1995 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 15, 2025

Incumbents

Federal government

Tom Foley (D-Washington) (until January 3)

Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) (starting January 4)

Senate Majority Leader:

George J. Mitchell (D-Maine) (until January 3)

Bob Dole (R-Kansas) (starting January 3)

Congress: 103rd (until January 3), 104th (starting January 3)

Governors and lieutenant governors
Governors Governor of Alabama: Jim Folsom Jr. (Democratic) (until January 16), Fob James (Republican) (starting January 16) Governor of Alaska: Tony Knowles (Democratic) Governor of Arizona: Fife Symington III (Republican) Governor of Arkansas: Jim Guy Tucker (Democratic) Governor of California: Pete Wilson (Republican) Governor of Colorado: Roy Romer (Democratic) Governor of Connecticut: Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (A Connecticut) (until January 4), John G. Rowland (Republican) (starting January 4) Governor of Delaware: Thomas R. Carper (Democratic) Governor of Florida: Lawton Chiles (Democratic) Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic) Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (Democratic) Governor of Idaho: Cecil D. Andrus (Democratic) (until January 2), Phil Batt (Republican) (starting January 2) Governor of Illinois: Jim Edgar (Republican) Governor of Indiana: Evan Bayh (Democratic) Governor of Iowa: Terry E. Branstad (Republican) Governor of Kansas: Joan Finney (Democratic) (until January 9), Bill Graves (Republican) (starting January 9) Governor of Kentucky: Brereton Jones (Democratic) (until December 12), Paul E. Patton (Democratic) (starting December 12) Governor of Louisiana: Edwin W. Edwards (Democratic) Governor of Maine: John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican) (until January 5), Angus King (Independent) (starting January 5) Governor of Maryland: William Donald Schaefer (Democratic) (until January 18), Parris N. Glendening (Democratic) (starting January 18) Governor of Massachusetts: William F. Weld (Republican) Governor of Michigan: John Engler (Republican) Governor of Minnesota: Arne H. Carlson (Republican) Governor of Mississippi: Kirk Fordice (Republican) Governor of Missouri: Mel Carnahan (Democratic) Governor of Montana: Marc Racicot (Republican) Governor of Nebraska: Ben Nelson (Democratic) Governor of Nevada: Bob Miller (Democratic) Governor of New Hampshire: Steve Merrill (Republican) Governor of New Jersey: Christine Todd Whitman (Republican) Governor of New Mexico: Bruce King (Democratic) (until January 1), Gary Johnson (Republican) (starting January 1) Governor of New York: George Pataki (Republican) (starting January 1) Governor of North Carolina: Jim Hunt (Democratic) Governor of North Dakota: Ed Schafer (Republican) Governor of Ohio: George Voinovich (Republican) Governor of Oklahoma: David Walters (Democratic) (until January 9), Frank Keating (Republican) (starting January 9) Governor of Oregon: Barbara Roberts (Democratic) (until January 9), John Kitzhaber (Democratic) (starting January 9) Governor of Pennsylvania: Robert P. Casey (Democratic) (until January 17), Tom Ridge (Republican) (starting January 17) Governor of Rhode Island: Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) (until January 3), Lincoln C. Almond (Republican) (starting January 3) Governor of South Carolina: Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican) (until January 11), David Beasley (Republican) (starting January 11) Governor of South Dakota: Walter Dale Miller (Republican) (until January 7), William J. Janklow (Republican) (starting January 7) Governor of Tennessee: Ned McWherter (Democratic) (until January 21), Don Sundquist (Republican) (starting January 21) Governor of Texas: Ann Richards (Democratic) (until January 17), George W. Bush (Republican) (starting January 17) Governor of Utah: Mike Leavitt (Republican) Governor of Vermont: Howard Dean (Democratic) Governor of Virginia: George Allen (Republican) Governor of Washington: Mike Lowry (Democratic) Governor of West Virginia: Gaston Caperton (Democratic) Governor of Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson (Republican) Governor of Wyoming: Mike Sullivan (Democratic) (until January 7), Jim Geringer (Republican) (starting January 7) Lieutenant governors Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: vacant (until January 16), Don Siegelman (Democratic) (starting January 16) Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Fran Ulmer (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Mike Huckabee (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of California: Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic) (until January 2), Gray Davis (Democratic) (starting January 2) Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Samuel H. Cassidy (Democratic) (until January 3), Gail Schoettler (Democratic) (starting January 3) Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Eunice Groark (A Connecticut) (until January 9), Jodi Rell (Republican) (starting January 9) Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Ruth Ann Minner (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Buddy MacKay (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Pierre Howard (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Mazie Hirono (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Butch Otter (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Bob Kustra (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Frank O'Bannon (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Joy Corning (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Jim Francisco (Democratic) (until January 9), Sheila Frahm (Republican) (starting January 9) Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Paul E. Patton (Democratic) (until December 9), Steve Henry (Democratic) (starting December 9) Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Melinda Schwegmann (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Melvin A. Steinberg (Democratic) (until January 18), Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Democratic) (starting January 18) Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Paul Cellucci (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Connie Binsfeld (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Joanell Dyrstad (Democratic) (until January 3), Joanne E. Benson (Republican) (starting January 3) Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Eddie Briggs (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Roger B. Wilson (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Denny Rehberg (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Kim M. Robak (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Sue Wagner (Republican) (until January 2), Lonnie Hammargren (Republican) (starting January 2) Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Casey Luna (Democratic) (until January 1), Walter Dwight Bradley (Republican) (starting January 1) Lieutenant Governor of New York: Betsy McCaughey (Republican) (starting January 1) Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Dennis A. Wicker (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Rosemarie Myrdal (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: vacant (until January 9), Nancy P. Hollister (Republican) (starting January 9) Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Jack Mildren (Democratic) (until January 9), Mary Fallin (Republican) (starting January 9) Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Mark Singel (Democratic) (until January 17), Mark S. Schweiker (Republican) (starting January 17) Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Robert Weygand (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Nick Theodore (Democratic) (until January 11), Bob Peeler (Republican) (starting January 11) Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Steve T. Kirby (Republican) (until January 7), Carole Hillard (Republican) (starting January 7) Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Texas: Bob Bullock (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Utah: Olene S. Walker (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Barbara W. Snelling (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Don Beyer (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Joel Pritchard (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Scott McCallum (Republican)

Events

January

January 1 – The History Channel is launched.
January 4 – The 104th United States Congress, the first controlled by Republicans in both houses since 1953 to 1955, convenes.
January 11 – Robert Rubin is sworn in as the new Secretary of Treasury, succeeding Lloyd Bentsen.^{[ citation needed ]}
January 24 – State of the Union Address.
January 26 – The House of Representatives passes a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution by a vote of 300-132.
January 29 – Super Bowl XXIX: The San Francisco 49ers become the first National Football League franchise to win five Super Bowls, as they defeat the San Diego Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida.
January 31 – U.S. President Bill Clinton invokes emergency powers to extend a $20 billion loan to help Mexico avert financial collapse.

February

February 9 – STS-63: Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr. and Michael Foale become the first African American and Briton, respectively, to walk in space.
February 15 – Hacker Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most secure computer systems.
February 17 – Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting and later receives a 200+ year sentence.
February 18 – Private Tracie McBride is kidnapped, raped and murdered in Texas by former soldier Louis Jones Jr.^[2]
February 23 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 30.28 to close at 4,003.33 – the Dow's first ever close above 4,000.
February 27 – In Denver, Colorado, Stapleton Airport closes and is replaced by the new Denver International Airport, the largest in the United States.
February 28 – Members of the group Patriot's Council are convicted in Minnesota under the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 for manufacturing ricin.

March

March 2
- Yahoo! is incorporated.
- An amendment to the Constitution on a Balanced Budget is voted down by one vote in the US Senate. The deciding vote was cast by Oregon Republican senator Mark Hatfield.
March 13 – David Daliberti and William Barloon, two Americans working for a military contractor in Kuwait, are arrested after straying into Iraq.
March 14 – Astronaut Norman Thagard becomes the first American to ride into space aboard a Russian launch vehicle (the Soyuz TM-21 ), lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
March 16 – Mississippi ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The amendment was nationally ratified in 1865, but did not make it official until 2013.
March 27 – The 67th Academy Awards, hosted by David Letterman, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump winning six awards out of 13 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast garners nearly 48.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched Oscars broadcast since 1983.
March 26 – Rapper Eric Lynn Wright, better known as Eazy-E, dies of complications from AIDS.
March 31 – Singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (known simply as Selena) is murdered in Corpus Christi, Texas by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar.

April

April 5 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 246–188 to cut taxes for individuals and corporations.
April 7 – House Republicans celebrate passage of most of the Contract with America.
April 19 – Oklahoma City bombing: 168 people, including eight Federal Marshals and 19 children, are killed at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Timothy McVeigh and one of his accomplices, Terry Nichols, set off the bomb.
April 23 – President Clinton visits Oklahoma City and gives an address, stating "Today our nation is joined with you in grief."
April 24 – A Unabomber bomb kills lobbyist Gilbert Murray in Sacramento, California.

May

May 14 – Team New Zealand wins the America's Cup in San Diego, beating Stars and Stripes 5–0.
May 17 – Shawn Nelson, 35, goes on a tank rampage in San Diego.
May 20 – U.S. President Bill Clinton indefinitely closes part of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to vehicular traffic in response to the Oklahoma City bombing.
May 23 – Oklahoma City bombing: In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building are imploded.
May 27 – In Culpeper, Virginia, actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse in a riding competition.

June

June 2 – A United States Air Force F-16 piloted by Captain Scott O'Grady is shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone. O'Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines six days later.
June 6 – U.S. astronaut Norman Thagard breaks NASA's space endurance record of 14 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes, aboard the Russian space station Mir .
June 15 – During his murder trial, O. J. Simpson puts on a pair of gloves that were presumably worn by the person who murdered his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman. Defense attorney Johnnie Cochran quips, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." The gloves appear too tight on Simpson's hands.
June 16 – The International Olympic Committee awards the 2002 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, Utah.
June 23 – Walt Disney Pictures' 33rd feature film, Pocahontas , is released, garnering a predominately mixed reception (the first Disney animated film to do so since 1988's Oliver & Company ) but strong financial success.
June 24 – The New Jersey Devils sweep the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings to win their first Stanley Cup in the lock-out shortened season.
June 29 – STS-71: Space Shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian Mir space station for the first time.
June 30 – Apollo 13 , directed by Ron Howard, is released in theaters to critical acclaim and box office success, with many considering it his best movie.

July

July – Midwestern United States heat wave: An unprecedented heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States for most of the month. Temperatures peak at 106 °F (41 °C), and remain above 94 °F (34 °C) in the afternoon for five straight days. At least 739 people die in Chicago alone.
July 5 – The U.S. Congress passes the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act, requiring that producers of pornography keep records of all models who are filmed or photographed, and that all models be at least 18 years of age.
July 13 – Dozens of cities, most notably Chicago and Milwaukee, set all-time record high temperatures. Hundreds in these and other cities die as the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995 reaches its peak.
July 23 – David Daliberti and William Barloon, two Americans held as spies by Iraq, are released by Saddam Hussein after negotiations with U.S. Congressman Bill Richardson.
July 27 – In Washington, D.C., the Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated.
July 28 – Two followers of Rajneesh are convicted for their part in the 1985 Rajneeshee assassination plot in Oregon.

August

August 6 – Hundreds in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo mark the 50th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb.
August 21 – Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, a scheduled regional passenger flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Gulfport, Mississippi, crashes in a field in Carroll County, Georgia, after suffering an impaired left engine during flight.^[3] The accident results in the deaths of 9 of the 29 people on board, including 8 passengers and 1 crew member.^[4]
August 24 – Microsoft releases Windows 95.^[5]

September

September 1 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is dedicated in Downtown Cleveland, with a design by architect I. M. Pei.
September 6 – Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles breaks the all time consecutive games played record in Major League Baseball.
September 9
- Kids' WB debuts on The WB, anchored by Animaniacs , which transfers over from Fox's children's programming block, Fox Kids. It debuted on Fox Kids 2 years before.
- The first PlayStation is released in the US.
September 19 – The Washington Post and The New York Times publish the Unabomber manifesto several months after it is written.
September 22 – American millionaire Steve Forbes announces his candidacy for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination.
September 23
- Argentine national Guillermo "Bill" Gaede is arrested in Phoenix, Arizona on charges of industrial espionage. His sales to Cuba, China, North Korea and Iran are believed to have involved Intel and AMD trade secrets worth US$10–20 million.
- Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reads "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" in the church's semiannual all-women's meeting. The proclamation is a definitive document about the church's doctrine on the nature and importance of the family as "the basic unit of society"^[6] and continues to shape current LDS policy as well as interfaith cooperative efforts.^[7]

October

October 1 – Ten people are convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.^[8]
October 2 – The Seattle Mariners clinch their first postseason berth in franchise history defeating the California Angels, 9-1, in the 1995 AL West Tiebreaker.
October 3 – O. J. Simpson is found not guilty of double murder for the deaths of former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
October 4 – Hurricane Opal makes landfall at Pensacola Beach, Florida as a Category 3 hurricane with 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) winds.
October 9 – 1995 Palo Verde derailment: An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.
October 15 – The Carolina Panthers win their first-ever regular season game by defeating the New York Jets at Clemson Memorial Stadium in South Carolina.
October 16 – The Million Man March is held in Washington, D.C. The event was conceived by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
October 23 – Louis Jones Jr. is convicted of the kidnapping and murder of Tracie McBride, having abducted her at gunpoint from Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas. The federal government sentences him to death for his crimes.^[9]
October 25 – 1995 Fox River Grove bus–train collision: A Metra commuter train slams into a school bus in Fox River Grove, Illinois, killing seven students.
October 28 – The Atlanta Braves defeat the Cleveland Indians, 4 games to 2, to win their first World Series Title in Atlanta.

November

November 1
- NASA loses contact with the Pioneer 11 probe.
- Participants in the Yugoslav War begin negotiations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
- The U.S. House of Representatives passes the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995, outlawing intact dilation and extraction abortions. President Bill Clinton vetoes the bill in 1996.
November 3 – At Arlington National Cemetery, U.S. President Bill Clinton dedicates a memorial to the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
November 7 – The Landmark Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is imploded to make room for a parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center.
November 14–19 – Federal government shutdown: A budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Congress forces the federal government to temporarily close national parks and museums, and run most government offices with skeleton staff.
November 21 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 40.46 to close at 5,023.55, its first close above 5,000. This makes 1995 the first year where the Dow surpasses two millennium marks in a single year.
November 21 – The Dayton Agreement to end the Bosnian War is reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio (signed December 14).
November 22 – Six-year-old Elisa Izquierdo's child abuse-related death at the hands of her mother makes headlines, and instigates major reform in New York City's child welfare system.
November 22 – The first ever full-length computer-animated feature film, Toy Story , is released by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures.
November 28 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, which ends the federal 55 mph speed limit.

December

December 7 – NASA's Galileo probe reenters over Jupiter.
December 13 – The Republic of Texas group claims to have formed a provisional government in Texas.
December 15 – Because of the "quadruple-witching" option expiration, volume on the New York Stock Exchange hits 638 million shares, the highest single-day volume since October 20, 1987, when the Dow staged a stunning recovery a day after Black Monday.
December 16 – The federal government has another shutdown as the budget disagreement continues. It re-opens on January 6, 1996.
December 31 – The final original Calvin and Hobbes comic strip is published.

Ongoing

Iraqi no-fly zones (1991–2003)^[10]
Operation Uphold Democracy (1994–1995)
Dot-com bubble (c. 1995–c. 2000)

Sport

July 1 – The Quebec Nordiques relocate from Quebec City, Quebec to Denver, Colorado to become the Colorado Avalanche.
November 19 – The Baltimore Stallions become the first (and only) American team to win a Grey Cup by defeating the Calgary Stampeders 37 to 20. Gainesville, Florida's Tracy Ham is awarded the game's Most Valuable Player.