What important things happened in 1996?

Answer 1

The most important events

* Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, Georgia.

* Bill Clinton wins re-election as President of the United States, beating Republican Bob Dole.

* January 16 - Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono was also on the plane, but neither singer was injured.

* January 18 - Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson.

* January 29 - Garth Brooks refuses to accept his American Music Award for "Favorite Overall Artist". Brooks says that Hootie and the Blowfish had done more for music that year than he did.

* February 4 - Former Milli-Vanilli member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized when a man hits him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, California. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man's car.

* February 14 - The Artist Formerly Known As Prince marries backup singer Mayte Garcia. * February 20 - Snoop Doggy Dogg and his bodyguard acquitted of first degree murder. The jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter charges and a mistrial is declared.

* March 4 - The Beatles' second reunion song is released, as part of their first reuinion since the band's breakup 26 years earlier. The song is simply a finished version of a John Lennon demo from 1980; a song called Real Love.

* March 13 - Ramones fans riot in Buenos Aires, Argentina after waiting all night for concert tickets only to find out that the show had been sold out.

* March 16 - Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men ends its 16th consecutive week at No. 1 with "One Sweet Day". It is the longest consecutive week stay at No. 1 in Billboard Hot 100 history.

* March 18 - The Sex Pistols announce that they are reuniting for a 20th anniversary tour.

* March 28 - Phil Collins announces that he is leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career.

* April 3 - M.C. Hammer files for bankruptcy.

* April 4 - The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia's widow, Deborah, scatter part of Garcia's ashes in the Ganges River in India.

* April 15 - The remaining part of Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

* April 24 - This Train, Rick Elias, Jimmy A, Phil Keaggy, Carolyn Arends, Third Day & Ashley Cleveland perform a tribute concert for Rich Mullins at Nashville's Cafe Milano. Speakers included Reunion Records executive Terry Hemmings, record producer Reed Arvin, disc jockey Jon Rivers, & author Brennan Manning.

* May 8 - In Los Angeles, California, a judge rules against Tommy Lee and wife actress Pamela Anderson Lee in their attempt to keep Penthouse magazine from publishing still photos taken from an X-rated home movie which was stolen from their home.

* July - The Smashing Pumpkins drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin, is arrested for possession of a controlled substance. The other band members fire him because they said his "insidious battle with drugs and alcohol" had nearly ruined everything for the band.

* August 6 - The Ramones play their last ever show at Lollapalooza.

* September 7 - Rapper Tupac Shakur is shot 4 times in Las Vegas, Nevada while leaving the MGM Grand hotel, after seeing the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon boxing match, in what is apparently a drive-by shooting.

* September 12 - Controversy follows The Eagles when the band dedicates "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to Saddam Hussein at a United States Democratic Party fundraiser held in Los Angeles.

* September 13 - Tupac Shakur died in hospital after his wounds from the Las Vegas, Nevada MGM Grand shooting.

* November 7 - A category 4 cyclone hits Andhra Pradesh, India. Over 2000 people were killed and 95% of the crops were destroyed.

* November 8 - After having first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the film Hype!, a documentary on the Seattle grunge scene, opens to general audiences

* Larry Ewing creates Tux, the Linux mascot.

* Sildenafil patented.

Births

* July 5- Dolly the Sheep

Deaths

* January 25 - Jonathan Larson, composer

* February 2 - Gene Kelly, actor

* February 6 - Guy Madison, actor

* February 11 - Phil Regan, singer,actor

* February 13 - Martin Balsam, actor

* February 14 - McLean Stevenson, actor

* February 15 - Tommy Rettig, actor

* February 17 - Evelyn Laye, English actress and singer

* February 20 - Toru Takemitsu, composer

* February 25 - Haing S. Ngor, actor

* March 2 - Lyle Talbot, actor

* March 4 - Minnie Pearl (84)

* March 13 - Krzysztof Kieslowski, Polish film director

* March 15 - Olga Rudge (101), violinist

* March 17 - René Clément, French film director

* March 22 - Don Murray, The Turtles

* April 6 - Greer Garson, actress

* April 16 - Lucille Bremer, actress

* April 18 - Bernard Edwards, Chic, pneumonia

* May 8 - Celedonio Romero, leader of the Romeros guitar quartet,

* May 20 - Jon Pertwee, actor

* May 21 - Lash La Rue, cowboy actor

* May 25 - Brad Nowell, lead singer and guitarist for Sublime

* June 7 - Max Factor, make-up artist and founder of Max Factor Cosmetics

* June 10 - Jo Van Fleet, actress

* June 11 - Brigitte Helm, German actress

* June 15 - Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer

* July 2 - Margaux Hemingway, model, actress

* July 16 - John Panozzo, 48, drummer for Styx and brother of Chuck Panozzo

* July 17 - Marcel Dadi 45, French country and western guitarist died in crash of TWA flight 800

* July 29 - Jason Thirsk, bass member of Pennywise

* July 30 - Claudette Colbert, actress

* August 13 - David Tudor, pianist and composer

* August 14 - Sergiu Celibidache, orchestral conductor

* September 7 - Bibi Besch, actress

* September 10 - Joanne Dru, actress

* September 13 - Tupac Shakur, rap singer/songwriter, actor

* September 14 - Juliet Prowse, dancer, actress

* September 18 - Annabella, actress

* September 22 - Dorothy Lamour, actress

* October 14 - Laura La Plante, actress

* October 31 - Marcel Carné, French film director

* November 14 - Virginia Cherrill, actress

* November 19 - Véra Korène, Russian born French actress

* November 30 - Tiny Tim, musician

* December 8 - Howard E. Rollins Jr, actor

* December 19 - Marcello Mastroianni, actor

* December 20 - Carl Sagan

* December 29 - Mireille, French singer

* December 30 - Lew Ayres, actor

Films released

* 101 Dalmatians

* 12 Monkeys

* A Time to Kill

* Fargo

* Island of Dr. Moreau

* Independence Day

* Jerry Maguire

* Matilda

* Mission: Impossible

* Ransom

* Romeo and Juliet

* Sling Blade

* Space Jam

* The Birdcage

* The Nutty Professor

* The Rock

* Trainspotting

* Twister

Hit songs

* "Angry Johnny" - Poe

* "Macarena" - Los Del Rio

* "Professional Widow (Star Trunk Funkin' Mix)" - Tori Amos

* "Wonderwall" - Oasis

* "6th Avenue Heartache" - The Wallflowers

* "Aeroplane" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

* "All Mixed Up" - 311

* "California Love" - 2Pac

* "Can't Get You Off My Mind" - Lenny Kravitz

* "Change the World" - Eric Clapton

* "Down" - 311

* "Free As A Bird" - The Beatles

* "Give Me One Reason" - Tracy Chapman

* "Head Over Feet" - Alanis Morissette

* "How Do U Want It" - 2Pac

* "I Want To Come Over" - Melissa Etheridge

* "If It Makes You Happy" - Sheryl Crow

* "The Beautiful People" - Marilyn Manson

* "Wash Away" - Vertical Horizon

* "You Learn" - Alanis Morissette

New books

* Absolute Power - David Baldacci

* Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood

* Bandarshah - Al-Tayyib Salih

* By the Shores of Gitchee Gumee - Tama Janowitz

* Excession - Iain M. Banks

* Executive Orders - Tom Clancy

* Feet of Clay - Terry Pratchett

* Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

* Fighting for Canada (Maîtres Chanteurs Chez Nous!) - Diane Francis

* A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

* The Fourth Estate - Jeffrey Archer

* Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara

* The Goldberg Variations - Nancy Huston

* The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie

* Hackers - short story collection

* Hogfather - Terry Pratchett

* How Stella Got Her Groove Back - Terry McMillan

* Intensity - Dean R. Koontz

* Kiki's Memoirs - Kiki, (translation by Samuel Putnam)

* Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt

* Moonlight Becomes You - Mary Higgins Clark

* Polaroids From The Dead - Douglas Coupland

* Primary Colors - Joe Klein as "Anonymous"

* The Runaway Jury - John Grisham

* Selected Stories - Mavis Gallant

* Sofia; The Sultan's Daughter - Ann Chamberlin

* The Tailor of Panama - John le Carré

* The Tenth Insight - James Redfield

* Undaunted Courage - Stephen Ambrose

* A Vicious Circle - Amanda Craig

Above retrieved from Wikipedia.

Answer 2

* France agrees to end nuclear testing (Jan. 29). * Britain alarmed by an outbreak of "mad cow" disease (March 20) * South Africa gets new constitution (May 8). * Militant Taliban leaders seize Afghan capital of Kabul (Sept. 27). * President blocks ban on late-term abortions (April 10). * 747 airliner crashes in Atlantic off Long Island, N.Y.; all 230 aboard perish (July 17). * Clinton appoints Madeleine Albright as first female US secretary of state (Dec. 5).

Source: Information Please - Year by Year.