- January 12
- Civil Rights activist Reverand Al Sharpton is stabbed in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. [1]
- January 13
- The Walt Disney World Swan Hotel opens in Walt Disney World. [6]
- First elected US black governor inaugurated (Douglas Wilder-Virginia). [1] [42]
- In Maryland, a magnitude 2.6 earthquake occurs, the largest historical earthquake in Maryland. [53]
- January 15
- AT&T experiences long distance problems due to a computer glitch. [1]
- January
- Illinois state passes a riverboat gambling act. [187.441] (1989 [39])
- January 17
- The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Four Seasons, Four Tops, Hank Ballard, Platters and Kinks inducted into Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [1]
- January 18
- Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting. [1] [42]
- January 20
- 47th Golden Globes: Born on Fourth of July, Driving Miss Daisy win. [1]
- January 22
- Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm. [5] [42]
- 17th American Music Awards: Milli Vanilli. [1]
- January 25
- Avianca Flight 52 runs out of fuel and crashes into Cove Neck, Long Island, after a miscommunication between the flight crew and JFK Airport officials. 73 die. [1] [42]
- Former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is transferred to a Miami Florida jail. [1]
- 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. [1] [42]
- February 1
- Nintendo ships the Super Mario Bros. 3 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. (It becomes the best-selling video game of all time, grossing US$500 million, selling 17.28 million cartridges.) [9]
- February 7
- Oil tanker American Trader leaks 1.1 million litres of crude oil from a gash in the hull, causing an oil slick 22km long polluting Bosa Chica, a southern California nature reserve. [522]
- February 13
- US, France, and England give consent to German reunification. [1] [37][42]
- February 14
- Perrier recalls 160 million bottles of sparkling water after traces of benzene, a carcinogen, are found in some. [1]
- February 15
- IBM unveils its new RISC-based workstation line, the RS/6000. Development work had been done under code name "America" for the RISC chip research, and "RIOS" for systems using the America technology. The architecture of the systems is given the name POWER, standing for Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC. [4]
- February 21
- 32nd Grammy Awards: "Wind Beneath My Wings", Nick of Time win. [1]
- February 27
- Exxon Corp and Exxon Shipping are indicted on five criminal counts for the grounding and oil spill of the Exxon Valdez. [1] [42]
- February 28
- In Southern California, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurs. [53]
- March 1
- In Texas, near-stock ZR-1 and L-98 Corvettes set a dozen land speed records. Average speed for all runs is 170- to 175-MPH. [8]
- Steve Jackson Games is raided by the U.S. Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. [42]
- March 2
- Greyhound Bus workers go on strike. [1]
- March 3
- Carole Gist, 20, (Michigan), crowned 39th Miss USA. [1]
- March 6
- American SR-71 sets a transcontinental record, flying 2,404 miles in 1:08:17. [1] [42]
- March 7
- Three passengers killed and 162 injured as subway train derails in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. [1]
- H Wayne Huizenga buys half Joe Robbie Stadium and 15 percent of Miami Dolphins for US$30 million. [1]
- March 8
- New York City's Zodiac killer shoots first victim, Mario Orosco. [1]
- March 9
- Antonia Novello is sworn in as Surgeon General of the United States, becoming the first female and Hispanic American to serve in that position. [1] [42]
- March 10
- 4th American Comedy Awards: When Harry Met Sally. [1]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- March 14
- 4th Soul Train Music Awards: Soul II Soul, Janet Jackson. [1]
- March 18
- Twelve paintings, collectively worth US$100+ million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts by two thieves posing as police officers. This is the largest art theft in US history, and the paintings (as of 2007) have not been recovered. [1] [42]
- March 22
- Anchorage Alaska jury finds Captain Hazelwood innocent of Valdez oil spill. [1]
- March 23
- Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince William Sound and pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill. [1]
- Buena Vista releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Pretty Woman to theaters. (World theater gross receipts: US$463 million, making this Disney's most successful live-action film to date.) [6]
- March 25
- 10th Golden Raspberry Awards: Star Trek V wins. [1]
- In New York City, a fire due to arson at an illegal social club called "Happy Land" kills 87. [1][42]
- March 26
- 62nd Academy Awards: Driving Miss Daisy, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jessica Tandy win. [1]
- March 28
- U.S. President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal. [1] [5] [42]
- April 7
- John Poindexter (US National Security Advisor) is found guilty of five charges for his part in the Iran Contra scandal; the convictions are later reversed on appeal. [1] [42]
- April 9
- World's largest bunny hop at Radio City Music Hall (New York City). [1]
- April 10
- CUNY/Lehman College, Bronx, opens a branch campus in Hiroshma, Japan. [1]
- April 11
- New York Lotto pays US$35 million to two winners (numbers are 6-14-24-32-34-51). [1]
- April 12
- Greyhound Bus hires new drivers to replace strikers. [1]
- April 16
- Maximum New York State unemployment benefits raised to $260 per week. [1]
- US Supreme Court rejects appeal from retarded man, Dalton Prejean, condemned to death for murdering a Louisiana state trooper in 1977. [1]
- April 18
- Bankruptcy court forces Frank Lorenzo to give up Eastern Airlines. [1]
- US Supreme Court rules that states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one's home. [1]
- April 20
- STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. [42] (April 24 [1])
- April 22
- Lebanon releases US hostage Robert Polhill after 39 months. [1]
- April 23
- Albert Salmi, actor (Caddyshack), kills terminally ill wife and self at age 62. [1]
- April 24
- Security law violator Michael Milken pleads guilty to six felonies. [1]
- April 25
- Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by shuttle Discovery. [1] [5] (April 24 [42])
- 25th Academy of Country Music Awards: Clint Black and Kathy Mattea win. [1]
- April 27
- 50th annual barbershop quartet singing convention held (Michigan). [1]
- April 28
- Chorus Line closes at Shubert Theater in New York City after 6,137 performances (15 years). [1]
- April 30
- US hostage Frank Reed freed after four years in hands of pro-Iranians. [1]
- May 22
- At the Center City at Columbus Circle in New York, Microsoft introduces and ships Microsoft Windows 3.0. This version allows addressing memory above 640 kB. Microsoft spends US$3 million for opening-day marketing, as part of a US$10 million promotional campaign. [1] [4] [5] [42]
- May 23
- Cost of rescuing savings and loan failures in US is put at up to $130 billion. [1]
- A Gallup Poll shows that 62 percent of Americans want to retain the Lincoln cent in circulation. [495.36]
- May 28
- Superior Galleries conducts the Boys Town Sale coin auction in Beverly Hills California. The King of Siam Proof Set (with 1804 silver dollar) sells for $3.19 million, highest price paid for a single auction lot in numismatic history. Total sale is $21.5 million, highest grossing one-part numismatic auction to date. [623.10]
- May 31
- 63rd National Spelling Bee: Amy Marie Dimak wins spelling "fibranne". [1]
- New York City's Zodiac killer shoots third victim, Joseph Ponce. [1]
- June 1
- U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks. [42]
- June 2
- The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 88 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 9. 37 tornadoes occur in Indiana, eclipsing the previous record of 21 during the Super Outbreak of April 1974. [42]
- June 4
- The Walt Disney World Dolphin hotel opens at Walt Disney World. [6]
- June 7
- Universal Studios Florida opens to the public. [42]
- June 13
- Boeing 767 sets nonstop commercial flight: Seattle, Washington to Narobi, Kenya. [1]
- Washington DC mayor Marion Barry announces he will not seek a fourth term. [1]
- June 21
- Little Richard gets a star on Hollywood's walk of fame. [1]
- New York City's Zodiac killer shoots fourth victim, Larry Parham. [1]
- US House of Representatives vote 254-177 to stop US flag burning, doesn't pass Senate. [1]
- June 22
- Florida passes a law prohibits wearing a thong bathing suit. [1]
- June 26
- U.S. President George Bush breaks his 1988 'no new taxes' campaign pledge, accepting tax revenue increases as a necessity to reduce the budget deficit. [42]
- June 27
- Merrill Lynch begins selling up to US$2.25 billion convertible bonds for the Walt Disney Company, the largest such issue in US history. The bond issue is to raise funds for building Euro Disneyland in France. [6]
- (month unknown)
- West Virginia is the first US state to authorize slot machines and video lottery terminals at racetracks. [187.376]
- July 11
- New York City police arrest "Dartman" (stabbed over 50 women with darts). [1]
- July 16
- New York City's Empire State Building catches fire; no fatalities. [1]
- July 19
- Richard Nixon library opens in Yorba Linda, California. [1]
- July 20
- Justice William Brennan resigns from the US Supreme Court after 36 years. [1]
- July 25
- US Ambassador tells Iraq US won't take sides in Iraq-Kuwait dispute. [1]
- July 26
- U.S. President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, designed to protect disabled Americans from discrimination. [42]
- August 2
- US President signs executive order banning importation of ancient coins and antiquities from Iraq. [465.62]
- August 3
- US announces commitment of Naval forces to Gulf regions. [1]
- August 7
- Desert Shield begins - US deploys troops to Saudi Arabia. [1]
- Saudi Arabia allows US troops on their soil to stop an Iraqi invasion. [1]
- August 10
- American Magellan spacecraft lands on Venus. [1] [5]
- August 12
- The most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex ("Sue") is discovered near Faith, South Dakota. [5]
- August 16
- Iraq orders 4000 Britons and 2500 Americans in Kuwait to Iraq. [1]
- August 19
- Leonard Bernstein conducts his final concert, ending with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. [5] [42]
- August 22
- US President George Bush calls up military reserves. [1]
- August 24
- Iraqi troops surround American and other embassies in Kuwait City. [1]
- August 26
- Two slain college students found in Gainesville, Florida. [1]
- August 27
- 52 Americans arrive in Turkey from Iraq. [1]
- August 28
- Force 5 tornado strikes the towns of Plainfield, Crest Hill, and Joliet, in Illinois, killing 29 people. Strongest tornado to date to strike the Chicago metropolitan area. [42]
- August 29
- American C-5 transport plane crashes at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, killing 13. [1] [37]
- Saddam Hussein declares America can't beat Iraq. [1]
- September 4
- Jerry Lewis' 25th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $44,172,186. [1]
- September 7
- Miss America 1991 crowned. [1]
- September 8
- Ellis Island Historical Site opens on Eliis Island, New York City. [1]
- September 10
- US President George Bush and Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Helsinki, Finland. [1]
- Hard Rock Cafe opens in Las Vegas, Nevada. [1]
- September 11
- US President George H. W. Bush delivers a nationally televised speech in which he threatens the use of force to remove Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait. [42]
- September 12
- US, England, France, USSR, East and West Germanys sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in Moscow, allowing the two Germanys to merge. [1] [37] [42]
- September 15
- Florida lottery goes over US$100 million. [1]
- September 16
- 101-year-old Sam Ackerman weds 95-year-old Eva in New Rochelle, New York. [1]
- Iraq televises an 8-minute uncensored speech from US President George Bush. [1]
- September 17
- Newspaper Guild votes 242-35 to keep New York Post publishing. [1]
- September 18
- A 500-pound 6-foot chocolate Hershey Kiss is displayed at 1 Times Square, New York City. [1]
- September 20
- Saddam Hussein demands US networks broadcast his message. [1]
- September 23
- PBS begins an 11-hour miniseries on The US Civil War. [1]
- September 24
- South African President F.W. de Klerk meets President George Bush in Washington, DC. [1]
- September 25
- Saddam Hussein warns US will repeat Vietnam experience. [1]
- September 26
- Motion Picture Association of America creates new NC-17 rating. [1]
- September 27
- A gunman holds 33 people (killing 1) hostage in Berkley, California. [1]
- US Senate Judiciary committee approves David Souter's Supreme Court nomination. [1]
- September 28
- Marvin Gaye gets a star on Hollywood's walk of fame. [1]
- September 29
- Washington National Cathedral construction is completed after 83 years. [1] [42]
- October 1
- President George Bush at the United Nations, condemns Iraq's takeover of Kuwait. [1]
- The agreement is signed whereby the Allies of World War II return full sovereignty to Germany as of the agreed-to unification date of October 3. [37]
- October 2
- US Senate votes 90-9 to confirm David Souter to the Supreme Court. [1]
- October 5
- Cincinnati jury acquits art gallery of obscenity (Mapplethorpe photos). [1]
- Disney re-releases the film Fantasia to theaters, based on a two-year restoration from original film negatives, with the original soundtrack. [6]
- October 8
- US doctors Joseph E Murray and E Donnall Thomas win Nobel Prize. [1]
- October 9
- Radio stations around the world play "Imagine" honoring John Lennon. [1]
- October 11
- Center for Urban archaeology opens in New York City South Street Seaport Museum. [1]
- Oil hits a record US$40.42 per barrel. [1]
- October 15
- Apple Computer unveils and ships the Macintosh Classic. It features an 8 MHz 68000 processor, integrated 9-inch monochrome monitor, and 3.5-inch floppy drive, for $1000. It replaces the Macintosh Plus and the Macintosh SE. Apple also releases the Macintosh LC (68020 processor), and the Macintosh IIsi (68030 processor). [4]
- October 16
- US forces reach 200,000 in the Persian Gulf. [1]
- October 20
- Antiwar protest marches begin in 20 US cities (US-Iraq). [1]
- October 25
- New York Daily News goes on strike (lasts through March, 1991). [1]
- November 1
- Rhetoric escalates as US President George Bush likens Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler. [1]
- November 4
- Secretary of State James Baker visits US troops in Saudi Arabia. [1]
- November 5
- American rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel. [42]
- Disney's Yacht Club Resort hotel opens in Walt Disney World in Florida. [6]
- November 8
- 100,000 additional US troops are sent to the Persian Gulf. [1]
- November 9
- US President George Bush announces doubling of US forces in Persian Gulf. [1]
- November 15
- US President George Bush signs the Clean Air Act of 1990. [1]
- November 16
- Manuel Noriega claims US denied him a fair trial. [1]
- November 19
- Greyhound files reorganization plan so they can be traded publicly. [1]
- Disney's Beach Club Resort hotel opens in Walt Disney World in Florida. [6]
- November 21
- Michael Milken is sentenced to ten years for security law violations. [1]
- November 22
- US President George Bush visits US troops in Saudi Arabia during Thanksgiving. [1]
- November 23
- The first all-female expedition (three Americans, one Japanese and twelve Russians) to the south pole set off from Antarctica on the first leg of a 70-day, 1287-kilometre ski trek. [5]
- November 26
- Matsushita purchases MCA for $6.6 billion. [1]
- November 30
- US President George Bush proposes US-Iraq meeting to avoid war. [1]
- December 1
- Iraq accepts US President Bush's offer for talks. [1]
- 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 8 passengers and 4 crewmembers on Flight 1482. [42]
- December 4
- Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in New York City, New York. [1]
- December 11
- Thirteen die in 83-vehicle accident in Chattanooga, Tennessee (I-75), due to fog. [1]
- December 12
- US accuses Iraq of dragging its feet on dates for talks. [1]
- US ambassador to Kuwait, Nathaniel Howell, leaves Kuwait. [1]
- December 20
- Pentagon warns Saddam Hussein that US air power is ready to attack on January 15. [1]
- December 22
- Israeli ferry capsizes killing 21 US servicemen. [1]
- December 25
- Tim Berners-Lee creates the WorldWideWeb software browser for the NeXT computer, the first Web browser. [4]
- The first successful communication between a client and server via the Internet is established. [5]
- December 28
- Two die in a New York City subway accident. [1]
- December 31
- The Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting. [1]
- Year
- Lottery ticket sales in the USA: US$20 billion, net profit US$10 billion. [40.13]
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