1993
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Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar).
Contents:
[edit] Events of 1993
[edit] January
January 1 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Slovakia and the Czech Republic separate in the so-called Velvet Divorce. January 1 – The European Community eliminates trade barriers and creates a European single market. January 1 – EuroNews is launched in Europe. January 1 – ITV companies GMTV, Carlton Television, Meridian Broadcasting and Westcountry Television start broadcasting, replacing TV-am, Thames Television, TVS and TSW respectively. January 3 – In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. January 5 – The state of Washington executes Westley Allan Dodd by hanging (the first legal hanging in America since 1965).
January 5 – $7.4 million USD stolen from Brinks Armored Car Depot in Rochester, New York. Fifth largest robbery in US history. Four men, Samuel Millar, Father Patrick Moloney, former Rochester Police officer Thomas O'Connor, and Charles McCormick, all of whom had ties to the Irish Republican Army, were accused. January 5 – M/V Braer, a Liberian oil tanker, runs aground off the Scottish island of Mainland, causing a massive oil spill. January 6 – Douglas Hurd is the first high-ranking British official to visit Argentina since the Falklands War. January 7 – The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated, with Jerry Rawlings as president. January 14 – The Polish ferry M/S Jan Heweliusz sinks off the coast of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, killing 54 people. January 15 – Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as 'The Beast', is arrested in Palermo, Sicily after 23 years as a fugitive. January 19 – IBM announces a $4.97 billion loss for 1992, the largest single-year corporate loss in United States history. January 19 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM inspectors to use its own aircraft to fly into Iraq, and begins military operations in the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait, and the northern Iraqi no-fly zones. U.S. forces fire approximately 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Baghdad factories linked to Iraq's illegal nuclear weapons program. Iraq then informs UNSCOM that it will be able to resume its flights. January 20 – Bill Clinton succeeds George H.W. Bush as the 42nd President of the U.S. January 24 – In Turkey, thousands protest the murder of journalist Uğur Mumcu. January 25 – Mir Aimal Kasi fires a rifle and kills two employees outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. January 25 – Social democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen succeeds conervative Poul Schlüter as Prime Minister of Denmark. January 26 – Václav Havel is elected President of the Czech Republic. January 31 – The Buffalo Bills become the first team to lose 3 consecutive Super Bowls as they are defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 52-17, in Super Bowl XXVII.
[edit] February
February 4 – Members of the right-wing Austrian FPÖ split to form the Liberal Forum in protest against the increasing nationalistic bent of the party. February 5 – Belgium becomes a federal state rather than a kingdom. February 8 – General Motors Corporation sues NBC, after Dateline NBC allegedly rigged two crashes showing that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the following day. February 10 – Lien Chan is named by Lee Teng-Hui to succeed Hau Pei-tsun as Premier of the Republic of China. February 10 – Mani Pulite scandal: Claudio Martelli resigns, followed by various politicians over the next 2 weeks. February 11 – Janet Reno is selected by President Clinton as Attorney General of the United States. February 14 – Glafkos Klerides defeats incumbent George Vasiliou in Cypriot presidential election. February 14 – Albert Zafy defeats Didier Ratsiraka in Malagasy presidential election. February 17 – A ferry sinks in Haiti, killing approximately 1,215 out of 1,500 passengers. February 22 – UN Security Council Resolution 808 is voted on, deciding that "an international tribunal shall be established" to prosecute violations of international law in Yugoslavia. The tribunal will be established on May 25 by Resolution 827. February 24 – Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney resigns amidst political and economic turmoil. Kim Campbell, his successor, becomes Canada's first female Prime Minister. February 26 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a van bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing 6 and injuring over 1,000. February 28 – Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, with a warrant to arrest leader David Koresh on federal firearms violations. Four agents and five Davidians die in the raid and a 51-day standoff begins.
[edit] March
March 4 – Authorities announce the capture of suspected World Trade Center bombing conspirator Mohammad Salameh. March 5 – A Macedonian Palair Flight 301, a F-100 on a flight to Zurich, crashes shortly after take-off from Skopje killing 83 of the 97 on board. March 9 – Rodney King testifies at the federal trial of four Los Angeles, California police officers accused of violating his civil rights when they beat him during an arrest. March 11 – Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn-in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States. March 12 – 1993 Bombay bombings: Several bombs explode in Bombay, India, killing about 300 and injuring hundreds more. March 12 – North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea announces that it plans to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and refuses to allow inspectors access to nuclear sites. March 13-14 – The Great Blizzard of 1993 strikes the eastern U.S., bringing record snowfall and other severe weather all the way from Cuba to Québec; it is reported to have killed 184. March 13 – Australian federal election, 1993: The Australian Labor Party stays in power despite poor economic results. March 17 – The PKK announces a unilateral ceasefire. March 20 – Warrington bomb attacks: An IRA bomb explodes in Warrington Town Centre and kills two children, Jonathan Ball and Tim Parry. March 22 – The Intel Corporation ships the first Pentium chips March 24 – The Israeli Knesset elects Ezer Weizman as President of Israel. March 24 – South Africa officially abandons its nuclear weapons programme. President de Klerk announces that the country's six warheads had already been dismantled in 1990. March 27 – Jiang Zemin becomes President of the People's Republic of China. March 27 – Following a rash of integrist murders, Algeria breaks diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing the country of interfering in its interior affairs. March 27 – Mahamane Ousmane is elected president of Nigeria. March 28 – French legislative election, 1993: Gaullists win a majority and Édouard Balladur becomes Prime Minister. March 29 – The 65th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, with Unforgiven winning Best Picture.
[edit] April
April – The Kuwaiti government claims to uncover an Iraqi assassination plot against former U.S. President George H.W. Bush shortly after his visit to Kuwait. Two Iraqi nationals confess to driving a car-bomb into Kuwait on behalf of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.[1] April 1 – The Vatican orders the moving of the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz. April 6 – A nuclear accident occurs at Tomsk 7 in Russia. April 8 – The Republic of Macedonia is admitted to the United Nations. April 10 – African National Congress activist Chris Hani is assassinated in South Africa. April 16 – Bosnian War: Fall of Srebrenica. April 17 – Laurence Powell and Stacey Koon are found guilty in the second Rodney King trial. April 19- A 51-day stand-off at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ends with a fire that kills 76 people, including David Koresh. April 22 – In Washington, DC, the Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated. April 22 – 18-year-old student Stephen Lawrence is stabbed to death in London, England; the attack is believed to have been racially motivated. April 23 – The World Health Organization declares tuberculosis a Global Emergency. April 23 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum. April 26 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro appoints Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Prime Minister of Italy. April 27 – Yemeni parliamentary election, 1993: The General People's Congress wins a plurality of 121 seats. April 27 – All members of the Zambia national football team die in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon in route to Dakar, Senegal. April 28 – An executive order requires the United States Air Force to allow women to fly war planes. April 30 – The World Wide Web is born at CERN. April 30 – Tennis star Monica Seles is stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan of rival Steffi Graf at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany.
[edit] May
May 1 – Pierre Bérégovoy, former prime minister of France, commits suicide. May 1 – A Tamil Tigers suicide bomber assassinates President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka. May 4 – UNOSOM II assumes the Somalian duties of the dissolved UNITAF. May 9 – Juan Carlos Wasmosy becomes the first democratically elected President of Paraguay in nearly 40 years. May 10 – Kader Toy Factory Fire: The world's worst factory fire occurs in Bangkok, Thailand, killing 188 and injuring over 500. May 15 – Niamh Kavanagh wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland with "In Your Eyes." May 16 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey elects Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel as President of Turkey. May 16 – Marseille defeats A.C. Milan in the UEFA Champions League Final. May 24 – Eritrea gains independence from Ethiopia. May 27 – A car bomb at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence kills five; the Mafia is suspected. May 28 – Eritrea and Monaco gain entry to the United Nations
[edit] June
June 1 – Large protests against Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević's regime in Belgrade. The opposition leader Vuk DraÅ¡ković and his wife Danica are arrested. June 1 – President of Guatemala Jorge Serrano ElÃas is forced to flee the country after an attempted self-coup. June 1 – Burundian presidential election, 1993: The first multiparty elections in Burundi since the country's independence lead to the election of Melchior Ndadaye, leader of the Front for Democracy in Burundi. The next day's legislative election sees his party win with an overwhelming majority. June 5 – The National Assembly of Venezuela designates Ramón José Velásquez as successor of suspended President Carlos Andrés Pérez. June 5 – 24 Pakistani troops in the UN forces are killed in Mogadishu, Somalia June 5 – United States Supreme Court rules on landmark case Minnesota v. Dickerson June 6 – Following the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement's victory, Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada becomes president of Bolivia June 6 – Mongolia holds its first direct presidential elections. June 8 – In Paris, Christian Didier breaks into the home of René Bousquet, banker and former Vichy France administrator, and shoots him dead. June 8 – The PKK-declared ceasefire ends. June 9 – The Montreal Canadiens win their 24th Stanley Cup defeating the Los Angeles Kings in the Finals. June 14 – Tansu Çiller becomes the first female Prime Minister of Turkey. June 14 – Multipartyists win a referendum on the future of the one-party system in Malawi. June 18 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at 2 missile engine test stands. June 20 – Japanese Earthquake: A 7.5 earthquake hits Japan, killing 385 people. June 20 – John Paxson's three-point shot in Game 6 of the NBA Finals helps the Chicago Bulls secure a 99-98 win over the Phoenix Suns, and their third consecutive championship. June 22 – Japan's New Party Sakigake breaks away from the Liberal Democratic Party. June 23 – In Manassas, Virginia, Lorena Bobbitt cuts off the penis of her husband John Wayne Bobbitt. June 24 – A Unabomber bomb injures computer scientist David Gelernter at Yale University. June 24 – Andrew Wiles wins worldwide fame after presenting his solution for Fermat's Last Theorem, a problem that has been unsolved for more than 3 centuries. June 25 – Kim Campbell becomes the 19th, and first female, Prime Minister of Canada. June 25 – Zoran Lilić succeeds to Dobrica Ćosić as President of Yugoslavia. June 25 – The litas is introduced in Lithuania. June 25 – Jacques Attali resigns as President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. June 26-28 – Typhoon Koryn causes important damages in the Philippines, China and Macau. June 27 – U.S. President Bill Clinton orders a cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in the Al-Mansur District of Baghdad, in response to the attempted assassination of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush during his visit to Kuwait in mid-April. June 27 – In Bad Kleinen, Germany, GSG 9 troopers arrest terrorists Birgit Hogefeld and Wolfgang Grams.
[edit] July
July 2 – An integrist mob sets fire to the hotel where The Satanic Verses translator Aziz Nesin resides in Sivas, Turkey, killing 37. July 5 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UN inspection teams leave Iraq. Iraq then agrees to UNSCOM demands and the inspection teams return. July 7-9 – 19th G7 summit in Tokyo, Japan. July 7 – Hurricane Calvin lands in Mexico. It is the second Pacific hurricane to land in Mexico in July in recorded history, and kills 34. July 12 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake off HokkaidÅ, Japan launches a devastating tsunami that kills 202 on the small island of Okushiri, Hokkaido. July 16-17 – In Estonia, the majority Russian cities of Narva and Sillamäe organize illegal referendums on "territorial autonomy" to protest new citizenship laws. July 19 – Japanese general election, 1993: The loss of majority of the Liberal Democratic Party results in a coalition taking power. July 19 – U.S. President Bill Clinton announces his 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding gays in the American military. July 20 – White House deputy counsel Vince Foster commits suicide in Virginia. July 23 – Candelária massacre: Brazilian police officers kill 8 street kids in Rio de Janeiro. July 26 – Miguel Indurain wins the 1993 Tour de France. July 26 – Asiana Air Flight 733 crashes into Mt. Ungeo in Haenam, South Korea killing 68. July 27 – Windows NT 3.1, the first version of Microsoft's line of Windows NT operating systems, is released to manufacturing. July 29 – The Israeli Supreme Court acquits accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
[edit] August
August 4 – A federal judge sentences Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights. August 4 – The Japanese government issues the Kono statement acknowledging the comfort women's deportation. August 5 – The discovery of the Tel Dan Stele, the first archaeological confirmation of the existence of the Davidic line, is announced. August 6 – According to Japanese government and TBS networks report, torrential rain and mudslides kill 72 in Kagoshima, Japan. August 9 – King Albert II of Belgium is sworn into office 9 days after the death of his brother, King Baudouin I. August 13 – Over 130 die in the collapse of Royal Plaza Hotel at Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand's worst hotel disaster. August 17 – For the first time, the public is allowed inside Buckingham Palace. August 19 – In Norway, Varg Vikernes is arrested and charged with the murder of Øystein Aarseth, of Mayhem. He would a receive a 21 year sentence for this and other crimes. August 21 – NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Observer orbiter 3 days before the spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around Mars. August 28 – Ong Teng Cheong becomes the first President of Singapore elected by the population. August 30 – Russia completes removing its troops from Lithuania. August 31 – HMS Mercury closes after fifty two years in commission.
[edit] September
September 4 – The Essendon Football Club wins its 15th Australian Football League premiership over rivals Carlton Football Club. September 4 – Nigeria beats Ghana in the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship. September 6 - Canadian software specialist Peter de Jager publishes in Computerworld U.S. weekly magazine an article Doomsday 2000 which was the first known reference to Y2K - 2000 Year problem. September 13 – Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993: The Labour Party wins a plurality of the seats, and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland retains office. September 13 – PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin shake hands in Washington D.C., after signing a peace accord. September 15-21 – Hurricane Gert (1993) crosses from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through Central America and Mexico. September 17 – Removal of Russian troops from Poland. September 19 – Polish parliamentary election, 1993: A coalition of the Democratic Left Alliance and the Polish People's Party lead by Waldemar Pawlak comes into power. September 22 – Big Bayou Canot train disaster: A bridge collpases as the Sunset Limited crosses it, killing 47. September 23 – 2000 Summer Olympics bids: The IOC selects Sydney, Australia to be the site of the 2000 Summer Olympics. September 24 – The Cambodian monarchy is restored, with Norodom Sihanouk as king. September 26 – The first mission in Biosphere 2 ends after 2 years. September 26 - PoSAT-1 (the first Portuguese satellite) is launched on board of the French rocket Ariane VI September 27 – War in Abkhazia: Fall of Sukhumi; Eduard Shevardnadze accuses Russia of passive complicity. September 30 – An earthquake centered in Killari, Maharashtra, India kills over 10,000.
[edit] October
October 2-5 – The Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 culminates with Russian military and security forces clearing the White House of Russia Parliament building by force, squashing a mass uprising against President Boris Yeltsin. October 3 – A large scale battle erupts between U.S. forces and local militia in Mogadishu, Somalia; 19 Americans and 500 Somalis are killed. October 5 – China performs a nuclear test, ending a worldwide de facto moratorium. October 5 – The papal encyclical Veritatis Splendor is promulgated. October 8 – David Miscavige announces the IRS has granted full tax exemption to the Church of Scientology International and affiliated churches and organizations ending the Church's 40-year battle with the IRS and resulting in religious recognition in the United States. October 10 – 292 are killed when the South Korean ferry Seohae capsizes off Pusan, South Korea. October 11-28 – The UNMIH is prevented from entering Haiti. On October 18, economic sanctions (abolished in August) are reinstated. October 13 – Greek legislative election, 1993: Andreas Papandreou begins his second term as Prime Minister of Greece. October 13 – The fifth summit of the Francophonie opens in Mauritius. October 19 – Benazir Bhutto becomes the first elected woman to lead a post-colonial Muslim state, in Pakistan. October 21 – A coup in Burundi result in the death of president Melchior Ndadaye and sparks the Burundi Civil War. October 25 – Canadian federal election, 1993: Jean Chrétien and his Liberal Party defeat the governing Progressive Conservative Party which falls to historic low of 2 seats.
[edit] November
November 1 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union. November 5 – British Parliament passes Railways Act, setting out the procedures for privatisation of British Rail. November 9 – Bosnian Croat forces destroy the Stari most, or Old Bridge of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, by tank fire. November 11 – Microsoft releases Windows 3.11 for Workgroups to manufacturing. November 11 – Sri Lankan civil war: over 400 Sri Lankan military die in the Battle of Pooneryn. November 12 – London Convention: Marine dumping of radioactive waste is outlawed. November 18 – In a status referendum, Puerto Rico residents vote with a slim margin to maintain Commonwealth status. November 17-22 – NAFTA passes the legislative houses in the United States, Canada and Mexico. November 18 – In South Africa, 21 political parties approve a new constitution. November 18 – The first meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation opens in Seattle. November 20 – Savings and loan crisis: The United States Senate Ethics Committee issues a stern censure of California senator Alan Cranston for his dealings with savings-and-loan executive Charles Keating. November 20 – An Avioimpex Yakovlev Yak-42D crashes into Mount Trojani near Ohrid, Macedonia. The aircraft was on a flight from Geneva, Switzerland to Skopje, but had been diverted to Ohrid due to poor weather conditions at the Skopje airport. All eight crew members and 115 of the 116 passengers are killed. November 28 – The Observer reveals a channel of communications has existed between the IRA and the British government, despite the government's persistent denials.
[edit] December
December 2 – STS-61: NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair an optical flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope. December 2 – War on Drugs: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, head of the MedellÃn Cartel, is gunned down in MedellÃn when police try to arrest him. December 2 – The announced merger (September 6) between Renault and Volvo fails; Volvo CEO Pehr G. Gyllenhammar resigns. December 5 –