1994 - What happened in 1994 ?

January 1994

Saturday 01:

The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

Saturday 08:

Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He will stay on the space station till March 22, 1995 for a record 437 days in space.

Wednesday 26:

A man fires two blank shots at Charles, Prince of Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Friday 28:

The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Sunday 30:

The Dallas Cowboys win their fourth Super Bowl title, 30-13 over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII.

February 1994

Tuesday 01:

In Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.

Saturday 05:

Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

Wednesday 09:

Peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina announced (so called Vance-Owen peace plan).

Saturday 12:

1994 Winter Olympics open in Lillehammer, Norway.

Tuesday 22:

Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.

March 1994

Tuesday 01:

Seattle grunge band Nirvana play their last show in Munich, Germany.

Friday 04:

Four terrorists are convicted for their roles in the World Trade Center bombing which killed six and injured more than a thousand.

Monday 14:

Timeline of Linux development: Linux kernel version 1.0.0 is released.

Wednesday 16:

Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan.

Sunday 27:

One of the biggest tornado outbreaks in recent memory hits the Southeastern United States. One tornado slams into a church in Piedmont, Alabama during Palm Sunday services killing 20 and injuring 90.

April 1994

Friday 08:

Body of Kurt Cobain discovered in his Washington home.

Thursday 21:

The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.

Wednesday 27:

South African general election, 1994: The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens vote.

Thursday 28:

Former Central Intelligence Agency official Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.

Saturday 30:

In Dublin, Ireland, Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan win the thirty-ninth Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland singing "Rock'n'Roll Kids".

May 1994

Sunday 01:

Formula One driver Ayrton Senna is killed during the San Marino Grand Prix.

Wednesday 04:

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

Monday 09:

Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.

Tuesday 10:

An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.

Sunday 29:

Herbert Shughart refuses to shake hands with President Bill Clinton following a presentation of posthumous Congressional Medals of Honour to the widows of two soldiers for valour in Somalia. "You are not fit to be president of the United States," said Shughart Senior. "The blame for my son?s death rests with the White House and with you. You are not fit to command." President Clinton replied to Mrs. Shughart, "What?s he jumping on me for? I didn?t kill the kid!" http://www.sweetness-light.com/?p=38http://www.urbin.net/EWW/polyticks/pres-mil.html

June 1994

Sunday 12:

German districts Röbel and Waren are merged to form Müritz

Tuesday 14:

The New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in Game 7, breaking a 54-year drought.

Wednesday 15:

Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.

Thursday 16:

A Chinese operated Northwest Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes 10 minutes after takeoff killing 160

Friday 17:

Following a televised highway chase and a failed attempt at suicide, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

July 1994

Sunday 03:

Romania eliminates Argentina 3-2 in the World Cup.

Tuesday 05:

The United States announced it would refuse further unrestricted immigration from Haiti.

Friday 15:

Albert Belle of the Cleveland Indians caught with a corked bat.

Saturday 16:

1994 - The civil war in Rwanda comes to an end.

Monday 18:

A court upholds NBA salary cap and draft rights.

August 1994

Monday 01:

Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirm rumors that they had married eleven weeks earlier.

Friday 12:

Major League Baseball players go on strike. The work stoppage will force the cancellation of the World Series.

Sunday 14:

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, the terrorist known as "Carlos the Jackal", is captured.

Wednesday 24:

Initial accord between Israel and the PLO about partial self-rule of the Palestinians on the West Bank.

Wednesday 31:

The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares a ceasefire.

September 1994

Saturday 03:

Sino-Soviet Split: Russia and the People's Republic of China agree to de-target their nuclear weapons against each other.

Thursday 08:

A Boeing 737 operating USAir Flight 427 carrying 132 people on board, crashes on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport. There are no survivors.

Tuesday 13:

Ulysses probe passes the Sun's south pole.

Thursday 15:

Muslim fundamentalists kidnap & behead 16 people in Algeria.

Thursday 22:

Friends premieres on NBC.

October 1994

Wednesday 12:

NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere either October 13 or October 14)

Monday 17:

Peace treaty between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.

Wednesday 19:

New Zealand's Goodnight Kiwi says good night for the last time.

Tuesday 25:

Kara Spears Hultgreen is killed when on final approach to the USS Abraham Lincoln in her F-14 Tomcat.

Monday 31:

An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 64 passengers.

November 1994

Saturday 05:

Forty-five year old George Foreman becomes boxing's oldest heavyweight champion when he knocks out Michael Moorer.

Tuesday 08:

For the first time in 40 years the United States Republican Party takes control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in midterm congressional elections.

Sunday 20:

The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign the Lusaka Protocol in Zambia, ending 19 years of civil war (in 1995 localized fighting resumed).

Friday 25:

Sony founder Akio Morita announces he will be stepping down as CEO of the floundering company.

Monday 28:

In Portage, Wisconsin, convicted serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is clubbed to death by a deranged inmate in the Columbia Correctional Institute gymnasium.

December 1994

Thursday 08:

US President Bill Clinton signs a bill enacting United States participation in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Sunday 11:

A small bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, killing a Japanese businessman.

Thursday 15:

Palau becomes a member of the UN.