1990

Events from the year **1990 in the United States**.

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: H. Guy Hunt (Republican)
* Governor of Alaska: Steve Cowper (Democratic) (until December 3), Wally Hickel (Republican) (starting December 3)
* Governor of Arizona: Rose Mofford (Democratic)
* Governor of Arkansas: Bill Clinton (Democratic)
* Governor of California: George Deukmejian (Republican)
* Governor of Colorado: Roy Romer (Democratic)
* Governor of Connecticut: William A. O'Neill (Democratic)
* Governor of Delaware: Michael N. Castle (Republican)
* Governor of Florida: Bob Martinez (Republican)
* Governor of Georgia: Joe Frank Harris (Democratic)
* Governor of Hawaii: John D. Waihee III (Democratic)
* Governor of Idaho: Cecil D. Andrus (Democratic)
* Governor of Illinois: James R. Thompson (Republican)
* Governor of Indiana: Evan Bayh (Democratic)
* Governor of Iowa: Terry E. Branstad (Republican)
* Governor of Kansas: Mike Hayden (Republican)
* Governor of Kentucky: Wallace G. Wilkinson (Democratic)
* Governor of Louisiana: Buddy Roemer (Democratic)
* Governor of Maine: John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of Maryland: William Donald Schaefer (Democratic)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Michael Dukakis (Democratic)
* Governor of Michigan: James Blanchard (Democratic)
* Governor of Minnesota: Rudy Perpich (Democratic)
* Governor of Mississippi: Ray Mabus (Democratic)
* Governor of Missouri: John Ashcroft (Republican)
* Governor of Montana: Stan Stephens (Republican)
* Governor of Nebraska: Kay A. Orr (Republican)
* Governor of Nevada: Bob Miller (Democratic)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Judd Gregg (Republican)
* Governor of New Jersey: Thomas Kean (Republican) (until January 16), James Florio (Democratic) (starting January 16)
* Governor of New Mexico: Garrey Carruthers (Republican)
* Governor of New York: Mario Cuomo (Democratic)
* Governor of North Carolina: James G. Martin (Republican)
* Governor of North Dakota: George A. Sinner (Democratic)
* Governor of Ohio: Dick Celeste (Democratic)
* Governor of Oklahoma: Henry Bellmon (Republican)
* Governor of Oregon: Neil Goldschmidt (Democratic)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Robert P. Casey (Democratic)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Edward D. DiPrete (Republican)
* Governor of South Carolina: Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of South Dakota: George S. Mickelson (Republican)
* Governor of Tennessee: Ned McWherter (Democratic)
* Governor of Texas: Bill Clements (Republican)
* Governor of Utah: Norman H. Bangerter (Republican)
* Governor of Vermont: Madeleine M. Kunin (Democratic)
* Governor of Virginia: Gerald L. Baliles (Democratic) (until January 13), Douglas Wilder (Democratic) (starting January 13)
* Governor of Washington: Booth Gardner (Democratic)
* Governor of West Virginia: Gaston Caperton (Democratic)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson (Republican)
* Governor of Wyoming: Mike Sullivan (Democratic)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Jim Folsom Jr. (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Stephen McAlpine (Democratic) (until December 3), Jack Coghill (Alaskan Independence) (starting December 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winston Bryant (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Mike Callihan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Joseph J. Fauliso (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Dale E. Wolf (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Bobby Brantley (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Butch Otter (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: George H. Ryan (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Frank O'Bannon (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Jo Ann Zimmerman (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Jack D. Walker (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Brereton Jones (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Paul Hardy (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Melvin A. Steinberg (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Evelyn Murphy (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Martha W. Griffiths (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Marlene Johnson (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Brad Dye (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Mel Carnahan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Allen Kolstad (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: William E. Nichol (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: vacant
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Jack L. Stahl (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Stan Lundine (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: James Carson Gardner (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Lloyd Omdahl (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Paul R. Leonard (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Robert S. Kerr III (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Mark Singel (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Roger N. Begin (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Nick Theodore (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Walter Dale Miller (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: William P. Hobby Jr. (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Utah: W. Val Oveson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Howard Dean (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Douglas Wilder (Democratic) (until January 13), Don Beyer (Democratic) (starting January 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Joel Pritchard (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Scott McCallum (Republican)

## Events

### January

* January 2 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,800 for the first time ever.
* January 3 – United States invasion of Panama: General Manuel Noriega, the deposed "strongman of Panama", surrenders to American forces.
* January 5 – The National Gallery of Art purchases *The Fall of Phaeton* by Peter Paul Rubens.
* January 9 – The Space Shuttle *Columbia* flies STS-32.
* January 10 – Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc.
* January 13 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
* January 15 – Martin Luther King Day Crash: Telephone service in Atlanta, St. Louis, and Detroit, including 9-1-1 service, goes down for nine hours, due to an AT&T software bug.
* January 17 – Smith & Wesson introduce the .40 S&W cartridge.
* January 18
	+ In Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
	+ In California, the McMartin preschool trial, the longest criminal trial in U.S. history, ends with all defendants being acquitted on charges of child molesting.
* January 22 – Robert Tappan Morris Jr. is convicted of releasing the Morris worm.
* January 24
	+ Richard Secord is sentenced to two years probation for lying to the United States Congress about the Iran–Contra affair.
	+ In Miami, William Lozano, a Hispanic police officer, is sentenced to seven years in prison for shooting a black motorcyclist in 1989, an event that had set off three days of rioting.
* January 25 – Avianca Flight 52 crashes into Cove Neck, Long Island, New York, killing 73, after a miscommunication between the flight crew and JFK Airport officials.
* January 28 – Super Bowl XXIV: The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Denver Broncos 55–10 at Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
* January 29
	+ The trial of Joseph Hazelwood, former skipper of the *Exxon Valdez*, begins in Anchorage, Alaska. He is accused of negligence that resulted in America's worst oil spill to date.
	+ In Holmdel, New Jersey, scientists at Bell Labs announce they have created a digital optical processor that could lead to the development of superfast computers that use pulses of light rather than electric currents to make calculations.
* January 31
	+ President of the United States George H. W. Bush gives his first State of the Union address and proposes that the U.S. and the Soviet Union make deep cuts to their military forces in Europe.
	+ Cold War: The first McDonald's in Moscow, Russia opens.

### February

* February 9 – The owners of Major League Baseball announce a lockout because of a salary dispute with players.
* February 11 – James "Buster" Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson to win the World Heavyweight Boxing crown.
* February 13 – Drexel Burnham Lambert files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
* February 14 – The Pale Blue Dot picture was sent back from the *Voyager 1* probe after completing its primary mission, it was about 6 billion km (3.7 billion miles) from Earth.
* February 19 – The United Mine Workers reach a deal with the Pittston Company to end the Pittston Coal strike that had gone on since April 5, 1989; most striking coal miners return to work on February 26.
* February 25 – A smoking ban takes effect on all domestic U.S. flights of less than six hours.
* February 27 – *Exxon Valdez* oil spill: Exxon and its shipping company are indicted on five criminal counts.
* February 28
	+ The Space Shuttle *Atlantis* begins STS-36.
	+ The 5.7 Mw Upland earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (*Very strong*), causing $12.7 million in losses and 30 injuries.

### March

* March 1
	+ Steve Jackson Games is raided by the U.S. Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
	+ The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves a license for the long-delayed Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant.
* March 2 – Greyhound bus drivers strike for higher pay.
* March 6 – An SR-71 sets a U.S. transcontinental speed record of 1 hour 8 minutes 17 seconds, on what is publicized as its last official flight.
* March 9 – Antonia Novello is sworn in as Surgeon General of the United States, becoming the first female and Hispanic American to serve in the position.
* March 18
	+ Twelve paintings, collectively worth from $100 to $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by two robbers posing as police officers. It is the largest art theft, and the largest theft of private property, ever; the paintings (as of 2020) have not been recovered.
	+ Major League Baseball players and owners agree to a new four-year contract, ending the lockout begun on February 15.
* March 22 – A jury in Anchorage, Alaska finds Joseph Hazelwood guilty of misdemeanor negligence for his role in the *Exxon Valdez* oil spill. He is sentenced to pay $50,000 in restitution and to spend 1,000 hours cleaning oily beaches.
* March 25 – In New York City, a fire due to arson at an illegal social club called "Happy Land" kills 87.
* March 26 – The 62nd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with Bruce Beresford's *Driving Miss Daisy* winning four awards out of nine nominations, including Best Picture. Jessica Tandy, at 80, becomes the oldest actress to win Best Actress and the oldest person to win for acting until 2012. Oliver Stone wins his second Best Director award for *Born on the Fourth of July*. The telecast garners over 40 million viewers.
* March 27 – The United States begins broadcasting TV Martí to Cuba.
* March 28 – U.S. President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.

### April

* April 2 – The UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team defeats the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team to win the 1990 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.
* April 6 – Robert Mapplethorpe's "The Perfect Moment" show of nude and homosexual photographs opens at the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center, in spite of accusations of indecency by Citizens for Community Values.
* April 7 – Iran-Contra Affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal; the convictions are later reversed on appeal.
* April 8 – Ryan White, who made headlines after being expelled for contracting AIDS, dies from the disease at the age of 18.
* April 9 – Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority, Inc. is established.
* April 17 – President Bush meets with representatives of 17 countries and two international organizations at the White House to discuss global warming and other environmental issues.
* April 20 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
* April 23 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Lebanese kidnappers release American educator Robert Polhill, who had been held hostage since January 1987.
* April 24 – Investor Michael Milken pleads guilty to six felonies and agrees to pay $600 million in fines and restitution.
* April 25 – The Space Shuttle *Discovery* places the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit.
* April 28 – *A Chorus Line*, the longest-running musical in Broadway history, closes after 6,137 performances.
* April 30 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Lebanese kidnappers release American educator Frank H. Reed, who had been held hostage since September 1986.

### May

* May 13 – In the Philippines, gunmen kill two United States Air Force airmen near Clark Air Base on the eve of talks between the Philippines and the United States over the future of American military bases in the Philippines.
* May 19 – The U.S. and the Soviet Union agree to end production of chemical weapons and to destroy most of their stockpiles of chemical weapons.
* May 22 – Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.
* May 24 – The Edmonton Oilers defeat the Boston Bruins in the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals for their fifth Stanley Cup.
* May 30 – President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev begin a four-day summit meeting in Washington, D.C.

### June

* June 1
	+ Cold War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Chemical Weapons Accord to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks.
	+ The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 2,900 for the first time ever.
* June 2 – The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 88 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12; Thirty-seven tornadoes occur in Indiana, eclipsing the previous record of 21 during the 1974 Super Outbreak.
* June 3 – The last month of the 1980s business cycle expansion, at the time the second-longest expansion in American history (the 1960s expansion was a year longer), comes to an end; the unemployment rate is 5.2%.
* June 7
	+ Nickelodeon Studios opens.
	+ Universal Studios Florida opens to the public.
* June 9 – *Mega Borg* oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico near Galveston, Texas.
* June 11
	+ Nolan Ryan pitches his sixth career no-hitter.
	+ In *United States v. Eichman*, the Supreme Court overturns a 1989 federal law that made it illegal to burn the United States flag.
* June 14 – 1990 NBA Finals: The Detroit Pistons defeat the Portland Trail Blazers.
* June 17 – Nelson Mandela tours North America, visiting three Canadian cities and eight U.S. cities.
* June 18 – James Edward Pough kills 10 and injures six before committing suicide at a General Motors car loan office in Jacksonville, Florida.
* June 22 – The United States Fish and Wildlife Service declares the spotted owl a threatened species.
* June 25 – In *Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health*, the Supreme Court allows public officials to intervene in questions of termination of life support in the absence of an advance healthcare directive.
* June 26 – President George H. W. Bush reneges on his 1988 "no new taxes" campaign pledge in a statement accepting tax revenue increases as a necessity to reduce the budget deficit. This later becomes a factor in the 1992 presidential election.

### July

* July 1 – The United States enters the early 1990s recession.
* July 2 – A U.S. District Court acquits Imelda Marcos on racketeering and fraud charges.
* July 4 – SK8-TV debuts on Nickelodeon.
* July 9 – The 16th G7 Summit is held in Houston.
* July 19 – Pete Rose is sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to filing false tax returns.
* July 20
	+ A federal appeals court overturns three convictions of Oliver North.
	+ William J. Brennan Jr. resigns from the Supreme Court for health reasons.
* July 25 – The United States Senate votes to reprimand Senator David Durenberger for improper financial dealings and orders him to pay restitution.
* July 26
	+ U.S. President George H. W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, designed to protect disabled Americans from discrimination.
	+ The United States House of Representatives votes to reprimand Rep. Barney Frank for conduct stemming from his relationship with a male prostitute.
* July 28 – A fire at a generating plant knocks out power to 40,000 homes in Chicago's west side. Power is restored by July 31.

### August

* August 2
	+ Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War.
	+ Federal prosecutors indict Rep. Floyd H. Flake and his wife on 17 counts of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion.
* August 6 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to its invasion of Kuwait.
* August 9 – Yosemite National Park closes temporarily because of forest fires.
* August 10 – *The Magellan* enters orbit around Venus.
* August 12 – "Sue", the best preserved *Tyrannosaurus rex* specimen ever found, is discovered near Faith, South Dakota by Sue Hendrickson.
* August 18 – In New York City, a jury finds three teenagers guilty of raping and assaulting a woman in Central Park in April 1989. On September 11, they are sentenced to 5–10 years in prison.
* August 19 – Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
* August 26 – In Gainesville, Florida, police find five murdered college students, apparently killed by a serial killer.
* August 28 – The Plainfield Tornado (F5 on the Fujita scale) strikes the towns of Plainfield, Crest Hill, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 29 people (the strongest tornado to date to strike the Chicago Metropolitan Area).

### September

* September 8 – Fox Kids, a children's programming block, debuts on Fox.
* September 9
	+ President Bush and Soviet President Gorbachev meet in Helsinki to discuss the Persian Gulf crisis.
	+ After six years of renovations, Ellis Island reopens as an immigration museum.
	+ Pete Sampras, age 19, wins the 1990 US Open, becoming the youngest person to ever win the event.
* September 11 – Gulf War: President George H. W. Bush delivers a nationally televised speech in which he threatens the use of force to remove Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait.
* September 12 – Cold War: The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification.
* September 14 – Scientists at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland begin the first gene therapy on a human patient.
* September 17 – United States Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney fires Gen. Michael Dugan, Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, for publicly discussing plans to bomb Iraq.
* September 18
	+ The International Olympic Committee awards the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta, Georgia.
	+ Charles Keating is indicted on charges in connection with the 1989 failure of the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association.
* September 24 – President Bush meets with President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk at the White House, the first time a South African head of government had visited the U.S. since 1945.
* September 26 – The Motion Picture Association of America replaces its X rating with a new NC-17 rating.
* September 29 – Washington National Cathedral is completed after 83 years of construction.
* September 30 – The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible is published in the United States.

### October

* October 2 – The Senate confirms David Souter to the Supreme Court; he takes his seat on October 9.
* October 3 – In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a jury convicts a record store owner of obscenity for selling an album by 2 Live Crew. On October 20, a second jury finds 2 Live Crew not guilty of obscenity on charges stemming from a June 1990 performance.
* October 5 – In Cincinnati, a jury finds an art museum and its art director innocent of breaking obscenity laws for displaying sexually explicit photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe.
* October 6 – STS-41: The Space Shuttle *Discovery* lifts off and launches the *Ulysses* on a mission to study the sun.
* October 8 – The federal government temporarily halts all non-essential services after Congress fails to enact a new budget and President Bush vetoes a stop-gap spending measure.
* October 9 – Leonard Bernstein announces his retirement from conducting after 47 years. He dies five days later.
* October 20 – The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Oakland Athletics, 4 games to 0, to win their 5th World Series Title.
* October 22
	+ President Bush vetoes a civil rights bill that would have strengthened federal protection against job discrimination, arguing that it would lead to race and gender-based quotas.
	+ In Orange County, California, a judge denies a surrogate mother's request for parental rights to a child she bore for another couple.
* October 24 – United States Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole announces her resignation.
* October 25 – Evander Holyfield defeats James "Buster" Douglas to become the heavyweight boxing champion.
* October 27 – Congress passes the Clean Air Act of 1990.

### November

* November 1 – Rhode Island banking crisis begins.
* November 5
	+ President George H. W. Bush signs the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, which includes tax increases despite his "no new taxes" pledge.
	+ Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
* November 6
	+ In the congressional elections, Democrats increase their majorities in both houses of Congress.
	+ Sharon Pratt Kelly is elected Mayor of the District of Columbia, becoming the first black woman to head a major U.S. city. She takes office January 2, 1991.
* November 8 – William Bennett resigns as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
* November 11 – Stormie Jones, the Texas girl who had been the world's first recipient of a simultaneous heart and liver transplant in 1984, dies at a Pittsburgh hospital at age 13.
* November 15 – STS-38: Space Shuttle *Atlantis* is launched on a classified military mission.
* November 16
	+ President Bush leaves on a trip to Europe and the Middle East; he spends Thanksgiving with U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.
	+ Walt Disney Feature Animation's 29th feature film, *The Rescuers Down Under*, is released. A sequel to 1977's *The Rescuers* and the first theatrically-released Disney sequel, it received positive reviews but struggled at the box office as it opened the same day as *Home Alone*.
* November 21 – Financier Michael Milken is sentenced to 10 years in prison.
* November 27 – The National Football League fines the New England Patriots and three of its players for the sexual harassment of reporter Lisa Olson.
* November 29 – Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council passes U.N. Security Council Resolution 678, authorizing military intervention in Iraq if that nation does not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.

### December

* December 1
	+ The unemployment rate rises to 6.3%, the highest since May 1987.
	+ Quarterback Ty Detmer of the BYU Cougars football wins the Heisman Trophy.
* December 2
	+ STS-35: Space Shuttle *Columbia* begins a mission that ends on December 10, a day earlier than planned, ending a mission plagued with computer and plumbing problems.
	+ President Bush visits Brazil, Uruguay, Argentine, Chile, and Venezuela.
* December 3 – At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9) collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 (a Boeing 727) on the runway, killing eight passengers and four crew members on Flight 1482.
* December 11
	+ A dense fog overwhelms an interstate near Calhoun, Tennessee, damaging ninety-nine vehicles, injuring forty-two people, and killing a dozen, making it one of the worst automobile accidents in American history.
	+ American mob boss John Gotti is arrested.
* December 14 – President Bush names Lynn Morley Martin to replace Elizabeth Dole as Secretary of Labor.
* December 17 – President Bush names Lamar Alexander as United States Secretary of Education, replacing Lauro Cavazos, who resigned on December 12.
* December 25 – *The Godfather Part III* opens in theaters.

## Memoriam

### January

* January 2 – Alan Hale Jr., actor (aged 68; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 4 – Doc Edgerton, electrical engineer (aged 86; Cambridge, MA, USA)
* January 5 – Arthur Kennedy, actor (aged 75; Branford, CT, USA)
* January 7 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American football player (aged 81; International Falls, MN, USA)
* January 9
	+ Northern Calloway, actor (aged 41; Ossining, NY, USA)
	+ Spud Chandler, baseball player (aged 82; South Pasadena, FL, USA)
* January 10 – Lyle R. Wheeler, art director (aged 84; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
* January 18
	+ Rusty Hamer, actor (aged 42; DeRidder, LA, USA)
	+ Edouard Izac, naval officer (aged 98; Fairfax, VA, USA)
* January 19 – Arthur Goldberg, Supreme Court justice (aged 81; Washington, DC, USA)
* January 20 – Barbara Stanwyck, actress (aged 82; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* January 22 – Roman Vishniac, Russian-American photographer (aged 92; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 23 – Allen Collins, musician (aged 37; Jacksonville, FL, USA)
* January 24 – Madge Bellamy, actress (aged 90; Upland, CA, USA)
* January 25
	+ John Rogers Cox, painter (aged 74; Louisville, KY, USA)
	+ Ava Gardner, actress (aged 67; London, England, UK)
* January 26 – Lewis Mumford, historian of science (aged 94; Amenia, NY, USA)
* January 27 – Helen Jerome Eddy, actress (aged 92; Alhambra, CA, USA)
* January 28 – Joseph Payne Brennan, writer (aged 71; New Haven, CT, USA)

### February

* February 2 – Mel Lewis, jazz musician (aged 60; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 3 – Jane Novak, actress (aged 94; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
* February 5 – Joseph J. Nazzaro, Air Force general (aged 76; Tucson, AZ, USA)
* February 7
	+ Nazarena of Jesus, Roman Catholic nun and missionary (aged 82; Glastonbury, CT, USA)
	+ Jimmy Van Heusen, composer (aged 77; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* February 8 – Del Shannon, musician and singer (aged 55; Santa Clarita, CA, USA)
* February 9 – Una Hanbury, British-born sculptor (aged 85; Santa Fe, NM, USA)
* February 10 – Bill Sherwood, musician and director (aged 37; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 13 – Angela Gregory, sculptor and professor (aged 86; New Orleans, LA, USA)
* February 14 – Jean Wallace, actress (aged 66; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 15 – Henry Brandon, German-born actor (aged 77; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 16 – Keith Haring, pop artist (aged 31; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 17 – Erik Rhodes, actor (aged 84; Oklahoma City, OK, USA)
* February 19 – Otto E. Neugebauer, Austrian-born mathematician and historian of science (aged 90; Princeton, NJ, USA)
* February 22 – Stephan W. Burns, actor (aged 35; Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
* February 23 – James M. Gavin, army general (aged 82; Baltimore, MD, USA)
* February 24
	+ Tony Conigliaro, baseball player (aged 45; Salem, MA, USA)
	+ Malcolm Forbes, publisher (aged 70; Far Hills, NJ, USA)
	+ Johnnie Ray, singer (aged 63; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 27 – Nahum Norbert Glatzer, scholar (aged 86; Tucson, AZ, USA)

### March

* March 4 – Hank Gathers, basketball player (aged 23; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 5 – Gary Merrill, actor (aged 74; Falmouth, ME, USA)
* March 6
	+ William Raborn, Navy officer (aged 84; McLean, VA, USA)
	+ Joe Sewell, baseball player (aged 91; Mobile, AL, USA)
* March 12 – Gene Klein, businessman (aged 69; Rancho Santa Fe, CA, USA)
* March 13 – Bruno Bettelheim, child psychologist (aged 86; Silver Spring, MD, USA)
* March 14 – Harold Medina, lawyer, teacher, and judge (aged 102; Westwood, NJ, USA)
* March 15 – Tom Harmon, football player and broadcaster (aged 70; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 17 – Samuel H. Friedman, journalist (aged 93; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 18 – Robin Harris, actor, comedian and voice artist (aged 36; Chicago, IL, USA)
* March 19 – Andrew Wood, musician (aged 24; Seattle, WA, USA)
* March 24 – Ray Goulding, comedian (aged 68; Manhasset, NY, USA)
* March 26 – Halston, fashion designer (aged 57; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* March 30 – Harry Bridges, Australian-born union leader (aged 88; San Francisco, CA, USA)

### April

* April 3
	+ Edna Reindel, Surrealist and Regionalist painter and sculptor (aged 96; Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA)
	+ Sarah Vaughan, jazz vocalist (aged 66; Hidden Hills, CA, USA)
* April 5 – Caroline F. Ware, historian and New Deal activist (aged 90; Brookline, MA, USA)
* April 7 – Ronald Evans, astronaut (aged 56; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* April 8 – Ryan White, AIDS activist (aged 18; Indianapolis, IN, USA)
* April 10 – Fortune Gordien, Olympic athlete (aged 67; Fontana, CA, USA)
* April 15 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-born actress (aged 84; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 17 – Ralph Abernathy, civil rights activist (aged 64; Atlanta, GA, USA)
* April 18
	+ Gory Guerrero, wrestler and father of Eddie Guerrero (aged 69; El Paso, TX, USA)
	+ Robert D. Webb, film director (aged 87; Newport Beach, CA, USA)
* April 21 – Frank Lausche, politician (aged 94; Cleveland, OH, USA)
* April 22 – Albert Salmi, actor (aged 62; Spokane, WA, USA)
* April 23 – Paulette Goddard, actress (aged 79; Ronco sopra Ascona, Switzerland)
* April 25 – Dexter Gordon, jazz saxophonist (aged 67; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* April 27 – Bella Spewack, songwriter (aged 91; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* April 30 – Joseph E. Johnson, government official (aged 84; Lynchburg, VA, USA)

### May

* May 1 – Sunset Carson, actor (aged 69; Reno, NV, USA)
* May 2
	+ William L. Dawson, composer, choir director, and professor (aged 90; Montgomery, AL, USA)
	+ David Rappaport, actor (aged 38; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* May 6 – Charles Farrell, actor (aged 89; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* May 10
	+ Susan Oliver, actress (aged 58; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
	+ Walker Percy, writer (aged 73; Covington, LA, USA)
* May 14 – Franklyn Seales, actor (aged 37; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 16
	+ Sammy Davis Jr., actor, dancer, and singer (aged 64; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
	+ Jim Henson, puppeteer and filmmaker (aged 53; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 18 – Jill Ireland, English actress (aged 54; Malibu, CA, USA)
* May 22 – Rocky Graziano, boxer (aged 71; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 25 – Vic Tayback, actor (aged 60; Glendale, CA, USA)
* May 30 – Ora Mendelsohn Rosen, biomedical researcher (aged 54; Manhattan, NY, USA)

### June

* June 2
	+ Neta Lohnes Frazier, children's author (aged 100; Spokane, WA, USA)
	+ Rex Harrison, English actor (aged 82; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 3 – Robert Noyce, businessman and inventor (aged 62; Austin, TX, USA)
* June 4
	+ Stiv Bators, singer (The Dead Boys) (aged 40; Paris, France)
	+ Jack Gilford, actor (aged 81; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 7 – Barbara Baxley, actress (aged 67; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* June 12 – Laura Scales, educator (aged 110; Northampton, MA, USA)
* June 14 – Philip Henry Bridenbaugh, football player and coach (aged 100; New Castle, PA, USA)
* June 20 – Ina Balin, actress (aged 52; New Haven, CT, USA)
* June 22 – Mollie Moon, civil rights activist (aged 77; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 27 – William Edward Davies, geologist and speleologist (aged 72; Falls Church, VA, USA)
* June 29 – Irving Wallace, writer (aged 74; Los Angeles, CA, USA)

### July

* July 4 – Phil Boggs, Olympic diver (aged 40; Miami, FL, USA)
* July 7 – Bill Cullen, game show host (aged 70; Bel Air, CA, USA)
* July 8 – Howard Duff, actor (aged 76; Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
* July 13 – Lois Moran, actress (aged 81; Sedona, AZ, USA)
* July 18 – Karl Menninger, psychiatrist (aged 96; Topeka, KS, USA)
* July 19 – Eddie Quillan, actor (aged 83; North Hollywood, CA, USA)
* July 21 – Joe Turner, jazz pianist (aged 82; Paris, France)
* July 26 – Brent Mydland, keyboard player (aged 37; Lafayette, CA, USA)

### August

* August 6 – Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., 4-star general of the American Marine Corps (aged 94; San Diego, CA, USA)
* August 9 – Dorothy Appleby, film actress (aged 84; New York City, NY, USA)
* August 12 – Dorothy Mackaill, British-born actress (aged 87; Honolulu, HI, USA)
* August 17 – Pearl Bailey, actress and singer (aged 72; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* August 18 – B. F. Skinner, psychologist (aged 86; Cambridge, MA, USA)
* August 23 – David Rose, British-born songwriter, composer, and arranger (aged 80; Burbank, CA, USA)
* August 25 – Willard L. Beaulac, diplomat (aged 91; Washington, DC, USA)
* August 27
	+ Raymond St. Jacques, actor (aged 60; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Stevie Ray Vaughan, guitarist (aged 35; East Troy, WI, USA)
* August 28 – Larry Jackson, baseball player and politician (aged 59; Boise, ID, USA)

### September

* September 4 – Irene Dunne, actress (aged 91; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 6 – Tom Fogerty, musician (aged 48; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* September 14 – Lotus Long, actress (aged 81; Orange County, CA, USA)
* September 19 – Hermes Pan, choreographer (aged 80; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* September 22 – John A. Danaher, politician (aged 91; West Hartford, CT, USA)
* September 23 – Betty Warfel, professional baseball player (aged 62; Enola, PA, USA)

### October

* October 1 – Curtis LeMay, United States Air Force general (aged 83; March Air Force Base, CA, USA)
* October 7 – Grim Natwick, animator (aged 100; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 8 – William Henry Harrison III, politician (aged 94; St. Petersburg, FL, USA)
* October 13 – Douglas Edwards, television news anchor (aged 73; Sarasota, FL, USA)
* October 14 – Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor (aged 72; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 15 – Helen Bray, actress (aged 100; Redwood City, CA, USA)
* October 16 – Art Blakey, jazz musician (aged 71; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 20 – Joel McCrea, actor (aged 84; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 26 – William S. Paley, media executive (aged 89; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 27
	+ Xavier Cugat, Catalan-born bandleader (aged 90; Barcelona, Spain)
	+ Elliott Roosevelt, writer (aged 80; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* October 29
	+ Herbert Brodkin, film and television director and producer (aged 77; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ William French Smith, lawyer and former Attorney General of the United States (aged 73; Los Angeles, CA, USA)

### November

* November 3 – Mary Martin, actress and singer (aged 76; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* November 5 – Meir Kahane, rabbi and political figure (aged 58; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* November 11 – Elliott Chaze, journalist and novelist (aged 74; Hattiesburg, MS, USA)
* November 12 – Eve Arden, actress (aged 82; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* November 17 – Robert Hofstadter, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 75; Stanford, CA, USA)
* November 27 – David White, actor (aged 74; Los Angeles, CA, USA)

### December

* December 2
	+ Aaron Copland, composer (aged 90; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Robert Cummings, actor (aged 80; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 7
	+ Joan Bennett, actress (aged 80; Scarsdale, NY, USA)
	+ Dee Clark, soul singer (aged 52; Smyrna, GA, USA)
* December 8 – Martin Ritt, film director (aged 76; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* December 9 – Mike Mazurki, actor and wrestler (aged 82; Glendale, CA, USA)
* December 10 – Armand Hammer, business tycoon (aged 92; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 13 – Alice Marble, tennis champion (aged 77; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* December 15 – Edmund Parker, Kenpo founder (aged 59; Honolulu, HI, USA)
* December 16 – Douglas Campbell, World War I pilot (aged 94; Greenwich, CT, USA)
* December 18 – Anne Revere, actress (aged 87; Locust Valley, NY, USA)
* December 20 – Elmo Tanner, singer and whistler (aged 86; St. Petersburg, FL, USA)
* December 28
	+ Kiel Martin, actor (aged 46; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
	+ Warren Skaaren, screenwriter and film producer (aged 44; Austin, TX, USA)
* December 31 – George Allen, football coach (aged 72; Palos Verdes Estates, CA, USA)