1995 - What happened in 1995 ?

January 1995

Sunday 01:

The Kingdom of Sweden and the republics of Austria and Finland are admitted into the European Union.

Wednesday 18:

In southern France near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc a network of caves are discovered that contain paintings and engravings that are 17,000 to 20,000 years old.

Sunday 22:

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: In central Israel, two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves-up at a military transit point killing 19 Israelis.

Wednesday 25:

The Norwegian Rocket Incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, is mistaken for a US Trident missile by the Olenegorsk early-warning radar station.

Tuesday 31:

President Bill Clinton authorizes a $20 billion loan to Mexico to stabilize its economy.

February 1995

Wednesday 01:

Manic Street Preachers lyricist Richey James Edwards goes missing from the Embassy Hotel in London, UK.

Wednesday 15:

Hacking: Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most "secure" computer systems.

Tuesday 21:

Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

Thursday 23:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 30.28 to close at 4,003.33, closing above 4,000 for the first time.

Friday 24:

The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.

March 1995

Thursday 02:

Yahoo! is incorporated, establishing the Internet Portal as a model.

Thursday 09:

Kappa Phi Lambda is founded at Binghamton University.

Tuesday 14:

Manned space mission: Astronaut Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on-board a Russian launch vehicle.

Wednesday 22:

Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns after setting a record for 438 days in space.

Saturday 25:

Ward Cunningham opens the first wiki, the Portland Pattern Repository.

April 1995

Wednesday 19:

Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168.

Monday 24:

The last Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 rolls off the assembly line.

May 1995

Friday 05:

British film producer Ray Santilli unveils his alien autopsy footage to a group of UFO researchers. The film is widely regarded as a hoax.

Thursday 11:

In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.

Saturday 13:

In Dublin, Ireland, Secret Garden win the fortieth Eurovision Song Contest for Norway performing "Nocturne".

Sunday 14:

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama proclaims six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the eleventh reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.

Tuesday 23:

Oklahoma City bombing: In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, what remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building is imploded.

June 1995

Monday 05:

Bose-Einstein condensate is first created.

Tuesday 13:

French president Jacques Chirac announces the resumption of nuclear tests in French Polynesia.

Friday 16:

1995 - The APOD was born

Saturday 24:

In the final of the Rugby Union World Cup held at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, a drop goal in extra time by Joel Stransky lifts South Africa to a 15-12 win over New Zealand.

Tuesday 27:

Jodi Huisentruit, an anchorwoman in Mason City, Iowa disappears, presumably abducted.

July 1995

Sunday 09:

Musical group The Grateful Dead perform the last concert of their 30-year career at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Tuesday 11:

A Cubana de Aviacion Antonov AN-24 crashes into the Caribbean off southeast Cuba killing 44 people.

Monday 17:

1995 - The Nasdaq stock index closes above the 1,000 mark for the first time.

Tuesday 18:

On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufriere Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital and forcing most of the population to flee.

Friday 21:

Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People's Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.

August 1995

Friday 04:

Operation Storm begins in Croatia.

Saturday 05:

The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is liberated by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated as the day of victory ("Homeland Thanksgiving Day") in Croatia.

Monday 07:

Operation Storm is officialy declared over in Croatia, resulting in total Croat victory over rebel Serb forces.

Thursday 10:

Oklahoma City bombing: Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are indicted for the bombing. Michael Fortier pleads guilty in a plea-bargain agreement for his testimony.

Monday 28:

A mortar shell kills 38 people in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

September 1995

Saturday 02:

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland, Ohio.

Monday 04:

The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.

Wednesday 06:

Cal Ripken Jr. breaks Lou Gehrig's record of playing 2131 consecutive baseball games.

Tuesday 19:

The Washington Post and the New York Times publish the Unabomber's manifesto.

Thursday 28:

Bob Denard and a group of mercenaries take the islands of Comoros in a coup.

October 1995

Monday 09:

An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.

Sunday 15:

Saddam Hussein gains 99.96% of votes in Iraq's presidential elections.

Thursday 26:

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Mossad agents assassinate Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shikaki in his hotel in Malta.

Friday 27:

Stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 554.26 points to 7,161.15. For the first time, the New York Stock Exchange activated their "circuit breakers" twice during the day eventually making the controversial move of closing the Exchange early (see October 27, 1997 mini-crash).

Monday 30:

Quebec sovereignists narrowly lose a referendum for a mandate to negotiate independence from Canada (vote was 50.6% to 49.4%).

November 1995

Friday 03:

At Arlington National Cemetery, U.S. President Bill Clinton dedicates a memorial to the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.

Saturday 04:

After attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv's Kings Square, Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is mortally wounded by an extreme right-wing Israeli assassin. He dies of his wounds later that night in a Tel Aviv Hospital.

Friday 10:

In Nigeria, playwright and environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa along with eight others from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop) are hanged by government forces.

Tuesday 14:

A budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress forces the federal government to temporarily close national parks and museums, and run most government offices with skeleton staffs.

Tuesday 28:

US President Bill Clinton signs a highway bill that ends the federal 55 mph speed limit.

December 1995

Thursday 07:

The Galileo spacecraft arrived at Jupiter, a little more than six years after it was launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis during Mission STS-34.

Thursday 14:

The Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris to end the Yugoslav wars.

Wednesday 20:

An American Airlines Flight 965 Boeing 757 crashes into a mountain 50 km north of Cali, Colombia killing 160

Thursday 28:

CompuServe sets a precedent by blocking access to sex-oriented newsgroups after being pressured by German prosecutors.

Sunday 31:

The publication of the last new Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip.