1996 - What happened in 1996 ?

January 1996

Tuesday 09:

Sun Microsystems announces the formation of JavaSoft.

Sunday 14:

Jorge Sampaio is elected president of Portugal.

Saturday 20:

Yasser Arafat is elected president of the Palestinian Authority.

Friday 26:

Whitewater scandal: Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies before a grand jury.

Wednesday 31:

Dragonball Z ends in Japan.

February 1996

Thursday 01:

Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress

Sunday 04:

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

Thursday 08:

The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.

Friday 09:

The Irish Republican Army declares the end of its 18 month ceasefire shortly followed by a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf

Saturday 10:

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

March 1996

Sunday 10:

The "Summit of Peacemakers" takes place in Egypt.

Thursday 14:

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

Wednesday 20:

1996 – In Los Angeles, California, Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez are found guilty of first-degree murder for the shotgun killing of their parents.

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).

Tuesday 26:

The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan for Russia.

April 1996

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.

Tuesday 16:

France Télécom introduces its Wanadoo Internet service.

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

Sunday 28:

Port Arthur massacre: Martin Bryant kills 35 people and wounds another 18 in Tasmania, Australia.

May 1996

Saturday 04:

José María Aznar is appointed Prime Minister of Spain, thus ending 13 years of Socialist rule.

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.

June 1996

Saturday 08:

Panama becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Saturday 15:

In Manchester, UK, a terrorist bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre.

Sunday 16:

First round of voting in the Russian presidential election

Tuesday 18:

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

Saturday 22:

The Quake computer game is released.

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.

Thursday 18:

In an event very similar to the Oklahoma tornado that would occur three years later, an F5 tornado hit the town of Oakfield, Wisconsin.

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

Wednesday 04:

War on Drugs: Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians.

Friday 13:

After surviving for six days, U.S. rapper/actor Tupac Shakur dies after being shot four times in a drive by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wednesday 25:

The last of the Magdalen Asylums was closed in Ireland

Thursday 26:

Nintendo 64 went on sale in the United States.

Friday 27:

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

October 1996

Monday 07:

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

Monday 14:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 40.62 to 6,010.00, closing above 6,000 for the first time ever.

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.

Wednesday 06:

The family of Eduardo Quihua Maquixtle from Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, including his four children, are stabbed by three men accusing them of witchcraft.

Thursday 07:

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

Monday 18:

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

Sunday 24:

Rusty Wallace wins the Suzuka NASCAR Thunder 100 racing event at Suzuka Circuitland in Suzuka City (this was the first NASCAR competition held in Japan).

December 1996

Thursday 12:

Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.

Wednesday 18:

"Ebonics" was declared a language or dialect by the outgoing school board of Oakland, California, whose vote was overturned by the incoming board.

Thursday 26:

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification goes into force

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.