January 4
January 4
GM announces its electric car
On January 4, 1996, General Motors announces at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show it will build an electric car, dubbed the EV1, to be launched in the fall of…
A Year In History: 1996
This Year in History:
1996
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 6
January 6
Blizzard of 1996 begins
On January 6, 1996, snow begins falling in Washington, D.C., and up the Eastern seaboard, beginning a blizzard that kills 154 people and causes over $1 billion in damages before…
January 8
January 8
Cargo plane crashes into crowded market
On this day in 1996, a cargo plane crashes in Kinshasa, Zaire, (modern day Democratic Republic of the Congo) killing somewhere between 225 and 350 people and injuring another 500.…
January 18
January 18
MLB owners approve interleague play
On January 18, 1996, Major League Baseball owners unanimously approve interleague play for the 1997 season. The owners’ vote, which called for each team to play 15 or 16 interleague games,…
January 20
January 20
Yasser Arafat elected leader of Palestine
Yasser Arafat is elected president of the Palestinian National Council with 88.1 percent of the popular vote, becoming the first democratically elected leader of the Palestinian people in history. Arafat,…
January 21
January 21
Ferry sinks off Indonesian coast
On this day in 1996, an overloaded ferry sinks in an unexpected storm off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, killing 340 people. The 555‑ton Gurita was typically used to ferry…
January 27
January 27
Monica Seles wins first Grand Slam title since being attacked
On January 27, 1996, Serbian‑born tennis player Monica Seles, the former No. 1 women’s player in the world, defeats Anke Huber of Germany to win the Australian Open. The win…
February 2
February 2
Gene Kelly dies
On this day in 1996, the dancer, actor and choreographer Gene Kelly dies at the age of 83, at his home in Beverly Hills, California. Born in Pittsburgh in 1912,…
February 10
February 10
Deep Blue beats Kasparov at chess
In the first game of a six‑game match, an IBM computer dubbed “Deep Blue” becomes the first machine to beat a reigning world chess champion, Garry Kasparov. Despite this initial…
February 10
February 10
World chess champion Garry Kasparov loses game to computer
On February 10, 1996, after three hours, world chess champion Garry Kasparov loses the first game of a six‑game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200…
February 15
February 15
Oil tanker runs aground near Wales
On this day in 1996, a supertanker, the Sea Empress, runs aground near Wales, spilling 70,000 tons of crude oil. The oil spill did not take any human lives, but…
February 17
February 17
Chess champion Garry Kasparov defeats IBM’s Deep Blue
In the final game of a six‑game match, world chess champion Garry Kasparov triumphs over Deep Blue, IBM’s chess‑playing computer, and wins the match, 4‑2. However, Deep Blue goes on…
February 19
February 19
Patrick Roy gets 300th win as NHL goalie
On this day in 1996, Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy earns his 300th win in the National Hockey League. Roy retired from hockey in 2003 with 551 career wins, a…
February 26
February 26
Stockton gets 11,000th NBA assist
On this day in 1996, the Utah Jazz’s point guard John Stockton gets his 11,000th assist in the NBA. When Stockton retires from basketball in 2003, he leaves with 15,806…
February 29
February 29
A pregnant teenager is shot while riding the bus to school
After boarding a school bus on the morning of February 29, Malik Nettles shoots the bus driver and then fires five bullets into 15‑year‑old Kyunia Taylor, a freshman from Beaumont…
February 29
February 29
Joan Collins wins lawsuit against Random House
On this day in 1996, actress and bestselling novelist Joan Collins won a judgment against Random House for $1 million. In 1990, Random House had offered Collins $4 million in…
March 9
March 9
Comedian George Burns dies at age 100
On March 9, 1996, the legendary cigar‑chomping performer George Burns dies at his home in Beverly Hills, California, just weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday. Born Nathan Birnbaum in New…
March 13
March 13
Tragedy at Dunblane
At Dunblane, a 13th‑century village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, 43‑year‑old Thomas Hamilton bursts into the gymnasium of the Dunblane Primary School with four guns and opens fire…
March 23
March 23
Astronaut Shannon Lucid enters Mir space station
U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid transfers to the Russian space station Mir from the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis for a planned five‑month stay. Lucid was the first female U.S. astronaut to…
April 3
April 3
Unabomber arrested
At his small wilderness cabin near Lincoln, Montana, Theodore John Kaczynski is arrested by FBI agents and accused of being the Unabomber, the elusive terrorist blamed for 16 mail bombs…
