1999 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

Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia) (until January 3)

Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) (starting January 6)

Senate Majority Leader: Trent Lott (R-Mississippi)
Congress: 105th (until January 3), 106th (starting January 3)

Governors and lieutenant governors
Governors Governor of Alabama: Fob James (Republican) (until January 18), Don Siegelman (Democratic) (starting January 18) Governor of Alaska: Tony Knowles (Democratic) Governor of Arizona: Jane Dee Hull (Republican) Governor of Arkansas: Mike Huckabee (Republican) Governor of California: Pete Wilson (Republican) (until January 4), Gray Davis (Democratic) (starting January 4) Governor of Colorado: Roy Romer (Democratic) (until January 12), Bill Owens (Republican) (starting January 12) Governor of Connecticut: John G. Rowland (Republican) Governor of Delaware: Thomas R. Carper (Democratic) Governor of Florida: Buddy MacKay (Democratic) (until January 5), Jeb Bush (Republican) (starting January 5) Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic) (until January 11), Roy Barnes (Democratic) (starting January 11) Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (Democratic) Governor of Idaho: Phil Batt (Republican) (until January 4), Dirk Kempthorne (Republican) (starting January 4) Governor of Illinois: Jim Edgar (Republican) (until January 11), George Ryan (Republican) (starting January 11) Governor of Indiana: Frank O'Bannon (Democratic) Governor of Iowa: Terry E. Branstad (Republican) (until January 15), Tom Vilsack (Democratic) (starting January 15) Governor of Kansas: Bill Graves (Republican) Governor of Kentucky: Paul E. Patton (Democratic) Governor of Louisiana: Murphy J. Foster Jr. (Republican) Governor of Maine: Angus King (Independent) Governor of Maryland: Parris N. Glendening (Democratic) Governor of Massachusetts: Paul Cellucci (Republican) Governor of Michigan: John Engler (Republican) Governor of Minnesota: Arne H. Carlson (Republican) (until January 4), Jesse Ventura (Independence) (starting January 4) Governor of Mississippi: Kirk Fordice (Republican) Governor of Missouri: Mel Carnahan (Democratic) Governor of Montana: Marc Racicot (Republican) Governor of Nebraska: Ben Nelson (Democratic) (until January 7), Mike Johanns (Republican) (starting January 7) Governor of Nevada: Bob Miller (Democratic) (until January 4), Kenny Guinn (Republican) (starting January 4) Governor of New Hampshire: Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) Governor of New Jersey: Christine Todd Whitman (Republican) Governor of New Mexico: Gary Johnson (Republican) Governor of New York: George Pataki (Republican) Governor of North Carolina: Jim Hunt (Democratic) Governor of North Dakota: Ed Schafer (Republican) Governor of Ohio: Nancy Hollister (Republican) (until January 11), Bob Taft (Republican) (starting January 11) Governor of Oklahoma: Frank Keating (Republican) Governor of Oregon: John Kitzhaber (Democratic) Governor of Pennsylvania: Tom Ridge (Republican) Governor of Rhode Island: Lincoln C. Almond (Republican) Governor of South Carolina: David Beasley (Republican) (until January 13), Jim Hodges (Democratic) (starting January 13) Governor of South Dakota: William J. Janklow (Republican) Governor of Tennessee: Don Sundquist (Republican) Governor of Texas: George W. Bush (Republican) Governor of Utah: Mike Leavitt (Republican) Governor of Vermont: Howard Dean (Democratic) Governor of Virginia: Jim Gilmore (Republican) Governor of Washington: Gary Locke (Democratic) Governor of West Virginia: Cecil H. Underwood (Republican) Governor of Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson (Republican) Governor of Wyoming: Jim Geringer (Republican) Lieutenant governors Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Don Siegelman (Democratic) (until January 18), Steve Windom (Republican) (starting January 18) Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Fran Ulmer (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of California: Gray Davis (Democratic) (until January 4), Cruz Bustamante (Democratic) (starting January 4) Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Gail Schoettler (Democratic) (until January 12), Joe Rogers (Republican) (starting January 12) Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Jodi Rell (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Ruth Ann Minner (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Florida: vacant (until January 5), Frank Brogan (Republican) (starting January 5) Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Pierre Howard (Democratic) (until January 11), Mark Taylor (Democratic) (starting January 11) Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Mazie Hirono (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Butch Otter (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: vacant (until January 11), Corinne Wood (Republican) (starting January 11) Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Joe E. Kernan (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Joy Corning (Republican) (until January 15), Sally Pederson (Democratic) (starting January 15) Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Gary Sherrer (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Steve Henry (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Kathleen Blanco (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Paul Cellucci (Republican) (until January 7), Jane Swift (Republican) (starting January 7) Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Connie Binsfeld (Republican) (until January 1), Dick Posthumus (Republican) (starting January 1) Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Joanne E. Benson (Republican) (until January 4), Mae Schunk (Independence) (starting January 4) Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Ronnie Musgrove (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Roger B. Wilson (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Judy Martz (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Kim M. Robak (Democratic) (until January 7), David I. Maurstad (Republican) (starting January 7) Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Lonnie Hammargren (Republican) (until January 4), Lorraine Hunt (Republican) (starting January 4) Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Walter Dwight Bradley (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of New York: Mary Donohue (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 11), Maureen O'Connor (Republican) (starting January 11) Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Mary Fallin (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Mark S. Schweiker (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Bernard Jackvony (Republican) (until January 2), Charles J. Fogarty (Democratic) (starting January 2) Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Bob Peeler (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Carole Hillard (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Texas: Bob Bullock (Democratic) (until January 19), Rick Perry (Republican) (starting January 19) Lieutenant Governor of Utah: Olene S. Walker (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Doug Racine (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: John H. Hager (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Brad Owen (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Scott McCallum (Republican)

Events

January

January 1 – DIY Network, a spinoff of Home and Garden Television, is launched.
January 2 – A snowstorm leaves 14 inches (36 cm) of snow in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and 21 inches (53 cm) in Chicago, Illinois, killing 68.
January 6 – Dennis Hastert becomes Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
January 7 – The Senate trial in the impeachment of President Bill Clinton begins. He had been impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19.
January 14–17 – The Winter X Games take place in Crested Butte.^[2]
January 21 – In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 9,500 pounds (4,300 kg) of cocaine aboard, headed for Houston, Texas.
January 22 – An F3 tornado strikes downtown Clarksville, Tennessee, destroying and heavily damaging more than 500 buildings, including the historic Montgomery County Courthouse, and nationally registered Trinity Episcopal Church and Madison Street United Methodist Church.^[3]
January 31 – The adult animated sitcom Family Guy debuts on the Fox network after Super Bowl XXXIII.

February

February 1 – The Disney Channel Preschool Block is rebranded as Playhouse Disney.
February 2 – Noggin is launched.
February 4
- Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.^[4]
- The New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.
February 12 – Impeachment of Bill Clinton: President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the Senate.
February 15 – Rapper Big L is shot to death.
February 19 – President Bill Clinton issues a posthumous pardon for U.S. Army Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper.
February 23 – White supremacist John William King is found guilty of kidnapping and murdering African American James Byrd Jr. by dragging him behind a truck for 2 miles (3 km).
February 24 – LaGrand case: The state of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery that led to a death. Karl's brother Walter is executed a week later, in spite of Germany's legal action in the International Court of Justice to attempt to save him.

March

March 2 – The new Mandalay Bay hotel and casino opens on the Las Vegas Strip.
March 3 – Walter LaGrand is executed in the gas chamber in Arizona.
March 4 – In a military court, United States Marine Corps Captain Richard J. Ashby is acquitted of the charge of reckless flying which resulted in the deaths of 20 skiers in the Italian Alps, when his low-flying jet hit a gondola cable.
March 8 – The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing.
March 11 – Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
March 17 – The Roth IRA is introduced by U.S. Senator William V. Roth Jr.
March 20 – Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California.
March 21 – The 71st Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with John Madden's Shakespeare in Love winning seven awards out of 13 nominations, including Best Picture. Steven Spielberg wins his second Best Director award for Saving Private Ryan . The telecast garners over 45.5 million viewers.
March 25 – Enron energy traders allegedly route 2,900 megawatts of electricity destined for California to the town of Silver Peak, Nevada, population 200.
March 26 – A Michigan jury finds Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.
March 27 – Kosovo War: A U.S. F-117 Nighthawk is shot down by Serbian forces.
March 28 – The science-fiction adult animated sitcom Futurama debuts on Fox.
March 29 – For the first time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark, at 10,006.78.
March 31 – The Matrix is released in theaters.

April

April 1: ATC traffic with Korean Air Lines Flight 36 and Air China Flight 9018 as they nearly collide at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

April 1 – Air China Flight 9018, a Boeing 747, taxis onto an active runway at O'Hare International Airport during the takeoff of Korean Air Flight 36, another Boeing 747, nearly resulting in a crash. Flight 36 averted a collision by taking off early and missing the Air China aircraft by 75 feet. There were 8 people on the Air China cargo plane and 379 on the Korean Air flight.^[5]
April 5 – In Laramie, Wyoming, Russell Henderson pleads guilty to kidnapping and felony murder, in order to avoid a possible death penalty conviction for the killing of Matthew Shepard.
April 7 – The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.^[6]
April 8 – Bill Gates' personal fortune exceeds US$100 billion, thanks to the increased value of Microsoft stock.
April 12 – U.S. President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.
April 15 – Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz are exonerated of the rape and murder of Debbie Carter and released from prison. Both had spent 11 years in prison, with Williamson on death row, and having come within five days of execution.^[7]
April 20 – Columbine High School massacre: Two Littleton, Colorado teenagers open fire on their teachers and classmates, killing 12 students and one teacher, and then themselves. It would be the deadliest shooting at a high school in U.S. history at the time. The shooting sparks debate on school bullying, gun control and violence in the media.
April 23 – 1999 Major League Baseball season: Fernando Tatís of the St. Louis Cardinals hits two grand slams in one inning, becoming the first and only player in MLB history to do so.^[8]
April 28 – Bausch & Lomb announces its intent to sell Ray-Ban to the Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica.^[9]

May

May 1
- The animated children's TV series SpongeBob SquarePants debuts on the cable network Nickelodeon.^[10]
- The body of English mountaineer George Mallory is discovered on Mount Everest during a summit journey.
May 3
- Norman J. Sirnic and Karen Sirnic are murdered by serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz in Weimar, Texas.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 for the first time, at 11,014.70.
May 3–6 – 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak spawns 140 tornadoes, including an F5 in Moore, Oklahoma that kills 38 people with the highest wind speeds ever recorded.
May 5 – Microsoft releases Windows 98 (Second Edition).
May 8 – Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Military College of South Carolina.^[11]
May 20 – American daredevil Robbie Knievel jumps 228 feet (69 m) over the Grand Canyon on a 500cc motorcycle.
May 25 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People's Republic of China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.
May 29 – Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
May 31 – Sean Elliott of the San Antonio Spurs hits the Memorial Day Miracle against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1999 NBA Playoffs.

June

June 1 – American Airlines Flight 1420 overruns the runway in Little Rock, Arkansas, killing 11 people.
June 8 – The government of Colombia announces it will include the estimated value of the country's illegal drug crops, exceeding half a billion US dollars, in its gross national product.
June 12 – Texas Governor George W. Bush announces he will seek the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States.
June 18 – Walt Disney Pictures' 37th feature film, Tarzan , is released to critical praise and box office success. It is the final film to be released during the Disney Renaissance era, which began ten years prior with 1989's The Little Mermaid .
June 23 – The Phillips explosion of 1999 kills two and injures three in Pasadena, Texas.

July

July 2
- Benjamin Nathaniel Smith begins a three-day killing spree targeting racial and ethnic minorities in Illinois and Indiana, which ends in Smith's suicide.
- Lawrence Summers is sworn in as the new Secretary of Treasury, succeeding Robert Rubin.^{[ citation needed ]}
July 5–6 – U.S. Army Pfc. Barry Winchell is bludgeoned in his sleep at Fort Campbell, Kentucky by fellow soldiers; he dies the next day from his injuries.
July 8 – A major flash flood in Las Vegas swamps hundreds of cars, smashes mobile homes and kills two people.
July 10 – U.S. soccer player Brandi Chastain scores the game winning penalty kick against China in the FIFA Women's World Cup.
July 14 – Big Blue Crane collapses while constructing Miller Park killing three workers.
July 16 – Off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, a plane piloted by John F. Kennedy Jr. crashes, killing him and his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her sister, Lauren Bessette.
July 20 – Mercury program: Liberty Bell 7 is raised from the Atlantic Ocean.
July 22 – The first version of MSN Messenger is released by Microsoft.
July 23–25 – The Woodstock '99 festival is held in New York.
July 25 – Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France.
July 26 – The last Checker taxi cab is retired in New York City and auctioned off for approximately $135,000.
July 29
- 1999 Atlanta day trading firm shootings: Mark Orrin Barton kills his family. He then goes on a murder spree at the trading firm he worked at, killing a total of 12 people in Atlanta, Georgia. He later committed suicide at a gas station when cornered by police.
- NASA intentionally crashes the Lunar Prospector spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the lunar surface.

August

August 10 – Buford O. Furrow Jr. wounds five and kills one during the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting.
August 30 – Mentally ill Breslover Hasid Gidone Busch is shot dead by four New York City police officers, leading City Councilman Noach Dear to call for an investigation.^[12]

September

September 7 – Viacom and CBS merge.
September 9 – The Sega Company introduces in American market the new game console with the name Dreamcast.
September 15 – Larry Gene Ashbrook murders seven people and then commits suicide at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
September 23 – NASA announces that it has lost contact with the Mars Climate Orbiter.
September 27 – The Detroit Tigers host the Kansas City Royals in the final game at Tiger Stadium

October

October 9 – The last flight of the SR-71.
October 13 – The United States Senate rejects ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
October 16 – The 7.1 M_w  Hector Mine earthquake shook the Mojave Desert region of Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing 4–5 injuries and limited damage.
October 27 – The New York Yankees sweep the Atlanta Braves to win their 25th world championship.
October 31 – EgyptAir Flight 990, traveling from New York City to Cairo, crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on board. The NTSB later reports that the co-pilot, Gameel Al-Batouti, deliberately crashed the plane, however, Egyptian authorities dispute this claim.

November

November 2 – Byran Uyesugi kills seven people at a Xerox building in Honolulu, Hawaii.
November 18 – The Aggie Bonfire collapses in College Station, Texas, killing 12.
November 24 – Disney/Pixar's third feature film, Toy Story 2 , the sequel to 1995's Toy Story , is released in theaters.
November 30
- In Seattle, Washington, protests against the WTO meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies.
- The ExxonMobil merger is completed, forming the largest corporation in the world at that time.

December

December – The unemployment rate drops to 4%, the lowest level since January 1970.
December 3 – NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander, moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.
December 7 – The Recording Industry Association of America files a lawsuit against the Napster file-sharing client, alleging copyright infringement.
December 16 – Walt Disney Pictures' 38th feature film, Fantasia 2000 , a sequel to 1940's Fantasia , premieres at Carnegie Hall, with an IMAX release on New Years Day 2000 and a general theatrical release later in June.
December 18 – NASA launches into orbit the Terra platform, carrying 5 Earth Observation instruments, including ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS and MOPITT.
December 31 – The U.S. turns over complete administration of the Panama Canal to the Panamanian government, as stipulated in the Torrijos–Carter Treaties of 1977.

Ongoing

Iraqi no-fly zones (1991–2003)^[13]
Dot-com bubble (c. 1995–c. 2000)
Lewinsky scandal (1998–1999)

Births