1996 - What happened in 1996 ?

January 1996

Friday 05:

Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.

Tuesday 09:

Sun Microsystems announces the formation of JavaSoft.

Thursday 11:

Haiti becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Wednesday 24:

Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charge he spied for Moscow.

Saturday 27:

Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.

February 1996

Sunday 04:

Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F. (-32°C)

Tuesday 06:

A Turkish Airlines Boeing 757 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Dominican Republic killing 189

Saturday 10:

The World Trade Centre in London is partially destroyed by an IRA bomb.

Saturday 17:

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.

Thursday 29:

A Peruvian Boeing 737 crashes in the Andes, killing 123 people.

March 1996

Thursday 07:

The first democratically elected Palestinian parliament is formed.

Monday 11:

John Howard comes to power as the twenty-fifth Prime Minister of Australia.

Thursday 14:

American President Bill Clinton commits $100 million to an anti-terrorism agreement with Israel to track down and root out terrorists.

Saturday 23:

Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President

Monday 25:

The EU's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (BSE).

April 1996

Monday 01:

University of Kentucky team wins NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

Wednesday 03:

An Air Force 737 carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashes in Croatia, killing 35 of the 36 on-board, including Brown.

Thursday 18:

In Lebanon, 102 Lebanese civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the UN compound at Qana (see Qana Massacre).

Monday 22:

Cisco Systems acquires StrataCom for $4B

Wednesday 24:

In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is introduced.

May 1996

Friday 10:

A "rogue storm" near the summit of Mount Everest kills eight climbers, making this the deadliest day in the mountain's history. Among the dead are experienced climbers Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, both of whom were leading paid expeditions to the summit.

Saturday 11:

After taking-off from Miami, 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.

Monday 13:

Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.

Monday 20:

Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in 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.

Monday 27:

First Chechnya War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire in the war.

June 1996

Saturday 08:

Panama becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Tuesday 18:

Ted Kaczynski, suspected of being the Unabomber, is indicted on ten criminals counts.

Sunday 23:

Clan Knightmare, a Quake gaming clan was formed

Monday 24:

Michael Johnson breaks the world record in the 200 metres with a time of 19.66 seconds

Tuesday 25:

The Khobar Towers bombing leaves 19 U.S. servicemen dead in Saudi Arabia.

July 1996

Monday 15:

A Royal Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport. Thirty-two people die in the flames, two people die of their injuries, and Seven people sustain severe burns.

Wednesday 17:

Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound Boeing 747 carrying TWA flight 800 explodes, killing all 230 on board.

Saturday 27:

Centennial Olympic Park bombing: In Atlanta, Georgia, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics, killing one and injuring 111.

Monday 29:

The controversial child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a US federal court.

Wednesday 31:

MIL-STD-1750A is declared inactive for use in new designs.

August 1996

Thursday 01:

Olympic Games: Michael Johnson wins the 200 meters in 19.32 seconds, beating the old world record by over 0.3 seconds.

Tuesday 06:

NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.

Friday 16:

Sigma Beta Rho is founded at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wednesday 28:

Britain's Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, are divorced.

Thursday 29:

A Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 crashes into a mountain on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, killing all 141 aboard.

September 1996

Saturday 07:

In Las Vegas, Nevada, actor and recording artist Tupac Shakur is shot several times after attending a boxing match, he dies six days later.

Wednesday 11:

Union Pacific Railroad purchases Southern Pacific Railroad

Wednesday 25:

The last of the Magdalen Asylums was closed in Ireland

Friday 27:

In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city Kabul after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah.

Sunday 29:

Super Mario 64, a revolutionary platformer game for the Nintendo 64, is released in the United States.

October 1996

Wednesday 02:

Lance Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer that spreads to his liver, lungs, and brain.

Monday 07:

The Fox News Channel, an American cable news network, is launched.

Wednesday 16:

84 are killed and more than 180 injured as 47,000 soccer fans attempt to squeeze into the 36,000-seat Mateo Flores Stadium in Guatemala City.

Wednesday 23:

The civil trial of former American football player O.J. Simpson opens in Santa Monica, California.

Thursday 31:

A Brazilian TAM Fokker-100 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground

November 1996

Tuesday 05:

U.S. presidential election, 1996: Democrat incumbent Bill Clinton defeats Republican challenger Bob Dole to win his second term.

Thursday 07:

A Nigerian Boeing 727 crashes into a lagoon 40 miles southeast of Lagos, Nigeria, killing 143.

Tuesday 12:

A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakh Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane collide in mid-air near New Delhi, India killing 349.

Saturday 16:

Mother Teresa receives honorary US citizenship.

Monday 18:

World-renowned bird expert Tony Silva is sentenced to seven years in prison without parole for leading an illegal parrot smuggling ring.

December 1996

Friday 13:

Kofi Annan elected as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Saturday 14:

A massive freightliner hits the Riverwalk mall and hotel complex in New Orleans, Louisiana, injuring 116.

Friday 27:

Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.

Sunday 29:

Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord that ends a 36 year civil war.

Monday 30:

Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.