most “secure” computer systems. (Mar. 1) The Ya-
hoo! Internet services company is incorporated
in Santa Clara, California. (Mar. 14) Norman
Thagard becomes the first American to explore
space aboard a Russian spacecraft, the Soyuz TM-
21, when the spacecraft is launched in Kazakh-
stan. On June 6, Thagard breaks the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA)
space endurance record after spending fourteen
days, one hour, and sixteen minutes aboard the
Russian space station Mir. (Jun. 9) The American
space shuttleAtlantisdocks with the Russian Mir
space station for the first time. (Aug. 24) Micro-
soft releases its Windows 95 software. (Sept.) The
creation of the digital video disc (DVD), an opti-
cal disc computer storage media format, is an-
nounced.
Environment and health:(May) The Ebola virus
emerges in Zaire, resulting in the deaths of 244
people. (Jun. 20) Responding to international
pressure, the Royal Dutch Shell oil company gives
up its plans to dump an oil rig at sea. (Nov. 1) By a
vote of 288-139, the House of Representatives
bans partial-birth abortions.
Arts and literature:Men Are from Mars, Women Are
from Venusby John Gray is the year’s best-selling
nonfiction book. Published in 1992, the guide to
male-female relationships will be one of the top
ten best-selling nonfiction books from 1993
through 1997. (Apr.) Pulitzer Prizes are awarded
toThe Shipping Newsby novelist Annie Proulx,
Three Tall Womenby playwright Edward Albee,
W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919by
David Levering Lewis, andNeon Vernacular: New
and Selected Poemsby Yusef Komunyakaa.
Popular culture:(Mar. 31) Popular Tejano singer
Selena Quintanilla Perez is shot and killed in Cor-
pus Christi, Texas, by her fan club president,
Yolanda Saldivar. On October 23, Saldivar is con-
victed of first-degree murder and later sentenced
to life in prison. (Aug. 9) Jerry Garcia, the guitar-
ist of the Grateful Dead, dies from heart failure
brought on by sleep apnea and years of poor eat-
ing, heavy smoking, and drug abuse. (Nov. 17) Af-
ter a six-year absence, James Bond returns to the
silver screen when he is portrayed by actor Pierce
Brosnan inGoldeneye.
Sports:(Jan. 29) The San Francisco Forty-Niners de-
feat the San Diego Chargers 49-26 in Super Bowl
XXIX, becoming the first team to win five Super
Bowls. (Mar. 18) Michael Jordan announces he is
returning to basketball with his former team, the
Chicago Bulls. He is back on the court the next
day in a game against the Indiana Pacers wearing
jersey number 45 instead of his former number- (Sept. 6) Cal Ripken, Jr., of the Baltimore Ori-
oles breaks the all-time record for consecutive
games played in Major League Baseball. (Oct. 28)
The Atlanta Braves win the World Series when
they defeat the Cleveland Indians in game six.
Crime:(Feb. 17) Colin Ferguson is convicted of six
counts of murder for the December, 1993, Long
Island Rail Road shootings, in which he opened
fire on a railroad car, killing six people and injur-
ing nineteen others. He is later given a 200-plus-
year prison sentence. (Apr. 19) A bomb explodes
at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Okla-
homa City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people. Law-
enforcement officials later trace the bombing to
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. (Sept. 19)
The Washington PostandThe New York Timespub-
lish a manifesto written by the Unabomber, who
in 1978 began sending bombs in the mail and
planting bombs in other locations, ultimately
murdering three people and wounding twenty-
three others. (Oct. 3) After a highly publicized
trial, O. J. Simpson is acquitted of murder for the
deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and
Ronald Goldman.
1996
International events:(May 19) Radovan Karadmi 6 ,
president of the Bosnian Serbs, abdicates from of-
fice after he is indicted for war crimes. (Jun. 19)
Boris Yeltsin is the winner in Russia’s initial round
of presidential elections. (Aug. 23) Militant
Muslim Osama Bin Laden publishesThe Declara-
tion of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Countr y
of the Two Sacred Places, calling for American mili-
tary forces to be removed from Saudi Arabia.
(Sept. 27) The Taliban captures Kabul, the capi-
tal of Afghanistan, after expelling President
Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former
leader Mohammad Najibullah.
Government and politics:(Jan. 26) First Lady Hil-
lary Rodham Clinton testifies before a grand jury
regarding the Whitewater scandal. (Apr. 3) Secre-
tary of Commerce Ron Brown is one of thirty-five
people who die when a military jet crashes into a
mountain north of Dubrovnik, Croatia. (Aug. 15)The Nineties in America Time Line 1035