1991 in the United States: Wikis

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1991 in the United States
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1970s 1980s – 1990s – 2000s 2010s
Years:	1988 1989 1990 – 1991 – 1992 1993 1994
Flag:	50 stars (1960 – present)

Events from the year 1991 in the United States.

1 Events
2 External links

Events

January–March

January 12 – Gulf War: The Congress of the United States passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to liberate Kuwait.
January 16 – U.S. serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men.
January 16 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins with air strikes against Iraq.
January 27 – Super Bowl XXV: The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20–19 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
February 1 – A USAir Boeing 737-300, Flight 1493 collides with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport, killing 34.
February 5 – A Michigan court bars Dr. Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
February 7 – The One Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania kills 3 firefighters and destroys 8 floors of the building.
February 7 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Kuwait, thus starting the ground phase of the war.
February 13 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing hundreds of Iraqis. United States military intelligence claims it was a military facility but Iraqi officials identify it as a bomb shelter.
February 22 – Gulf War: Iraq accepts a Russian-proposed cease fire agreement. The U.S. rejects the agreement, but says that retreating Iraqi forces will not be attacked if they leave Kuwait within 24 hours.
February 25 – Gulf War: Part of an Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 29 and injuring 99 U.S. soldiers. It is the single, most devastating attack on U.S. forces during that war.
February 26 – Gulf War: On Baghdad radio, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat.
March 1 – The ballistic missile submarine USS-ex-Sam Houston SSBN-609 is deactivated.
March 1 – Clayton Keith Yeutter finishes as the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
March 3 – An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles, California police officers.
March 3 – United Airlines Flight 585 crashes in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing all 25 people on board.
March 10 – Gulf War – Operation Phase Echo: 540,000 American troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf.
March 13 – The United States Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
March 15 – Four Los Angeles, California police officers are indicted for the videotaped March 3 beating of motorist Rodney King during an arrest.
March 15 – Germany formally regains complete independence after the 4 post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
March 30 – Northern Michigan University wins the NCAA Division I title in hockey, 8–7 in the third overtime against Boston University.

April–June

April 4 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and 6 others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania.
April 4 – William Kennedy Smith, a nephew of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy, is identified as a suspect in an alleged Palm Beach, Florida sexual assault.
April 5 – Former Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia, United States.
April 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, at 3,004.46.
April 26 – 70 tornadoes break out in the central United States, killing 17. The most notable tornado of the day strikes Andover, Kansas.
May 16 – Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.
May 25 – The Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Minnesota North Stars 8–0 in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
June 5 – STS 40: Space Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab into orbit.
June 12 – The Chicago Bulls win their 1st NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the best-of-7 series 4 games to 1.
June 13 – A spectator is killed by lightning at the U.S. Open.
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.

July–September

July 11 – A solar Eclipse of record totality occurs, seen first in Hawaii then enters Mexico with the path directly crosses Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City seen by 20 million inhabitants, and finally ends in Colombia in South America.
July 22 – Boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with raping Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington 3 days earlier, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
July 22 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of 11 men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Police soon find out that he is involved in 6 more murders.
August 13 – The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or "Super Nintendo") is released in the United States.
September 2 – The United States recognizes the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
September 3 – In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people.
September 5–7 – At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium in Las Vegas, 83 women and seven men are assaulted.
September 20–21 – In Sandy, Utah, several patients are held hostage and a nurse is killed in the Alta View Hospital hostage incident.
September 24 The Seattle grunge band Nirvana released their hit album Nevermind.

October–December

October 2 – Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton announces he will seek the 1992 Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
October 11–13 – The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews both Supreme Court candidate Clarence Thomas and former aide Anita Hill, who alleges that Thomas sexually harassed her while she worked for him.
October 15 – United States Senate votes 52–48 to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States.
October 16 – George Hennard guns down 24 people in Killeen, Texas before killing himself.
October 20 – The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments.
October 27 – The Minnesota Twins win the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
October 29 – The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.
November 5 – David Duke, a white separatist running as a Republican, loses the Louisiana Governor's race to Democratic candidate Edwin Edwards, by an overwhelming margin despite winning the majority of the white vote.
November 7 – Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his NBA career.
December 4 – Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after 7 years' captivity as a hostage in Beirut (the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).
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.