1996

Events from the year 1996 in the United States.
==Incumbents==
===Federal Government===
* President: Bill Clinton (D–AR)
* Vice President: Al Gore (D–TN)
* Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (WI)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Newt Gingrich (R–GA)
* Senate Majority Leader: Bob Dole (R–KS) (until June 12), Trent Lott (R–MS) (starting June 12)
* Congress: 104th
==Events==
===January===
* January 2 – Philadelphia police officer Lauretha Vaird is shot and later pronounced dead during a botched armed bank robbery by rapper Cool C. She becomes Philadelphia's first female police officer killed in the line of duty.
* January 7 – One of the worst blizzards in American history hits the eastern states, killing more than 150 people. Philadelphia receives a record 30 inches of snowfall, New York City's public schools close for the first time in 18 years, and the federal government in Washington, D.C. is closed for days.
* January 19 – The North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The North Cape barge is pulled along with it and leaks 820,000 gallons of home heating oil.
* January 26
** Whitewater scandal: U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton testifies before a grand jury.
** Millionaire philanthropist John Eleuthère du Pont shoots dead his protégé, Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, at Foxcatcher Farm.
* January 28 – Super Bowl XXX: The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27–17 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
===February===
* February 1 – Sundance Channel debuts.
* February 2 – Frontier Middle School shooting: A gunman kills his algebra teacher and two other students in Moses Lake, Washington.
* February 6 – 1996 Honolulu hostage crisis: A gunman takes hostages at his former place of employment in Honolulu, Hawaii.
* February 15 – The U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece comes under mortar fire.
* February 16 – 1996 Maryland train collision: A Chicago-bound Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, collides with a MARC commuter train bound for Washington, D.C., killing 11 people.
* February 17 – In Philadelphia, Garry Kasparov beats "Deep Blue" in a second chess match.
* February 24 – Cuban fighter jets shoot down two American aircraft belonging to the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Cuban officials assert that they invaded Cuban airspace.
* February 29 – In Lumberton, North Carolina, Daniel Green is convicted of the murder of James Jordan, the father of basketball star Michael Jordan.
===March===
* March 4 – DISH Network, a Direct Broadcast Satellite service, begins as a service of EchoStar.
* March 8 – The People's Republic of 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 10 – In Mesquite, Nevada, motorcycle stunt rider Butch Laswell is killed in front of a crowd of spectators, after a motorcycle stunt goes horribly wrong.
* March 19 – In Los Angeles, Lyle and Erik Menendez are found guilty of first-degree murder for the shotgun killing of their parents.
* March 25
** An 81-day-long standoff begins between anti-government Freemen and federal officers in Jordan, Montana.
** The 68th Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with Mel Gibson's Braveheart winning five awards out of ten nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast garners over 44.8 million viewers.
* March 30 – After being convicted of the murder of Colleen Slemmer in Tennessee, 20-year-old Christa Pike becomes the youngest woman to be sentenced to death in the United States during the post-Furman period.
===April===
* April 3
** A Boeing 737 military jet crashes into a mountain north of Dubrovnik, Croatia. All 35 people on board die, including United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown (see 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash).
** Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
* April 9 – President Bill Clinton signs the Line Item Veto Act of 1996, granting the U.S. president line-item veto power. Slightly over two years later, in the case of Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998), the Supreme Court of the United States would eventually rule that the law is unconstitutional.
* April 11 – Jessica Dubroff, 7, is killed in a plane crash in Cheyenne, Wyoming while attempting to set a record as the youngest person to pilot an airplane across the United States.
* April 16 – The NBA's 1995–1996 Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan's lead, go on to set a new NBA record for the most wins in a season, achieving their 70th win.
* April 24 – President Bill Clinton signs the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 into law.
* April 29 – The Broadway hit Rent opens at the Nederlander Theatre.
===May===
* May 8 – The Keck II telescope is dedicated in Hawaii.
* May 11 – After takeoff from Miami, Florida, a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592, causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
* May 20 – Gay rights: Romer v. Evans: The Supreme Court of the United States rules against a law that prevents any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of homosexuals.
* May 30 – The Hoover Institution releases an optimistic report that global warming will probably reduce mortality in the United States and provide Americans with valuable benefits.
===June===
* June 1 – Iraq disarmament crisis: As Iraq continues to refuse inspectors access to a number of sites, the U.S. fails in its attempt to build support for military action against Iraq in the UN Security Council.
* June 10 – The Colorado Avalanche wins their first Stanley Cup in their first season based out of Denver, Colorado, defeating the Florida Panthers 4 games to none. Avalanche captain Joe Sakic wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
* June 12 – In Philadelphia, a panel of federal judges blocks a law against indecency on the internet. The panel says that the 1996 Communications Decency Act would infringe upon the free speech rights of adults.
* June 13 – An 81-day standoff between the Montana Freemen and FBI agents ends with their surrender in Montana.
* June 16 – The Chicago Bulls win their fourth NBA Championship by defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in the best-of-7 series 4 games to 2.
* June 20 – The last fourth generation Chevrolet Corvette rolls off the assembly line at the GM Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
* June 21 – Walt Disney Pictures' 34th feature film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, considered to be one of the studio's darkest animated films, is released to positive reviews and commercial success.
* June 25 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen and one Saudi local.
===July===
* July 12 – Hurricane Bertha makes landfall in North Carolina as a Category 2 storm, causing $270 million in damage to the United States and its possessions and many indirect deaths.
* July 17 – Paris and Rome-bound TWA Flight 800 (Boeing 747) explodes off the coast of Long Island, New York, killing all 230 on board.
* July 19 – The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta begin.
* July 27 – The Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics kills 2 and injures 111.
* July 29 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court.
===August===
* August 1 – Michael Johnson wins the 200m finals of 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta in a world-record time of 19.32 seconds.
* August 2– The unemployment rate drops to 5.1%, the lowest since March 1989, which saw the lowest rate of the previous business cycle.
* August 6 – NASA announces that the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, may contain evidence of primitive life-forms; further tests are inconclusive.
* 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 – Binti Jua, a gorilla, saves a three-year-old boy who fell into the 20 foot (6.1 m) deep gorilla enclosure at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago.
* August 19 – The invasive species Asian long-horned beetle is found in New York.
* August 21 – President Bill Clinton signs the War Crimes Act of 1996 into law.
* 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 24 – Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington found the Valve Corporation.
* August 26 – President Bill Clinton signs PRWORA welfare reform into law.
* August 29 – Tiger Woods makes his professional PGA Tour debut at the Greater Milwaukee Open, four days after winning his third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship.
* August 29 – U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore are renominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
* August 31 – The Big 12 Conference is inaugurated with a football game between Kansas State University and Texas Tech University in Manhattan, Kansas.
===September===
* September 3
** Iraq disarmament crisis: As Iraq continues to refuse inspectors access to a number of sites, the U.S. fails in its attempt to build support for military action against Iraq in the U.N. Security Council.
** The U.S. launches Operation Desert Strike against Iraq in reaction to the attack on Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.
* September 5 – Hurricane Fran makes landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 115 mph, just weeks prior to the landfall of Hurricane Bertha near the same location. It caused $3.2 billion in damages and claimed a total of 27 lives.
* September 8 – Blue's Clues premieres on Nick Jr.
* September 13 – 25-year-old rapper Tupac Shakur dies after being critically wounded in a drive-by shooting six days earlier on September 7, following his attendance at the Mike Tyson, Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada.
* September 14 – The U.S. wins the inaugural 1996 World Cup of Hockey by defeating Canada.
* September 24 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at the United Nations.
* September 29 – Nintendo releases the Nintendo 64 in North America.
===October===
* October 1 – Animal Planet and Discovery Civilization launched.
* October 2 – The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
* October 4 – Discovery Science debuts.
* October 7
** The Fox News Channel is launched on U.S. cable systems.
** The popular children's TV series, Arthur, debuts on PBS Kids.
** At least 66 people become sick and one baby dies as a result of drinking apple juice infected with E. coli.
* October 14 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 40.62 to close at 6,010.00, the Dow's first close above 6,000.
* October 26 – The New York Yankees defeat the Atlanta Braves to win their first World Series in 18 years.
===November===
* November 5 – U.S. presidential election, 1996: Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton defeats Republican challenger Bob Dole to win his second term. This election had the lowest voter turnout since 1924.
* November 7 – NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.
* November 11 – Discovery Kids debuts.
* November 15
** State Street in Chicago is re-opened to pedestrian traffic after a revitalization project.
** Space Jam, directed by Joe Pytka, is released in theaters.
* November 16 – Mother Teresa receives honorary U.S. citizenship.
* November 19 – STS-80: Space Shuttle Columbia conducts the longest mission of the Space Shuttle program.
* November 21 – A propane explosion at the Humberto Vidal shoe store and office building in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 33.
* November 25
** An ice storm strikes the U.S., killing 26 directly and hundreds more from accidents. A powerful windstorm blasts Florida; winds gust to 90 miles per hour (140 km/h).
** The U.S. stock market, especially the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gains at an incredibly fast pace following the 1996 Presidential election. It gains 10 days in a row during the month.
* November 26 – The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas is imploded to make way for the Venetian Hotel.
===December===
* December 2 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments.
* December 6 – The General Motors EV1, the first production electric car of the modern era, is launched and becomes available for lease.
* December 20 – Steve Jobs' company NeXT is bought by Apple Computer, the company co-founded by Jobs.
* December 25 – Death of JonBenét Ramsey: A six-year-old beauty queen is beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colorado; her body is found the following day.
* December 31
** The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway is merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the BNSF Railway, making it one of the largest railroad mergers in U.S. history.
** The Hacienda resort on the Las Vegas Strip is imploded to make way for the Mandalay Bay.
** Laurel Mountain in Oregon receives 204.04 inches (5,182.6 mm) of rainfall equivalent during the year, the most ever recorded for a calendar year in the contiguous United States.
==Memoriam==
* January 1
** Gertrude Blanch, mathematician (aged 98; San Diego, CA, USA)
** Arleigh Burke, naval officer (aged 94; Bethesda, MD, USA)
* January 5 – Lincoln Kirstein, director and producer (aged 88; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* January 28 – Joseph Brodsky, poet, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1987 and Poet Laureate of the U.S. from 1991 to 1992 (aged 55; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 2 – Gene Kelly, singer, actor, dancer, choreographer and director (aged 83; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* February 3 – Audrey Meadows, television actress (aged 73; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* February 6 – Guy Madison, television actor (aged 74; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* February 7 – Phillip Davidson, general (aged 80; San Antonio, TX, USA)
* February 13 – Martin Balsam, character actor (aged 76; Rome, Italy)
* February 15
** Tommy Rettig, actor (aged 54; Marina del Rey, CA, USA)
** McLean Stevenson, actor (aged 68; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 16
** Roger Bowen, comedic screen actor and novelist (aged 63; Marathon, FL, USA)
** Pat Brown, politician, Governor of California (aged 90; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
** Brownie McGhee, African American Piedmont blues singer-guitarist (aged 80; Oakland, CA, USA)
* March 9 – George Burns, comedian (aged 100; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* March 10
** Ross Hunter, film producer (aged 79; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Butch Laswell, motorcycle stunt rider (aged 37; Mesquite, NV, USA)
* March 11 – Vince Edwards, screen actor (aged 67; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 26
** Edmund Muskie, politician, 58th U.S. Secretary of State from 1980 to 1981 (aged 81; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** David Packard, electrical engineer (aged 83; Stanford, CA, USA)
* March 31 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, cowpunk singer-songwriter-guitarist (aged 37; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
* April 6 – Greer Garson, film actress (aged 91; Dallas, TX, USA)
* May 1 – David M. Kennedy, politician and businessman (aged 90; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
* May 2 – Queen Mother Moore, African American civil rights leader (aged 98; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
* May 3 – Jack Weston, actor (aged 71; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 31 – Timothy Leary, social activist (aged 75; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* June 15 – Ella Fitzgerald, African American jazz singer (aged 79; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* June 16 – Mel Allen, sportscaster (aged 83; Greenwich, CT, USA)
* June 19
** Cordelia E. Cook, soldier and nurse (aged 77; Upper Arlington, OH, USA)
** Kay Rhodes, bridge player (aged 86; Sonoma, CA, USA)
** G. David Schine, soldier and businessman (aged 68; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* June 27 – Merze Tate, African American academic (aged 91; Washington, DC, USA)
* July 1 – Margaux Hemingway, fashion model, actress, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway (aged 42; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* July 6 – Kathy Ahern, golfer (aged 47; Fountain Hills, CA, USA)
* July 23 – Jean Muir, film actress (aged 85; Mesa, AZ, USA)
* July 28 – Roger Tory Peterson, naturalist and artist (aged 87; Old Lyme, CT, USA)
* July 30 – Claudette Colbert, film actress (aged 92; Speightstown, Barbados)
* September 12 - Ricardo López - the "Björk stalker", committed suicide by revolver after sending a Sulphuric acid-filled letter bomb to Björk (aged 21; Hollywood, FL, USA)
* September 13 – Tupac Shakur, rapper and murder victim (aged 25; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
* September 14
** Helen Cohan, dancer and actress (aged 86; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Juliet Prowse, dancer and actress (aged 59; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 15 – Ottis Toole, murderer (aged 49; Raiford, FL, USA)
* September 16 – Gene Nelson, dancer and actor (aged 76; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 17 – Spiro T. Agnew, 39th Vice President of the United States from 1969 to 1973 (aged 77; Berlin, MD, USA)
* September 22 – Dorothy Lamour, film actress (aged 81; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 5 – Seymour Cray, computer scientist (aged 71; Colorado Springs, CO, USA)
* October 6 – Ted Bessell, television actor (aged 61; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 8 – Mignon G. Eberhart, mystery author (aged 97; Greenwich, CT, USA)
* October 14 – Laura La Plante, actress (aged 91; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
* October 18 – Jason Bernard, actor (aged 58; Burbank, CA, USA)
* October 28 – Morey Amsterdam, comic actor (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 2 – Eva Cassidy, jazz/blues singer-guitarist (aged 33; Bowie, MD, USA)
* November 5 – Eddie Harris, jazz saxophonist (aged 62; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 15 – Alger Hiss, diplomat and perjurer (aged 92; New York City, NY, USA)
* November 22 – Mark Lenard, television actor (aged 72; New York City, NY, USA)
* November 26 – Paul Rand, graphic designer (aged 82; Norwalk, CT, USA)
* November 28 – Don McNeill, tennis player (aged 78; Vero Beach, FL, USA)
* November 30 – Tiny Tim, falsetto singer and ukulele player (aged 64; Minneapolis, MN, USA)
* December 6 – Pete Rozelle, American football official (aged 70; Rancho Santa Fe, CA, USA)
* December 8 – Howard Rollins, African American actor (aged 46; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 18 – Irving Caesar, lyricist (aged 101; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 20 – Carl Sagan, cosmologist (aged 62; Seattle, WA, USA)
* December 28 – Lyman S. Ayres II, businessman (aged 88; Carmel, IN, USA)
* December 30
** Lew Ayres, screen actor (aged 88; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Jack Nance, screen actor (aged 53; South Pasadena, CA, USA)
==External links==
* 1996 in the United States
Category:United States History: Volume 22