- January 15
- Sean Lennon's remake of his father's "Give Peace A Chance" is released to coincide with the United Nation's midnight deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. The lyrics were updated to reflect concerns of the 1990's. [457]
- January 16
- U.S. serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men. [41]
- January 17
- Operation Desert Storm begins - US and 27 allies attack Iraq for occupying Kuwait. [1] [41]
- January 18
- Iraq fires eight SCUD missiles on Israel; first US pilot shot down (Jeffrey Zahn). [1] [41]
- Eastern Airlines goes out of business after 62 years due to financial problems. [1] [41]
- US acknowledges Central Intelligence Agency and US Army paid Manuel Noriega $320,000 over his career. [1]
- January 19
- 48th Golden Globes: Dances with Wolves. [1]
- January 20
- Iraq parades captured Allied airmen on TV. [1]
- US Patriot missiles begins shooting down Iraqi missiles. [1]
- January 21
- CBS News correspondent Bob Simon captured by Iraqis in Persian Gulf. [1]
- January 25
- Manuel Noriega is given access to assets frozen by US government. [1]
- January 26
- New York Lotto pays US$90 million to nine winners (numbers are 5-15-30-35-46-50). [1]
- January 27
- Nadine Strossen is first female president of the ACLU. [1]
- January 28
- 18th American Music Awards: M C Hammer and Janet Jackson. [1]
- February 1
- A USAir Boeing 737-300, Flight 1493 collides with a Skywest Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport killing 34. [1] [41]
- February 2
- US postage is raised from 25 cents to 29 cents. [1]
- February 5
- A Michigan court bars Dr Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides. [1] [41]
- February 20
- 33rd Grammy Awards: "Another Day in Paradise", Mariah Carey. [1]
- February 21
- USSR announces Iraq agrees to a proposal to end Persian Gulf War; US calls the plan unacceptable. [1] [41]
- February 22
- US President George H.W. Bush and US Gulf War allies give Iraq 24 hours to begin Kuwait withdrawal. [1]
- Kelli McCarty, 21, (Kansas), crowned 40th Miss USA. [1]
- February 23
- The One Meridian Plaza fire kills three firefighters and destroys eight floors of the building. [41]
- US insists Iraq publicly announce it is leaving Kuwait by 12 PM EST. [1]
- February 24
- US and allies begin a ground war assault on Iraqi troops in Kuwait. [1] [41]
- February 25
- Iraqi SCUD missile hits US barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 29, injuring 99. [1] [41]
- February 27
- Singer James Brown is released from prison. [1]
- February 28
- US and allied forces grant Iraq a cease fire. [1]
- March 1
- The ballistic missile submarine USS-ex-Sam Houston SSBN-609 is deactivated. [41]
- Clayton Keith Yeutter ends term as the United States Secretary of Agriculture. [41]
- US Embassy in Kuwait officially reopens. [1]
- March 2
- United Nations votes in favor of US resolutions for cease fire with Iraq. [1]
- March 3
- Iraqi generals and US General Schwarzkopf meet to discuss cease fire. [1]
- In California, Los Angeles Police severly beat Rodney King, captured on amateur video. [1] [41]
- United Airlines plane crashes near Colorado Springs, kills 25. [1]
- March 4
- Bank of Credit and Commerce International divests itself of first American Bank. [1]
- Iraq releases six US, three British, and one Italian prisoners-of-war. [1]
- March 6
- Following Iraq's capitulation in the Persian Gulf conflict, President George H.W. Bush tells US Congress that "aggression is defeated; the war is over". [1]
- March 8
- 17th People's Choice Awards: Julia Roberts, Bill Cosby, Pretty Woman. [1]
- US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. [1]
- March 9
- 5th American Comedy Awards: Dennis Wolfberg wins. [1]
- US 70th manned space mission STS 39 (Discovery 12) launches into orbit. [1]
- March 11
- Janet Jackson signs US$40 million three-album deal with Virgin Records. [1]
- March 13
- Exxon agrees to pay US$1 billion in fines and cleanup of Valdez oil spill (Prince William Sound, Alaska). [1] [41]
- March 15
- Four Los Angeles police officers are charged with beating Rodney King. [1] [41]
- March 16
- Seven members of Reba McEntire's band are killed in a plane crash. [1]
- Members of Irish Gay and Lesbian Organization march in New York City parade. [1]
- New York Lotto pays US$33.3 million to one winner (numbers are 18-21-32-33-35-38). [1]
- March 20
- Court awards Peggy Lee $3 million in contract violation suit against Walt Disney Company. [1]
- Michael Jackson signs US$65 million six-album deal with Sony Records. [1]
- US Supreme Court rules unanimously employers can't exclude women from jobs where exposure to toxic chemicals could potentially damage fetus. [1]
- US forgives US$2 billion in loans to Poland. [1]
- March 21
- 27 lost at sea when two US Navy anti-submarine planes collide. [1]
- March 22
- Law enforcement officers raid fraternities at University of Virginia seizing drugs. [1]
- New York Daily News begins using motto "Forward with New York". [1]
- Pamela Smart (high school teacher) found guilty in New Hampshire of manipulating her student-lover to kill her husband. [1]
- March 23
- 20 Tornadoes kill five in Tennessee. [1]
- March 24
- 11th Golden Raspberry Awards: Ford Fairlane and Ghosts Can't Do It win. [1]
- March 25
- 63rd Academy Awards: Dance with Wolves, Jeremy Irons and Kathy Bates win. [1]
- March 26
- Fuel pipe explodes under 58th street and Lexington Ave, New York City, New York. [1]
- April 1
- US Supreme Court rules jurors can't be barred from serving due to race. [1]
- US minimum wage goes from $3.80 to $4.25 per hour. [1]
- April 5
- Former Texas Republican Senator John Tower (age 65) and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia, United States. [1] [41]
- US begins air drops to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq. [1]
- April 9
- Release of Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0. [1]
- April 10
- Last automat (coin operated cafeteria) closes (3rd and 42nd Street, New York City, New York). [1]
- April 11
- New York City's Museum of Broadcasting becomes "Museum of Radio and Television". [1]
- April 12
- 2,500th episode of Entertainment Tonight airs on US TV. [1]
- US announces closing of 31 major US military bases. [1]
- April
- Iowa launches the first gaming vessel in recent U.S. history. [39]
- April 17
- Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for first time (3,004.46). [1] [41]
- Railroad workers go on strike in the US. [1]
- April 18
- Census Bureau says it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census. [1]
- US Congress ends railroad workers' one day strike. [1]
- April 19
- Greyhound Bus posts $195 million loss for 1990. [1]
- April 22
- Shalom America (Jewish cable network) is launched in Brooklyn and Queens. [1]
- April 24
- 26th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins. [1]
- April 26
- 70 tornadoes break out in the central United States, killing 17. The most notable tornado of the day strikes Andover, Kansas. [1] [41]
- May 3
- 356th and final episode of CBS-TV's second-longest-running series Dallas, second only to Gunsmoke. [1] [129]
- May 4
- Morris K Udall (Representative-Democrat-Arizona) resigns due to Parkinson disease. [1]
- May 8
- US Central Intelligence Agency director William H Webster resigns. [1]
- May 12
- A new cancer drug is announced, which can only be found in bark of a rare tree in the Pacific Northwest. [1]
- May 13
- Apple releases Macintosh System 7.0 operating system. [1]
- May 14
- Robert M Gates becomes 15th director of US Central Intelligence Agency. [1]
- May 15
- Defense for Panama President Manuel Noriega releases documents claiming Noriega was "CIA's man in Panamá". [1]
- May 16
- Queen Elizabeth II becomes first British monarch to address US congress. [1]
- May 17
- Disney's Port Orleans Resort hotel opens in Walt Disney World. It has 1008 guest rooms. [6]
- May 23
- US Supreme Court bars subsidized clinics from discussing abortion. [1]
- May 30
- 64th US National Spelling Bee: Joanne Lagatta wins spelling "antipyretic". [1]
- US Supreme Court rules prosecutors can be sued for legal advice they give police and can be held accountable. [1]
- June 1
- At the Consumer Electronics Show, Nintendo announces the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES). The 16-bit system will use new game cartridges, and compact discs using a CD-ROM drive developed with Philips N.V. [9]
- June 10
- Mother of All Parades-New York City welcomes Desert Storm troops. [1]
- June 11
- On the cruise yacht New Yorker, dubbed the "DOS Boat", in New York City harbor, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer unveil MS-DOS 5.0. It adds a full-screen editor, undelete and unformat utilities, and task swapping. GW-BASIC is replaced with Qbasic, based on Microsoft's QuickBASIC. (One million copies are sold in six weeks.) [4]
- June 17
- U.S. President Zachary Taylor 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. [1] [41]
- June 23
- Sega Enterprises introduces the Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Genesis and Game Gear video game systems in the US. [9]
- June 28
- In Sierra Madre, California, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake occurs. [53]
- July 11
- A total solar eclipse is seen in Hawaii and Mexico. [1] [5]
- July 15
- US troops leave northern Iraq. [1]
- July 22
- Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of 11 men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Dahmer confesses to killing 17 males in 1978. [1] [41]
- July 25
- The US Treasury and the Federal Reserve introduce two anti-counterfeiting features to 1990 $100 Federal Reserve Notes: a clear polyester security thread with "USA100" printed repeatedly on it, and continuous microprinting of "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" around the portrait of Benjamin Franklin. [525.124]
- July 27
- TV Guide publishes its 2000th edition. [1]
- August 7
- The World Wide Web debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet. [5] [41]
- Court rules Manuel Noriega may access some secret US documents. [1]
- August 11
- Shite Muslims release US hostage Edward Tracy. [1]
- August 12
- Creditors vote to support Greyhound Bus reorganization plan. [1]
- August 13
- Death of James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (born 1907). [41]
- The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is released in the United States. [41]
- August 15
- 750,000 attend Paul Simon's free concert in Central Park, New York. [1]
- August 17
- West of Crescent City, California, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurs. [53]
- August 25
- Student Linus Torvalds posts messages to a Usenet newsgroup comp.os.minix about the new operating system kernel he has been developing (Linux). [41]
- August 28
- Five die in a New York City subway's third worst accident. [1]
- August 31
- In Noblesville, Indiana, USA a meteorite falls harmlessly to the ground. [521]
- September 2
- The United States recognizes the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. [41]
- September 3
- In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people. [41]
- September 4
- Route 35 Theater in Hazlit, the last drive-in in New Jersey, closes. [1]
- September 5
- US trial of former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega begins. [1]
- September 11
- Fourteen die in a Continental Express commuter plane crash near Houston, Texas. [1]
- September 14
- Carolyn Suzanne Sapp (Hawaii) crowned Miss America 1992. [1]
- September 20
- (to September 21) In Sandy, Utah several patients are held hostage and a nurse is killed in the Alta View Hospital hostage incident. [41]
- September 21
- Culinary Union Local 226 at Hotel Last Frontier in Las Vegas votes 464 to 7 in favor of striking. (The strike lasts 2325 days.) [386.144]
- September 25
- The Paramount at Madison Square Garden in New York City opens. [1]
- September 26
- Two-year experimental Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona begins. [1]
- September 27
- US President George H.W. Bush decides to end full-time B-52 bombers alert. [1]
- October 2
- Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton announces he will seek the 1992 Democratic nomination for President of the United States. [41]
- October 10
- Ex-postal worker Joseph Harris kills four postal workers. [1]
- Greyhound Bus ends bankruptcy. [1]
- October 15
- United States Senate votes 52-48 to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States. [1] [41]
- October 16
- George Jo Hennard, age 35, kills 23 and himself and wounds 20 in Killeen, Texas. [1] [41]
- October 21
- The Oakland Hills firestorm in California kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments. [1] [41]
- October 22
- General Motors announces nine-month fiscal loss of US$2.2 billion. [1]
- October 23
- Dr Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine kills two women. [1]
- November 1
- Disney releases the film Fantasia on videocassette for US$24.99, and on laserdisc for US$40-100. (Nearly 15 million copies are sold.) [6]
- November 5
- David Duke, a white supremacist running as a Republican, loses the Louisiana Governor's race to Democratic candidate Edwin Edwards, by an overwhelming margin. [41]
- November 14
- American and British authorities announce indictments against 2 Libyan intelligence officials, in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103. [41]
- November 15
- Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 120.31 points (5th largest dive). [1]
- November 18
- Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite free, after four years of captivity. American educator Thomas M. Sutherland is also released. [1] [41] [129]
- November 22
- Disney generally releases the animated feature film Beauty and the Beast to theaters in the US and Canada. (North American theater gross receipts: US$146 million.) [6]
- November 23
- Square releases the Final Fantasy II video game for the Super NES video game system in the US. [9]
- November 24
- First international flight from Long Island's MacArthur Airport (to Mexico). [1]
- US 75th manned space mission "STS 44" Atlantis 10 launched. [1]
- November 30
- 93 cars and 11 trucks in accident near San Francisco during a dust storm, 17 die. [1]
- December 1
- US 75th manned space mission STS 44 Atlantis 10 lands. [1]
- December 2
- Muslim Shites release American held hostage in Lebanon (Joseph Cicippio). [1]
- December 3
- Muslim Shiites release US hostage Alan Steen. [1]
- White House Chief of Staff John Sununu resigns. [1]
- December 4
- Muslim Shiites in Lebanon release last US hostage Terry Anderson (held 6.5 years). [1] [41] [129]
- Captain Mark Pyle pilots Clipper Goodwill, a Pan American World Airways Boeing jet, to Miami International Airport ending 64 years of Pan Am operations. [1] [5] [41]
- December 5
- Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings and Loan fraud), found guilty. [1]
- New York Daily News files for bankruptcy protection under chapter 11. [1]
- December 10
- Howard Spira sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for trying to extort money from New York Yankees' owner George Steinbrenner. [1]
- IM Pei receives $5 million for design of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [1]
- December 12
- Orion Pictures files for bankruptcy protection in the USA. [1]
- December 13
- New York assembly speaker Mel Miller is convicted of federal mail fraud. [1]
- December
- Pacific Rarities sells a US 1838 $10 gold coin, Proof-65, one of three known, for $1,025,000. [604.48]
- December 18
- DeForest Kelly, (Dr McCoy on Star Trek) gets a star in Hollywood. [1]
- General Motors announces the closing of 21 plants. [1]
- December 20
- A Missouri court passes the death sentence on Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina. [41]
- December 23
- New York Daily News publisher Kevin Maxwell resigns. [1]
- December 26
- Jack Ruby's gun (killed Lee Harvey Oswald) sells for US$220,000 in auction. [1]
- December 28
- Ted Turner is named Time magazine Man of the Year. [1]
- December 31
- Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at record high 3168.83. [1]
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