On April 8, 1994, rock star Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home outside Seattle, Washington, with fresh injection marks in both arms and a fatal wound to the head from the 20-gauge shotgun found between his knees. Cobain’s suicide brought an end to a life marked by far […]
Continue ReadingYearly Archives: 1994
The Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan armed forces kill 10 Belgian peacekeeping officers in a successful effort to discourage international intervention in their genocide that had begun only hours earlier. In less than three months, Hutu extremists who controlled Rwanda murdered an estimated 800,000 innocent civilian Tutsis in the worst episode of genocide since World […]
Continue ReadingCivil War Erupts In Rwanda
On this day in 1994, Rwandan armed forces kill 10 Belgian peacekeeping officers in a successful effort to discourage international intervention in the genocide that had begun only hours earlier. In approximately three months, the Hutu extremists who controlled Rwanda brutally murdered an estimated 500,000 to 1 million innocent civilian […]
Continue ReadingKurt Cobain Commits Suicide
Modern rock icon Kurt Cobain commits suicide on this day in 1994. His body was discovered inside his home in Seattle, Washington, three days later by Gary Smith, an electrician, who was installing a security system in the suburban house. Despite indications that Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, killed […]
Continue ReadingMedger Evers’ Killer Is Convicted
Byron de la Beckwith is convicted of the assassination of civil rights leader Medger Evers 31 years earlier, ending the lengthiest murder case in American history. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson, Mississippi, home while his wife, Myrlie, and the couple’s small children were inside waiting […]
Continue ReadingBeckwith Convicted Of Killing Medgar Evers
On this day in 1994, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith is convicted in the murder of African-American civil rights leader Medgar Evers, over 30 years after the crime occurred. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson, Mississippi, home on June 12, 1963, while his wife, Myrlie, […]
Continue ReadingClinton Ends Trade Embargo Of Vietnam
On this day in 1994, President Bill Clinton lifts a 19-year-old trade embargo of the Republic of Vietnam. The embargo had been in place since 1975, when North Vietnamese forces captured the city of Saigon in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. President Clinton lifted the embargo primarily to encourage […]
Continue ReadingClinton Ends Vietnam Trade Embargo
Nearly two decades after the fall of Saigon, U.S. President Bill Clinton announces the lifting of the 19-year-old trade embargo against Vietnam, citing the cooperation of Vietnam’s communist government in helping the United States locate the 2,238 Americans still listed as missing in the Vietnam War. Despite the lifting of […]
Continue ReadingDan Jansen Skates World-Record 500 Meters
On this day in 1994, the American speed skater Dan Jansen sets a new world record of 35.76 at the World Sprint Championships in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Born in 1965 in Wisconsin, Jansen had been the youngest skater to compete at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, where he came […]
Continue ReadingPaula Jones Accuses Bill Clinton Of Sexual Harassment
Paula Jones, a former Arkansas state clerk, files suit against President Bill Clinton in the federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, on this day in 1994, asking for $700,000 in damages. Jones claimed that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, sexually harassed her and then defamed her after she went public […]
Continue ReadingEarthquake Rocks Los Angeles
On this day in 1994, an earthquake rocks Los Angeles, California, killing 54 people and causing billions of dollars in damages. The Northridge quake (named after the San Fernando Valley community near the epicenter) was one of the most damaging in U.S. history. It was 4:31 a.m. when the 6.7-magnitude […]
Continue ReadingGreen Beret Indicted For Murder
A search for evidence in the disappearance and probable murder of Helle Craftscontinues on the snow-covered banks of the Housatonic River in Connecticut. Investigators had finally narrowed the search to this area after Helle, a Pan Am flight attendant, had vanished on November 18, 1986. Although her body was never […]
Continue ReadingNancy Kerrigan Attacked
The figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked after a practice session at Cobo Hall in Detroit on January 6, 1994, just one day before the U.S. National Championships and one month before the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, in which Kerrigan was a gold medal favorite. As Kerrigan was leaving […]
Continue ReadingSkater Nancy Kerrigan Attacked
Olympic hopeful Nancy Kerrigan is attacked at a Detroit ice rink following a practice session two days before the Olympic trials. A man hit Kerrigan with a club on the back of her knee, causing the figure skater to cry out in pain and bewilderment. When the full story emerged […]
Continue ReadingFormer Speaker Thomas P. Tip O’Neill Dies
Former Speaker of the House Thomas P. Tip O’Neill dies in Boston at age 81. O’Neill entered politics in 1936 when he was elected to the Massachusetts House where he served until 1952. In 1953 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat and was voted […]
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