January 1991 encyclopedia topics

Events of 1991

January

January 1 - The Colorado Buffaloes claim college football's national championship with a 10-9 win over Notre Dame in the 1991 Orange Bowl. Controversy reigns as Colorado wins the AP poll, but Georgia Tech, the nation's only unbeaten team (with one tie), edges Colorado to win the UPI national championship by one point.
January 4 - The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to condemn Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.
January 11 - Soviet forces storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence.
January 12 - Gulf War: The Congress of the United States passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to liberate Kuwait.
January 13 - Soviet troops assault the Vilnius TV tower in Lithuania and kill 14 unarmed civilians; many more are injured.
January 13 - A fight and stampede at a pre-season exhibition match between South African football teams Chiefs and Pirates in the town of Orkney near Johannesburg, South Africa leaves 42 dead.
January 14 - Three PLO guerilla chiefs are assassinated in Tunis.
January 15 - The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
January 16 - U.S. serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men.
January 16 - Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins with air strikes against Iraq.
January 17 - Gulf War: Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel.
January 17 - Harald V of Norway becomes king on the death of his father, Olav V.
January 18 - Eastern Air Lines shuts down after 62 years, citing financial problems.
January 19 - Twenty-nine people are injured by a SCUD attack on Tel Aviv.
January 19 - The Party of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of Angola is founded in Luanda, Angola.
January 22 - Three SCUDs and one Patriot missile hit Ramat Gan in Israel, injuring 96 people. Three elderly people die of heart attacks.
January 26 - Somalia President Siad Barre flees his compound in Mogadishu.
January 27 - The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
January 29 - Siad Barre is succeeded by Ali Mahdi Muhammad in Somalia.

February

February 1 - A USAir Boeing 737-300, Flight 1493 collides with a Skywest Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport killing 34.
February 5 - A Michigan court bars Dr. Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
February 7

Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.

February 9 - Voters in Lithuania support independence.
February 11 - UNPO, the Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization, forms in The Hague, Netherlands.
February 13 - Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing hundreds of Iraqis. United States military intelligence claimed it was a military facility but Iraqi officials identified it as a bomb shelter.
February 15 - The Visegrad Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
February 18 - The Provisional Irish Republican Army explodes bombs in the early morning at both Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
February 22 - Gulf War: Iraq accepts a Russian-proposed cease fire agreement. The U.S. rejects the agreement, but said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked if they left Kuwait within 24 hours.
February 23

The One Meridian Plaza fire kills three firefighters and destroys eight floors of the building.
Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Kuwait, thus starting the ground phase of the war.

February 23 - In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong deposes Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan in a bloodless coup d'état.
February 25 - Gulf War: Part of an Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 29 and injuring 99 U.S. soldiers. It is the single, most devastating attack on U.S. forces during that war.
February 26 - Gulf War: On Baghdad radio, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat.

March

March-April - Iraqi forces suppress rebellions in the southern and northern parts of the country, creating a humanitarian disaster on the borders of Turkey and Iran.
March 1

The ballistic missile submarine USS-ex-Sam Houston SSBN-609 is deactivated.
Clayton Keith Yeutter finishes as the United States Secretary of Agriculture.

March 3

An investigative journalism piece airs on 60 Minutes about Werner Erhard, in which family members alleged physical and sexual abuse. Erhard had left the United States prior to the broadcast.
An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles, California police officers.
Latvia and Estonia vote for independence from the Soviet Union.

March 9 - Massive demonstrations are held against Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade; 2 people are killed and tanks are in the streets.
March 10 - Gulf War: Operation Phase Echo - 540,000 American troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf.
March 11 - A curfew is imposed on black townships in South Africa after fighting between rival political gangs kills 49.
March 13 - The United States Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
March 14 - After 16 years in prison for allegedly bombing a pub in an Irish Republican Army attack, the "Birmingham Six" are freed when a court determines that the police fabricated evidence.
March 15

Four Los Angeles, California police officers are indicted for the videotaped March 3 beating of motorist Rodney King during an arrest.
Germany formally regains complete independence after the 4 post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.

March 30 - Northern Michigan University wins the NCAA Division I title in hockey, 8-7 in the third overtime against Boston University.
March 31 - Albania has its first multi-party elections.
March 31 - Georgia votes for independence from the Soviet Union in the Georgian independence referendum, 1991.

April

April 3 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.N. Security Council passes the Cease Fire Agreement, Resolution 687. The resolution calls for the destruction or removal of all of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons, all stocks of agents and components, and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities for ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km and production facilities; and for an end to its support for international terrorism. Iraq accepts the terms of the resolution on April 6.
April 4

Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania.
William Kennedy Smith, a nephew of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, is identified as a suspect in an alleged Palm Beach, Florida sexual assault.

April 5 - Former Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia, United States.
April 9 - The Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia declares independence.
April 10

A South Atlantic tropical cyclone develops in the Southern Hemisphere off the coast of Angola (the first of its kind to be documented by weather satellites).
Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy killing 140.

April 14 - In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Less than an hour later they are found in an abandoned car near the museum.
April 17 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, at 3,004.46.
April 18 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq declares some of its chemical weapons and materials to the UN, as required by Resolution 687, and claims that it does not have a biological weapons program.
April 26 - 70 tornadoes break out in the central United States, killing 17. The most notable tornado of the day strikes Andover, Kansas.
April 29 - A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 138,000 people.

May

May 15 - Édith Cresson becomes France's first female premier.
May 21

In Madras, India, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated.
Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.

May 24 - Authorised by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Operation Solomon commences.
May 26 - In Thailand, a Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashes near Bangkok, killing all 223 people on-board.
May 28 - The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Minnesota North Stars 8-0 in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
May 29 - In Bari, Red Star Belgrade wins European Cup in football.

June

June 3 - Mount Unzen erupts, killing 43 people as a result of pyroclastic flow.
June 9 - A major collapse of ground at the Emaswati Colliery in Swaziland traps 26 miners 65 m below the surface. The men have access to a safe refuge chamber and are all rescued by a drill hole 30 hours after the rescue unit was first alerted.
June 12 - Boris Yeltsin is elected President of Russia, the largest and most populous of the fifteen Soviet republics.
June 12 - The Chicago Bulls win their 1st NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the best-of-7 series 4 games to 1.
June 13 - A spectator is killed by lightning at the U.S. Open.
June 15

In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in what would be the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century; the final death toll would be over three hundred.
Nagano, Japan is chose as host city of 1998 Winter Olympics.

June 17 - Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
June 17 - U.S. President Zachary Taylor is exhumed to discover whether or not his death was caused by arsenic poisoning, instead of acute gastrointestinal illness; no trace of arsenic is found.
June 23-June 28 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.N. inspection teams attempt to intercept Iraqi vehicles carrying nuclear related equipment. Iraqi soldiers fire warning shots in the air to prevent inspectors from approaching the vehicles.
June 25 -Collapse of Yugoslavia: Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia.
June 30 - Portugal wins the FIFA U-20 World Cup defeating Brazil on the final by 4-2, after penalty shoot out, in Lisbon, Portugal.

July

July 1 - The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.
July 7 - The Brioni Agreement ends the 10-day war in Slovenia.
July 10 - Boris Yeltsin begins his 5-year term as the first elected president of Russia.
July 11 - Solar Eclipse of record totality occurs.
July 22 - Boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with raping, three days earlier, Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington in Indianapolis, Indiana.
July 22 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of 11 men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Police soon found out that he is involved in 6 more murders.
July 24 - The government of India announces its New Industrial Policy, marking the start of India's economic reforms.
July 26 - Actor Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman) is arrested in a Sarasota, Florida theater for publicly masturbating.

August

August 6 - Tim Berners-Lee releases an article describing his idea for the "World Wide Web." on the alt.hypertext network.
August 7 - on reading the Tim Berners-Lee article Martin Nolan writes a short paper describing his plans for the WWW

Shapour Bakhtiar, former prime minister of Iran, is assassinated.

August 8 - The Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
August 13 - The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or "Super Nintendo" is released in the United States.
August 17 - Strathfield Massacre: In Sydney, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.
August 19 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is put under house arrest while vacationing in the Crimea during a coup. The attempted coup, led by Vice President Gennady Yanayev and seven hard-liners, collapses in less than 72 hours.
August 20 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Estonia declares its independence from the Soviet Union, and more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup that deposed President Mikhail Gorbachev.
August 21 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Latvia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
August 24 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Ukraine declares independence from Soviet Union.
August 25

Student Linus Torvalds posts messages to a Usenet newsgroup comp.os.minix about the new operating system kernel he has been developing.
Michael Schumacher makes his Formula 1 debut in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Collapse of the Soviet Union: Belarus declares independence from Soviet Union.

August 27 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Moldova declares independence from the Soviet Union.
August 29 - Maronite general Michel Aoun leaves Lebanon via a French ship into exile.
August 30 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union.
August 31 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan declare independence from the Soviet Union.

September

September 2 - The United States recognizes the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
September 3 - In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people.
September 5-September 7 - At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium in Las Vegas, 83 women and seven men are assaulted.
September 6

The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic States.
The name Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia's second-largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad in 1924.

September 8 - The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
September 17 - North Korea, South Korea, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
September 19 - Ötzi the Iceman is found in the Alps.
September 20-September 21 - In Sandy, Utah several patients are held hostage and a nurse is killed in the Alta View Hospital hostage incident.
September 21 - Armenia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
September 21-September 30 - Iraq disarmament crisis: IAEA inspectors discover files on Iraq's hidden nuclear weapons program. Iraqi officials confiscate documents from UN weapons inspectors, refusing to allow them to leave the site without turning over other documents. A 4-day standoff ensues. Iraq permits the team to leave with the documents after the UN Security Council threatens enforcement actions.
September 21 - The Order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence of German tongue (Orden der Schwestern der Perpetuellen Indulgenz deutscher Zunge, "O.S.P.I.") is founded in Heidelberg by Erzmutter (Archmother) Johanna Indulgentia Tara Maria Benedicta O.S.P.I.
September 22 - The Huntington Library makes the Dead Sea Scrolls available to the public for the first time.
September 30 - Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed from power.
September 30 - A twister destroys parts of Itu, a city in southeastern Brazil, killing 16 and leaving 176 injured.

October

October 2 - Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton announces he will seek the 1992 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
October 5 - The Croatian Parliament cuts all remaining ties with Yugoslavia.
October 11

In Russia, the KGB is replaced by the SVR.
Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 715, which demands that Iraq "accept unconditionally the inspectors and all other personnel designated by the Special Commission". Iraq rejects the resolution, calling it "unlawful".

October 11-October 13 - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews both Supreme Court candidate Clarence Thomas and former aide Anita Hill, who alleges that Thomas sexually harassed her while she worked for him.
October 12 - Askar Akayev, previously chosen President of Kyrgyzstan by its Supreme Soviet, is confirmed president in an uncontested poll.
October 14 - Bulgarian right wing opposition celebrates the end of the rule of the Bulgarian Communist Party.
October 15 - United States Senate votes 52-48 to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States.
October 16 - George Hennard guns down 24 people in Killeen, Texas before killing himself.
October 20

The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments.
The Harare Declaration lays down the membership criteria for the Commonwealth of Nations.

October 27

The first free parliamentary elections are held in Poland.
Turkmenistan declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
The Minnesota Twins win the World Series.

October 29 - The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.

November

November 2 - Australia beats England 12-6 at Twickenham Stadium to win the Rugby World Cup.
November 5

The body of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell is found floating in the Atlantic Ocean.
David Duke, a white supremacist running as a Republican, loses the Louisiana Governor's race to Democratic candidate Edwin Edwards, by an overwhelming margin.

November 6 - The KGB officially stops operations.
November 7

Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his career in the NBA.
The last oil well fire in Kuwait is extinguished.
The first report on Carbon nanotubes is published by Sumio Iijima in the journal Nature.

November 9 - JET fusion reactor generated 1.5 MW output power.

November 14

American and British authorities announce indictments against 2 Libyan intelligence officials, in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.
Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after 13 years of exile.

November 18

Kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland free.
Serb troops take Vukovar after an 87-day siege and commit the worst massacre in Croatian history.

November 27 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution opening the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.

December

December 1 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Ukrainians vote overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union in a referendum.
December 4

Journalist C Pecho Samere Terry A. Anderson is released after 7 years' captivity as a hostage in Beirut (he was the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).
Pan American World Airways ends operations.

December 8

Leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine meet and sign an agreement ending the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Nature Reserve in Belarus.
A referendum on the constitution of Romania is accepted as valid.

December 12 - The Russian SFSR ceases to be a part of the Soviet Union.
December 15 - The Egyptian ferry Salem Express sinks in the Red Sea, killing more than 450.
December 19 - Paul Keating replaces Bob Hawke as the new prime minister of Australia.
December 20 - A Missouri court passes the death sentence on Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
December 22 - One month after Freddie Mercury's death, Queen's re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody returns to the top of the British singles charts, 16 years after the original version.
December 25 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union, from which most republics have already disbanded; the 73-year-old state is now expected to dissolve completely.
December 26 - The Supreme Soviet meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union.
December 31 - The Soviet Union officially ceases to exist.