1991

1991 (MCMXCI) was .
Events
January 5 - Georgian troops attack Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia. This begins the 1991-92 South Ossetia War
February 11 - The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) forms in The Hague, Netherlands.
March 23 - The Sierra Leone Civil War begins.
April 29 - A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 138,000 people.
May 15 - Edith Cresson becomes France's first female premier.
June 12 - Boris Yeltsin is elected President of Russia.
June 25 - Slovenia and Croatia declare independence from Yugoslavia.
September 8 - The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
September 26 - Brum - children's show.
October 4 - Carl Bildt becomes the new Prime Minister of Sweden, replacing Ingvar Carlsson.
December 19 - Paul Keating replaces Bob Hawke as the prime minister of Australia.
Communism in U.S.S.R. ends; the Cold War ends.
Persian Gulf War - America goes to war with Iraq after Iraq invades Kuwait.
Births
January-March
January 2 - Steele Sidebottom, Australian Rules footballer
January 4 - Pascal Bodmer, German ski jumper
January 8 - Hinoi Asuka, Japanese singer
January 12 - Pixie Lott, British singer
January 15 - Rubab Raza, Pakistani swimmer
January 16 - Julie Dubela, American singer
January 19 - Erin Sanders, American actress
January 21 - Brittany Tiplady, Canadian actress
January 28 - Calum Worthy, Canadian actor and musician
February 10 - Emma Roberts, American actress
February 10 - Ceng De Ping, Taiwanese singer
February 16 - Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg
February 17 - Bonnie Wright, English actress
February 18 - Malese Jow, American actress
February 18 - Henry Surtees, British racing driver (d. 2009)
February 25 - Gerran Howell, Welsh actor
February 28 - Sarah Bolger, Irish actress
March 4 - Diandra Newlin, American actress, singer, and model
March 8 - Devon Werkheiser, American actor
March 11 - Qian Lin, Chinese singer
March 15 - Kie Kitano, Japanese actress
March 23 - George William Carnegie, British noble
March 24 - Nate Vanderveen, American musician
March 26 - Brittney Wilson, Canadian actress
March 26 - Jack Watts, Australian rules footballer
March 28 - Amy Bruckner, American actress
April-June
April 4 - Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress
April 10 - Amanda Michalka, American singer and actress
April 10 - Sergiusz Zymelka, Polish actor
April 11 - Thiago Alcantara, Italian footballer
April 15 - Daiki Arioka, Japanese singer (Hey! Say! JUMP)
April 18 - Joey Gaydos, American actor and guitarist
April 20 - Thomas Curtis, American actor
April 27 - Rebecca Ryan, British actress
April 28 - Aleisha Allen, American actress
May 17 - Daniel Curtis Lee, American actor
May 19 - Jordan Pruitt, American singer
May 21 - Sarah Ramos, American actress
May 23 - Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer
May 24 - Erika Umeda, Japanese singer
May 26 - Julianna Rose Mauriello, American stage actress
May 29 - Kristen Alderson, American actress
June 4 - Jordan Hinson, American actress
June 4 - Megan Prescott and Kathryn Prescott, British actresses
June 18 - Willa Holland, American model and actress
June 19 - Pontus Ekhem, Swedish hockey player
June 27 - Madylin Sweeten, American actress
June 30 - Kaho, Japanese actress
July-September
July 5 - Jason Dolley, American actor
July 6 - Victoire Thivisol, French actress
July 7 - Devon Alan, American actor
July 9 - Mitchel Musso, American actor
July 10 - Atsuko Maeda, Japanese singer
July 12 - Erik Per Sullivan, American actor
July 14 - Lewis McGibbon, British actor
July 20 - William Tomlin, British actor
July 28 - Rina Aizawa, Japanese actress
July 29 - Miki Ishikawa, American actress and singer
July 30 - Diana Vickers, Scottish singer
August 6 - Jiao Liuyang, Chinese swimmer
August 16 - Evanna Lynch, Irish actress
August 16 - Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse, Canadian actress
August 17 - Qory Sandioriva, Putri Indonesia 2009
August 21 - Tess Gaerthe, Dutch singer and actress
August 28 - Kyle Massey, American actor
September 4 - Carter Jenkins, American actor
September 5 - Skandar Keynes, British actor
September 6 - Ashli Adams, American actress
September 9 - Kelsey Chow, American actress
September 12 - Kristin Klabunde, American actress
September 17 - Ryo Ishikawa, Japanese golfer
September 20 - Spencer Locke, American actress
September 21 - Zoe Weizenbaum, American actress
September 23 - Melanie Oudin, American tennis player
September 25 - Emmy Clarke, American actress
October-December
October 2 - Emma Maree Urquhart, Scottish novelist and artist
October 4 - Nicolai Kielstrup, Danish singer
October 14 - Shona McGarty, English actress
October 10 - Gabriella Cilmi, Australian singer-songwriter
October 19 - Christopher Gerse, American actor
October 23 - Sophie Tamiko Oda, Japanese American actress
October 31 - Jordan-Claire Green, American actress
November 6 - Camila Finn, Brazilian model
November 11 - Christa B. Allen, American actress
November 15 - Shailene Woodley, American actress
November 22 - Saki Shimizu, Japanese singer
December 3 - Masahiro Usui, Japanese actor
December 9 - Prince Joachim, Archduke of Austria-Este, Belgian prince
December 12 - Daniel Magder, Canadian actor
December 13 - Jay Greenberg, American music composer
December 19 - Declan Galbraith, British singer
Deaths
January
January 2 - Renato Rascel, Italian actor (b. 1927)
January 3 - Luke Appling, American baseball player (b. 1907)
January 5 - Vasko Popa, Yugoslavian poet (b. 1922)
January 8 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (b. 1960)
January 11 - Carl David Anderson, American physicist (b. 1905)
January 12 - Keye Luke, Chinese-born actor (b. 1904)
January 12 - Vasco Pratolini, Italian writer (b. 1913)
January 14 - Salah Khalaf, Palestinian officer (b. 1933)
January 17 - King Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
January 22 - Kenas Aroi, Nauruan politician (b. 1942)
January 28 - Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)
January 29 - Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907)
January 29 - John McIntire, American actor (b. 1907)
January 30 - John Bardeen, American physicist (b. 1908)
January 30 - 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)
February 5 - Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
February 5 - Pedro Arrupe, 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1907)
February 6 - Maria Zambrano, Spanish essayist (b. 1904)
February 6 - Salvador Luria, Italian-born biologist (b. 1912)
February 6 - Danny Thomas, American singer (b. 1914)
February 7 - Amos Yarkoni, legendary Israeli soldier (b. 1920)
February 13 - Arno Breker, German sculptor (b. 1900)
February 14 - John A. McCone, American politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1902)
February 16 - Enrique Bermudez, Nicaraguan Contras leader (b. 1932)
February 21 - John Sherman Cooper, American politician (b. 1901)
February 21 - Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (b. 1919)
February 24 - John Charles Daly, South African-born journalist and game show host (b. 1914)
February 24 - Hector Rial, Argentinian footballer (b. 1928)
February 24 - George Gobel, American comedian (b. 1919)
February 24 - Jean Rogers, American actress (b. 1916)
March
March 1 - Edwin H. Land, American scientist (b. 1909)
March 2 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (b. 1928)
March 3 - Arthur Murray, American dancer (b. 1895)
March 3 - William Penney, Baron Penney, British nuclear physicist (b. 1909)
March 7 - Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player (b. 1903)
March 12 - Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist (b. 1900)
March 13 - Jimmy McPartland, American jazz musician (b. 1907)
March 14 - Howard Ashman, American lyricist (b. 1950)
March 14 - Doc Pomus, American composer (b. 1925)
March 15 - George Sherman, American movie director (b. 1908)
March 18 - Vilma Banky, Hungarian-born actress (b. 1898)
March 21 - Leo Fender, Greek-American instrument maker (b. 1909)
March 25 - Marcel Lefebvre, French Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1905)
March 27 - Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
March 29 - Lee Atwater, American presidential advisor (b. 1951)
April
April 1 - Paulo Muwanga, President of Uganda (b. 1924)
April 1 - Martha Graham, American dancer (b. 1894)
April 1 - Jaime Guzman, Chilean right-wing politician (b. 1946)
April 3 - Charles Goren, American bridge player (b. 1901)
April 3 - Graham Greene, English writer (b. 1904)
April 4 - Max Frisch, Swiss writer (b. 1911)
April 4 - H. John Heinz III, American politician (b. 1938)
April 4 - Louis Guglielmi, French composer (b. 1916)
April 4 - Forrest Towns, American runner (b. 1914)
April 4 - Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
April 5 - Sonny Carter, American astronaut (b. 1947)
April 5 - John Tower, American politician (b. 1929)
April 7 - Ruth Page, American dancer (b. 1899)
April 8 - Per Yngve Ohlin, Swedish singer (b. 1969)
April 10 - Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)
April 10 - Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
April 16 - David Lean, British movie director (b. 1908)
April 17 - Jack Yellen, American lyricist (b. 1892)
April 18 - Barry Rogers, American jazz musician (b. 1935)
April 19 - Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian movie producer (b. 1905)
April 20 - Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1916)
April 20 - Steve Marriott, English musician (b. 1947)
April 20 - Don Siegel, American movie director (b. 1912)
April 26 - Carmine Coppola, American composer (b. 1910)
April 27 - Robert Velter, French cartoonist (b. 1909)
April 28 - Ken Curtis, American actor (b. 1916)
April 28 - Johnny Eck, American sideshow performer (b. 1911)
April 29 - Gonzaguinha, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
April 29 - Claude Gallimard, Son of Gaston Gallimard (b. 1914)
May
May 1 - Cesare Merzagora, Italian politician (b. 1898)
May 1 - Richard Thorpe, American movie director (b. 1896)
May 3 - Jerzy Kosinski, Polish-American writer (b. 1933)
May 3 - Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer (b. 1907)
May 6 - Wilfrid Hyde-White, British actor (b. 1903)
May 7 - Dennis Crosby, American singer (b. 1934)
May 8 - Jean Langlais, French composer (b. 1907)
May 8 - Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (b. 1903)
May 14 - Jiang Qing, Chinese radical revolutionary (b. 1914)
May 15 - Shintaro Abe, Japanese Politician (b. 1924)
May 15 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (b. 1956)
May 18 - Edwina Booth, American actress (b. 1904)
May 21 - Lino Brocka, Filipino movie director (b. 1939)
May 21 - Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (b. 1944)
May 22 - Derrick Henry Lehmer, American mathematician (b. 1905)
May 23 - Jean Van Houtte, Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
May 23 - Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist (b. 1895)
May 27 - Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist (b. 1904)
May 29 - Coral Browne, Australian actress (b. 1913)
May 30 - Manolo Gomez Bur, Spanish actor (b. 1917)
June
June 1 - David Ruffin, American singer (b. 1941)
June 2 - Hailu Yimenu, Acting Prime Minister of Ethiopia
June 3 - Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist (b. 1946)
June 3 - Katia Krafft French volcanologist (b. 1942)
June 3 - Eva Le Gallienne, English-born actress (b. 1899)
June 5 - Larry Kert, American actor (b. 1930)
June 5 - Sylvia Porter, American economist and journalist (b. 1913)
June 6 - Stan Getz, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1927)
June 9 - Claudio Arrau, Chilean-born pianist (b. 1903)
June 11 - Cromwell Everson, South African composer (b. 1925)
June 14 - Peggy Ashcroft, British actress (b. 1907)
June 15 - Arthur Lewis, British economist (b. 1915)
June 17 - Pierre Jamet, French harpist (b. 1893)
June 18 - Joan Caulfield, American actress (b. 1922)
June 19 - Jean Arthur, American actress (b. 1900)
June 27 - Molly Geertsema, Dutch liberal politician (b. 1918)
June 28 - Hans Nusslein, German tennis player (b. 1910)
June 29 - Henri Lefebvre, French sociologist (b. 1901)
July
July 1 - Michael Landon, American actor (b. 1936)
July 2 - Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
July 4 - Victor Chang, Australian physician (b. 1936)
July 5 - Mildred Dunnock, American actress (b. 1901)
July 5 - Howard Nemerov, American poet (b. 1920)
July 6 - Anton Yugov, Bulgarian Politician (b. 1904)
July 8 - James Franciscus, American actor (b. 1934)
July 15 - Bert Convy, American game show host (b. 1933)
July 16 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (b. 1915)
July 18 - Andre Cools, Belgian Socialist politician (b. 1927)
July 24 - Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-born Yiddish writer (b. 1904)
July 25 - Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet politician (b. 1893)
July 29 - Christian de Castries, French general (b. 1902)
August
August 1 - Chris Short, American baseball pitcher (b. 1937)
August 3 - Ali Sabri, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1920)
August 4 - Yevgeny Dragunov, Russian weapons designer (b. 1920)
August 5 - Paul Brown, American football coach (b. 1908)
August 5 - Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer (b. 1917)
August 6 - Harry Reasoner, American journalist (b. 1923)
August 6 - Shapour Bakhtiar, Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1915)
August 8 - James Irwin, American astronaut (b. 1930)
August 11 - J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (b. 1938)
August 13 - James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (b. 1907)
August 14 - Richard A. Snelling, Governor of Vermont (b. 1927)
August 16 - Luigi Zampa, Italian movie-maker (b. 1905)
August 22 - Colleen Dewhurst, American actress (b. 1924)
August 22 - Boris Pugo, Latvian communist politician (b. 1937)
August 24 - Sergey Akhromeyev, Russian marshall (b. 1923)
August 25 - Niven Busch, American novelist (b. 1903)
August 30 - Jean Tinguely, Swiss painter (b. 1925)
August 30 - Cyril Knowles, English footballer (b. 1944)
September
September 2 - Alfonso Garcia Robles, Mexican diplomat (b. 1911)
September 3 - Dottie West, American singer (b. 1932)
September 3 - Frank Capra, Italian-born movie director (b. 1897)
September 4 - Charles Barnet, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1913)
September 4 - Tom Tryon, American actor (b. 1926)
September 6 - Pee Wee Gaskins, American serial killer (b. 1933)
September 7 - Edwin McMillan, American chemist (b. 1907)
September 8 - Brad Davis, American actor (b. 1949)
September 8 - Alex North, American movie composer (b. 1910)
September 10 - Jack Crawford, Australian tennis champion (b. 1908)
September 13 - Joe Pasternak, Hungarian-born movie director (b. 1901)
September 14 - Russell Lynes, American art historian (b. 1910)
September 15 - John Hoyt, American actor (b. 1905)
September 17 - Zino Francescatti, French violinist (b. 1902)
September 24 - Dr. Seuss, American writer (b. 1904)
September 25 - Klaus Barbie, German Gestapo leader (b. 1913)
September 25 - Viviane Romance, French actress (b. 1912)
September 28 - Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1926)
October
October 6 - Igor Talkov, Russian singer (b. 1956)
October 11 - Redd Foxx, American comedian (b. 1922)
October 12 - Aline MacMahon, American actress (b. 1899)
October 12 - 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 28 - Sylvia Fine, American lyricist (b. 1913)
October 31 - Joseph Papp, American theater producer (b. 1921)
November
November 2 - Irwin Allen, American television producer (b. 1941)
November 5 - Fred MacMurray, American actor (b. 1908)
November 5 - Robert Maxwell, Slovakian-born media entrepreneur (b. 1923)
November 6 - Gene Tierney, American actress (b. 1920)
November 7 - Tom of Finland, Finnish artist (b. 1920)
November 9 - Yves Montand, French actor (b. 1921)
November 14 - Tony Richardson, English theater director (b. 1928)
November 18 - Gustav Husak, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (b. 1913)
November 21 - Daniel Mann, American movie director (b. 1912)
November 23 - Klaus Kinski, German actor (b. 1926)
November 24 - Eric Carr, American drummer (b. 1950)
November 24 - Anton Furst, American art director (b. 1944)
November 24 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer (b. 1946)
November 29 - Ralph Bellamy, American actor (b. 1904)
December
December 1 - George Stigler, American economist (b. 1911)
December 6 - Richard Stone, British economist (b. 1913)
December 9 - Berenice Abbott, American photographer (b. 1898)
December 10 - Franco Maria Malfatti, 3rd President of the European Commission (b. 1927)
December 10 - Greta Kempton, American artist (b. 1901)
December 11 - Robert Q. Lewis, American radio (b. 1920)
December 12 - Eleanor Boardman, American actress (b. 1898)
December 15 - Vasily Zaytsev, Russian World War II hero (b. 1915)
December 15 - Aad Mansveld, Dutch footballer (b. 1944)
December 18 - George Abecassis, English race car driver (b. 1913)
December 28 - Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (b. 1941)
Nobel Prizes
Nobel Prize in Physics won by Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist
Nobel Prize in Chemistry won by Richard R. Ernst, Swiss physical chemist
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine shared by Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann
Nobel Prize in Literature won by Nadine Gordimer, South African writer
Nobel Peace Prize won by Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese diplomat
Nobel Prize in Economics won by Ronald Coase, British economist
Movies released
The Addams Family
Beauty and the Beast, an animated movie by Walt Disney Pictures
Beethoven
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
Bugsy, the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel
Boyz n the Hood
Cape Fear
City Slickers, winning Best Supporting Actor for Jack Palance
Double Impact
The Doors
Father of the Bride
Fried Green Tomatoes
The Fisher King, nominated for 9 Academy Awards
Hook
JFK, directed by Oliver Stone
New Jack City
Out for Justice
Oscar
Point Break
Thelma & Louise
The Last Boy Scout
The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, winning a BAFTA Award for Alan Rickman
The Silence of the Lambs, based on the book by Thomas Harris
Sleeping with the Enemy
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the highest-grossing movie of 1991
What About Bob?, another highest-grossing movie of 1991
Hit songs
"Black" - Pearl Jam
"American Music" - The Violent Femmes
"Baby Baby" - Amy Grant
"Black Or White" - Michael Jackson
"Bring The Noise" - Public Enemy and Anthrax
"Can't Stop This Thing We Started" - Bryan Adams
"Close My Eyes" - Marillion
"Do You Remember" - Phil Collins
"Don't Cry" - Guns N' Roses
"Enter Sandman" - Metallica
"Every Heartbeat" - Amy Grant
"Everything I Do (I Do It For You)" - Bryan Adams
"Get The Funk Out" - Extreme
"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" - C&C Music Factory
"Good For Me" - Amy Grant
"Good Times" - INXS and Jimmy Barnes
"Higher + Higher" - Jimmy Barnes
"I Can't Make You Love Me" - Bonnie Raitt
"I Will Remember You" - Amy Grant
"Live And Let Die" - Guns N' Roses
"Live For Loving You" - Gloria Estefan
"Losing My Religion" - R.E.M.
"More Than Words" - Extreme
"Mysterious Ways" - U2
"One" - U2
"Poundcake" - Van Halen
"Right Here, Right Now" - Jesus Jones
"Rock The Casbah" - The Clash
"Rush Rush" - Paula Abdul
"Shameless" - Garth Brooks
"Shiny Happy People" - R.E.M.
"Sing Your Life" - Morrissey
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
"Something To Talk About" - Bonnie Raitt
"That's What Love Is For" - Amy Grant
"Radio Song" - R.E.M.
"There'll Never Be Another Tonight" - Bryan Adams
"Top Of The World" - Van Halen
"Train In Vain(Stand By Me)" - The Clash
"Twist And Shout" - Deacon Blue
"Unbelievable" - EMF
"When Something's Wrong With My Baby" - John Farnham + Jimmy Barnes
"Who Said I Would" - Phil Collins
"When A Man Loves A Woman" - Michael Bolton
"Wicked Game" - Chris Isaak
"Violent Blue" - Chagall Guevara
"You Could Be Mine" - Guns N' Roses
New books
American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
As the Crow Flies - Jeffrey Archer
Damage - Josephine Hart
Dead Certainties - Simon Schama
Den of Thieves - James B. Stewart
Dirty Weekend - Helen Zahavi
The Doomsday Conspiracy - Sidney Sheldon
Druids - Morgan Llywelyn
The Firm - John Grisham
For Love of the Game - Michael Shaara (posthumous)
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture - Douglas Coupland
Gojiro - Mark Jacobson
He, She and It - Marge Piercy
Heartbeat - Danielle Steel
Imajica - Clive Barker
Jernigan - David Gates
The Kitchen God's Wife - Amy Tan
A Life of Picasso - John Richardson
Loves Music, Loves to Dance - Mary Higgins Clark
The Man from Barbarossa - John Gardner
Mao II - Don DeLillo
Mexico - James A. Michener
Possession: A Romance - A. S. Byatt
Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett
Say It With Poison - Ann Granger
Scarlett - Alexandra Ripley
The Secret Pilgrim - John le Carre
SEX - Madonna
Star Wars: Heir to the Empire - Timothy Zahn
Such a Long Journey - Rohinton Mistry
The Sum of All Fears - Tom Clancy
A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley
Through the Vast Halls of Memory - Haifa Zangana
Time's Arrow, or The Nature of the Offense - Martin Amis
The Van - Roddy Doyle
The Werewolf and the Wormlord - Hugh Cook
Wicca Craft - Gerina Dunwich
Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett