite fragment ALH84001

The Detroit of India and port city Madras is renamed Chennai.

August 1 - Sarah Balabagan returns to the Philippines.
August 4 - The 1996 Summer Olympics conclude.
August 6
- NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
- The Australian census is conducted.
- The Ramones play their last show ever at Lollapalooza.
August 7 - Heavy rains kill more than 80 campers near Huesca, Spain.
August 11 - The British rock band Oasis 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 water on one of Jupiter's moons.
August 15 - Bob Dole is nominated for President, and Jack Kemp for Vice President, at the Republican National Convention in San Diego, California.
August 23 - Osama bin Laden writes "The Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places," his first open call for war.
August 28 - Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced at the High Court of Justice in London. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled Diana, Princess of Wales.
August 29 - U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are renominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
August 31
- Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces launch an offensive into the northern No-Fly Zone and capture Arbil.
- The Big 12 Conference is inaugurated with a football game between Kansas State University and Texas Tech University in Manhattan, Kansas.

[edit] September

September 1 - The Fitzroy Football Club (established 1883) plays its last ever game in the Australian Football League, against Fremantle at Subiaco Oval. The following season the club merges with the Brisbane Bears, ending a long history of the club in the VFL/AFL.
September 2 - A permanent peace agreement is signed at the Malacañang Palace between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front.
September 3 - The U.S. launches Operation Desert Strike against Iraq in reaction to the attack on Arbil.
September 4 - War on Drugs: The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia attack a military base in Guaviare, Colombia, starting 3 weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians.
September 7 - Rap Legend Tupac Shakur is shot in Las Vegas, Nevada following the Mike Tyson bout; he dies 6 days later on September 13.
September 19 - The scoreboard at Buffalo's US$127.5 million dollar HSBC Arena falls to the ice just hours before a National Hockey League game; no one is injured.
September 22 - The Panhellenic Socialist Movement under the leadership of Costas Simitis succeeds in the 1996 Greek legislative election.
September 25
- The last of the Magdalen Asylums is closed in Ireland.
- Nicu Ceauşescu dies from cirrhosis of the liver in a Vienna hospital. He was the younger son of Nicolae Ceauşescu.
September 27 - In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city of Kabul, after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah.

[edit] October

October 1 - Nirvana releases From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, a live electric album, their second release following the suicide of guitarist/singer Kurt Cobain.
October 2
- The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- The former prime minister of Bulgaria, Andrei Lukanov, is assassinated.
October 6 - American singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw marry.
October 7 - Fox News makes its debut.
October 14 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 40.62 to close at 6,010.00, the Dow's first close above 6,000.
October 23 - The O.J. Simpson civil trial begins in Santa Monica, California.
October 29 - The New York Yankees defeat the Atlanta Braves in 6 games to win their 23rd World Series title. John Wetteland is named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the series.
October 30 - Fighting erupts when Banyamulenga Tutsis of Laurent Kabila in Zaire seize Uvira and proceed to kill Hutu refugees.

[edit] November

Bill Clinton

November - Iraq disarmament crisis: 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: Democrat incumbent Bill Clinton defeats Republican challenger Bob Dole to win his second term.
November 7
- A devastating category 4 Cyclone strikes Andhra Pradesh, India. The storm surge sweeps fishing villages out to sea, over 2,000 persons die. 95 percent of the crops are completely destroyed.
- NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.
November 10 - Rapper Yaki Kadafi, born Yafeu Fula, is shot to death in New Jersey at the age of 19.
November 12 - Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 has a mid-air collision with Kazakhstan Airlines Il-76, resulting in the loss of 349 lives.
November 15 - State Street in Chicago is re-opened to pedestrian traffic.
November 16 - Mother Teresa receives honorary U.S. citizenship.
November 18 - World-renowned bird expert Tony Silva is sentenced to 7 years in prison without parole for leading an illegal parrot smuggling ring.
November 18 - Martyn Bryant is sentenced to life imprisonment, 2 weeks after confessing to murdering 35 people in Tasmania earlier this year.
November 21 - A propane explosion at the Humberto Vidal shoe store and office building in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 33.
November 22 - Star Trek: First Contact opens in theaters, and becomes one of the top grossing Star Trek films ever.
November 23
- The Republic of Angola officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Angola.

Flight 961 breaks up in the Indian Ocean after it ran out of fuel.

- Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 123.
November 25
- An ice storm strikes the U.S., killing 26 directly, hundreds more from accidents. A powerful windstorm blasts Florida; winds gust to 90 mph.
- The U.S. stock market, especially the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gains at an incredibly fast pace following the 1996 Presidential election.

It gains 10 days in a row during the month.

[edit] December

December 2 - U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments.
December 5 - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan gives a speech in which he suggests that "irrational exuberance" may have "unduly escalated asset values".
December 12 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
December 17 - The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement takes 72 hostages in the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru.
December 20 - Steve Jobs and his company NeXT are bought back into Apple, the company he originally founded.
December 26 - Start of the largest strike in South Korean history.
December 27 - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base, which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
December 29 - Guatemala and the leaders of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord that ends a 36-year civil war.
December 30
- In the Indian state of Assam, a passenger train is bombed by Bodo separatists, killing 26.
- Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers, who shut down services across Israel.
December 31 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway is merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, making it one of the largest railroad mergers in U.S. history.

[edit] Unknown date

Ask.com (Then Ask Jeeves) formed.
General Motors EV1 launched. The EV1 is the first electric car to go into mass production.

[edit] Environmental change

The invasive species Asian long-horned beetle is found in New York

[edit] Births

January 1 - Mary Gibbs, American actress
January 23 - Joey Del Ponte, American actor
February 9 - Jimmy Bennett, American actor
February 17 - Sasha Pieterse, South African actress
February 28 - Bobbe' J. Thompson, American actor
April 14 - Abigail Breslin, American actress
April 25 - Allisyn Ashley Arm, American actress
April 28 - Zanger Bob, Dutch singer
May 2 - Megan McKinnon, Canadian actress
July 5 - Dolly the Sheep, first cloned mammal (d. 2003)
August 7 - Tessa Allen, American actress
August 21 - Jamia Simone Nash, American actress
September 27 - Princess Iman bint Al Abdullah II
October 28 - Naelee Rae, American actress
November 3 - Aria Wallace, American actress
Unconfirmed - LaShawn Tináh Jefferies, American actress