Directory

1991 CE

The Gulf War air campaign begins, as coalition forces launch an assault leading to victory over Iraq; the 1991 Soviet coup attempt and Dissolution of the Soviet Union bring an end to the Soviet Union and the Cold War; the Yugoslav Wars begin, including the Ten-Day War in Slovenia and the Croatian War of Independence; the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo becomes one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century; the 1991 Bangladesh cyclone kills over 100,000; START I is signed to reduce strategic nuclear weapons; the Santa Cruz massacre sees Indonesian forces kill protesters in East Timor; Operation Solomon evacuates thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel; and Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 29 – In South Africa, Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress and Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party agree to end violence between the two organizations.source
  • February 7 – 1991 Haitian coup d'état: Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in. He is ousted on September 30 and later reinstated in 1994. In response to the coup and in an effort to encourage the coup leaders to restore democracy, the U.S. expands trade sanctions on Haiti to include all goods except food and medicine on October 29.source
  • February 15 – The Visegrád Group, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is established by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland.source
  • March 15 – Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the U.K., the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.) relinquish all remaining rights to the country.source
  • March 26 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur.source
  • March 31 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Georgia votes for independence from the Soviet Union while on April 9, the Supreme Council declares the independent Republic of Georgia.source
  • May 16 – Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress during a 13-day royal visit in Washington, D.C.source
  • May 18 – Somaliland secedes from Somalia; its independence is not recognised by the international community.source
  • May 19 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: In the Croatian independence referendum, voters in the Socialist Republic of Croatia vote to leave SFR Yugoslavia.source
  • June 15 – The Indian general elections end; the Indian National Congress wins the most seats but fails to secure a majority. Six days later, Congress leader P. V. Narasimha Rao becomes Prime Minister of India.source
  • July 4 – The Constituent Assembly of Colombia proclaims a new constitution, allowing the President of Colombia César Gaviria to lift the country's seven-year-long state of siege.source
  • July 9 – End of Apartheid: The International Olympic Committee readmits South Africa to the Olympics. The following day, U.S. President Bush terminates 1986-enacted U.S. sanctions on South Africa.source
  • September 4 – Sverdlovsk's name is restored to its pre-communist–era name Yekaterinburg. Two days later, Leningrad is renamed St. Petersburg.source
  • September 8 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent, beginning a name dispute with Greece.source
  • September 25 – Salvadoran Civil War: Representatives of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front reach an agreement with President of El Salvador Alfredo Cristiani, setting the stage for the end of the war.source
  • October 13 – In the Bulgarian parliamentary election, the Union of Democratic Forces defeats the Bulgarian Socialist Party, leaving no remaining Communist governments in Eastern Europe.source
  • October 15 – The leaders of the Baltic States—Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia, and the Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania—sign the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.source
  • October 15 – Clarence Thomas is confirmed as the new U.S. Supreme Court Justice following Thurgood Marshall's retirement.source
  • October 18 – The Soviet Union restores its diplomatic relations with Israel, which have been suspended since the 1967 Six-Day War.source
  • October 23 – In Paris, the Vietnam-backed government of the state of Cambodia signs an agreement with the Khmer Rouge to end the civil war and bring the Khmer Rouge into power despite its role in the Cambodian genocide. The deal ends the Cambodian–Vietnamese War and results in the creation of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia.source
  • November 5 – China and Vietnam restore diplomatic relations after a 13-year rift which followed the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War.source
  • December 1 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Ukrainians vote overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union in a referendum.source
  • December 12 – Ukraine becomes the first post-Soviet republic to decriminalize homosexuality.source
  • December 12 – The government of Nigeria moves the capital from Lagos to Abuja.source

Conflict & Security

  • January 5 – Georgian troops attack Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, starting the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.source
  • January 9 – Gulf War: U.S. Secretary of State James Baker meets with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz but fails to produce a plan for the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait.source
  • January 12 – Gulf War: The 102nd U.S. Congress passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.source
  • January 15 – Gulf War: The UN deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.source
  • January 16 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins with air strikes against Iraq.source
  • February 18 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army explodes bombs in the early morning, at both Paddington station and Victoria station, in London.source
  • February 27 – Gulf War: U.S. President Bush declares victory over Iraq and orders a cease-fire. U.S. troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf on March 10.source
  • April 16–18 – General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev begins the first ever visit of a Soviet leader to Japan, but fails to resolve the two countries' dispute over ownership of the Kuril Islands.source
  • May 21 – Ethiopian Civil War: Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia to Zimbabwe, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.source
  • May 21 – At Sriperumbudur, India, a suicide bomber from LTTE attacks a political meeting, killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and at least 14 others.source
  • May 24 – Following authorisation by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Operation Solomon commences to airlift most of the remaining Beta Israel community from Ethiopia to Israel. The same day the Eritrean People's Liberation Front enters Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.source
  • June 12 – Sri Lankan civil war: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill 152 civilians in Kokkadichcholai.source
  • June 20 – Harry Collinson, the planning officer for Derwentside District Council, is shot dead at Butsfield, County Durham, England, and the incident is caught on camera by a BBC regional news crew.source
  • June 28 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Comecon is dissolved in Moscow, Russia.source
  • July 31 – Singing Revolution: Soviet Special Purpose Police Unit forces (OMON) kill seven Lithuanian customs officials in Medininkai, the deadliest of the Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts.source
  • August 25 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Serbian forces begin an attack on the Croatian town of Vukovar.source
  • August 29 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Maronite general Michel Aoun leaves Lebanon on a French warship into exile.source
  • September 11 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Israel releases 51 Arab prisoners and the bodies of nine guerrillas, paving the way for the release of the last western hostages in Lebanon.source
  • October 1 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Forces of the Yugoslav People's Army surround Dubrovnik, beginning the Siege of Dubrovnik, which lasts until May 31, 1992.source
  • October 7 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Yugoslav Air Force bombs the office of Croatian President Franjo Tuđman, causing the Croatian Parliament to cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia the following day.source
  • October 11 – Iraq disarmament crisis: The UN Security Council passes Resolution 715, demanding that Iraq "accept unconditionally the inspectors and all other personnel designated by the Special Commission." Iraq rejects the resolution, calling it "unlawful".source
  • November 18 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The forces of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitaries take the Croatian town of Vukovar after the 87-day Battle of Vukovar. They kill more than 260 Croatian prisoners of war.source
  • November 20 – An Azerbaijani Mil Mi-8 helicopter carrying a 19-member peacekeeping mission team is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District, Azerbaijan.source
  • December 22 – Armed opposition groups launch a military coup against President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • September 19 – Ötzi the Iceman is found in the Alps.source
  • September 22 – The Huntington Library makes the Dead Sea Scrolls available to the public for the first time.source

Religion & Belief

  • March 30 – French woman and supercentenarian Jeanne Calment surpasses the final age achieved by Easter Wiggins (1874–1990) of 116 years, 36 days and becomes the oldest verified person in history.source
  • April 19 – George Carey is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.source
  • September 5 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union self-dissolves, being replaced by Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and State Council of the Soviet Union.source
  • November 2 – Bartholomew I is enthroned as Patriarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, thus becoming the new spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox worldwide.source

Economy & Finance

  • April 2 – Economy of the Soviet Union: Government-imposed price increases double or triple the cost of consumer goods in the Soviet Union.source
  • April 12 – The Warsaw Stock Exchange opens in Poland.source
  • April 15 – End of Apartheid: The European Economic Community lifts economic sanctions on South Africa.source
  • July 15 – Chemical Bank and Manufacturers Hanover Corporation amalgamate, becoming the largest bank merger in history.source
  • July 24 – Finance Minister of India Manmohan Singh announces a new industrial policy, marking the start of economic liberalisation in India.source
  • July 29 – In New York City, a grand jury indicts Bank of Credit and Commerce International of the largest bank fraud in history, accusing the bank of defrauding depositors of US$5 billion.source
  • September 15 – In the Swedish general election, the Social Democrats suffer their worst election results in 60 years, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson.source
  • October 3 – Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Foley announces the closure of the House Bank by the end of the year after revelations that House members have written numerous bad checks.source
  • November 4–5 – End of Apartheid: The African National Congress leads a general strike, demanding representation in the government and an end to the value-added tax.source
  • November 26 – Michael Jackson releases Dangerous, selling 5 million copies in the first week.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • February 20 – Python, a programming language created by Guido van Rossum, Is released.source
  • April 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time in history, at 3,004.46.source
  • July 1 – The world's first GSM telephone call is made in Finland.source
  • July 1 – In the U.S., telephone services go down in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and San Francisco as a result of a software bug, affecting nearly 12 million customers.source
  • August 6 – Tim Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist working at CERN, announces the World Wide Web project and software on the alt.hypertext newsgroup. The first website, "info.cern.ch", is created.source
  • August 25 – Linus Torvalds posts messages to the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.minix, regarding the new operating system kernel he has developed, called Linux.source
  • November 9 – The British JET fusion reactor generates 1.5 MW output power.source
  • December 19 – Skarnsund Bridge opens in Norway, becoming the world's longest cable-stayed bridge for two years with a span of 530 m ft.source

Science & Discovery

  • February 6 – A Boeing KC-135E Stratotanker is involved in an accident over Saudi Arabia when two engines on the left wing detach from the aircraft. The pilots manage to execute an emergency landing saving all four crew members on board. The aircraft is later repaired and returned to service.source
  • April 5 – Space Shuttle Atlantis leaves an observatory in Earth's orbit to study gamma rays before returning on April 11. It is followed by Space Shuttle Discovery, which studies instruments related to the Strategic Defense Initiative from April 29 to May 6. Space Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab into orbit on June 5.source
  • April 10 – A South Atlantic tropical cyclone develops in the Southern Hemisphere off the coast of Angola, the first of its kind to be documented by weather satellites.source
  • June 4 – A large solar flare triggers an unusually large aurora as far south as Pennsylvania.source
  • June 23 – Sonic the Hedgehog is released by Sega for the Sega Genesis to compete with Nintendo's Mario franchise.source
  • July 11 – A solar eclipse of record totality occurs in the Northern hemisphere and is witnessed by hundreds of millions of people in Hawaii, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.source
  • October 15 – The Oh-My-God particle, the highest energy cosmic ray ever recorded, is detected.source
  • October 29 – NASA's Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.source

Health & Medicine

  • November 6 – The CPSU and its republic-level division, the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR, are banned in the Russian SFSR by presidential decree.source

Crime & Justice

  • March 3 – A video captures the beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. Four Los Angeles police officers are indicted on March 15 for the beating.source
  • March 14 – The Troubles: After 16 years in prison for allegedly bombing an English public house in a Provisional IRA attack, the "Birmingham Six" are freed when a court determines that their conviction was unsafe and unsatisfactory.source
  • June 16 – Father's Day bank massacre: Four security guards are shot to death during a bank robbery at the United Bank Tower in Denver, Colorado, United States. The former police officer subsequently charged with the crime is acquitted, and the case remains unsolved.source
  • July 9 – Iran–Contra affair: Alan Fiers agrees to plead guilty to two charges of lying to the U.S. Congress. Later on September 16, D.C. Judge Gerhard Gesell issues a ruling clearing Col. Oliver North of all charges.source
  • July 22 – U.S. boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with the rape, three days earlier, of Desiree Washington, a Miss Black America contestant, in Indianapolis, Indiana.source
  • September 24 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Lebanese kidnappers release Jackie Mann after more than two years of captivity.source
  • September 29 – Salvadoran Civil War: An army colonel of the Atlácatl Battalion is found guilty of the 1989 murders of six Jesuits.source
  • October 16 – Luby's shooting: 23 people are killed at a Luby's restaurant in Killeen, Texas after George Hennard drives his truck through the establishment and begins firing at diners. It becomes the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and wouldn't be surpassed until the Virginia Tech shooting.source
  • October 21 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Jesse Turner, a mathematics professor who has been held hostage for more than four years, is released.source
  • November 18 – Lebanon hostage crisis: Kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite and academic Thomas Sutherland free.source
  • December 4 – John Leonard Orr, one of the most prolific serial arsonists of the 20th century, is arrested in California.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 18 – Eastern Air Lines shuts down after 62 years of operations, citing financial problems. Later on December 4, Pan American World Airways ceases its operations.source
  • February 1 – USAir Flight 1493 collides with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner at Los Angeles International Airport, killing 34 people.source
  • March 13 – The U.S. Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.source
  • March 14 – Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert –which is to become the world's most productive copper mine– is officially inaugurated.source
  • April 4 – U.S. Senator John Heinz and six other people are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania.source
  • April 5 – Former U.S. Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia.source
  • April 10 – The Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, resulting in 140 deaths with one survivor.source
  • May 26 – Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashes near Bangkok, Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.source
  • June 9 – A major collapse at the Emaswati Colliery in Swaziland traps 26 miners 65 meters below the surface; they are rescued 30 hours later.source
  • July 11 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, a Douglas DC-8 operated by Canadian airline Nolisair, catches fire and crashes soon after takeoff from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 people on board.source
  • August 4 – The cruise liner MTS Oceanos sinks off the coast of South Africa, leading to the rescue of all 571 passengers on board by SAAF helicopters.source
  • August 8 – The Warsaw radio mast, the tallest structure in the world at the time, collapses.source
  • September 3 – In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people.source
  • October 20 – A large suburban firestorm centered in Oakland Hills, California, kills 25 people and injures 150 others.source
  • November 14 – American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103 over Britain in 1988.source
  • December 4 – Pan Am is officially dissolved after 64 years of operationsource
  • December 15 – The Egyptian ferry sinks in the Red Sea, killing more than 450 people.source

Climate & Environment

  • February 1 – A 6.4 Hindu Kush earthquake causes severe damage in northeast Afghanistan, leaving 848 dead and 200 injured.source
  • March 31 – Albania holds its first multi-party elections since 1923. The socialist ruling Party of Labour of Albania won a landslide victory with 169 of the 250 seats in the parliament.source
  • April 22 – A 7.7 Limon earthquake strikes Costa Rica and Panama with a maximum Mercalli intensity, causing between 47 and 87 deaths and up to 759 injuries.source
  • April 26 – A series of 55 tornadoes break out in the central U.S., killing 21. The most notable tornado strikes Andover, Kansas.source
  • April 29 – A 7.0 earthquake in Racha, Georgia, kills 270 people and leaves 100,000 others homeless.source
  • April 29 – A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 138,000 people.source
  • June 3 – Mount Unzen in Japan erupts, killing 46 people as a result of pyroclastic flow.source
  • June 15 – In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century; the final death toll exceeds 800. The eruption causes a global cooling of around 0.4 °C.source
  • August 17–20 – Hurricane Bob hits North Carolina and New England, killing 17 people and causing US$1.5 billion in damage.source
  • October 20 – A 6.8 M w earthquake strikes Uttarkashi, India, killing at least 768 people and destroying thousands of homes.source
  • October 28–November 4 – The 1991 Perfect Storm strikes the northeastern U.S. coast and Atlantic Canada, causing over US$200 million of damage and resulting in 12 direct fatalities.source
  • October 31–November 3 – The Halloween blizzard hits the U.S. Upper Midwest, killing 22 people and causing US$100 million in damage.source
  • November 5 – Tropical Storm Thelma causes flash floods in the Philippine city of Ormoc, killing more than 4,900 people.source

Culture & Society

  • February 11 – The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is formed in The Hague, Netherlands.source
  • April 14 – In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; they are found in an abandoned car near the museum less than an hour later.source
  • May 6 – In the U.S., Time magazine publishes "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power," an article highly critical of the Scientology movement.source
  • August 11 – Nickelodeon introduces its series of Nicktoons, with Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show set three air premieres.source
  • August 17 – The remains of the Prussian King Frederick the Great are re-interred in Potsdam, Germany.source
  • August 25 – Michael Schumacher, regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in history, makes his Formula One debut at the Belgian Grand Prix.source
  • September 17 – Home Improvement premieres on ABC.source
  • October 3–November 2 – The 1991 Rugby World Cup takes place in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and France and is won by Australia who beat England in the final.source
  • November 7 – The first report on carbon nanotubes is published by Sumio Iijima in Nature.source
  • November 14 – Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after 13 years of exile.source
  • December 16 – The UN General Assembly adopts UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86, repealing a previous resolution adopted in 1975 which had ruled that Zionism is a form of racism.source

Deaths

  • January 17 – Harald V becomes king of Norway after the death of his father, Olav V.source
  • May 22 – Acting Prime Minister of South Korea Ro Jai-bong resigns in the wake of rioting following the beating to death of a student by police on April 26. He is succeeded by Chung Won-shik two days later.source
  • October 6 – President Gorbachev condemns antisemitism in the Soviet Union in a statement read on the 50th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacres, which saw the death of 35,000 Jews in Ukraine during WWII.source
  • November 24 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies in London from AIDS induced pneumonia. In an unrelated incident, Kiss drummer Eric Carr dies from heart cancer.source