1991

Events from the year **1991 in the United States**. Cold War ends.

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: H. Guy Hunt (Republican)
* Governor of Alaska: Wally Hickel (Republican) (starting December 3)
* Governor of Arizona: Rose Mofford (Democratic) (until March 6), Fife Symington III (Republican) (starting March 6)
* Governor of Arkansas: Bill Clinton (Democratic)
* Governor of California: George Deukmejian (Republican) (until January 7), Pete Wilson (Republican) (starting January 7)
* Governor of Colorado: Roy Romer (Democratic)
* Governor of Connecticut: William A. O'Neill (Democratic) (until January 9), Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (A Connecticut) (starting January 9)
* Governor of Delaware: Michael N. Castle (Republican)
* Governor of Florida: Bob Martinez (Republican) (until January 8), Lawton Chiles (Democratic) (starting January 8)
* Governor of Georgia: Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) (until January 14), Zell Miller (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Hawaii: John D. Waihee III (Democratic)
* Governor of Idaho: Cecil D. Andrus (Democratic)
* Governor of Illinois: James R. Thompson (Republican) (until January 14), Jim Edgar (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Indiana: Evan Bayh (Democratic)
* Governor of Iowa: Terry E. Branstad (Republican)
* Governor of Kansas: Mike Hayden (Republican) (until January 14), Joan Finney (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Kentucky: Wallace G. Wilkinson (Democratic) (until December 10), Brereton Jones (Democratic) (starting December 10)
* 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) (until January 3), William F. Weld (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Governor of Michigan: James Blanchard (Democratic) (until January 1), John Engler (Republican) (starting January 1)
* Governor of Minnesota: Rudy Perpich (Democratic) (until January 7), Arne H. Carlson (Republican) (starting January 7)
* 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) (until January 9), Ben Nelson (Democratic) (starting January 9)
* Governor of Nevada: Bob Miller (Democratic)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Judd Gregg (Republican)
* Governor of New Jersey: James Florio (Democratic)
* Governor of New Mexico: Garrey Carruthers (Republican) (until January 1), Bruce King (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* 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) (until January 14), George Voinovich (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Oklahoma: Henry Bellmon (Republican) (until January 14), David Walters (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Oregon: Neil Goldschmidt (Democratic) (until January 14), Barbara Roberts (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Robert P. Casey (Democratic)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) (until January 1), Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* 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) (until January 15), Ann Richards (Democratic) (starting January 15)
* Governor of Utah: Norman H. Bangerter (Republican)
* Governor of Vermont:
	+ until January 10: Madeleine M. Kunin (Democratic)
	+ January 10-August 13: Richard A. Snelling (Republican)
	+ starting August 13: Howard Dean (Democratic)
* Governor of Virginia: Douglas Wilder (Democratic)
* 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: Jack Coghill (Alaskan Independence)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winston Bryant (Democratic) (until January 15), Jim Guy Tucker (Democratic) (starting January 15)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Mike Callihan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Joseph J. Fauliso (Democratic) (until January 9), Eunice Groark (A Connecticut) (starting January 9)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Dale E. Wolf (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Bobby Brantley (Republican) (until January 8), Buddy MacKay (Democratic) (starting January 8)
* Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic) (until January 13), Pierre Howard (Democratic) (starting January 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Butch Otter (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: George H. Ryan (Republican) (until January 14), Bob Kustra (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Frank O'Bannon (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Jo Ann Zimmerman (Democratic) (until January), Joy Corning (Republican) (starting January)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Jack D. Walker (Republican) (until January 14), Jim Francisco (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Brereton Jones (Democratic) (until December 10), Paul E. Patton (Democratic) (starting December 10)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Paul Hardy (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Melvin A. Steinberg (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Evelyn Murphy (Democratic) (until January 3), Paul Cellucci (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Martha W. Griffiths (Democratic) (until January 1), Connie Binsfeld (Republican) (starting January 1)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Marlene Johnson (Democratic) (until January 7), Joanell Dyrstad (Democratic) (starting January 7)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Brad Dye (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Mel Carnahan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Allen Kolstad (Republican) (until January 20), Denny Rehberg (Republican) (starting January 20)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: William E. Nichol (Republican) (until month and day unknown), Maxine Moul (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: vacant (until January 7), Sue Wagner (Republican) (starting January 7)
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Jack L. Stahl (Republican) (until January 1), Casey Luna (Democratic) (starting January 1)
* 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) (until January 14), Mike DeWine (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Robert S. Kerr III (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), Jack Mildren (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown)
* 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) (until January 15), Bob Bullock (Democratic) (starting January 15)
* Lieutenant Governor of Utah: W. Val Oveson (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Howard Dean (Democratic) (until August 13), vacant (starting August 13)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Don Beyer (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Joel Pritchard (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Scott McCallum (Republican)

## 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 – The first attempt to cure cancer by gene therapy takes place at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

### February

* 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 2 – The early 1990s recession ends.
* 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 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 14 – Bee Gees' album, *High Civilization* is released in the United States.
* 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 Mw 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 first three Nicktoons 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 26 – The Cold War ends as President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union dissolves.

## Memoriam

### January

* January 3 – Luke Appling, baseball player (Chicago White Sox) and member of the MLB Hall of Fame (aged 83; Cumming, GA, USA)
* January 7 – Everett Bidwell, politician (aged 91; Portage, WI, USA)
* January 11 – Carl David Anderson, physicist (aged 85; San Marino, CA, USA)
* January 12 – Mary Francis Shura, writer (aged 67; Maywood, IL, USA)
* January 18 – Hamilton Fish III, soldier and politician (aged 102; Cold Spring, NY, USA)
* January 19 – John Russell, actor (aged 70; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 28 – Red Grange, American football player (aged 87; Lake Wales, FL, USA)
* January 29 – John McIntire, actor (aged 83; Pasadena, CA, USA)
* January 30
	+ John Bardeen, physicist (aged 82; Boston, MA, USA)
	+ Clifton C. Edom, photojournalism educator (aged 83; Branson, MO, USA)

### February

* February 1 – Carol Dempster, actress (aged 89; La Jolla, CA, USA)
* February 2 – Pete Axthelm, sportswriter (aged 47; Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
* February 3
	+ Nancy Kulp, actress (aged 69; Palm Desert, CA, USA)
	+ Ed Russenholt, first U.S. weather presenter (aged 100; Winnipeg, MB, Canada)
* February 5 – Dean Jagger, actor (aged 87; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* February 6 – Danny Thomas, singer, comedian, and actor (aged 79; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 10 – Bernard Lee, civil rights activist (aged 55; Washington, DC, USA)
* February 12 – Robert F. Wagner Jr., politician (aged 80; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 14
	+ John A. McCone, politician (aged 89; Pebble Beach, CA, USA)
	+ Neta Snook Southern, aviator (aged 95; Los Gatos, CA, USA)
* February 21 – John Sherman Cooper, politician (aged 89; Washington, DC, USA)
* February 24
	+ George Gobel, comedian (aged 71; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Jean Rogers, actress (aged 74; Sherman Oaks, CA, USA)

### March

* March 3 – Arthur Murray, dancer and dance instructor (aged 95; Honolulu, HI, USA)
* March 7 – Cool Papa Bell, baseball player (aged 87; St. Louis, MO, USA)
* March 12 – LeRoy Collins, 33rd Governor of Florida (aged 82; Tallahassee, FL, USA)
* March 14
	+ Howard Ashman, lyricist (aged 40; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Doc Pomus, composer (aged 65; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 15 – George Sherman, film director (aged 82; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 18 – Vilma Bánky, Hungarian-born actress (aged 90; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 21 – Leo Fender, instrument maker (aged 81; Fullerton, CA, USA)
* March 23 – Margaret Atwood Judson, historian and author (aged 91; Piscataway, NJ, USA)
* March 27 – Aldo Ray, actor (aged 64; Martinez, CA, USA)
* March 29 – Lee Atwater, political consultant and strategist (aged 40; Washington, DC, USA)

### April

* April 1 – Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer (aged 96; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 3 – Charles Goren, bridge player, writer, and columnist (aged 90; Encino, CA, USA)
* April 4 – John Heinz, politician (aged 52; Lower Merion Township, PA, USA)
* April 5
	+ Sonny Carter, astronaut (aged 43; Brunswick, GA, USA)
	+ John Tower, politician (aged 65; Brunswick, GA, USA)
* April 7 – Ruth Page, ballerina and choreographer (aged 92; Chicago, IL, USA)
* April 9 – Forrest Towns, Olympic athlete (aged 77; Athens, GA, USA)
* April 10
	+ Kevin Peter Hall, actor (aged 35; Hollywood, CA, USA)
	+ Natalie Schafer, actress (aged 90; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* April 11 – Dick Manning, Russian-born songwriter (aged 78; Marietta, GA, USA)
* April 20 – Don Siegel, film director (aged 78; Nipomo, CA, USA)
* April 23 – Johnny Thunders, musician (aged 38; New Orleans, LA, USA)
* April 26
	+ Carmine Coppola, composer and conductor (aged 80; Northridge, CA, USA)
	+ Emily McLaughlin, actress (aged 62; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ William Andrew Paton, founder of the American Accounting Association in 1916 (aged 101; Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
* April 28
	+ Paul E. Klopsteg, physicist (aged 101; Laguna Hills, CA, USA)
	+ Floyd McKissick, lawyer and civil rights activist (aged 69; Soul City, NC, USA)
	+ Lee Wulff, conservationist and fisherman (aged 86; Hancock, NY, USA)

### May

* May 1 – Richard Thorpe, film director (aged 95; Palm Springs, CA, USA)
* May 3 – Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American writer (aged 57; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 6 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, British actor (aged 87; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
* May 7 – Dennis Crosby, singer (aged 56; Novato, CA, USA)
* May 22 – D. H. Lehmer, mathematician (aged 86; Berkeley, CA, USA)
* May 24 – Gene Clark, singer-songwriter (aged 46; Sherman Oaks, CA, USA)
* May 29 – Coral Browne, Australian actress (aged 77; Los Angeles, CA, USA)

### June

* June 1 – David Ruffin, singer (aged 50; West Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* June 3 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-born actress (aged 92; Weston, CT, USA)
* June 4 – MC Trouble, rapper (aged 20; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* June 5
	+ Evelyn Boucher, British silent film actress (aged 99; Costa Mesa, CA, USA)
	+ Min Chueh Chang, Chinese-born reproductive biologist (aged 82; Shrewsbury, MA, USA)
	+ Larry Kert, actor (aged 60; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 6 – Stan Getz, jazz saxophonist (aged 64; Malibu, CA, USA)
* June 8 – Bertice Reading, actress and singer (aged 57; London, England, UK)
* June 9 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean-born pianist (aged 88; Mürzzuschlag, Austria)
* June 15 – Happy Chandler, 2nd commissioner of Major League Baseball (aged 92; Versailles, KY, USA)
* June 18 – Joan Caulfield, actress (aged 69; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* June 19 – Jean Arthur, actress (aged 90; Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, USA)
* June 25 – Michael Heidelberger, immunologist (aged 103; New York City, NY, USA)

### July

* July 1 – Michael Landon, actor (aged 54; Malibu, CA, USA)
* July 2 – Lee Remick, actress (aged 55; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* July 4 – Henry Koerner, Austrian-born painter and graphic designer (aged 75; St. Pölten, Austria)
* July 5
	+ Mildred Dunnock, actress (aged 90; Oak Bluffs, CA, USA)
	+ Howard Nemerov, poet (aged 71; University City, MO, USA)
* July 8 – James Franciscus, actor (aged 57; North Hollywood, CA, USA)
* July 15
	+ Bert Convy, actor, singer, game show host and television personality (aged 57; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Roger Revelle, scientist and scholar (aged 82; San Diego, CA, USA)
* July 16 – Robert Motherwell, painter (aged 76; Provincetown, MA, USA)
* July 17 – Arthur Raymond Brooks, World War I fighter ace (aged 95; Summit, NJ, USA)

### August

* August 1 – Chris Short, baseball pitcher (aged 53; Wilmington, DE, USA)
* August 5
	+ Paul Brown, American football coach (aged 82; Cincinnati, OH, USA)
	+ Sam Goodman, gospel singer (aged 60; Madisonville, KY, USA)
* August 6 – Harry Reasoner, journalist and newscaster (aged 68; Westport, CT, USA)
* August 8
	+ Julissa Gomez, gymnast (aged 18; Houston, TX, USA)
	+ James Irwin, astronaut (aged 61; Glenwood Springs, CO, USA)
* August 11 – J. D. McDuffie, NASCAR driver (aged 52; Watkins Glen, NY, USA)
* August 13 – James Roosevelt, businessman and politician (aged 83; Newport Beach, CA, USA)
* August 14 – Richard A. Snelling, politician (aged 64; Shelburne, VT, USA)
* August 17 – Marguerite Williams, African American geologist (aged 95; Washington, DC, USA)
* August 22
	+ Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-born actress (aged 67; South Salem, NY, USA)
	+ Jane Stafford, medical writer and chemist (aged 91; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* August 23
	+ Florence B. Seibert, biochemist (aged 93; St. Petersburg, FL, USA)
	+ Mildred Trotter, forensic anthropologist (aged 92; St. Louis, MO, USA)
* August 25 – Niven Busch, novelist and screenwriter (aged 88; San Francisco, CA, USA)

### September

* September 3 – Frank Capra, Italian-born film director (aged 94; La Quinta, CA, USA)
* September 4
	+ Charlie Barnet, jazz saxophonist (aged 77; San Diego, CA, USA)
	+ Tom Tryon, actor and writer (aged 65; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Dottie West, singer (aged 58; Nashville, TN, USA)
* September 6 – Donald Henry Gaskins, serial killer (aged 58; Columbia, SC, USA)
* September 7 – Edwin McMillan, chemist (aged 83; El Cerrito, CA, USA)
* September 8
	+ Brad Davis, actor (aged 41; Studio City, CA, USA)
	+ Alex North, film composer (aged 80; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Nell Donnelly Reed, fashion designer and businesswoman (aged 1102; Kansas City, MO, USA)
* September 12 – Chris Von Erich, professional wrestler (aged 21; Denton, TX, USA)
* September 13 – Joe Pasternak, Hungarian-born film director (aged 89; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* September 14
	+ Russell Lynes, art historian, photographer, and author (aged 80; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Lisa Michelson, voice actress (aged 33; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 15 – John Hoyt, actor (aged 85; Santa Cruz, CA, USA)
* September 17 – Frank H. Netter, artist, physician, and medical illustrator (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
* September 24 – Dr. Seuss, author (aged 87; San Diego, CA, USA)
* September 25 – Barbara Rose Johns, civil rights activist (aged 56; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* September 28 – Miles Davis, jazz trumpeter (aged 65; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* September 29 – Grace Zaring Stone, writer (aged 100; Mystic, CT, USA)

### October

* October 9 – Thalmus Rasulala, actor (aged 51; Albuquerque, NM, USA)
* October 11 – Redd Foxx, comedian and actor (aged 68; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 12
	+ Aline MacMahon, actress (aged 92; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Regis Toomey, actor (aged 93; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 17 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, singer (aged 72; Reston, VA, USA)
* October 24 – Gene Roddenberry, television producer (aged 70; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* October 25 – Bill Graham, promoter (aged 60; Vallejo, CA, USA)
* October 27 – Howard Kingsbury, Olympic rower; Men's eights (aged 87; Yarmouthport, MA, USA)
* October 28 – Sylvia Fine, lyricist (aged 78; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 31 – Joseph Papp, theater director and producer (aged 70; New York City, NY, USA)

### November

* November 2
	+ Irwin Allen, film and television producer (aged 75; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
	+ Mort Shuman, singer, pianist and songwriter (aged 52; London, England, UK)
* November 3 – Chris Bender, musician (aged 19; Brockton, MA, USA)
* November 5 – Fred MacMurray, actor (aged 83; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* November 6 – Gene Tierney, actress (aged 70; Houston, TX, USA)
* November 8 – John Kirkpatrick, pianist and music scholar (aged 86; Ithaca, NY, USA)
* November 14 – Tony Richardson, English film and theater director (aged 63; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 19 – Reggie Nalder, Austrian actor (aged 84; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* November 21 – Daniel Mann, film director (aged 79; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 23 – Klaus Kinski, German actor (aged 65; Lagunitas, CA, USA)
* November 24
	+ Eric Carr, drummer (aged 41; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Anton Furst, art director (aged 47; Hollywood, CA, USA)
	+ Freddie Mercury, British singer and songwriter (aged 45; London, England, UK)
* November 25 – Eleanor Audley, actress (aged 86; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 26
	+ Carl G. Fenner, botanist (aged 92; Lansing, MI, USA)
	+ Ed Heinemann, aircraft designer (aged 83; Rancho Santa Fe, CA, USA)
	+ Bob Johnson, ice hockey coach (aged 60; Colorado Springs, CO, USA)
* November 29
	+ Ralph Bellamy, actor (aged 87; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
	+ Frank Yerby, novelist (aged 75; Madrid, Spain)

### December

* December 1 – George Stigler, economist (aged 80; Chicago, IL, USA)
* December 5 – Richard Speck, mass murderer (aged 49; Joliet, IL, USA)
* December 9 – Berenice Abbott, photographer (aged 93; Monson, ME, USA)
* December 10 – Greta Kempton, artist (aged 90; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 11 – Robert Q. Lewis, radio and television personality (aged 70; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 12 – Eleanor Boardman, actress (aged 93; Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
* December 19 – Howie Dallmar, basketball player (aged 69; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* December 20 – Maynard C. Krueger, politician and an economics professor (aged 85; Pleasanton, CA, USA)
* December 21 – Sheldon Mayer, author and illustrator (aged 74; Copake, NY, USA)