1991 in the United States

1991 in the United States
Events from the year 1991 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: George H. W. Bush (R-Texas)
Vice President: Dan Quayle (R-Indiana)
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (Wisconsin)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Tom Foley (D-Washington)
Senate Majority Leader: George J. Mitchell (D-Maine)
Congress: 101st (until January 3), 102nd (starting January 3)
Events
January
January 2 – Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of the District of Columbia, becoming the first African-American woman to be mayor of a major U.S. city.
January 7 – United States Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney cancels the $57,000,000,000 order for the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II.
January 8 – Pan American World Airways files for bankruptcy protection.
January 9 – United States Secretary of State James Baker meets with Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz, but fails to produce a plan for Iraq to withdraw its troops from Kuwait.
January 12 – Gulf War: The Congress of the United States passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to liberate Kuwait.
January 16 – U.S. serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men.
January 17 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins with airstrikes against Iraq.
January 18 – Eastern Air Lines ceases operations after flying for two years under bankruptcy protection.
January 25 – President George H. W. Bush names Rep. Edward Rell Madigan as United States Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Clayton Keith Yeutter, who had been elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
January 26 – In Washington, D.C., tens of thousands of people rally against the Persian Gulf War.
January 27 – Super Bowl XXV: The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20–19 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
January 29
George H. W. Bush delivers his second State of the Union Address.
The first attempt to cure cancer by gene therapy takes place at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.
February
February – The early 1990s recession ends.
February 1 – A USAir Boeing 737-300, Flight 1493 collides with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport, killing 34 people.
February 5 – A Michigan court bars Dr. Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
February 7 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Kuwait, thus starting the ground phase of the war.
February 9 – The Adventures of Pete & Pete debuts on Nickelodeon.
February 13 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided bombs destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing 314 Iraqis including 130 children. United States military intelligence claims the structure was transmitting military signals but Iraqi officials identify it as a bomb shelter.
February 22 – Gulf War: Iraq accepts a Russian-proposed cease fire agreement. The U.S. rejects the agreement, but says that retreating Iraqi forces will not be attacked if they leave Kuwait within 24 hours.
February 23 – The One Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania kills three firefighters and destroys eight floors of the building.
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 the war.
February 26 – Gulf War: On Baghdad radio, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat.
February 27 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated".
February 28 – Impostor James Hogue is exposed at Princeton University.
March
March 1 – Clayton Keith Yeutter leaves his position as the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
March 3
An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles, California police officers.
United Airlines Flight 585 crashes in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing all 25 people on board.
March 10 – Gulf War – Operation Phase Echo: 540,000 American troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf.
March 13 – The United States Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1,000,000,000 for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
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 four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
March 18 – Get the Picture debuts on Nickelodeon.
March 25 – The 63rd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves wins seven awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast garners nearly 43 million viewers.
March 30 – Northern Michigan University wins the NCAA Division I title in hockey, 8–7 in the third overtime against Boston University.
April
April 4
Merion air disaster: 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 Ted Kennedy, is identified as a suspect in an alleged Palm Beach, Florida sexual assault.
1991 Sacramento hostage crisis: Four gunmen take 41 people hostage at a Good Guys! electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three hostages, as well as three of the four hostage-takers, are killed.
April 5 – Former Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia.
April 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, at 3,004.46.
April 26 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States, killing 17 people. The most notable tornado of the day strikes Andover, Kansas.
May
May 3 – Wisconsin Butter Fire in Madison.
May 5 – 1991 Washington, D.C. riot: A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadorean man.
May 6 – Time magazine publishes "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", an article highly critical of the Scientology organization.
May 16 – Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.
May 25 – The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Minnesota North Stars 8–0 in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
June
June 5 – STS-40: Space Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab Life Sciences 1 module into orbit.
June 10 – As she was finishing school for the day, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped. She will not be found for 18 years.
June 12 – The Chicago Bulls win their first NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers.
June 13 – A spectator is killed by lightning at the U.S. Open.
June 17 – 12th U.S. President Zachary Taylor, who died 141 years earlier in 1850, 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 – Sonic the Hedgehog is released in the United States. Nearly one million copies were sold in the United States by Christmas 1991, and nearly 2 million copies were sold worldwide by the end of 1991.
June 27 – Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall announces his retirement from the Supreme Court due to declining health. In his retirement press conference on the following day, he expressed his view that race should not be the basis in selecting his successor.
June 28 – The 5.6 Sierra Madre earthquake shook the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing two deaths, 27–40 injuries, and $33.5–40 million in losses.
July
July 1 – President George H. W. Bush nominates Clarence Thomas as the replacement for Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall.
July 4 – Salute Your Shorts debuts on Nickelodeon.
July 11 – A solar Eclipse of record totality occurs, seen first in Hawaii. It then entered Mexico with the path directly crossing Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City, where it was seen by 20,000,000 inhabitants, and finally ended in Colombia in South America.
July 22
Boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with raping Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington three days earlier, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of eleven men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Police soon find out that he is involved in six more murders.
July 31 – The United States and the Soviet Union sign the START I treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons.
August
August 11 – Nickelodeon introduces its series of Nicktoons, with Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show the first three to air.
August 19 – Hurricane Bob hits the Northeastern United States.
August 23 – The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or "Super Nintendo") is first released in the United States.
August 31 – What Would You Do? debuts on Nickelodeon.
September
September 2 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: 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 8–12 – Tailhook scandal: At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium in Las Vegas, 83 women and seven men are assaulted.
September 11 – Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Texas.
September 16 – The trial of the deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega begins in the United States.
September 20–21 – In Sandy, Utah, several patients are held hostage and a nurse is killed in the Alta View Hospital hostage incident.
September 24 – Nirvana releases their most popular album, Nevermind, which ultimately sells 11 million copies in the United States.
October
October 2 – Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton announces he will seek the 1992 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
October 11–13 – 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 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 a restaurant in Killeen, Texas before committing suicide. It would be the largest mass shooting by a single person in the United States until 2007.
October 20 – The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 people and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments.
October 27 – The Minnesota Twins win the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
October 29 – The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.
November
November 1 – University of Iowa shooting: Former alumnus Gang Lu kills five people before committing suicide.
November 5 – David Duke, a white separatist running as a Republican, loses the Louisiana Governor's race to Democratic candidate Edwin Edwards, by an overwhelming margin despite winning the majority of the white vote.
November 7 – Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his NBA career.
November 14
American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
In Royal Oak, Michigan, a fired United States Postal Service employee goes on a shooting rampage, killing four people and wounding five others before committing suicide.
November 22 – Walt Disney Pictures' 30th feature film, Beauty and the Beast, is released, receiving widespread acclaim and box office success, later becoming the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards in early 1992.
November 24 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies from AIDS at 45 years old, one day after making his diagnosis public.
November 30 – The United States win the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in China against Norway in the Final.
December
December 4 – Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years' captivity as a hostage in Beirut (the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).
December 7 – The 50th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
December 20 – A Missouri court imposes a death sentence on Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria, for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
December 25–26 – The Cold War ends as President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union dissolves.
Undated
Able Newspaper, a monthly journal is founded.
Corelis, a private company is founded in Cerritos, California.
EOS CCA, a private debt collection business is founded.
Lawyers Have Heart event is founded in Washington, D.C.
Ongoing
Cold War (1947–1991)
Gulf War (1990–1991)
Iraqi no-fly zones (1991–2003)
Births
January
January 1
Darius Slay, football player
Mark L. Young, actor
January 4
Alexandra Grey, actress, singer/songwriter, and producer
Charles Melton, actor and model
January 8
Shaun Abreu, politician and tenants' rights attorney
Zachary Donohue, ice dancer
January 9 – 3LAU, DJ and electronic dance music producer
January 12
Raquel González, wrestler
Alex Wood, baseball player
January 14 – Jeanine Mason, actress and dancer
January 17
Trevor Bauer, baseball player
Willa Fitzgerald, actress
Alise Willoughby, BMX racer
January 19 – Erin Sanders, actress
January 20 – Ciara Hanna, actress and model
January 23 – Steve Birnbaum, soccer player
January 26 – Rachel DiPillo, actress
January 27 – Daniel Hemric, stock car driver
January 28
Mallory Burdette, tennis player
C.J. Harris, singer (d. 2023)
January 30 – videogamedunkey, YouTuber
January 31 – Trinity K. Bonet, drag queen
February
February 1 – Jasmine Tookes, model
February 2 – Matthew Boyd, baseball player
February 3
Gavin Escobar, football player (d. 2022)
Glenn McCuen, actor, model and gymnast
February 5 – Kelvin Benjamin, football player
February 7 – Gabbie Hanna, YouTuber
February 9 – Logan Ryan, football player
February 10
C. J. Anderson, football player
Emma Roberts, actress
February 11 – Christofer Drew, singer
February 12
Casey Abrams, singer
Devin Patrick Kelley, mass murderer
February 14 – J.J. Wilcox, football player
February 15 – Rich Swann, wrestler
February 16
Maurice Alexander, football player
Terrence Boyd, soccer player
Micah Stephen Williams, actor
February 17 – Jeremy Allen White, actor
February 18 – Malese Jow, actress and singer
February 19
Trevor Bayne, race car driver
Lina Hidalgo, politician and judge
Adreian Payne, basketball player (d. 2022)
February 22
Mariah Bullock, American-born Samoan footballer
Khalil Mack, American football player
February 24
Emily DiDonato, model
Madison Hubbell, ice dancer
O'Shea Jackson Jr., rapper, actor, and son of Ice Cube
February 25
Levi Benton, singer and frontman for Miss May I
Kristie Mewis, soccer player
Tony Oller, actor and singer
February 27 – Carmela Zumbado, actress
March
March 6
Nicole Fox, fashion model and actress
Lex Luger, musician and record producer
Tyler, the Creator, rapper
March 7
Chuck Aoki, Paralympic wheelchair rugby player and a former wheelchair basketball player
Ian Clark, basketball player
March 8
Kina Collins, community organizer, activist, and political candidate
Devon Werkheiser, actor, singer-songwriter, and musician
March 16
Reggie Bullock, basketball player
Wolfgang Van Halen, musician
March 18 – Travis Frederick, American football player
March 19
Garrett Clayton, actor, dancer and singer
Ian Terry, television personality
March 23 – Madelyn Deutch, actress, director, musician, and writer
March 25 – Seychelle Gabriel, actress
March 26 – Ari Lennox, R&B singer
March 28
Amy Bruckner, actress and singer
Derek Carr, quarterback
March 29 – Hayley McFarland, actress
March 30
Mia Carruthers, singer/songwriter
Joey Cook, singer
March 31 – Lukas Magyar, singer and frontman for Veil of Maya
April
April 2 – Quavo, rapper
April 3 – Hayley Kiyoko, singer and actress
April 4
Jamie Lynn Spears, actress and sister of Britney Spears
Jacquelyn Jablonski, model
Manuel Gutierrez Jr., makeup YouTuber
April 5 – Hunter March, TV host, actor and producer
April 8 – Carl Martin (politician), member of the West Virginia House of Delegates
April 10
Conor Leslie, actress and model
AJ Michalka, singer and actress
Royce White, basketball player and civil rights activist
April 11
Brennan Poole, racing driver
Telvin Smith, American football player
April 12 – Jack Cooley, basketball player
April 13 – Dylan Penn, model and actress
April 15 – Jordan Anderson, professional stock car racing driver and team owner
April 16 – Nolan Arenado, baseball player
April 19 – Kelly Olynyk, basketball player
April 20
Luke Kuechly, football player
Allie Will, tennis player
April 22 – Nick Comoroto, pro wrestler
April 23
Britt Baker, professional wrestler and dentist
Caleb Johnson, singer
April 25 – Alex Shibutani, ice dancer
April 27 – Darren Barnet, actor
April 28 – Cheslie Kryst, beauty queen and television correspondent (d. 2022)
April 30 – Travis Scott, rapper
May
May 1
Creagen Dow, actor, producer, and screenwriter
Marcus Stroman, baseball player
Bradley Roby, football player
May 7
Rueben Randle, football player
Devyn A. Tyler, actress
May 10 – Kenny Beats, record producer
May 12
Jennifer Damiano, Filipino singer and actor
Kelsey Lu, singer
May 13 – Scarlett Bordeaux, professional wrestler and model
May 14 – Ryland Adams, YouTuber and internet personality
May 15 – Nate Wolters, basketball player
May 16 – Joey Graceffa, internet personality, actor and author
May 17
Daniel Curtis Lee, actor, comedian, and rapper
DJ Akademiks, Jamaican-American blogger
May 19 – Brittani Kline, model
May 21 – Sarah Ramos, actress
May 23 – Aaron Donald, football player
May 24 – Drew Binsky, travel blogger and vlogger
May 25 – Derrick Williams, basketball player
May 26 – Julianna Rose Mauriello, stage actress
May 27 – Zeke Upshaw, basketball player (d. 2018)
May 29 – Kristen Alderson, actress
May 31
Farrah Abraham, reality television personality
Azealia Banks, rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress
June
June 1 – Zazie Beetz, German-born actress
June 3 – Pico Alexander, actor
June 4
Jordan Hinson, actress
Quincy, actor and singer
Sykkuno, streamer
June 5 – Tyler Blevins, gamer
June 7
Emily Ratajkowski, model and actress
Fetty Wap, rapper
June 10 – Alexa Knierim, pair skater
June 12 – Louisa Gummer, model
June 15 – Hasim Rahman Jr., boxer
June 18 – Willa Holland, model and actress
June 19 – Jake Heaps, football player
June 20 – Alexis Haines, television personality and model
June 21 – Tyler Childers, singer/songwriter
June 22 – Shoe0nHead, political YouTuber
June 23 – Katie Armiger, singer
June 24
Dexter Darden, actor
Max Ehrich, actor
June 25 – Jessika Carr, wrestler
June 26 – Amanda Cerny, YouTuber
June 27
Rayvon Owen, singer
Kyle Smaine, freestyle skier (d. 2023)
Madylin Sweeten, actress
June 29
Kawhi Leonard, basketball player
Addison Timlin, actress
July
July 1 – Michael Wacha, baseball player
July 3
Cameron Brate, football player
Grant Rosenmeyer, actor
July 5 – Jason Dolley, actor
July 9
Mitchel Musso, actor, musician and singer
Riley Reid, pornographic actress
July 11 – Tom Shields, Olympic swimmer
July 12
Erik Per Sullivan, actor
Dexter Roberts, singer
July 14 – Diamante, wrestler
July 15 – Derrick Favors, basketball player
July 16
Nate Schmidt, ice hockey player
Alexandra Shipp, actress
July 18 – Karina Pasian, singer and pianist
July 20 – Alec Burks, basketball player
July 24 – Natalie 'Ninja' Duran, rock climber, television personality, and fitness model
July 25 – Hasan Piker, progressive YouTuber
July 27 – Matt DiBenedetto, race car driver
July 29 – Maestro Harrell, actor
July 30 – Jason Richardson, guitarist for Born of Osiris and Chelsea Grin
August
August 2 – Skyler Day, actress and singer
August 5 – Brooke Marie Bridges, actress
August 7 – Mike Trout, baseball player
August 9 – Alexa Bliss, wrestler
August 10 – Maci Bookout, reality star
August 12 – Lakeith Stanfield, actor
August 15 – Jon Moscot, American-born Israeli baseball player
August 16
Bia, rapper
Young Thug, hip hop artist
Hayley Chase, actress
August 17 – Austin Butler, actor
August 18 – Brianna Rollins-McNeal, Olympic track and field athlete
August 19 – Alison Parker, news reporter (died 2015)
August 23 – Chris Hubbard, football player
August 26
Ruby Aldridge, fashion model
Ryan Burroughs, rugby player
Jessie Diggins, cross-country skier
Dylan O'Brien, actor
August 28
Kyle Massey, actor
Samuel Larsen, actor and singer
September
September 4 – Carter Jenkins, actor
September 6
Tyler Austin, baseball player
Joe Harris, basketball player
September 9
Kelsey Asbille, actress
Lauren Daigle, singer/songwriter
Hunter Hayes, singer/songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist
September 10 – Hannah Hodson, actress
September 11 – Zach Holmes, stunt performer and television personality
September 14
Ronnie Hillman, American football player (d. 2022)
Shayne Topp, actor and comedian
September 15 – Mike Perry, martial artist
September 17
Scott Hoying, musician
Melanie Moore, dancer
September 19 – Keah Brown, activist
September 22 – Chelsea Tavares, actress
September 23 – Melanie Oudin, tennis player
September 25
Emmy Clarke, actress
Alexander Rossi, race car driver
September 29 – Botham Jean, murder victim
September 30
David Bakhtiari, football player
Mat Madiro, drummer
October
October 1
Gus Kenworthy, British-born Olympic freestyle skier, actor, and YouTuber
Sam Shankland, chess player
October 4 – Cole Hawkins, actor
October 5 – Jackson Rogow, actor
October 6 – Roshon Fegan, actor
October 7 – Nicole Jung, singer
October 10 – Michael Carter-Williams, basketball player
October 11 – Toby Fox, video game developer and composer
October 18 – Tyler Posey, actor and musician
October 19
Colton Dixon, musician
Christopher Gerse, actor
October 20 – Kirsten Olson, figure skater and actress
October 23 – Sophie Oda, Japanese-American actress
October 26 – Evan Gershkovich, journalist
October 27 – Bryan Craig, actor
October 29
Trey Burton, football player
Marcus Lattimore, football player
October 31 – Kenny Hilliard, football player
November
November 1 – Anthony Ramos, actor
November 4
Bee Vang, actor
Adriana Chechik, pornographic actress
November 6 – Pierson Fodé, actor and model
November 8 – Riker Lynch, singer and actor
November 11 – Christa B. Allen, actress
November 13 – Matt Bennett, actor
November 14
Beau Allen, football player
Graham Patrick Martin, film and television actor
November 15 – Shailene Woodley, actress
November 20 – Lily Ki, internet personality
November 25
Kyler Fackrell, American football player
Jamie Grace, musician and actress
Kevin Woo, American-born South Korean singer and dancer
December
December 1
Rakeem Christmas, basketball player
Noel Acciari, ice hockey player
December 2
Brandon Knight, basketball player
Charlie Puth, singer
December 4
Hayley Arceneaux, youngest American in space and first astronaut with a prosthetic limb
Reality Winner, intelligence specialist convicted of espionage
December 5 – Christian Yelich, baseball player
December 6
Jeramey Anderson, politician
CoCo Vandeweghe, tennis player
December 7 – Nick Perry, football player and coach
December 9 – PnB Rock, rapper (d. 2022)
December 10
Dion Waiters, basketball player
Eric Reid, American football player
December 12
Jasmine Murray, singer
Wallis Currie-Wood, actress
December 13 – Jay Greenberg, composer
December 14 – Offset, rapper
December 15
Eunice Cho, actress
Conor Daly, race car driver
Alana Haim, musician and actress
December 17 – Daniel Tay, actor
December 18 – John Allen Chau, missionary (d. 2018)
December 19
Libe Barer, actress
Tyler Clementi, bullying victim (d. 2010)
Edwin Jackson, football player (d. 2018)
December 20
Hunter Gomez, actor
Jillian Rose Reed, actress
Colin Woodell, actor
December 22 – DaBaby, rapper
December 24 – Vincent Caso, actor and entrepreneur
December 26
Jackson Jeffcoat, football player
Eden Sher, actress
December 27 – Chloe Bridges, actress
December 30 – Tyler Carter, musician, singer/songwriter, and frontman for ISSUES (2012-2020) and Woe, Is Me (2009-2011)
Full date unknown
Topher, rapper
Deaths
January
January 3 – Luke Appling, American baseball player (Chicago White Sox) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1907)
January 7 – Everett Bidwell, American politician (b. 1899)
January 11 – Carl David Anderson, American physicist (b. 1905)
January 12 – Mary Francis Shura, American writer (b. 1923)
January 18 – Hamilton Fish III, American soldier and politician (b. 1888)
January 19 – John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)
January 28 – Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)
January 29 – John McIntire, American actor (b. 1907)
January 30
John Bardeen, American physicist (b. 1908)
Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (b. 1907)
February
February 1 – Carol Dempster, American actress (b. 1901)
February 2 – Pete Axthelm, American sportswriter (b. 1943)
February 3
Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
Ed Russenholt, first US weather presenter (b. 1890)
February 5 – Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
February 6 – Danny Thomas, American singer, comedian, and actor (b. 1912)
February 10 – Bernard Lee, American civil rights activist (b. 1935)
February 14
John A. McCone, American politician (b. 1902)
Neta Snook, American aviator (b. 1896)
February 21 – John Sherman Cooper, American politician (b. 1901)
February 24
George Gobel, American comedian (b. 1919)
Jean Rogers, American actress (b. 1916)
March
March 3 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and dance instructor (b. 1895)
March 7 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player (b. 1903)
March 14
Howard Ashman, American lyricist (b. 1950)
Doc Pomus, American composer (b. 1925)
March 15 – George Sherman, American film director (b. 1908)
March 18 – Vilma Bánky, Hungarian-born actress (b. 1901)
March 21 – Leo Fender, American instrument maker (b. 1909)
March 23 – Margaret Atwood Judson, historian and author (b. 1899)
March 27 – Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
March 29 – Lee Atwater, American political consultant and strategist (b. 1951)
April
April 1 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
April 3 – Charles Goren, American bridge player, writer, and columnist (b. 1901)
April 4 – John Heinz, American politician (b. 1938)
April 5
Sonny Carter, American astronaut (b. 1947)
John Tower, American politician (b. 1925)
April 7 – Ruth Page, American ballerina and choreographer (b. 1899)
April 9 – Forrest Towns, American Olympic athlete (b. 1914)
April 10
Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)
Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
April 11 – Dick Manning, Russian-born American songwriter (b. 1912)
April 20 – Don Siegel, American film director (b. 1912)
April 23 – Johnny Thunders, American musician (b. 1952)
April 26
Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
Emily McLaughlin, American actress (b. 1928)
William Andrew Paton, founder of the American Accounting Association in 1916, (b. 1889)
April 28
Paul E. Klopsteg, American physicist (b. 1889)
Floyd McKissick, American lawyer and civil rights activist (b. 1922)
Lee Wulff, American conservationist and fisherman (b. 1905)
May
May 1 – Richard Thorpe, American film director (b. 1896)
May 3 – Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American writer (b. 1933)
May 6 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, British actor (b. 1903)
May 7 – Dennis Crosby, American singer (b. 1934)
May 22 – Derrick Henry Lehmer, American mathematician (b. 1905)
May 24 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
May 27 – Konerak Sinthasomphone, One of Jeffrey Dahmer's Victim (b. 1976)
May 29 – Coral Browne, Australian actress (b. 1913)
June
June 1 – David Ruffin, American singer (b. 1941)
June 3 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-born actress (b. 1899)
June 4 – MC Trouble, American rapper (b. 1970)
June 5
Evelyn Boucher, British silent film actress (b. 1892)
Min Chueh Chang, Chinese-born American reproductive biologist (b. 1908)
Larry Kert, American actor (b. 1930)
June 6 – Stan Getz, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1927)
June 8 – Bertice Reading, American actress and singer (b. 1933)
June 9 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean-born pianist (b. 1903)
June 15 – Happy Chandler, 2nd commissioner of Major League Baseball (b. 1898)
June 18 – Joan Caulfield, American actress (b. 1922)
June 19 – Jean Arthur, American actress (b. 1900)
June 25 – Michael Heidelberger, American immunologist (b. 1888)
July
July 1 – Michael Landon, American actor (b. 1936)
July 2 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
July 4 – Henry Koerner, Austrian-born American painter and graphic designer (b. 1915)
July 5
Mildred Dunnock, American actress (b. 1901)
Howard Nemerov, American poet (b. 1920)
July 8 – James Franciscus, American actor (b. 1934)
July 15
Bert Convy, American actor, singer, game show host and television personality (b. 1933)
Roger Revelle, American scientist and scholar (b. 1909)
July 16 – Robert Motherwell, American painter (b. 1915)
July 17 – Arthur Raymond Brooks, American World War I fighter ace (b. 1895)
August
August 1 – Chris Short, American baseball pitcher (b. 1937)
August 5
Paul Brown, American football coach (b. 1908)
Sam Goodman, American gospel singer (b. 1931)
August 6 – Harry Reasoner, American journalist and newscaster (b. 1923)
August 8
Julissa Gomez, American gymnast (b. 1972)
James Irwin, American astronaut (b. 1930)
August 11 – J.D. McDuffie, American NASCAR driver (b. 1938)
August 13 – James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (b. 1907)
August 14 – Richard A. Snelling, American politician (b. 1927)
August 22
Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-born American actress (b. 1924)
Jane Stafford, American medical writer and chemist (b. 1899)
August 23
Florence B. Seibert, American biochemist (b. 1897)
Mildred Trotter, American forensic anthropologist (b. 1899)
August 25 – Niven Busch, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1903)
September
September 3 – Frank Capra, Italian-born American film director (b. 1897)
September 4
Charlie Barnet, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1913)
Tom Tryon, American actor and writer (b. 1926)
Dottie West, American singer (b. 1932)
September 6 – Donald Henry Gaskins, American serial killer (b. 1933)
September 7 – Edwin McMillan, American chemist (b. 1917)
September 8
Brad Davis, American actor (b. 1949)
Alex North, American film composer (b. 1910)
Nell Donnelly Reed, American fashion designer and businesswoman (b. 1889)
September 12 – Chris Von Erich, American professional wrestler (b. 1969)
September 13 – Joe Pasternak, Hungarian-born film director (b. 1901)
September 14
Russell Lynes, American art historian, photographer, and author (b. 1910)
Lisa Michelson, American voice actress (b. 1958)
September 15 – John Hoyt, American actor (b. 1905)
September 17 – Frank H. Netter, American artist, physician, and medical illustrator (b. 1906)
September 24 – Dr. Seuss, American author (b. 1904)
September 25 – Barbara Rose Johns, American civil rights activist (b. 1935)
September 28 – Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1926)
September 29 – Grace Zaring Stone, American writer (b. 1891)
October
October 6 – Florence B. Seibert, American biochemist (b. 1897)
October 9 – Thalmus Rasulala, American actor (b. 1939)
October 11 – Redd Foxx, American comedian and actor (b. 1922)
October 12
Aline MacMahon, American actress (b. 1899)
Regis Toomey, American actor (b. 1898)
October 17 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer (b. 1919)
October 24 – Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)
October 25 – Bill Graham, American promoter (b. 1931)
October 27 – Howard Kingsbury, American Olympic rower – Men's eights (b. 1904)
October 28 – Sylvia Fine, American lyricist (b. 1913)
October 31 – Joseph Papp, American theater director and producer (b. 1921)
November
November 2
Irwin Allen, American film and television producer (b. 1916)
Mort Shuman, American singer, pianist and songwriter (b. 1938)
November 3 – Chris Bender, American musician (b. 1972)
November 5 – Fred MacMurray, American actor (b. 1908)
November 6 – Gene Tierney, American actress (b. 1920)
November 8 – John Kirkpatrick, American pianist and music scholar (b. 1905)
November 14 – Tony Richardson, English film and theater director (b. 1928)
November 19 – Reggie Nalder, Austrian actor (b. 1907)
November 21 – Daniel Mann, American film director (b. 1912)
November 23 – Klaus Kinski, German actor (b. 1926)
November 24
Eric Carr, American drummer (b. 1950)
Anton Furst, American art director (b. 1944)
November 25 – Eleanor Audley, American actress (b. 1905)
November 26
Carl G. Fenner, American botanist (b. 1899)
Ed Heinemann, American aircraft designer (b. 1908)
Bob Johnson, American ice hockey coach (b. 1931)
November 29
Ralph Bellamy, American actor (b. 1904)
Frank Yerby, American novelist (b. 1916)
December
December 1 – George Stigler, American economist (b. 1911)
December 5 – Richard Speck, American mass murderer (b. 1941)
December 9 – Berenice Abbott, American photographer (b. 1898)
December 10 – Greta Kempton, American artist (b. 1901)
December 11 – Robert Q. Lewis, American radio and television personality (b. 1920)
December 12 – Eleanor Boardman, American actress (b. 1898)
December 19 – Howie Dallmar, American basketball player (b. 1922)
December 21 – Sheldon Mayer, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
December 24 – Marguerite Williams, African American geologist (b. 1895)
See also
1991 in American television
List of American films of 1991
Timeline of United States history (1990–2009)
References
External links
1990s in the United States
United States
United States
Years of the 20th century in the United States