1996 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center
fuel tank A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelle ...
explodes on
TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on board; Eight people die in a
blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling ...
on
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
;
Dolly the Sheep Dolly (5 July 1996 – 14 February 2003) was a female Finnish Dorset sheep and the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. She was cloned by associates of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, using the process of nuclear transfer from a ...
becomes the first mammal to have been cloned from an adult somatic cell; The Port Arthur Massacre occurs on
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, and leads to major changes in Australia's gun laws;
Macarena "Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album '' A mí me gusta'', a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bays ...
, sung by
Los del Río Los del Río (, "Those from the River"), also known as The Del Rios, are a Spanish Latin pop and dance duo which was formed in 1962 by Antonio Romero Monge (17 February 1948) and Rafael Ruiz Perdigones (10 November 1947). They are best known fo ...
and remixed by The Bayside Boys, becomes a major dance craze and cultural phenomenon; Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 crash-ditches off of the Comoros Islands after the plane was hijacked; the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
are held in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, marking the Centennial (100th Anniversary) of the modern
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Centennial Olympic Park bombing rect 200 0 400 200
TWA FLight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
rect 400 0 600 200
1996 Mount Everest disaster The 1996 Mount Everest disaster occurred on 10–11 May 1996 when eight climbers caught in a blizzard died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit, making i ...
rect 0 200 300 400
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
rect 300 200 600 400
Dolly the Sheep Dolly (5 July 1996 – 14 February 2003) was a female Finnish Dorset sheep and the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. She was cloned by associates of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, using the process of nuclear transfer from a ...
rect 0 400 200 600 Ethiopian Airlines FLight 961 rect 200 400 400 600
Macarena "Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album '' A mí me gusta'', a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bays ...
rect 400 400 600 600 Port Arthur Massacre
1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty


Events


January

* January 8 – A
Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...
an cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, Kinshasa, killing 300 people. * January 920 – Serious fighting breaks out between Russian soldiers and rebel fighters in Chechnya. *
January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muha ...
Ryutaro Hashimoto was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politi ...
, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, becomes
Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Sta ...
. * January 13Italy's Prime Minister,
Lamberto Dini Lamberto Dini CGMG (born 1 March 1931) is an Italian politician and economist. He was the Director General of Bank of Italy from 1979 to 1994, Minister of Treasury from 1994 to 1996, the 51st Prime Minister of Italy from 1995 to 1996, and Forei ...
, resigns after the failure of all-party talks to confirm him. New talks are initiated by President
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (; 9 September 1918 – 29 January 2012) was the president of Italy from 1992 to 1999. A member of Christian Democracy (DC), he became an independent politician after the DC's dissolution in 1992, and was close to the centr ...
to form a new government. * January 14
Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. A member of the Socialist Party, a party which he led between 1989 a ...
is elected President of Portugal. * January 16 – President of
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
Valentine Strasser Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser (born 26 April 1967) is an ex-military leader who served as head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. Previously a junior military officer he became the world's youngest Head of State in 1992, seizin ...
is deposed by the chief of defence,
Julius Maada Bio Julius Maada Wonie Bio (born 12 May 1964) is a Sierra Leonean politician, and the current president of Sierra Leone since 4 April 2018. He is a retired brigadier general in the Sierra Leone Army and was the military head of state of Sierra Leo ...
. Bio promises to restore power following elections scheduled for February. *
January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrend ...
** The ''North Cape'' oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat ''Scandia'' ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown,
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
. The ''North Cape'' Barge is pulled along with it and leaks 820,000 gallons of home heating oil. ** An
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n ferry sinks off the northern tip of Sumatra, drowning more than 100 people. * January 20
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
is re-elected president of the Palestinian Authority. *
January 21 Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when ...
– France undertakes its last nuclear weapons test. * January 22
Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, ...
, Prime Minister of Greece, resigns due to health problems; a new government forms under
Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...
. *
January 24 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. * 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. *1438 – The Cou ...
– Polish Premier
Józef Oleksy Józef Oleksy (; 22 June 1946 – 9 January 2015) was a Polish left-wing politician, former chairman of the Democratic Left Alliance (''Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej'', SLD). Early life and education In his youth he lived in Nowy Sącz, and wa ...
resigns amid charges that he spied for
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
. He is replaced by
Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (, born 13 September 1950) is a Polish left-wing politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland for a year from 7 February 1996 to 31 October 1997, after being defeated in the Parliamentary elections by the Solidarity ...
. * January 27 – Colonel
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999. Baré Maïn ...
deposes the first democratically elected President of
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesMahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993, U.S. Department of State. until he was deposed in a mili ...
, in a military coup. *
January 28 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– The
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27–17 in Super Bowl XXX for their fifth Super Bowl victory. *
January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. *1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
**
Colombo Central Bank bombing The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest attacks carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Incident The attack took place on ...
: an explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
, Sri Lanka, killing at least 86 people and injuring 1,400. ** An amateur astronomer from southern Japan discovers
Comet Hyakutake Comet Hyakutake (, formally designated C/1996 B2) is a comet, discovered on 31 January 1996, that passed very close to Earth in March of that year. It was dubbed the Great Comet of 1996; its passage near the Earth was one of the closest com ...
; it will pass very close to the Earth in March.


February

* February 3 – The 6.6 earthquake near Lijiang in South-west China kills up to 322 people, injures 17,000, and leaves 300,000 homeless. * February 5 – The Kowloon Station From
Hung Hom Station Hung Hom () is a railway station in Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is an interchange station between the and the domestic services of the MTR network, as well as the southern terminus of cross-border through-trains to mainland China ...
, the Canton Rail to KCR East Rail. * February 6
Birgenair Flight 301 Birgenair Flight 301 was a flight chartered by Turkish-managed Birgenair partner Alas Nacionales from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic to Frankfurt, Germany, via Gander, Canada, and Berlin, Germany. On February 6, 1996, the 757-200 ope ...
, on a charter flight from the Caribbean to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, killing all 189 passengers and crew. *
February 7 Events Pre-1600 * 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. * 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. * 1301 &nd ...
René Préval René Garcia Préval (; 17 January 1943 – 3 March 2017) was a Haitian politician and agronomist who served twice as President of Haiti; once from early 1996 to early 2001, and again from mid 2006 to mid 2011. He was also Prime Minister from ...
succeeds Jean-Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti in the first peaceful handover of power since the nation achieved independence 192 years earlier, in 1804. *
February 9 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. *1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
** The element
copernicium Copernicium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Cn and atomic number 112. Its known isotopes are extremely radioactive, and have only been created in a laboratory. The most stable known isotope, copernicium-285, has a half-life of ap ...
is created by fusing a 208Pb nucleus with a 70Zn nucleus, forming 278Cn. Given the placeholder name "ununbium", the element is not named until 2010. ** An
IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...
ceasefire ends with the
Docklands bombing The London Docklands bombing (also known as the South Quay bombing or erroneously referred to as the Canary Wharf bombing) occurred on 9 February 1996, when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated a powerful truck bomb in South Q ...
in London's Canary Wharf District, killing two people and causing over £85,000,000 worth of damage. **
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
formally finalizes its $19 billion acquisition of the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
parent, Capital Cities/ABC Inc. *
February 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end. * 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn, spar ...
Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...
s break off contact with the Bosnian government and with representatives of Ifor, the
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
localised force, in reaction to the arrest of several Bosnian Serb war criminals. * February 14 – Violent clashes erupt between
Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
soldiers and
Vietnamese boat people Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its ...
, as the Filipino government attempts to forcibly
repatriate Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
hundreds of Vietnamese
asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...
s. * February 15 ** The American Embassy in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, comes under mortar fire. ** Begum
Khaleda Zia Khaleda Zia (; born Khaleda Khanam Putul in 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 1991 to March 1996, and again from June 2001 to October 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Ba ...
is re-elected as Prime Minister of
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. The country's second democratic election is marred by low voter turnout, due to several boycotts and pre-election violence, which has resulted in at least thirteen deaths. ** The UK government publishes the
Scott Report The Scott Report (the ''Report of the Inquiry into the Export of Defence Equipment and Dual-Use Goods to Iraq and Related Prosecutions'') was a judicial inquiry commissioned in 1992 after reports surfaced of previously restricted arms sales to ...
. * February 17 – The 8.2 Biak earthquake strikes the Papua province of eastern
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
with a maximum
Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
of VIII (''Severe''). A large tsunami followed, leaving 166 people dead or missing and 423 injured. * February 24
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n fighter jets shoot down two American aircraft belonging to the Cuban exile group
Brothers to the Rescue Brothers to the Rescue ( es, Hermanos al Rescate) is a Miami-based activist nonprofit organization headed by José Basulto. Formed by Cuban exiles, the group is widely known for its opposition to the Cuban government and its former leader Fidel Ca ...
. Cuban officials assert that they invaded Cuban airspace. * February 25 – Two suicide bombs in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
kill 25 and injure 80;
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
claims responsibility. *
February 29 February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to leap years. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth's revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in mos ...
** Faucett Perú Flight 251 en route from Lima to Rodriguez Ballon airport crashes into a mountain near Arequipa; all 123 people on board are killed. ** At least 81 people drown when a boat capsizes 120 kilometres east of Kampala, Uganda. ** The Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian government declares the end of the Siege of Sarajevo.


March

* March 1 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces refuse UNSCOM inspection teams access to five sites designated for inspection. The teams enter the sites only after delays of up to seventeen hours. * March 2 ** The plane of the Brazilian rock band Mamonas Assassinas crashes in the Serra da Cantareira, killing all its members on board. Their short lived and "meteoric" success were celebrated for decades and the members are remembered and celebrated even to the present day in Brazil. ** 1996 Australian federal election: The Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal/National Party of Australia, National Coalition (Australia), Coalition led by John Howard defeats the Australian Labor Party, Labor Keating Government, Government led by Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Paul Keating. Howard was sworn in on March 11. * March 3 – José María Aznar, leader of the People's Party (Spain), Popular Party, is elected as Prime Minister of Spain, replacing Felipe González. * March 3–March 4, 4 – Two suicide bombs explode in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, killing 32 people. The Yahya Ayyash Units admit responsibility, and Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian president
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
condemns the killings in a televised address. Israel warns of retaliation. * March 6 ** Mesut Yılmaz of Motherland Party (Turkey), ANAP forms the new government of Turkey (53rd government). ** A boat carrying market traders capsizes outside Freetown harbour in
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
, killing at least 86 people. ** Chechnya, Chechen rebels attack the Russian government headquarters in Grozny; 70 Russian soldiers and policemen and 130 Chechen fighters are killed. * March 8 – China begins surface-to-surface missile testing and military exercises off Taiwanese coastal areas. The United States government condemns the act as provocation, and the Taiwanese government warns of retaliation. * March 9 –
Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. A member of the Socialist Party, a party which he led between 1989 a ...
becomes the new Portuguese president. * March 13 – Dunblane massacre: Unemployed former shopkeeper Dunblane school massacre#Perpetrator, Thomas Hamilton walks into the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland and opens fire, killing sixteen infant school pupils and one teacher before committing suicide. * March 14 – An international peace summit is held in Egypt in response to escalating terrorist attacks in the Middle East. * March 15 – Fokker, a major manufacturer of small size aircraft, goes bankruptcy, bankrupt in Netherlands. * March 16 – Robert Mugabe is re-elected as President of Zimbabwe, although only 32% of the electorate actually voted. * March 17 – Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup by beating Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup Final, final. * March 18 – The Ozone Disco Club fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 163 people. * March 22 – Sweden's Finance Minister Göran Persson becomes the new Prime Minister of Sweden. * March 23 – Taiwan (Republic of China) holds its first direct elections for president; Lee Teng-hui is re-elected. * March 24 – The Marcopper mining disaster on the island of Marinduque, Philippines takes place. * March 25 – The 68th Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles with ''Braveheart'' winning Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture. * March 26 – The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan to Russia for economic reform.


April

* April 3 ** A Boeing 737 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash, military jet crashes into a mountain north of Dubrovnik, Croatia. All 35 people on board are killed, including United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. ** Massacres of Hutus by Tutsis in Burundi take place with more than 450 killed within a few days. ** The FBI arrested Theodore Kaczynski, the suspected Unabomber at his cabin in Lincoln, Montana. * April 6 ** Fighting breaks out in Monrovia, Liberia, between various rebel factions struggling for power in the country's interrupted civil war. Several foreign nationals leave the nation. ** Turkey, Turkish authorities begin Operation Hawk, a military offensive against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party in south-east Turkey. * April 9 – In a common statement, the European Union officially recognises the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. * April 11 – The
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i government launches Operation Grapes of Wrath, consisting of massive attacks on Lebanon, in retaliation for "terrorist attacks", and sparking off a violent series of retaliations. * April 13 – Mansouri massacre: 2 women and 4 children are killed after an Israeli helicopter strikes an ambulance in Mansouri, Lebanon. * April 16 – Nabatieh Fawka massacre: A Israeli strike on a civilian house in Nabatieh Fawka, Lebanon, kills 9 people, including 7 children. * April 18 ** Qana massacre: Over 100 Lebanon, Lebanese civilians are killed after Israel shells the United Nations compound in Qana. In reaction, an Islamist group in Egypt opens fire on a hotel, killing eighteen Greek tourists and injuring seventeen others. ** Two days before the NFL draft, Nebraska Quarterback Brook Berringer is killed when the plane he is piloting crashes in an alfalfa field. During the 1996 NFL draft, the league held a moment of silence for Berringer, who was expected to be selected by the Denver Broncos. * April 18–April 19, 19 – Two consecutive tornados hit Decatur, Illinois, causing approximately $10.5 million in damage. The April 19 tornado also hits Urbana, Illinois, Urbana and Ogden, Illinois, Ogden. * April 21 – A 1996 Italian general elections, general election in Italy proclaims a new center-left government headed by Romano Prodi, replacing Silvio Berlusconi. * April 24 – At the urging of
Yasser Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
, the Palestine Liberation Organization drops its clause calling for the removal of
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The Israeli government responds by dropping a similar clause concerning the existence of State of Palestine, Palestine. * April 26 – Shanghai Five group, predecessor of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, is created with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions in Shanghai by the heads of states of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. * April 28 ** Port Arthur massacre (Australia): Martin Bryant kills 35 people at the Port Arthur, Tasmania, Port Arthur tourist site in
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
. ** Bhai Pheru bus bombing: A bomb explodes in Bhai Pheru, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan, killing more than 60 people.


May

* May – Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM supervises the destruction of Al-Hakam, Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents. * May 9 ** South Africa's National Party (South Africa), National Party pulls out of the coalition government formed two years earlier, and the African National Congress assumes full political control. ** Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni wins a landslide victory in the country's first direct presidential elections, securing 75% of the vote. * May 10 ** 1996 Everest disaster: A sudden storm engulfs
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
with several climbing teams high on the mountain, leaving eight people dead. By the end of the month, at least four other climbers die in the worst season of fatalities on the mountain to date. ** The Australian government introduces a nationwide ban on the private possession of both automatic rifle, automatic and semi-automatic rifles, in response to the Port Arthur massacre (Australia), Port Arthur massacre. * May 11 – After takeoff from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Everglades, Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board. * May 13 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
kill 600 people. * May 17–May 28, 28 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is elected as Prime Minister of India, replacing P. V. Narasimha Rao of the Indian National Congress. However, the party does not receive an overall majority and Vajpayee resigns thirteen days later rather than face a no confidence vote and is replaced by the United Front (India), United Front leader, Deve Gowda. * May 18 – The X Prize Foundation launches the $10,000,000 Ansari X Prize. * May 21 ** The ''MV Bukoba'' sinks in Tanzanian waters in Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000 people in one of Africa's worst maritime disasters. ** The Trappist Martyrs of Atlas are executed. * May 23 – Members of the Armed Islamic Group in Algeria kill seven French Trappist monks, after talks with French government concerning the imprisonment of several GIA sympathisers break down. * May 27 – First Chechnya War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a ceasefire for the dispute. * May 28 – Albania's general election of May 26 is declared unfair by international monitors, and the ruling Democratic Party of Albania, Democratic Party under President Muhannad Ibrahim is charged by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe with rigging the elections. Several hundred protestors gather in Tirana to demonstrate against the election result. * May 30 – The Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, wins a narrow victory in the
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i general election.


June

* June – Iraq disarmament crisis: As Iraq continues to refuse inspectors access to a number of sites, the United States fails in its attempt to build support for military action against Iraq in the UN Security Council. * June 1–June 3, 3 – The Czech Republic's first general election ends inconclusively. Prime Minister Václav Klaus and his incumbent Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democratic Party emerge as the winners, but are unable to form a majority government. President Václav Havel refuses to invite Klaus to form a coalition. * June 4 – The space rocket Ariane 5 explodes forty seconds after takeoff in French Guiana. The project costs European governments $7,500,000,000 over eleven years. * June 6 – Leighton W. Smith, Jr. resigns as
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
commander in the face of increasing criticism. * June 8–June 30, 30 – England hosts the UEFA Euro 1996 football tournament, which is won by Germany national football team, Germany. * June 11 ** An explosion in a São Paulo suburban shopping centre kills 44 people and injures more than 100. ** A peace convoy carrying Chechen people, Chechen separatist leaders and international diplomats is targeted by a series of remotely controlled land mines; eight people are killed. * June 15 – In Manchester, UK, an 1996 Manchester bombing, IRA bomb injures over 200 people and devastates a large part of the city centre. * June 28 ** A new government is formed in Turkey, with Necmettin Erbakan of Refah Partisi becoming Prime Minister of the coalition government, and Deputy/Foreign Minister Tansu Çiller of the True Path Party succeeding him after two years. ** The Constitution of Ukraine is signed into law. * 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. ** An explosion in a firecrackers factory in Sichuan Province, China kills at least 52 people and injures 83 others. * June 30 **
Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...
is elected president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece. **
Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...
leader Radovan Karadžić relinquishes power to his deputy, Biljana Plavšić.


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. ** The Indian government officially renames the city of Madras, restoring the name Chennai. * July 1 ** The Northern Territory in Australia legalises voluntary euthanasia. ** German orthography reform of 1996 agreed internationally. * July 3 – Boris Yeltsin is 1996 Russian presidential election, re-elected as President of Russia after the second round of elections. * July 5 – Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloning, cloned from an adult cell (biology), cell, is born at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, UK. * July 11 – Arrest warrants are issued for
Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...
war criminals Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić by the Russell Tribunal in The Hague. * July 12 – Hurricane Bertha (1996), Hurricane Bertha: made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 2 storm, causing $270 million in damage ($ in present-day terms) to the United States and its possessions and many indirect deaths. * July 16 – An outbreak of Escherichia coli, E. coli food poisoning in Japan results in 6,000 children being ill, including two deaths, after a group of school children eat contaminated lunches. * July 17 ** The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) is constituted. ** Paris- and Rome-bound
TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy Internationa ...
(Boeing 747) explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 people on board. * July 19 ** The
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, United States, begin. **
Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...
President Radovan Karadžić resigns from public office in Republika Srpska after being indicted for war crimes. * July 21 – The Saguenay Flood, one of Canada's most costly natural disasters, is caused by flooding on the Saguenay River in Quebec. * July 24 – The Dehiwala train bombing kills 56 commuters outside
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
. * July 25 – The Tutsi-led Burundian army performs a 1996 Burundian coup d'état, coup and reinstalls previous president Pierre Buyoya, ousting current president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya. * July 27 ** The Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
kills one person and injures 111. ** Indonesian government forces 27 July 1996 incident, attacked the head office of the Indonesian Democratic Party, which was being occupied by supporters of recently ousted party leader Megawati Sukarnoputri.


August

* August ** The first three-parent baby is conceived in New Jersey through mitochondrial donation. ** The invasive species Asian long-horned beetle is found in New York City. * August 1 ** Sarah Balabagan returns to the Philippines. ** A pro-democracy demonstration supporting Megawati Sukarnoputri in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
is broken up by riot police. * August 4 – The
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
conclude. * August 6 – NASA announces that the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, may contain evidence of primitive lifeforms; further tests are inconclusive. * August 7 – Heavy rains kill more than 80 campers near Huesca, Spain. * August 9 – Boris Yeltsin is sworn in at the Kremlin for a second term as President of Russia. * August 13 – Data sent back by the Galileo (spacecraft), Galileo space probe indicates there may be water on one of Jupiter's moons. * August 14 – A rocket ignited during a fireworks display in Arequipa, Peru knocks down a high-tension power cable into a dense crowd, electrocuting 35 people. * August 15 – Bob Dole is nominated for President of the United States, and Jack Kemp for vice president, at the Republican National Convention in San Diego, California. * August 16 – Brookfield Zoo, Chicago. After a 3-year-old boy falls into the deep gorilla enclosure, Binti Jua, a female lowland gorilla sits with the injured boy until his rescue. * August 21 ** Former State President of South Africa, F. W. de Klerk, makes an official apology for crimes committed under Apartheid to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa), Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Cape Town. ** In the UK, Queen Elizabeth II issues letters patent on divorced former wives of British princes, taking away from the ex-wives the attribute and style of Royal Highness. With that Sarah, Duchess of York as well as Diana, Princess of Wales legally cease to be Royals, but they remain as non-royal Duchess and Princess. * August 23 – Osama bin Laden writes "The Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places," a call for the removal of American military forces from Saudi Arabia. * August 26 – Civil Rights Movement historian Randy Kryn and 10 others are arrested by the Federal Protective Service (United States), Federal Protective Service while protesting in a demonstration at the Kluczynski Federal Building in downtown Chicago during 1996 Democratic National Convention, that year's Democratic National Convention. * 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, due to the Queen's letters patent issued a week earlier. * August 29 ** U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are re-nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. ** A Russian Tupolev 154 jetliner Vnukovo Airlines Flight 2801, crashes into a mountain as it approaches the airport at Spitsbergen, Norway, killing all 141 people on board. * August 31 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces launch an offensive into the northern Iraqi no-fly zones, No-Fly Zone and capture Arbil.


September

* September 2 – A permanent peace agreement is signed at the Malacañan Palace between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front (Misuari faction), Moro National Liberation Front. * September 3 – The United States launches Operation Desert Strike against Iraq in reaction to the attack on Arbil. * September 4 – The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia attack a military base in Guaviare Department, Guaviare, Colombia, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians. * September 5 – Hurricane Fran makes landfall near Cape Fear (headland), Cape Fear, North Carolina as a Category 3 hurricane, Category 3 storm with sustained winds. Fran caused over $3 billion in damages ($ in present-day terms) and killed 27 people, mainly in North Carolina. The name "Fran" was retired due to the extensive damage. * September 10 – Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) signed (it will be ratified 180 days after ratification by 44 Annex 2 countries). * September 13 – Alija Izetbegović is elected President of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the country's first election since the Bosnian War. * September 20 – Leader of Pakistani opposition party Pakistan Peoples Party Murtaza Bhutto is killed during a gunfight with police. * September 22 – The Panhellenic Socialist Movement under the leadership of
Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...
succeeds in the 1996 Greek legislative election. * September 24 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United Nations. * September 27 – In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture the capital city of Kabul, after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah. * September 29 – The Nintendo 64 is released in North America.


October

* October 2 – Aeroperú Flight 603 crashes into the Pacific Ocean when the instruments fail just after takeoff from Lima Airport, killing all 70 people on board. * October 6 – The government of New Zealand agrees to pay $130 million worth of compensation for the loss of land suffered by the Māori people, Māori population between the years of 1844 and 1864. * October 22 – A fire at La Planta prison in southwest Caracas, Venezuela, kills thirty prisoners. * October 24 – The First Congo War begins. * October 31 – TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes into a densely populated area of São Paulo, killing all 96 people on board.


November

* 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 – 1996 United States presidential election: Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Bill Clinton defeats his Republican Party (United States), Republican challenger, Bob Dole and Reform Party of the United States of America, Reform Party candidate Ross Perot. * November 7 ** A Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, category 4 1996 Andhra Pradesh cyclone, cyclone strikes Andhra Pradesh, India, killing at least 1,000 people. ** NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor. * November 8 – All 144 people on board a Nigerian-owned Boeing 727 die after the aircraft ADC Airlines Flight 086, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while approaching Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport, airport. * November 12 – Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision, collides in mid-air with Kazakhstan Airlines Il-76 in New Delhi, India, resulting in the loss of 349 lives. * November 17 ** A bomb explodes in Kaspiysk, Russia, killing 32 people. ** Emil Constantinescu is elected as President of Romania. * November 18 – Frederick Chiluba is re-elected as President of Zambia. * November 19 ** Martin Bryant is sentenced to 35 consecutive sentences of life imprisonment plus 1,035 years without parole for murdering 35 people in a shooting spree in
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
earlier this year. ** Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Organization (CTBTO) established. ** ''STS-80'': Space Shuttle Columbia conducts the longest mission of the Space Shuttle program. * November 20 – The 1996 Garley Building fire occurred in Hong Kong, resulting in 41 deaths and 81 injuries. * November 21 – A propane Humberto Vidal explosion, explosion at the Humberto Vidal shoe store and office building in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 33 people. * November 23 ** The Angola, Republic of Angola officially joins the World Trade Organization as ''Angola''. ** Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked, then crashes into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 125. * November 25 – An ice storm strikes the U.S. killing 26 directly and hundreds more from accidents. A powerful windstorm blasts Florida with winds gusts up to 90 mph.


December

* December 9 – Jerry Rawlings is re-elected as President of Ghana. * December 11 – Tung Chee-hwa is appointed to become the new leader of Hong Kong after it reverts to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, at the end a 99-year lease to the United Kingdom. * December 13 – Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is elected by the United Nations Security Council the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. * December 17 – The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement takes 72 hostages in the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru. * December 25 – At least 283 migrants drown in the Sinking of F174, sinking of ''F174'' near Capo Passero (Sicily). * December 26 ** The 1996–97 strikes in South Korea, largest strike in South Korean history begins. ** Six-year-old Death of JonBenét Ramsey, JonBenét Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado. * December 27 – Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram Air Base, solidifying their buffer zone around Kabul. * December 29 – Guatemala and the leaders of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord that ends the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War. * December 30 – In the Indian state of Assam, a passenger train is bombed by Bodo people, Bodo separatists, killing 26.


Births


January

* January 2 – Xiaoyu Yu, Chinese figure skater * January 3 – Florence Pugh, English actress * January 5 ** Maxim Baldry, English actor ** Tyler Ulis, American basketball player * January 6 ** Courtney Eaton, Australian actress ** Harmanpreet Singh, Indian hockey player * January 7 – Helly Shah, Indian actress * January 10 – Anna Sztankovics, Hungarian swimmer *
January 11 Events Pre-1600 * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence. * 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muha ...
– Leroy Sané, German footballer * January 12 – Ella Henderson, English singer * January 15 – Dove Cameron, American actress and singer * January 16 ** Anastasia Grishina, Russian artistic gymnast ** Jennie (singer), Jennie, South Korean singer and rapper * January 17 – Nile Wilson, British artistic gymnast *
January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrend ...
– Taylor Bennett (rapper), Taylor Bennett, American rapper *
January 21 Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when ...
– Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer *
January 24 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. * 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. *1438 – The Cou ...
– Patrik Schick, Czech footballer *
January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. *1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
– Joel Courtney, American actor


February

* February 1 – Ahmad Abughaush, Jordanian taekwondo athlete * February 2 – Harry Winks, English footballer * February 5 – Zeng Siqi, Chinese artistic gymnast *
February 7 Events Pre-1600 * 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. * 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. * 1301 &nd ...
** Aaron Ekblad, Canadian ice hockey player ** Mai Hagiwara, Japanese singer *
February 9 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. *1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
** Jimmy Bennett, American actor ** Kelli Berglund, American actress ** Chungha (singer), Chungha, South Korean singer and dancer * February 11 – Lucas Torreira, Uruguayan footballer * February 13 – Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Indonesian badminton player * February 14 ** Lucas Hernandez, French footballer ** Viktor Kovalenko (footballer), Viktor Kovalenko, Ukrainian footballer * February 17 – Sasha Pieterse, South African-born American actress * February 19 – Ashnikko, American singer and rapper * February 20 – Mabel (singer), Mabel, English singer * February 21 ** Noah Rubin (tennis), Noah Rubin, American tennis player ** Sophie Turner, English actress * February 23 – D'Angelo Russell, American basketball player * February 25 – Emel Dereli, Turkish shot putter * February 28 – Shi Yuqi, Chinese badminton player


March

* March 1 – Ye Shiwen, Chinese swimmer * March 5 – Emmanuel Mudiay, Congolese professional basketball player ** Michael Evans Behling, American actor * March 6 ** Christian Coleman, American sprinter ** Timo Werner, German footballer ** Yan Han (figure skater), Yan Han, Chinese figure skater * March 8 – Emil Imre, Hungarian short track speed skater * March 9 – Giorgio Minisini, Italian synchronized swimmer * March 14 – Janai Haupapa, Canadian rugby league player * March 23 – Alexander Albon, Thai racing driver * March 24 ** Valentino Lazaro, Austrian footballer ** Myles Turner, American basketball player * March 26 – Kathryn Bernardo, Filipina actress * March 27 – Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Italian-American actress * March 28 ** Benjamin Pavard, French footballer ** Xie Siyi, Chinese diver * March 31 – Kira Hagi, Romanian actress


April

* April 2 ** Polina Agafonova, Russian figure skater ** Matheus Santana, Brazilian swimmer * April 3 – Sarah Jeffery, Canadian actress * April 4 – Austin Mahone, American singer-songwriter and actor * April 9 – Giovani Lo Celso, Argentinian footballer * April 10 ** Andreas Christensen, Danish footballer ** Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australian tennis player ** Loïc Nottet, Belgian singer * April 11 ** Dele Alli, English footballer ** Summer Walker, American singer * April 12 – Polina Korobeynikova, Russian figure skater * April 14 – Abigail Breslin, American actress * April 16 – Anya Taylor-Joy, actress * April 17 – Dee Dee Davis, American actress * April 22 – Wendy Sulca, Peruvian singer * April 23 – Álex Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer * April 24 – Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player * April 25 ** Mack Horton, Australian swimmer ** Allisyn Ashley Arm, American actress * April 27 ** Tejan Koroma, American Football Player * April 28 – Tony Revolori, American actor * April 29 – Katherine Langford, Australian actress


May

* May 2 – Julian Brandt, German footballer * May 3 – Alex Iwobi, Nigerian footballer * May 4 ** Arielle Gold, American snowboarder ** Pelayo Roza, Spanish sprint canoeist. * May 8 – 6ix9ine, American rapper * May 10 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player * May 11 – Andrés Cubas, Argentinian footballer * May 14 ** Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ and producer ** Pokimane, Imane Anys, Canadian Twitch streamer * May 15 – Birdy (singer), Birdy, English singer and songwriter * May 17 – Ryan Ochoa, American actor and musician * May 19 – Lakshmi Menon (actress), Lakshmi Menon, Indian film actress * May 18 – Yuki Kadono, Japanese snowboarder * May 23 – Katharina Althaus, German ski jumper * May 30 ** Aleksandr Golovin (footballer), Aleksandr Golovin, Russian footballer ** Lucki, American rapper * May 31 – Normani, American singer


June

* June 1 – Tom Holland, English actor * June 3 – Han Tianyu, Chinese short track speed skater * June 7 – Christian McCaffrey, American football player * June 10 – Wen Junhui, Chinese singer and actor * June 12 **Annalisa Cochrane, American actress **Davinson Sánchez, Colombian footballer * June 13 ** Kingsley Coman, French footballer ** Kodi Smit-McPhee, Australian actor * June 15 – Aurora (singer), Aurora, Norwegian singer * June 16 – Lily Zhang, American table tennis player * June 17 – Godfred Donsah, Ghanese footballer * June 18 – Alen Halilović, Croatian footballer * June 19 – Larisa Iordache, Romanian artistic gymnast * June 22 ** Hugo Calderano, Brazilian table tennis player ** Kong Sang-jeong, South Korean short track speed skater * June 24 – Harris Dickinson, English actor, writer, and director * June 27 – Lauren Jauregui, American singer * June 28 ** Milot Rashica, Kosovar footballer ** Donna Vekić, Croatian tennis player


July

* July 1 – Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater * July 3 – Kendji Girac, French singer * July 5 – Risa Shōji, Japanese figure skater * July 7 – Ivan Ljubic, Austrian footballer * July 10 – Moon Ga-young, South Korean actress * July 11 ** Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter ** Andrija Živković, Serbian footballer * July 18 – Yung Lean, Swedish rapper and record producer * July 20 – Ben Simmons, Australian basketball player


August

* August 1 ** Arisa Higashino, Japanese badminton player ** Cymphonique Miller, American actress and singer * August 2 – Simone Manuel, American swimmer * August 5 ** Francesca Deagostini, Italian artistic gymnast ** Mai Murakami, Japanese artistic gymnast * August 10 – Evan Evagora, Australian actor * August 12 – Arthur Melo, Arthur, Brazilian footballer * August 14 – Brianna Hildebrand, American actress * August 16 – Caeleb Dressel, American swimmer * August 19 ** Almoez Ali, Sudanese-Qatari footballer ** Laura Tesoro, Belgian singer and actress * August 20 – Axell Hodges, American motocross competitor * August 24 – Kenzō Shirai, Japanese gymnast * August 27 ** Femke Van den Driessche, Belgian cyclist found guilty of mechanical doping ** Ebru Topçu, Turkish footballer * August 28 – Kim Se-jeong, South Korean singer and actress * August 30 ** Gabriel Barbosa, Brazilian footballer ** Chen Dequan, Chinese short track speed skater


September

* September 1 – Zendaya, American actress and singer * September 3 – Joy (singer), Joy, South Korean singer and actress * September 5 – Sigrid (singer), Sigrid, Norwegian singer * September 9 – Jaïro Riedewald, Dutch footballer * September 12 – Colin Ford, American actor * September 13 ** Playboi Carti, American rapper ** Lili Reinhart, American actress September 16 – Baka Prase, Serbian YouTuber, rapper, gamer, and entertainer * September 17 ** Duje Ćaleta-Car, Croatian footballer ** Ella Purnell, English actress ** Esteban Ocon, French Formula 1 Driver * September 23 ** Lee Hi, South Korean singer-songwriter ** Evgeny Rylov, Russian swimmer * September 25 – Mie Nielsen, Danish swimmer * September 27 – Maxwel Cornet, French-Ivorian footballer * September 28 – Michael Ronda, Mexican actor and singer


October

* October 1 ** Shenseea, Jamaican Singer * October 3 – Kelechi Iheanacho, Nigerian footballer * October 4 – Ella Balinska, English actress * October 5 – Sevn Alias, Dutch rapper * October 7 – Lewis Capaldi, Scottish singer-songwriter * October 8 – Sara Takanashi, Japanese ski jumper * October 9 ** Jacob Batalon, American-Filipino actor ** Bella Hadid, American model * October 10 – Oscar Zia, Swedish singer and songwriter * October 13 ** Joshua Wong, Hong Kong student activist and politician ** Đỗ Mỹ Linh, Vietnamese model * October 15 – Zelo, Korean singer * October 20 – Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Indonesian badminton player * October 24 ** Jaylen Brown, American basketball player ** Kyla Ross, American gymnast * October 28 – Lee June-hyoung, South Korean figure skater * October 30 ** Devin Booker, American basketball player ** Mizuki Fukumura, Japanese singer


November

* November 1 ** Sean Gelael, Indonesian racing driver ** Lil Peep, American rapper (d. 2017) **Daniela Melchior, Portuguese actress ** Jeongyeon, South Korean singer * November 4 – Michael Christian Martinez, Filipino figure skater * November 7 ** André Horta, Portuguese footballer ** Lorde, New Zealand singer-songwriter * November 9 ** Nguyễn Thị Ánh Viên, Vietnamese swimmer ** Momo Hirai, Japanese singer and dancer * November 11 ** Adam Ounas, French-born Algerian footballer ** Tye Sheridan, American actor * November 14 – Borna Ćorić, Croatian tennis player * November 16 – Brendan Murray, Irish singer * November 17 – Ruth Jebet, Bahraini long-distance runner * November 18 ** Akram Afif, Qatari footballer ** Noah Ringer, American actor ** Sorn (singer), Sorn, South Korean based singer * November 19 – Liliána Szilágyi, Hungarian swimmer * November 20 – Denis Zakaria, Swiss footballer * November 22 ** Hailey Baldwin, American model and socialite ** JuJu Smith-Schuster, American football player * November 23 ** James Maddison, English footballer ** Anna Yanovskaya, Russian ice dancer * November 26 – Louane (singer), Louane Emera, French singer and actress * November 27 – Felix Kashweka, Zambian journalist and publicist * November 29 – Gonçalo Guedes, Portuguese footballer


December

* December 1 – Pradyumn Karthic, the indian chad was born. * December 4 – Daria Svatkovskaya, Russian artistic gymnast * December 6 – Stefanie Scott, American actress and singer * December 10 ** Joe Burrow, American football player ** Kang Daniel, South Korean singer * December 11 ** Eliza McCartney, New Zealand track and field athlete ** Hailee Steinfeld, American actress, model and singer ** Jack Griffo, American actor * December 12 ** Lucas Hedges, American actor ** Oliver Askew, American racing driver ** Rajinikanth, Indian Actor * December 14 – Li Zijun, Chinese figure skater * December 15 – Oleksandr Zinchenko (footballer), Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ukrainian footballer * December 16 – Wilfred Ndidi, Nigerian footballer * December 17 – Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Russian figure skater * December 19 – Franck Kessié, Ivorian footballer * December 21 – Kaitlyn Dever, American actress * December 28 – Alfred Kipketer, Kenyan middle-distance runner * December 29 ** Dylan Minnette, American actor, singer and musician ** Sana (singer), Sana, Japanese singer * December 30 ** Stephanie Del Valle, Puerto Rican musician, model and beauty queen ** Zack Baun, American Football Player


Deaths


January

* January 1 – Arleigh Burke, American naval officer (b. 1901) * January 5 – Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian shaheed (b. 1966) * January 7 ** Károly Grósz, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1930) ** Tarō Okamoto, Japanese artist (b. 1911) * January 8 – François Mitterrand, French politician, 21st President of France (b. 1916) * January 15 ** Les Baxter, American musician and composer (b. 1922) ** Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho, Moshoeshoe II, King of Lesotho (b. 1938) * January 17 – Barbara Jordan, American lawyer, educator, politician and civil rights activist (b. 1936) * January 18 ** Leonor Fini, Argentine artist (b. 1908) ** Endel Puusepp, Estonian pilot (b. 1909) ** N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, producer, director, editor and politician (b. 1923) *
January 19 Events Pre-1600 * 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to ''Augustus'', and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. * 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrend ...
– Don Simpson, American film producer (b. 1943) * January 20 – Gerry Mulligan, American musician (b. 1927) * January 25 – Jonathan Larson, American composer and playwright (b. 1960) *
January 28 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
** Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born American Nobel poet (b. 1940) ** Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)


February

* February 2 – Gene Kelly, American actor and dancer (b. 1912) * February 3 – Audrey Meadows, American actress (b. 1922) * February 4 – Alfredo Nobre da Costa, 106th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1923) * February 6 – Guy Madison, American actor (b. 1922) *
February 7 Events Pre-1600 * 457 – Leo I becomes the Eastern Roman emperor. * 987 – Bardas Phokas the Younger and Bardas Skleros, Byzantine generals of the military elite, begin a wide-scale rebellion against Emperor Basil II. * 1301 &nd ...
– Boris Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (b. 1925) *
February 9 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. *1539 – The first recorded race is held ...
– Adolf Galland, German general (b. 1912) * February 11 ** Kebby Musokotwane, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1946) ** Bob Shaw, Irish science fiction writer (b. 1931) * February 12 – Ryōtarō Shiba, Japanese novelist (b. 1923) * February 13 – Martin Balsam, American actor (b. 1919) * February 14 ** Eva Hart, British Titanic survivor (b. 1905) ** Bob Paisley, English football manager (b. 1919) * February 16 – Pat Brown, American politician (b. 1905) * February 20 ** Solomon Asch, Polish-American psychologist (b. 1907) ** Audrey Munson, American model and actress (b. 1891) ** Toru Takemitsu, Japanese composer (b. 1930) * February 21 – Morton Gould, American musician and composer (b. 1913) * February 23 ** William Bonin, American serial killer (b. 1947) ** Helmut Schön, German football player and manager (b. 1915) * February 25 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian activist and actor (b. 1940) * February 26 – Mieczysław Weinberg, Polish composer (b. 1919) * February 27 – Sarah Palfrey Cooke, American tennis player (b. 1912)


March

* March 2 ** Jacobo Majluta Azar, 47th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1934) ** Lyle Talbot, American actor (b. 1902) * March 3 ** Marguerite Duras, French author and director (b. 1914) ** John Krol, American cardinal (b. 1910) * March 4 – Minnie Pearl, American comedian (b. 1912) * March 5 ** Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, 5th President of Bangladesh (b. 1918) ** Whit Bissell, American actor (b. 1909) * March 9 – George Burns, American comedian and actor (b. 1896) * March 10 – Ross Hunter, American film producer (b. 1920) * March 11 – Vince Edwards, American actor (b. 1928) * March 12 – Gyula Kállai, 48th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1910) * March 13 ** Lucio Fulci, Italian film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1927) ** Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish film director (b. 1941) * March 17 – René Clément, French film director (b. 1913) * March 18 – Odysseas Elytis, Greek writer (b. 1911) * March 19 ** Virginia Henderson, American nurse and theorist (b. 1897) ** Chen Jingrun, Chinese mathematician (b. 1933) * March 22 – Robert F. Overmyer, American astronaut (b. 1936) * March 25 – Lola Beltrán, Mexican singer, actress, and television presenter (b. 1932) * March 26 ** Edmund Muskie, American politician (b. 1914) ** David Packard, American engineer (b. 1912) * March 31 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American musician (b. 1958)


April

* April 3 – Ron Brown, American politician (b. 1941) * April 4 – Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918) * April 6 – Greer Garson, British-American actress (b. 1904) * April 8 – Ben Johnson (actor), Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918) * April 13 – James Burke (gangster), James Burke, Irish-American gangster (b. 1931) * April 16 – Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (b. 1917) * April 18 – Bernard Edwards, American bass player (b. 1952) * April 20 – Christopher Robin Milne, English author and bookseller (b. 1920) * April 21 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen politician and President of Ichkeria (b. 1944) * April 23 – P. L. Travers, British actress, journalist, novelist and writer (b. 1899) * April 25 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer (b. 1920) * April 26 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918) * April 28 – Siti Hartinah, 2nd First Lady of Indonesia (b. 1923)


May

* May 1 – David M. Kennedy (politician), David M. Kennedy, American politician, businessman (b. 1905) * May 2 – Emile Habibi, Palestinian Israeli writer and politician (b. 1922) * May 3 – Jack Weston, American actor (b. 1924) * May 6 – Leo Joseph Suenens, Belgian cardinal (b. 1904) * May 11 **Nnamdi Azikiwe, 1st President of Nigeria (b. 1904) ** Scott Fischer, American mountaineer (b. 1955) ** Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer (b. 1961) **Andy Harris (mountain guide), Andrew Harris, New Zealand mountaineer (b. 1964) **1996 Mount Everest disaster, Doug Hansen, American mountaineer (b. 1949) **Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (b. 1949) **1996 Mount Everest disaster, Tsewang Samanla, Indo-Tibetan Border police officer and mountaineer (b. 1957) **1996 Mount Everest disaster, Tsewang Paljor, Indo-Tibetan Border police officer and mountaineer (b. 1968) **1996 Mount Everest disaster, Dorje Morup, Indo-Tibetan Border police officer and mountaineer (b. 1948) **Ademir de Menezes, Brazilian footballer (b. 1922) * May 17 – Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1935) * May 19 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917) * May 20 – Jon Pertwee, British actor (b. 1919) * May 23 – Sim Iness, American Olympic athlete (b. 1930) * May 24 ** John Abbott (actor), John Abbott, English actor (b. 1905) ** Jacob Druckman, American composer (b. 1928) * May 25 – Bradley Nowell, American musician (b. 1968) * May 29 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American dancer and actress (b. 1919) * May 31 – Timothy Leary, American writer and social activist (b. 1920)


June

* June 1 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, 6th President of India (b. 1913) * June 2 ** John Alton, American cinematographer (b. 1901) ** Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano (b. 1928) * June 3 – Peter Glenville, English film director (b. 1913) * June 6 ** Kusuo Kitamura, Japanese Olympic swimmer (b. 1917) ** George Davis Snell, American Nobel geneticist (b. 1903) * June 10 – Jo Van Fleet, American actress (b. 1914) * June 11 – Brigitte Helm, German actress (b. 1908) * June 15 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917) * June 19 ** Hillevi Rombin, Swedish actress and beauty queen (b. 1933) ** Edvin Wide, Swedish middle- and long-distance runner (b. 1896) * June 23 ** Ray Lindwall, Australian cricketer (b. 1921) **
Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, ...
, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919) * June 26 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (b. 1958) * June 27 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer (b. 1909) * June 28 – Kwan Tak-hing, Hong Kong actor (b. 1905)


July

* July 1 – Margaux Hemingway, American fashion model and actress (b. 1954) * July 3 – Raaj Kumar, Indian film actor (b. 1926) * July 9 ** Eno Raud, Estonian writer (b. 1928) ** Sergey Kuryokhin, Russian pianist, composer, improvisor, performance artist and actor (b. 1954) * July 13 – Pandro S. Berman, American film producer (b. 1905) * July 15 – Dana Hill, American actress (b. 1964) * July 17 – Paul Touvier, French Nazi collaborator (b. 1915) * July 20 – František Plánička, Czech footballer (b. 1904) * July 21 ** Luana Anders, American actress (b. 1938) ** Herb Edelman, American actor (b. 1933) * July 22 – Jessica Mitford, British-American author, journalist and political campaigner (b. 1917) * July 23 – Jean Muir (actress), Jean Muir, American actress (b. 1911) * July 27 – Jane Drew, English architect (b. 1911) * July 28 – Roger Tory Peterson, American naturalist and artist (b. 1908) * July 30 – Claudette Colbert, American actress (b. 1903)


August

* August 1 ** Mohamed Farrah Aidid, Somali military commander and politician (b. 1934) ** Frida Boccara, French singer (b. 1940) ** Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss Nobel chemist (b. 1897) * August 2 ** Michel Debré, 99th Prime Minister of France (b. 1912) ** Obdulio Varela, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1917) * August 6 – Hernán Siles Zuazo, 46th President of Bolivia (b. 1914) * August 8 – Nevill Francis Mott, English Nobel physicist (b. 1905) * August 11 ** Rafael Kubelík, Czech-born Swiss conductor (b. 1914) ** Baba Vanga, Bulgarian mystic, clairvoyant and herbalist (b. 1911) * August 12 – Viktor Hambardzumyan, Armenian scientist (b. 1908) * August 13 ** António de Spínola, 14th President of Portugal (b. 1910) ** David Tudor, American pianist and composer (b. 1926) * August 26 – Alejandro Agustín Lanusse, 37th President of Argentina (b. 1918) * August 27 – Greg Morris, American actor (b. 1933) * August 30 – Christine Pascal, French actress, director and screenwriter (b. 1953)


September

* September 1 – Vagn Holmboe, Danish composer (b. 1909) * September 7 – Bibi Besch, American actress (b. 1942) * September 9 ** Ruggero Mastroianni, Italian film editor (b. 1929) ** Bill Monroe, American musician (b. 1911) * September 10 – Joanne Dru, American actress (b. 1922) * September 12 – Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general, 29th President of Brazil (b. 1907) * September 13 – Tupac Shakur, American rapper (b. 1971) * September 14 – Juliet Prowse, American dancer and actress (b. 1936) * September 16 ** McGeorge Bundy, American academic (b. 1919) ** Gene Nelson, American dancer and actor (b. 1920) * September 17 – Spiro Agnew, 39th Vice President of the United States (b. 1918) * September 18 – Annabella (actress), Annabella, French actress (b. 1907) * September 20 ** Murtaza Bhutto, Pakistani politician (b. 1954) ** Paul Erdős, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1913) ** Max Manus, Norwegian resistance fighter (b. 1914) * September 22 ** Mohamed Ben Ahmed Abdelghani, 1st Prime Minister of Algeria (b. 1927) ** Dorothy Lamour, American actress (b. 1914) * September 24 – Zeki Müren, Turkish singer, composer, songwriter, actor and poet (b. 1931) * September 26 ** Nicu Ceaușescu, Romanian politician (b. 1951) ** Pavel Sudoplatov, Soviet spy (b. 1907) ** Geoffrey Wilkinson, English Nobel chemist (b. 1921) * September 27 – Mohammad Najibullah, President of Afghanistan (b. 1947) * September 29 – Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (b. 1923)


October

* October 4 – Silvio Piola, Italian footballer (b. 1913) * October 5 – Seymour Cray, American computer scientist (b. 1925) * October 11 ** Renato Russo, Brazilian singer (b. 1960) ** William Vickrey, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914) * October 12 ** René Lacoste, French tennis player (b. 1904) ** Roger Lapébie, French racing cyclist (b. 1911) * October 13 – Beryl Reid, British actress (b. 1919) * October 19 – Shamsuddin Qasemi, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (b. 1935) * October 24 – Artur Axmann, German Nazi leader (b. 1913) * October 31 – Marcel Carné, French film director (b. 1909)


November

* November 1 – J. R. Jayewardene, 2nd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1906) * November 2 – Eva Cassidy, American vocalist (b. 1963) * November 3 ** Jean-Bédel Bokassa, 2nd President of the Central African Republic and Emperor of Central Africa (b. 1921) ** Abdullah Çatlı, Turkish nationalist (b. 1956) * November 6 – Tommy Lawton, English footballer and manager (b. 1919) * November 14 ** Joseph Bernardin, American cardinal (b. 1928) ** Virginia Cherrill, American actress (b. 1908) * November 15 – Alger Hiss, American diplomat (b. 1904) * November 18 – Zinovy Gerdt, Russian actor (b. 1916) * November 21 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani Nobel physicist (b. 1926) * November 22 – María Casares, French-Spanish actress (b. 1922) * November 26 – Paul Rand, American graphic designer (b. 1914) * November 27 – Gertrude Blanch, American mathematician (b. 1897) * November 28 – Don McNeill (tennis), Don McNeill, American tennis player (b. 1918) * November 30 – Tiny Tim (musician), Tiny Tim, American musician (b. 1932)


December

* December 3 – Babrak Karmal, President of Afghanistan (b. 1929) * December 7 – José Donoso, Chilean writer (b. 1924) * December 9 – Mary Leakey, British archaeologist (b. 1913) * December 10 – Faron Young, American singer (b. 1932) * December 11 – Willie Rushton, English comedian, actor and cartoonist (b. 1937) * December 13 – Cao Yu, Chinese playwright (b. 1910) * December 16 – Quentin Bell, English biographer and art historian (b. 1910) ** Laurens van der Post, South African author (b. 1906) * December 17 – Stanko Todorov, Bulgarian communist politician (b. 1920) * December 18 – Irving Caesar, American lyricist (b. 1895) * December 19 – Marcello Mastroianni, Italian actor (b. 1924) * December 20 ** Amata Kabua, 1st President of the Marshall Islands (b. 1928) ** Carl Sagan, American astronomer (b. 1934) * December 30 ** Lew Ayres, American actor (b. 1908) ** Jack Nance, American actor (b. 1943)


Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff, Robert Coleman Richardson, Robert C. Richardson * Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Robert Curl, Sir Harold Kroto, Richard Smalley * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Medicine – Peter C. Doherty, Rolf M. Zinkernagel * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Wisława Szymborska * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta * Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – James Mirrlees, William Vickrey


Right Livelihood Award

* Herman Daly, The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad and George Vithoulkas


References


1996 Year in Review
– CNN {{DEFAULTSORT:1996 1996, Leap years in the Gregorian calendar