On July 25, 1992, the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXV Olympiad are held in Barcelona, Spain. The Barcelona Olympics were the first ever in which professional athletes were allowed to participate, and the first Games since 1972 in which every member nation of the International Olympic Committee […]
Continue ReadingYearly Archives: 1992
Nick Faldo Wins Third British Open
On July 19, 1992, 35-year-old British golfer Nick Faldo wins the British Open by two shots over American John Cook at Muirfield for his third British Open title and fifth major championship overall. Faldo began his golf career in 1972 after watching Jack Nicklaus win the Masters on television. He […]
Continue ReadingThe Exxon Valdez Captain’s Conviction Is Overturned
The Alaska court of appeals overturns the conviction of Joseph Hazelwood, the former captain of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez. Hazelwood, who was found guilty of negligence for his role in the massive oil spill in Prince William Sound in 1989, successfully argued that he was entitled to immunity from […]
Continue ReadingStephen Hawking Breaks British Bestseller Records
Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking breaks British publishing records on this day in 1992. His book A Brief History of Time has been on the nonfiction bestseller list for three and a half years, selling more than 3 million copies in 22 languages. A Brief History of Time explained the latest […]
Continue ReadingChevrolet Builds 1 Millionth Corvette
The 1 millionth Corvette, a white LT1 roadster with a red interior and a black roof–the same colors as the original 1953 model–rolls off the assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky on this day in 1992. The Corvette, America’s first all-fiberglass-bodied sports car, made its splashy debut in January 1953 […]
Continue ReadingTwo Big Quakes Rock California
Two of the strongest earthquakes ever to hit California strike the desert area east of Los Angeles on this day in 1992. Although the state sits upon the immense San Andreas fault line, relatively few major earthquakes have hit California in modern times. Two of the strongest, but not the […]
Continue ReadingTeflon Don Sentenced To Life
Mafia boss John Gotti, who was nicknamed the “Teflon Don” after escaping unscathed from several trials during the 1980s, is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. Moments after his sentence was read in a federal courthouse in […]
Continue ReadingEddie Murray Sets Career RBI Record For A Switch Hitter
On June 6, 1992, New York Mets first baseman Eddie Murray drives in the 1,510th run of his career, and breaks Mickey Mantle’s record for career RBIs (runs batted in) by a switch hitter. Eddie Clarence Murray was born February 24, 1956, the eighth of 12 children, in Los Angeles, […]
Continue ReadingLong Island Lolita Is Arrested
Amy Fisher, the so-called “Long Island Lolita,” is arrested for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco on the front porch of her Massapequa, New York, home. Fisher, only 17 at the time of the shooting, was having an affair with 38-year-old Joey Buttafuoco, Mary Jo’s husband. The tawdry story soon became a […]
Continue ReadingExxon Executive Is Murdered
xxon executive Sidney Reso dies in a storage vault in New Jersey. Four days earlier, he was abducted from the driveway of his Morris Township, New Jersey, home. Reso was shot in the arm, bound and gagged, and then placed in a wooden box that was hidden in a virtually […]
Continue ReadingRiots Erupt In Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, California, four Los Angeles police officers that had been caught beating an unarmed African-American motorist in an amateur video are acquitted of any wrongdoing in the arrest. Hours after the verdicts were announced, outrage and protest turned to violence, as rioters in south-central Los Angeles blocked freeway […]
Continue ReadingRodney King Trial Verdict Announced
An jury of 10 whites, one Hispanic, and oneFilipinain the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley acquits four police officers who had been charged with using excessive force in arresting black motorist Rodney King a year earlier. The announcement of the verdict, which enraged the black community, prompted widespread rioting […]
Continue ReadingSewers Explode In Guadalajara
Dozens of sewer explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico, kill more than 200 people and damage 1,000 buildings on this day in 1992. The series of explosions was caused by a gas leak, the warning signs of which were ignored by the Mexican government and the national oil company. Three days prior […]
Continue ReadingExecutions Resume In California
Robert Alton Harris is executed in California’s gas chamber after 13 years on death row. This was California’s first execution since former Chief Justice Rose Bird and two other state supreme court justices, Joseph Grodin and Cruz Reynoso, had been rejected by California voters. From 1979 to 1986, the Bird […]
Continue ReadingGorbachev Reviews The Cold War
In an event steeped in symbolism, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev reviews the Cold War in a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri—the site of Winston Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech 46 years before. Gorbachev mixed praise for the end of the Cold War with some pointed criticisms of U.S. […]
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