1991 in the United States

Decades:	1970s ; 1980s ; 1990s ; 2000s ; 2010s ;
See also:	History of the United States (1991–2008) ; Timeline of United States history (1990–2009) ; List of years in the United States ;

Last updated March 14, 2025

Incumbents

Federal government

President: George H. W. Bush (R-Texas)
Vice President: Dan Quayle (R-Indiana)
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (Virginia)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Tom Foley (D-Washington)
Senate Majority Leader: George J. Mitchell (D-Maine)
Congress: 101st (until January 3), 102nd (starting January 3)

Governors and lieutenant governors
Governors Governor of Alabama: H. Guy Hunt (Republican) Governor of Alaska: Wally Hickel (Alaskan Independence)/(Republican) Governor of Arizona: Rose Mofford (Democratic) (until March 6), Fife Symington III (Republican) (starting March 6) Governor of Arkansas: Bill Clinton (Democratic) Governor of California: George Deukmejian (Republican) (until January 7), Pete Wilson (Republican) (starting January 7) Governor of Colorado: Roy Romer (Democratic) Governor of Connecticut: William A O'Neill (Democratic) (until January 9), Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (A Connecticut) (starting January 9) Governor of Delaware: Michael Castle (Republican) Governor of Florida: Bob Martinez (Republican) (until January 8), Lawton Chiles (Democratic) (starting January 8) Governor of Georgia: Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) (until January 14), Zell Miller (Democratic) (starting January 14) Governor of Hawaii: John D. Waihee III (Democratic) Governor of Idaho: Cecil D. Andrus (Democratic) Governor of Illinois: James R. Thompson (Republican) (until January 14), Jim Edgar (Republican) (starting January 14) Governor of Indiana: Evan Bayh (Democratic) Governor of Iowa: Terry E. Branstad (Republican) Governor of Kansas: Mike Hayden (Republican) (until January 14), Joan Finney (Democratic) (starting January 14) Governor of Kentucky: Wallace G. Wilkinson (Democratic) (until December 10), Brereton Jones (Democratic) (starting December 10) Governor of Louisiana: Buddy Roemer (Democratic)/(Republican) Governor of Maine: John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican) Governor of Maryland: William Donald Schaefer (Democratic) Governor of Massachusetts: Michael Dukakis (Democratic) (until January 3), William F. Weld (Republican) (starting January 3) Governor of Michigan: James Blanchard (Democratic) (until January 1), John Engler (Republican) (starting January 1) Governor of Minnesota: Rudy Perpich (Democratic) (until January 7), Arne H. Carlson (Republican) (starting January 7) Governor of Mississippi: Ray Mabus (Democratic) Governor of Missouri: John Ashcroft (Republican) Governor of Montana: Stan Stephens (Republican) Governor of Nebraska: Kay A. Orr (Republican) (until January 9), Ben Nelson (Democratic) (starting January 9) Governor of Nevada: Bob Miller (Democratic) Governor of New Hampshire: Judd Gregg (Republican) Governor of New Jersey: James Florio (Democratic) Governor of New Mexico: Garrey Carruthers (Republican) (until January 1), Bruce King (Democratic) (starting January 1) Governor of New York: Mario Cuomo (Democratic) Governor of North Carolina: James G. Martin (Republican) Governor of North Dakota: George A. Sinner (Democratic) Governor of Ohio: Dick Celeste (Democratic) (until January 14), George Voinovich (Republican) (starting January 14) Governor of Oklahoma: Henry Bellmon (Republican) (until January 14), David Walters (Democratic) (starting January 14) Governor of Oregon: Neil Goldschmidt (Democratic) (until January 14), Barbara Roberts (Democratic) (starting January 14) Governor of Pennsylvania: Robert P. Casey (Democratic) Governor of Rhode Island: Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) (until January 1), Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) (starting January 1) Governor of South Carolina: Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican) Governor of South Dakota: George S. Mickelson (Republican) Governor of Tennessee: Ned McWherter (Democratic) Governor of Texas: Bill Clements (Republican) (until January 15), Ann Richards (Democratic) (starting January 15) Governor of Utah: Norman H. Bangerter (Republican) Governor of Vermont: until January 10: Madeleine M. Kunin (Democratic) January 10-August 13: Richard A. Snelling (Republican) starting August 13: Howard Dean (Democratic) Governor of Virginia: Douglas Wilder (Democratic) Governor of Washington: Booth Gardner (Democratic) Governor of West Virginia: Gaston Caperton (Democratic) Governor of Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson (Republican) Governor of Wyoming: Mike Sullivan (Democratic) Lieutenant governors Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Jim Folsom Jr. (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Jack Coghill (Alaskan Independence) Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winston Bryant (Democratic) (until January 15), Jim Guy Tucker (Democratic) (starting January 15) Lieutenant Governor of California: Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Mike Callihan (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Joseph J. Fauliso (Democratic) (until January 9), Eunice Groark (A Connecticut) (starting January 9) Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Dale E. Wolf (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Bobby Brantley (Republican) (until January 8), Buddy MacKay (Democratic) (starting January 8) Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic) (until January 13), Pierre Howard (Democratic) (starting January 13) Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Butch Otter (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: George H. Ryan (Republican) (until January 14), Bob Kustra (Republican) (starting January 14) Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Frank O'Bannon (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Jo Ann Zimmerman (Democratic) (until January), Joy Corning (Republican) (starting January) Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Jack D. Walker (Republican) (until January 14), Jim Francisco (Democratic) (starting January 14) Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Brereton Jones (Democratic) (until December 10), Paul E. Patton (Democratic) (starting December 10) Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Paul Hardy (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Melvin A. Steinberg (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Evelyn Murphy (Democratic) (until January 3), Paul Cellucci (Republican) (starting January 3) Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Martha W. Griffiths (Democratic) (until January 1), Connie Binsfeld (Republican) (starting January 1) Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Marlene Johnson (Democratic) (until January 7), Joanell Dyrstad (Democratic) (starting January 7) Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Brad Dye (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Mel Carnahan (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Allen Kolstad (Republican) (until January 20), Denny Rehberg (Republican) (starting January 20) Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: William E. Nichol (Republican) (until month and day unknown), Maxine Moul (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown) Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: vacant (until January 7), Sue Wagner (Republican) (starting January 7) Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Jack L. Stahl (Republican) (until January 1), Casey Luna (Democratic) (starting January 1) Lieutenant Governor of New York: Stan Lundine (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: James Carson Gardner (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Lloyd Omdahl (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Paul R. Leonard (Democratic) (until January 14), Mike DeWine (Democratic) (starting January 14) Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Robert S. Kerr III (Democratic) (until month and day unknown), Jack Mildren (Democratic) (starting month and day unknown) Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Mark Singel (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Roger N. Begin (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Nick Theodore (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Walter Dale Miller (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Texas: William P. Hobby Jr. (Democratic) (until January 15), Bob Bullock (Democratic) (starting January 15) Lieutenant Governor of Utah: W. Val Oveson (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Howard Dean (Democratic) (until August 13), vacant (starting August 13) Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Don Beyer (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Joel Pritchard (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Scott McCallum (Republican)

Events

January

January 2 – Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of the District of Columbia, becoming the first African-American woman to be mayor of a major U.S. city.
January 7 – United States Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney cancels the $57,000,000,000 order for the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II.
January 8 – Pan American World Airways files for bankruptcy protection.
January 9 – United States Secretary of State James Baker meets with Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz, but fails to produce a plan for Iraq to withdraw its troops from Kuwait.
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 17 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins with airstrikes against Iraq.
January 18 – Eastern Air Lines ceases operations after flying for two years under bankruptcy protection.
January 25 – President George H. W. Bush names Rep. Edward Rell Madigan as United States Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Clayton Keith Yeutter, who had been elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
January 26 – In Washington, D.C., tens of thousands of people rally against the Persian Gulf War.
January 27 – Super Bowl XXV: The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills 20–19 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
January 29
- George H. W. Bush delivers his second State of the Union Address.
- The first attempt to cure cancer by gene therapy takes place at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland.

February

February – The early 1990s recession ends.
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 people.
February 5 – A Michigan court bars Dr. Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
February 7 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Kuwait, thus starting the ground phase of the war.
February 9 – The Adventures of Pete & Pete debuts on Nickelodeon.
February 13 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided bombs destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing 314 Iraqis including 130 children. United States military intelligence claims the structure was transmitting military signals but Iraqi officials identify it as a bomb shelter.^[1]
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 23 – The One Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania kills three firefighters and destroys eight floors of the building.
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 the war.
February 26 – Gulf War: On Baghdad radio, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat.
February 27 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated".^[2]
February 28 – Impostor James Hogue is exposed at Princeton University.

March

March 1 – Clayton Keith Yeutter leaves his position as the United States Secretary of Agriculture.
March 3
- An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles, California police officers.
- 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 $1,000,000,000 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.
- Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
March 18 – Get the Picture debuts on Nickelodeon.
March 25 – The 63rd Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves wins seven awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast garners nearly 43 million viewers.
March 30 – Northern Michigan University wins the NCAA Division I title in hockey, 8–7 in the third overtime against Boston University.

April

April 4
- Merion air disaster: Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania.
- William Kennedy Smith, a nephew of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, is identified as a suspect in an alleged Palm Beach, Florida sexual assault.
- 1991 Sacramento hostage crisis: Four gunmen take 41 people hostage at a Good Guys! electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three hostages, as well as three of the four hostage-takers, are killed.
April 5 – Former Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia.
April 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, at 3,004.46.
April 26 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States, killing 17 people. The most notable tornado of the day strikes Andover, Kansas.

May

May 3 – Wisconsin Butter Fire in Madison.^[3]
May 5 – 1991 Washington, D.C. riot: A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadorean man.
May 6 – Time magazine publishes "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", an article highly critical of the Scientology organization.
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

June 5 – STS-40: Space Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab Life Sciences 1 module into orbit.
June 10 – As she was finishing school for the day, 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped. She will not be found for 18 years.^[4]
June 12 – The Chicago Bulls win their first NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers.
June 13 – A spectator is killed by lightning at the U.S. Open.
June 17 – 12th U.S. President Zachary Taylor, who died 141 years earlier in 1850, 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.^[5]^[6]
June 23 – Sonic the Hedgehog is released in the United States. Nearly one million copies were sold in the United States by Christmas 1991, and nearly 2 million copies were sold worldwide by the end of 1991.
June 27 – Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall announces his retirement from the Supreme Court due to declining health. In his retirement press conference on the following day, he expressed his view that race should not be the basis in selecting his successor.
June 28 – The 5.6 M_w  Sierra Madre earthquake shook the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing two deaths, 27–40 injuries, and $33.5–40 million in losses.

July

July 1 – President George H. W. Bush nominates Clarence Thomas as the replacement for Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall.^[7]
July 4 – Salute Your Shorts debuts on Nickelodeon.^[8]
July 11 – A solar Eclipse of record totality occurs, seen first in Hawaii. It then entered Mexico with the path directly crossing Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City, where it was seen by 20,000,000 inhabitants, and finally ended in Colombia in South America.
July 22
- Boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with raping Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington three days earlier, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of eleven men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Police soon find out that he is involved in six more murders.
July 31 – The United States and the Soviet Union sign the START I treaty limiting strategic nuclear weapons.

August

August 11 – Nickelodeon introduces its series of Nicktoons, with Doug , Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show the first three to air.
August 19 – Hurricane Bob hits the Northeastern United States.
August 23 – The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (or "Super Nintendo") is first released in the United States.
August 31 – What Would You Do? debuts on Nickelodeon.

September

September 2 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: 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 8–12 – Tailhook scandal: At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium in Las Vegas, 83 women and seven men are assaulted.
September 11 – Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Texas.
September 16 – The trial of the deposed Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega begins in the United States.
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 – Nirvana releases their most popular album, Nevermind , which ultimately sells 11 million copies in the United States.

October

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 a restaurant in Killeen, Texas before committing suicide. It would be the largest mass shooting by a single person in the United States until 2007.
October 20 – The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 people 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

November 1 – University of Iowa shooting: Former alumnus Gang Lu kills five people before committing suicide.
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.
November 14
- American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
- In Royal Oak, Michigan, a fired United States Postal Service employee goes on a shooting rampage, killing four people and wounding five others before committing suicide.
November 22 – Walt Disney Pictures' 30th feature film, Beauty and the Beast , is released, receiving widespread acclaim and box office success, later becoming the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards in early 1992. Many consider the film as Disney's magnum opus and one the greatest animated movies ever made.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]
November 24 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies from AIDS at 45 years old, one day after making his diagnosis public.
November 30 – The United States win the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in China against Norway in the Final.

December

December 4 – Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years' captivity as a hostage in Beirut (the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).
December 7 – The 50th anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
December 20 – A Missouri court imposes a death sentence on Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria, for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
December 25–26 – The Cold War ends as President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union dissolves.

Ongoing

Cold War (1947–1991)
Gulf War (1990–1991)
Iraqi no-fly zones (1991–2003)^[14]