World Events
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  • Serbs battle ethnic Albanians in Kosovo (March 5 et seq.). Serbs renew attack on Kosovo rebels (June 1). NATO, on verge of air strikes, reaches settlement with Milosevic on Kosovo (Oct. 12).

  • Good Friday Accord is reached in Northern Ireland (April 10). Irish Parliament backs peace agreement (April 22). Background: N. Ireland Peace Negotiations

  • Europeans agree on single currency, the euro (May 3).

  • India conducts three atomic tests despite worldwide disapproval (May 11, 13). Pakistan stages five nuclear tests in response (May 29, 30).

  • Indonesian dictator Suharto steps down after 32 years in power (May 21).

  • Iraq ends cooperation with UN arms inspectors (Aug. 5). Clinton orders air strikes (Dec. 16–19).

  • US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania bombed (Aug. 7). US cruise missiles hit suspected terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan (Aug. 20).

  • Russia fights to avert financial collapse (Aug. 17).

  • Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet arrested in London (Oct. 16).

  • Wye Mills Agreement between Netanyahu and Arafat moves Middle East peace talks forward (Oct. 23). Background: Middle East Peace Negotiations
U.S. Events
  • President accused in White House sex scandal; denies allegations of affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky (Jan. 21 et seq.).

  • President outlines first balanced budget in 30 years (Feb. 3).

  • US Supreme Court rules line-item veto unconstitutional (Feb. 12).

  • Unabomber sentenced to four life terms (May 4).

  • Life sentence meted out to Terry Nichols, convicted in Oklahoma City bombing fatal to 168 (June 4).

  • Starr Report by independent counsel outlines case for impeachment proceedings against President (Sept. 11).

  • Matthew Shepard, gay Wyoming student, fatally beaten in hate crime; two arrested (Oct. 6 et seq.).

  • House impeaches President Clinton along party lines on two charges, perjury and obstruction of justice. (Dec. 19).
Economics

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Federal spending:   $1675.88 billion
Federal debt:   $5750.4 billion
Consumer Price Index:   163
Unemployment:   4.5%
Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.32

Sports
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Super Bowl
Denver d. Green Bay (31-24)

World Series
New York Yankees d. San Diego (4-0)

NBA Championship
Chicago d. Utah (4-2)

Stanley Cup
Detroit d. Washington (4-0)

Wimbledon
Women: Jana Novotna d. N. Tauziat (6-4 7-6)
Men: Pete Sampras d. G. Ivanisevic (6-7 7-6 6-4 3-6 6-2)

Kentucky Derby Champion
Real Quiet

NCAA Basketball Championship
Kentucky d. Utah (78-69)

World Cup
France d. Brazil (3-0)

Entertainment
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Events

  • Titanic becomes the highest-grossing film of all time, raking in more than $580 million domestically.

  • An estimated 76 million viewers watch the last episode of Seinfeld.

  • Legendary crooner Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82.

  • NBC agrees to fork over $13 million an episode for the next three years for broadcast rights to the top-rated series ER. The total dollar figure, $850 million, eclipses any price ever paid for a television show.

  • Titanic captures a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture and Best Director (James Cameron).

  • The American Film Institute announces its list of the top 100 films of all time. Citizen Kane tops the list.

  • Tina Brown, editor of The New Yorker sends shockwaves through the publishing world with her resignation from the venerable weekly. David Remnick is hired to replace her.

Movies

  • Affliction, American History X, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love, There's Something about Mary

Books

  • Edward Ball, Slaves in the Family

  • Russell Banks, Cloudsplitter

  • Michael Cunningham, The Hours

  • Donald Hall, Without

  • Alice McDermott, Charming Billy

  • Gerald Stern, This Time: New and Selected Poem
Science
  • The Athena probe finds frozen water on moon. Scientists say ice crystals mixed with soil could provide fuel for rockets exploring solar system (Mar. 5). Background: US Unstaffed Planetary and Lunar Programs

  • The FDA approves the male impotence drug Viagra (Mar. 27). Background: New Medicines

  • Astronomers detect giant explosion, second in force only to the "Big Bang," in deep space (May 6). Background: Astronomy

  • Dow Corning Corporation agrees on $3.2 billion settlement for tens of thousands of women claiming injury from manufacturer's silicone breast implants (July 8). Background: Health & Nutrition

  • 77-year-old Senator John Glenn, the first American to orbit the earth, returns to orbit in the space shuttle Discovery (Oct. 29). Background: US Staffed Space Flights

  • The crew of the space shuttle Endeavour connects first two modules of the international space station (Dec. 6). Background: Space Exploration
Deaths
  • Gene Autry

  • Sonny Bono

  • Florence Griffith Joyner

  • Akira Kurosawa

  • Octavio Paz

  • Frank Sinatra

  • Junior Well

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