Directory

1992 CE

The 1992 Los Angeles riots erupt after the Rodney King verdict, killing 63 people and causing widespread unrest; Hurricane Andrew devastates Florida and the Bahamas; the 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona; the Bosnian War begins as Yugoslavia breaks apart; the 1992 famine in Somalia causes mass starvation during the Somali Civil War; the Algerian Civil War begins after disputed elections; the 1992 United States presidential election brings Bill Clinton to power; the Tajikistani Civil War erupts following the collapse of the Soviet Union; and the Khojaly massacre occurs during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 6 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is proclaimed by the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.source
  • January 9 – Bosnian Serbs declare their own republic within Bosnia and Herzegovina, in protest at the decision by Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats to seek recognition by the European Communities.source
  • January 16 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.source
  • February 3 – South African State President F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader, are jointly awarded the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.source
  • February 7 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, founding the European Union.source
  • April 5 – The Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (without the presence of Serb political delegates) proclaims independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.source
  • April 6 – The Republic of Ilirida is proclaimed by Albanian Macedonian activists in Struga, Republic of Macedonia.source
  • April 7 – The United States recognizes the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Communities also recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina.source
  • April 9 – In the United Kingdom general election the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major narrowly retains power.source
  • April 27 – Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman elected Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.source
  • May 13 – Falun Gong is introduced by Li Hongzhi in China.source
  • May 15 – The Collective Security Treaty Organization is established by six post-Soviet states belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (effective April 20, 1994).source
  • June 2 – In a national referendum Denmark rejects the Maastricht Treaty by a narrow margin.source
  • June 18 – Ireland votes for the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland to accept the Maastricht Treaty with a popular vote of over 69%.source
  • June 23 – The Israeli legislative election is won by the Israeli Labor Party under the leadership of Yitzhak Rabin, ousting a Likud government.source
  • July 17 – The Slovak National Council declares Slovakia an independent country, signaling the breakup of Czechoslovakia.source
  • July 19 – The Cabinet of Israel approves a freeze on new Israeli settlement in the occupied territories, a move expected to reinvigorate the Middle East Peace Process.source
  • August 24 – China and South Korea establish diplomatic relations.source
  • October 4 – The government of Mozambique signs the Rome General Peace Accords with leaders of RENAMO, ending the 16-year-old Mozambican Civil War.source
  • October 25 – Lithuania holds a referendum on its first constitution after declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1990.source
  • October 28 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein threatens to dissolve the Landtag of Liechtenstein and dismiss the government over disagreements regarding a referendum on Liechtenstein's accession to the European Economic Area.source
  • November 3 – In the 1992 United States presidential election, Democratic Arkansas governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican president George H. W. Bush and Independent Ross Perot.source
  • December 18 – The South Korean presidential election is won by Kim Young-sam, the first non-military candidate elected since 1961.source
  • December 21 – In Yugoslavia, President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević defeats Milan Panić in the Serbian presidential election.source

Conflict & Security

  • January 6 – 1991–92 Georgian coup d'état: President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.source
  • January 26 – In Mauritania, security forces open fire on violent extremist opponents of President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, allegedly killing at least four people.source
  • January 27 – First Nagorno-Karabakh War: in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, fighting between Armenians and Azeris leaves at least 60 people dead.source
  • February 4 – In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez leads an unsuccessful coup attempt against President of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez.source
  • February 9 – Algerian Civil War: The government of Algeria declares a state of emergency and begins a crackdown on the Islamic Salvation Front.source
  • February 14 – Ukraine and four other nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States reject Russia's proposal to maintain unified armed forces. Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan announce they will go ahead with plans to create their own military forces.source
  • February 18 – Iraq disarmament crisis: The Executive Chairman of UNSCOM details Iraq's refusal to abide by UN Security Council disarmament resolutions.source
  • February 21 – The United Nations Security Council approves Resolution 743 to send a UNPROFOR peacekeeping force to Yugoslavia.source
  • February 25–26 – 613 Azerbaijani civilians are massacred in Khojaly.source
  • March 1 – The first victims of the Bosnian War are a Serb bridegroom's father and an Orthodox priest in a Sarajevo shooting. In the Bosnian independence referendum, held from February 29 to March 1 and boycotted by Bosnian Serbs, the majority of the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat communities have voted for Bosnia-Herzegovina's independence.source
  • March 2 – In Dubăsari, Moldova, escalating tensions turn into open hostilities and the beginning of the Transnistria War.source
  • April 5 – Bosnian War: Serb troops, following a mass rebellion of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Bosnian declaration of independence from Yugoslavia, besiege the city of Sarajevo.source
  • April 10 – First Nagorno-Karabakh War: Maraga massacre – At least 43 Armenian civilians are killed as their village of Maraga, Azerbaijan, is captured and destroyed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.source
  • April 16 – President of Afghanistan Mohammad Najibullah is ousted and detained by Muslim rebels moving towards Kabul, setting the stage for the civil war in Afghanistan (1992–96).source
  • April 29 – Los Angeles riots: The acquittal of four policemen in the Rodney King beating criminal trial triggers massive rioting in Los Angeles. The riots will last for six days resulting in 63 deaths and over $1 billion in damages before order is restored by the military.source
  • May 5 – Armand Césari Stadium disaster in Bastia on Corsica: 18 people are killed and 2,300 are injured when one of the terraces collapses before a football match between SC Bastia and Olympique de Marseille.source
  • May 16–17 – Bosnian War: U.N. peacekeepers withdraw from Sarajevo.source
  • May 17 – Protests begin in Bangkok, Thailand, against the government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon, sparking a bloody crackdown.source
  • August 24 – Concordia University massacre: Valery Fabrikant murders four colleagues and seriously wounds another in a shooting at Concordia University, in Montreal, Quebec.source
  • August 29 – In Rostock, Germany, tens of thousands rally to protest neo-Nazi attacks on refugees and immigrants begun on August 22.source
  • September 7 – In Ciskei, members of the Ciskei Defence Force loyal to dictator Oupa Gqozo open fire into a crowd of anti-Gqozo protestors organized by the African National Congress, killing at least 28 people and wounding nearly 200.source
  • October 2 – A riot breaks out in the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, resulting in the Carandiru massacre.source
  • November 8 – More than 350,000 people rally in Berlin to protest right-wing violence against immigrants; stones and eggs are thrown at President of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker and Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl.source
  • December 3 – UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring that humanitarian aid gets distributed and establishing peace in Somalia.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • January 19 – Paramount Leader of China Deng Xiaoping speaks in Shenzhen during his southern tour, a move that would return China on its right-wing march towards free market economics.source
  • February 28 – Ownership of the port town of Walvis Bay is transferred from South Africa to Namibia.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.source
  • March 31 – The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of Singapore comes into force.source
  • October 3 – After performing a song protesting against alleged Catholic Church child sexual abuse, Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor rips up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on the US television programme Saturday Night Live, causing huge controversy.source
  • October 11 – The Catechism of the Catholic Church is promulgated by Pope John Paul II with his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum.source
  • October 12 – In the Dominican Republic, Pope John Paul II celebrates the 500th anniversary of the meeting of two cultures.source
  • October 31 – Pope John Paul II issues an apology and lifts the 1633 edict of the Inquisition against Galileo Galilei.source
  • November 11 – The Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.source

Economy & Finance

  • May 1 – Lithuania introduces a new temporary currency, the talonas.source
  • June 20 – Estonia adopts the kroon as currency, becoming the first former Soviet Republic to replace the Soviet rouble.source
  • June 25 – The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is founded.source
  • August 12 – Canada, Mexico and the United States announce that a deal has been reached on the North American Free Trade Agreement; this will be formally signed on December 17.source
  • September 16 – Black Wednesday: The pound sterling and the Italian lira are forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • April 6 – Windows 3.1 is released to manufacturers by Microsoft.source
  • April 30 – Brčko bridge massacre: around 100 Croat and Bosniak civilians are blown up while crossing the bridge across the Sava in Brčko, Bosnia and Herzegovina.source

Science & Discovery

  • January 9 – First confirmed detection of exoplanets with announcement of the discovery of several terrestrial-mass planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12, by radio astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail working in the United States.source
  • March 22 – STS-45: Space Shuttle Atlantis takes off from Cape Canaveral carrying instruments designed to study global warming.source
  • May 7 – STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its maiden flight, as a replacement for Space Shuttle Challenger.source
  • May 9 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted in New York.source
  • June 3–14 – The Earth Summit is held in Rio de Janeiro.source
  • July 10 – The Giotto spacecraft flies past Comet 26P/Grigg–Skjellerup, gathering measurements about the comet.source
  • July 26 – Iraq agrees to allow UN weapons inspectors to search the Iraqi Agricultural Ministry building in Baghdad. When inspectors arrive on July 28 and 29, they find nothing and voice suspicions that Iraqi records have been removed.source

Health & Medicine

  • April 20 – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, held at Wembley Stadium, London, is televised live to over one billion people and raises millions of dollars for AIDS research.source
  • July 16 – At the 1992 Democratic National Convention, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton accepts his party's presidential nomination on behalf of the "forgotten middle class".source
  • October 23 – Emperor of Japan Akihito begins the first imperial visit to China, telling a Beijing audience he feels deep sorrow for the suffering of the Chinese people during World War II.source

Crime & Justice

  • April 9 – A jury in Miami, Florida, convicts former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega of assisting Colombia's cocaine cartel.source
  • May 7 – In the Sydney River McDonald's murders in Nova Scotia, Canada, three McDonald's employees are killed and a fourth is left permanently disabled during a botched robbery.source
  • May 23 – Capaci bombing: A Mafia bomb on the autostrada in Sicily kills five people, including Italian anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone.source
  • July 10 – In Miami, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for participating in the illegal drug trade and racketeering.source
  • July 19 – Via D'Amelio bombing: A car bomb placed by the Sicilian Mafia (with the collaboration of Italian intelligence) kills judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his police escort.source
  • July 22 – Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison, fearing extradition to the United States.source
  • September 1 – In Beijing, police arrest Shen Tong for his role in organizing the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.source
  • September 12 – In Peru, police arrest Abimael Guzmán, the leader of the Shining Path guerilla movement, who has evaded capture for 12 years.source
  • September 28 – Law enforcement officials in the United States, Colombia and Italy announce that they have arrested more than 165 people on money laundering charges related to cocaine trafficking.source
  • October 7 – In Peru, Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán is convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison.source
  • December 22 – The Archives of Terror are discovered by Martín Almada in Asunción, detailing the fates of thousands of Latin Americans who have been secretly kidnapped, tortured and killed by the security services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in Operation Condor.source
  • December 28 – Actress Daniella Perez is murdered in Rio de Janeiro, after being stabbed 18 times with scissors by actor Guilherme de Pádua and his then-wife Paula Thomaz. The crime shocked Brazil, due to both the victim and the murderer being romantic partners in the telenovela De Corpo e Alma, which aired on TV Globo.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 7 – 1992 European Community Monitor Mission helicopter downing: A Yugoslav Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 attacks two Italian Army Agusta-Bell AB-206L LongRanger helicopters carrying observers from the European Community Monitor Mission. One crashes, killing five people on board. The other helicopter crash-lands, but its occupants survive.source
  • January 20 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes in the Vosges Mountains near Barr, France, while circling to land at Strasbourg, France, killing 87 of the 96 people on board. Facing tough competition from French high-speed TGV trains, Air Inter had encouraged its pilots to fly at high speeds at low altitudes, and had not installed ground proximity warning systems on its airliners because such systems generated too many nuisance alarms during high-speed, low-altitude flight.source
  • March 25 – The International Atomic Energy Agency orders Iraq to destroy an industrial complex at Al Atheer that is being used to manufacture nuclear weapons.source
  • March 28 – The Shot (Duke–Kentucky): In what Sports Illustrated deemed the greatest college basketball game of all time, Christian Laettner sinks an overtime buzzer-beater to advance Duke to their fifth straight Final Four.source
  • April 22 – Fuel leaking into a sewer causes a series of explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico; 215 are killed, 1,500 injured.source
  • May 9 – The Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, explodes, killing all 26 miners working the night shift.source
  • July 31 – China General Aviation Flight 7552 bound for Xiamen crashes soon after taking off from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108 of the 116 people on board.source
  • July 31 – Thai Airways International Flight 311, an Airbus A310-300, crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.source
  • September 28 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268 crashes into a mountain while on approach to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. All 167 occupants on board were killed. The crash of PIA Flight 268 occurred just 2 months after Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashed into a mountain near Kathmandu under similar circumstances, killing all 113 occupants on board.source
  • October 4 – Israeli cargo plane El Al Flight 1862 crashes into residential buildings in Amsterdam's Bijlmermeer, Netherlands, after taking off from Schiphol Airport and losing two engines, killing all 4 people on board and 39 on the ground.source
  • October 21 – 150,000 coal miners march in London to protest government plans to close coal mines and reduce the number of miners.source
  • November 14 – In poor conditions caused by Cyclone Forrest, Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 crashes near Nha Trang, killing 30.source
  • November 18 – Russian president Boris Yeltsin releases the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of Korean Air Flight 007, which was shot down by the Soviets in 1983.source
  • November 24 – In China, China Southern Airlines Flight 3943, a China Southern Airlines domestic flight, crashes, killing all 141 people on board.source
  • December 6 – Demolition of Babri Masjid: Extremist Hindu activists in India demolish Babri Masjid – a 16th-century mosque in Ayodhya which has been used as a temple since 1949 – leading to widespread communal violence, including the Bombay riots, in all killing over 1,500 people.source

Climate & Environment

  • March 13 – The 6.7 Erzincan earthquake affects eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing 498–652 and injuring around 2,000.source
  • March 22 – In French regional elections, the conservative Rally for the Republic and the centre-right Union for French Democracy win in a landslide, capturing 20 of 22 metropolitan regional presidencies.source
  • April 13 – The 5.3 Roermond earthquake affects the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong).source
  • June 8 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.source
  • July 6–29 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses a UN inspection team access to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. UNSCOM claims that it has reliable information that the site contains archives related to illegal weapons activities. UN inspectors stage a 17-day "sit-in" outside of the building, but leave when their safety is threatened by Iraqi soldiers.source
  • August 24–28 – Hurricane Andrew hits south Florida and Louisiana and dissipates over the Tennessee valley when it merges with a storm system; 23 are killed.source
  • September 2 – The 7.7 Nicaragua earthquake affects the west coast of Nicaragua. With a – disparity of half a unit, this tsunami earthquake triggers a tsunami that causes most of the damage and casualties, with at least 116 killed. Average runup heights are 3 - 8.source
  • October 12 – The 5.8 Cairo earthquake affects the city with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 545 dead and 6,512 injured.source
  • November 13 – A report by the World Meteorological Organization reports an unprecedented level of ozone depletion in both the Arctic and Antarctic.source
  • December 12 – The 7.8 Flores earthquake affects the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) leaving at least 2,500 dead. A destructive tsunami with wave heights of 25 m follows.source

Culture & Society

  • February 6 – The Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II commemorates 40 years since the accession of Elizabeth II as Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.source
  • February 8 – The opening ceremony for the 1992 Winter Olympics is held in Albertville, France.source
  • March 18 – White South Africans vote in favour of political reforms which will end the apartheid regime and create a power-sharing multi-racial government.source
  • May 10 – Sweden wins the Ice Hockey World Championships in Czechoslovakia defeating Finland, 5–2, in the final game in Prague.source
  • June 10–26 – Sweden hosts the UEFA Euro 1992 football tournament, which is won by Denmark.source
  • June 26 – Denmark beats Germany 2–0 in the final to win the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden.source
  • July 25–August 9 – The 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.source
  • October 19 – The Chinese Communist Party promotes several market-oriented reformers to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, signaling a defeat for hard-line ideologues.source

Deaths

  • April 21 – The death of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich of Russia results in a succession dispute between Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia and Vladimir's daughter Maria for the leadership of the Imperial Family of Russia.source