On this day in 1995, “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance,” a memoir by a little-known law professor named Barack Obama, is published. Obama wrote the book before entering politics; 13 years after it was published, he was elected America’s 44th president. “Dreams from My Father” […]
Continue ReadingYearly Archives: 1995
Amazon Opens For Business
On this day in 1995, Amazon officially opens for business as an online bookseller. Within a month, the fledgling retailer had shipped books to all 50 U.S. states and to 45 countries. Founder Jeff Bezos’s motto was “get big fast,” and Seattle-based Amazon eventually morphed into an e-commerce colossus, selling […]
Continue ReadingA Revolutionary new Technology Is Christened “MP3″
Representatives of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) were not in attendance at the 1995 christening of the infant technology that would shake their business model to its core just a few years later. Known formally as “MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3,” the technology in question was an efficient new […]
Continue ReadingHeat Wave Hits Chicagoland
On this day in 1995, a heat advisory is issued in Chicago, Illinois, warning of an impending record-breaking heat wave. By the time the heat breaks a week later, nearly 1,000 people are dead in Illinois and Wisconsin. On July 13, the temperature in the city hit 106 degrees Fahrenheit […]
Continue ReadingU.S. Establishes Diplomatic Relations With Vietnam
Two decades after the fall of Saigon, President Bill Clinton establishes full diplomatic relations with Vietnam, citing Vietnamese cooperation in accounting for the 2,238 Americans still listed as missing in the Vietnam War. Normalization with America’s old enemy began in early 1994, when President Clinton announced the lifting of the […]
Continue ReadingHugh Grant Appears On Tonight Show After Hollywood Arrest
On this day in 1995, Hugh Grant appears on late-night television’s The Tonight Show less than two weeks after being arrested with a Hollywood prostitute. The show’s host, Jay Leno, famously asked the English actor, “What the hell were you thinking?” Grant, who shot to stardom with the 1994 hit […]
Continue ReadingSeoul Department Store Collapses
The Sampoong department store in Seoul, South Korea, collapses on this day in 1995, killing more than 500 people. The tragedy in the upscale store occurred due to a series of errors made by the designers and contractors who built the store and the criminal negligence of the store’s owner. […]
Continue ReadingU.S. Space Shuttle Docks With Russian Space Station
On this day in 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docks with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth. This historic moment of cooperation between former rival space programs was also the 100th human space mission in American history. At the […]
Continue ReadingMandela Cheers On South African Rugby Team
On June 24, 1995, South Africa defeats New Zealand in the finals of the Rugby World Cup at Ellis Park in Johannesburg while a special guest looks on: Nelson Mandela, who had become the first president of South Africa to be elected in a fully representational democratic election the previous […]
Continue ReadingStreet In Front Of The White House Closed To Traffic
On this day in 1995, to the likely dismay of Washington, D.C.-bound road trippers hoping for a glimpse of the presidential residence through their car windows, President Bill Clinton permanently closes the two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to all non-pedestrian traffic as a security […]
Continue ReadingReggie Miller Leads Pacers To victory Over Knicks
Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller scores eight points in 11 seconds to lead his team over the New York Knicks 107-105 on this day in 1995. Miller was famous throughout his career for what became known as “Miller Time,” clutch performances to finish games. This 1995 Eastern Conference semifinal playoff […]
Continue ReadingHail Storm Surprises Dallas Residents
The Dallas, Texas, area is hit by torrential rains and a severe hailstorm that leaves 17 dead and many others seriously wounded on this day in 1995. The storm, which hit both Dallas and Tarrant counties, was the worst recorded hail storm to hit the United States in the 20th […]
Continue ReadingGas Pipe Explodes In South Korea
A gas explosion beneath a busy city street in Taegu, South Korea, kills more than 100 people on this day in 1995. Sixty children, some on their way to school, were among the victims of the blast. Taegu was a city of 2.2 million people, located about 150 miles south […]
Continue ReadingGinger Rogers Dies
On this day in 1995, the actress Ginger Rogers, best known for the 10 films she made with her dance partner Fred Astaire, dies at the age of 83. Born in Missouri, Rogers began taking dance and singing lessons as a toddler. By age five, she was appearing in commercials. […]
Continue ReadingTruck Bomb Explodes In Oklahoma City
Just after 9 a.m., a massive truck bomb explodes outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The blast collapsed the north face of the nine-story building, instantly killing more than 100 people and trapping dozens more in the rubble. Emergency crews raced to Oklahoma City from […]
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