Timeline of the history of the United States (1990-2009)
List of years in the United States
1992 in U.S. states and territories
States
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Territories
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
United States Virgin Islands
Washington, D.C.
List of years in the United States by state or territory
Events from the year 1992 in the United States.
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: 102nd
Governors and lieutenant governors
Governors
Governor of Alabama: H. Guy Hunt (Republican)
Governor of Alaska: Wally Hickel (Alaskan Independence)/(Republican)
Governor of Arizona: Fife Symington III (Republican)
Governor of Arkansas: Bill Clinton (Democratic) (until December 12), Jim Guy Tucker (Democratic) (starting December 12)
Governor of California: Pete Wilson (Republican)
Governor of Colorado: Roy Romer (Democratic)
Governor of Connecticut: Lowell P. Weicker Jr. (A Connecticut)
Governor of Delaware: Michael Castle (Republican) (until December 31), Dale E. Wolf (Republican) (starting December 31)
Governor of Florida: Lawton Chiles (Democratic)
Governor of Georgia: Zell Miller (Democratic)
Governor of Hawaii: John D. Waihee III (Democratic)
Governor of Idaho: Cecil D. Andrus (Democratic)
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)
Governor of Kentucky: Brereton Jones (Democratic)
Governor of Louisiana: Buddy Roemer (Democratic)/(Republican) (until January 13), Edwin W. Edwards (Democratic) (starting January 13)
Governor of Maine: John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican)
Governor of Maryland: William Donald Schaefer (Democratic)
Governor of Massachusetts: William F. Weld (Republican)
Governor of Michigan: John Engler (Republican)
Governor of Minnesota: Arne H. Carlson (Republican)
Governor of Mississippi: Ray Mabus (Democratic) (until January 14), Kirk Fordice (Republican) (starting January 14)
Governor of Missouri: John Ashcroft (Republican)
Governor of Montana: Stan Stephens (Republican)
Governor of Nebraska: Ben Nelson (Democratic)
Governor of Nevada: Bob Miller (Democratic)
Governor of New Hampshire: Judd Gregg (Republican)
Governor of New Jersey: James Florio (Democratic)
Governor of New Mexico: Bruce King (Democratic)
Governor of New York: Mario Cuomo (Democratic)
Governor of North Carolina: James G. Martin (Republican)
Governor of North Dakota: George A. Sinner (Democratic) (until December 15), Ed Schafer (Republican) (starting December 15)
Governor of Ohio: George Voinovich (Republican)
Governor of Oklahoma: David Walters (Democratic)
Governor of Oregon: Barbara Roberts (Democratic)
Governor of Pennsylvania: Robert P. Casey (Democratic)
Governor of Rhode Island: Bruce Sundlun (Democratic)
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: Ann Richards (Democratic)
Governor of Utah: Norman H. Bangerter (Republican)
Governor of Vermont: 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: Jim Guy Tucker (Democratic) (until December 12), vacant (starting December 12)
Lieutenant Governor of California: Leo T. McCarthy (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Mike Callihan (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Eunice Groark (A Connecticut)
Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: Dale E. Wolf (Republican) (until December 31), vacant (starting December 31)
Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Buddy MacKay (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Pierre Howard (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (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)
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Paul E. Patton (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Paul Hardy (Republican) (until January 13), Melinda Schwegmann (Democratic) (starting January 13)
Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Melvin A. Steinberg (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Paul Cellucci (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Connie Binsfeld (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Joanell Dyrstad (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Brad Dye (Democratic) (until January 14), Eddie Briggs (Republican) (starting January 14)
Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Mel Carnahan (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Denny Rehberg (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Maxine Moul (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Sue Wagner (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Casey Luna (Democratic)
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) (until December 15), Rosemarie Myrdal (Republican) (starting December 15)
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Mike DeWine (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Jack Mildren (Democratic)
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: Bob Bullock (Democratic)
Lieutenant Governor of Utah: W. Val Oveson (Republican)
Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: vacant
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 – George H. W. Bush becomes the first U.S. president to address the Australian Parliament.
January 8 – George H. W. Bush is televised falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and fainting.[1]
January 5 – Seventeen-year-old Kelly Dae Wilson disappears in Gilmer, Texas. Her case became one of the biggest unsolved missing-persons cases in Texas.
January 11 – Twelve-year-old Shanda Sharer is tortured and burned to death by four teenage girls in Madison, Indiana. The crime attracts international attention due to its brutality and the young age of the perpetrators.[2]
January 26
Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
Super Bowl XXVI: The Washington Redskins defeat the Buffalo Bills 37–24 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
January 28 – George H. W. Bush delivers his final State of the Union Address.[3]
February
February 1 – The United States Coast Guard begins deporting the first of some 14,000 refugees from Haiti.
February 10
Tom Harkin wins the Iowa Democratic Caucus.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, boxer Mike Tyson is convicted of raping Desiree Washington.
February 17 – A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.[4]
February 18 – In New Hampshire, U.S. President George H. W. Bush defeats Pat Buchanan in the Republican primary; Paul Tsongas leads the Democratic candidates.
February 22 – On CNN's Larry King Live, Texas billionaire Ross Perot announces that he will run for U.S. president as an independent if volunteers put him on the ballot in all 50 states.[5]
March
March 10 – On 'Super Tuesday', U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton win most of the primaries held.
March 22 – USAir Flight 405, a domestic flight from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio, crashes into the Flushing Bay moments after taking off from LaGuardia Airport, killing 27 of the 51 people on board.[6] The causes of the accident were revealed to be ice on the aircraft and pilot error.[7]
March 30 – The 64th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, with Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs winning five awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Barry Levinson's Bugsy leads the nominations with ten. The telecast garners over 44 million viewers.
March 31 – USS Missouri (BB-63), the last active U.S. Navy battleship, is decommissioned at Long Beach, California.
April
April 2 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of the murder of mob boss Paul Castellano and racketeering, and is later sentenced to life in prison.
April 5 – Approximately 500,000 people march on Washington, D.C. in support of abortion rights in advance of oral arguments in the case Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
April 8 – Former tennis player Arthur Ashe, 48, announces that he is suffering from the AIDS virus, which he is believed to have contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery in 1983. He had been diagnosed with HIV more than three years prior.[9]
April 9 – A Miami, Florida jury convicts former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega of assisting Colombia's cocaine cartel.[10]
April 13 – The Chicago flood occurs, causing approximately $2 billion in damages to the city (equivalent to $4.34 billion in 2023).[11]
April 25 – The 7.2 Mw Cape Mendocino earthquake shakes the north coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing $48.3–75 million in losses and 98–356 injuries. This was the first instrumentally recorded event that showed shallow angle thrust movement on the southern Cascadia subduction zone. Two triggered strike-slip events caused additional destruction the following day.
April 29–May 4 – In Simi Valley, California, a jury acquits four LAPD police officers accused of excessive force in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, causing the 1992 Los Angeles riots and leading to 53 deaths and $1 billion in damage.[12]
May
May 1 – Eric Houston of Yuba County kills four, injures nine, and holds many others hostage at Lindhurst High School in Olivehurst, California.
May 5 – Alabama ratifies a 202-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the Twenty-seventh Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm or retroactive pay raise.
May 16 – STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage.
May 18 – The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution is enacted.
May 19
In San Francisco, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle gives his famous Murphy Brown speech.
In Massapequa, New York, Amy Fisher shoots Mary Jo Buttafuoco, wife of Joey Buttafuoco.
May 22 – After 30 years, Johnny Carson retires as host of NBC's The Tonight Show.
May 25 – Jay Leno becomes the new host of NBC's The Tonight Show, following the retirement of Johnny Carson.
June
June 24: Franco-American Flag
Governor Bob Casey of Pennsylvania (left) was a major anti-abortion advocate within the Democratic Party and is the Respondent in Casey due to an anti-abortion law enacted during his tenure as Governor. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (right) was one of the three authors of the "undue burden" standard that she first advocated for in earlier abortion rulings.
June – As a result of the early 1990s recession and subsequent sluggish job creation, unemployment peaks at 7.8%, a level not seen since March 1984. This would contribute to President George H. W. Bush's defeat to Bill Clinton in the election later that year.[13]
June 1 – Kentucky celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
June 15 – Delta Phi Beta, a South Asian fraternity is founded at the University of California, Berkeley.[14]
June 16 – A federal grand jury indicts Caspar Weinberger for his role in covering up the Iran–Contra affair.
June 17 – A 'Joint Understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this is later codified in START II).
June 23 – Mafia boss John Gotti is sentenced to life in prison, after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering on April 2.
June 24
The Franco-American Flag is officially raised for the first time in Manchester, New Hampshire. The flag was presented by singer Édith Butler as part of a tour.
The Supreme Court rules 5–4 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the first landmark abortion case since Roe v. Wade. In Casey the Court decided to uphold the "essential holding" of Roe that a woman has the right to an abortion but introduced a new "undue burden" standard which allows states to impose certain regulation so long as those regulations did not create a "substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion before the fetus attains viability."
June 28
The 7.3 Mw Landers earthquake shakes the Mojave Desert region of Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing $92 million in losses, three deaths and 400+ injuries.
The 6.5 Mw Big Bear earthquake shakes the San Bernardino Mountains region of Southern California about three hours later. This triggered event had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing moderate damage and some injuries.
July
July – The Goosebumps series of children's horror fiction, penned by R. L. Stine, is first published.
July 9 – Bill Clinton announces his selection of Al Gore as his running mate in the 1992 U.S. presidential election.
July 10 – In Miami, Florida, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.
July 16 – Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton is nominated for U.S. president and Tennessee Senator Al Gore for vice president at the Democratic National Convention in New York City.
August
August 24–28: Hurricane Andrew
August 11 – The largest shopping mall in the U.S., Minnesota's Mall of America, constructed on 78 acres (316,000 m2), opens in Bloomington.
August 20 – The Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas re-nominates U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. Pat Buchanan, one of Bush's opponents in the primaries, delivers a controversial convention speech, in which he refers to a "religious war" in the country.
August 21–22 – Events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho are sparked by a federal U.S. Marshal surveillance team, resulting in the death of a Marshal, Sam Weaver, and his dog, and the next day the wounding of Randy Weaver, the death of his wife Vicki, and the wounding of Kevin Harris.
August 24–28 – Hurricane Andrew hits south Florida and dissipates over the Tennessee valley, killing 65 and causing US$26.5 billion in damage.
September
September 5 – Batman: The Animated Series premieres on Fox Kids.
September 11 – Hurricane Iniki hits the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai and Oahu.
September 12 – STS-47: Dr. Mae Jemison becomes the first African American woman to travel into space, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
September 23 – Operation Julin is the last nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nevada Test Site.
September 24
The Kentucky Supreme Court, in Kentucky v. Wasson, holds that laws criminalizing same-sex sodomy are unconstitutional, and accurately predicts that other states and the nation will eventually rule the same way.
The Sci-Fi Channel launches with a broadcast of Star Wars.
October
October 1 – The Turner Broadcasting System's Cartoon Network goes on the air. The Merrie Melodies short, Rhapsody Rabbit, is the very first cartoon to be broadcast on the network.
October 2 – Pittsburgh International Airport's new facility opens in Findlay Township, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The new terminal is built as an expansion for USAir and an upgrade from the older Pittsburgh International Airport facility.
October 3 – After performing a song protesting alleged child abuse by the Catholic Church, Sinéad O'Connor rips up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, causing huge controversy, leading the switchboards at NBC to ring off the hook.
October 8 – The video game Mortal Kombat is released.[15]
October 9
The Chief of Naval Operations adopts the United States Navy's core values: Honor, Courage and Commitment.
A 13-kilogram (29-pound) meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's Chevrolet Malibu. It becomes known as the Peekskill Meteorite.
October 11 – Ross Perot, Bill Clinton, and George H. W. Bush participate in the first debate of the 1992 election at Washington University in St. Louis.
October 13 – Al Gore, James Stockdale, and Dan Quayle participate in the 1992 vice presidential debate.
October 14 – The A Bunch of Munsch episode "The Paper Bag Princess" is first broadcast on Showtime for the Showtime's Fall 1992 lineup opposite of the series debut of American Heroes & Legends, as part of the network's hour long block of kiddie-oriented programming.
October 15 – Carole Simpson hosts the second debate of the presidential election at the University of Richmond.
October 17 – Yoshihiro Hattori, a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student, mistakes the address of a party and is shot dead after knocking on the wrong door in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooter, Rodney Peairs, is later acquitted, sparking outrage in Japan.
October 19 – Jim Lehrer hosts the final debate of the presidential election at Michigan State University.
October 26 – Dry Tortugas National Park is established.
October 29 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Depo-Provera for use as a contraceptive in the United States.
October 31 – The pilot episode for X-Men airs on Fox Kids.
November
November 3: Bill Clinton elected U.S. president
November 3
Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeats incumbent President George H. W. Bush and businessman H. Ross Perot in the US presidential election.[16]
The rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine releases their self-titled debut album.
November 20 – Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is released to theaters.
November 24 – Sonic The Hedgehog 2 is released in the U.S.
November 25
The Bodyguard, starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, debuts in cinemas; it goes on to become the second highest-grossing film of the year with nearly $122 million in revenue in the U.S. and exceeding $410 million worldwide.
Walt Disney Pictures' 31st feature film, Aladdin, is released to critical and commercial success. It goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year and (at the time) the highest-grossing animated film of all time, earning over $504 million worldwide – the first animated film to cross the half-billion-dollar mark. It is also the last entirely fairytale-based adaptation released by Disney until 2010's Tangled.
December
December 8: Lawrence Eagleburger becomes 62nd Secretary of State.
December 3 – UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid gets distributed and establishing peace in Somalia.
December 4 – U.S. military forces land in Somalia.
December 5 – Kent Conrad of North Dakota resigns his seat in the United States Senate and is sworn into the other seat from North Dakota, becoming the only U.S. Senator ever to have held two seats on the same day.
December 8 – Lawrence Eagleburger is sworn in as the new Secretary of State, succeeding James Baker.[17]
December 15 – Hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre releases his solo debut studio album The Chronic, which sparks the beginning of the mainstream popularity and success of Gangsta Rap, G-Funk and West Coast Hip-Hop in the United States (a run that lasts from the early-to-mid-1990s).
December 24 – President of the United States George H. W. Bush pardons six national security officials implicated in the Iran–Contra affair of the 1980s, including Caspar Weinberger.
December 28 – First of four child deaths resulting from the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak.
Date unknown
In terms of units sold, compact discs outsell audiocassettes for the first time in the United States.[18]
^Randel, Don Michael, ed. (1996). "Albert, Stephen (Joel)". The Harvard biographical dictionary of music. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press. pp. 11. ISBN 0-674-37299-9.