1998 in the United States explained
Events from the year 1998 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas)
Al Gore (D-Tennessee)
William H. Rehnquist (Virginia)
- Speaker of the House of Representatives
Newt Gingrich (R-Georgia)
Trent Lott (R-Mississippi)
105th
State governments
Events
January
- January 1 – Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants.[1]
- January 4–10 – A massive winter storm, partly caused by El Niño, strikes New England, southern Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick, resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and numerous deaths.
- January 8 – Ramzi Yousef is sentenced to life in prison for planning the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
- January 14 – Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis).
- January 15–18 – The Winter X Games take place in Crested Butte.[2]
- January 17 – Paula Jones accuses U.S. President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.
- January 23 – Mir Qazi is sentenced to death for a 1993 assault rifle attack outside CIA headquarters that killed two and wounded three.
- January 25 – Super Bowl XXXII: The Denver Broncos become the first AFC team in 14 years to win the Super Bowl, as they defeat the Green Bay Packers, 31–24.
- January 26
On American television, President Bill Clinton denies he had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
February
- February – Iraq disarmament crisis: The United States Senate passes Resolution 71, urging U.S. President Bill Clinton to "take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
- February 3
a United States Military pilot causes the deaths of 20 people near Trento, Italy, when his low-flying plane severs the cable of a cable-car.
-
- February 6
- Child rapist Mary Kay Letourneau is sent back to prison after violating a no-contact order and again raping her victim. Letourneau previously struck a plea deal to only serve six months for her crimes, but her breach of the contact order meant the full seven year five month sentence was restored.[3]
- Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
- February 7–22 – The United States compete at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan and win 6 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals.
- February 7 – Roger Nicholas Angleton commits suicide in a prison cell in Houston, Texas and admits to murdering socialite Doris Angleton in his suicide note.
- February 10 – Voters in Maine repeal a gay rights law passed in 1997, becoming the first U.S. state to abandon such a law.[4]
- February 12 – The presidential line-item veto is declared unconstitutional by a United States federal judge.
- February 14 – The Department of Justice announces that Eric Robert Rudolph is a suspect in an Alabama abortion clinic bombing.
- February 15 – Dale Earnhardt wins the Daytona 500 on his 20th attempt.
- February 18 – Two white separatists are arrested in Nevada, accused of plotting biological warfare on New York City subways.
- February 19 – Larry Wayne Harris of the Aryan Nations and William Leavitt are arrested in Henderson, New York, for possession of military grade anthrax.
- February 20 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad, preventing military action by the United States and Britain.
- February 23 – Florida El Niño Outbreak: Tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
March
- March 4 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
- March 5
- March 7 – The Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan is fined for burning a cross in his garden and infringing air regulations in California.
- March 10 – United States troops stationed in the Persian Gulf begin to receive the first anthrax vaccine.
- March 23 – The 70th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. James Cameron's Titanic wins a record-tying 11 awards (tied with 1959's Ben-Hur) and leads with a record-tying 14 nominations (tied with 1950's All About Eve), including Best Picture and Best Director. The telecast is the most-watched Oscars broadcast in history, garnering over 57.2 million viewers.
- March 24 – Students Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden open fire on classmates during a fire drill, killing five and injuring 10 at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
- March 27 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for erectile dysfunction, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
- March 29 – A series of three tornadoes in southern Minnesota kill three people.
- March 30 – Serial killer Judy Buenoano is executed by electric chair in Florida, the first woman to be executed in the state since 1848.
April
- April – The unemployment rate drops to 4.3%, the lowest level since February 1970.
- April 6
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 9,000 for the first time, and ending a gain of 49.82 points, 9,033.23.
- Long running British children's television series Teletubbies begins its U.S. television debut on PTV.
- April 7 – Citicorp and Travelers Group announce plans to merge, creating the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world, Citigroup.
- April 8 – April 1998 Birmingham tornado: An F5 tornado strikes the western portion of the Birmingham, Alabama area, killing 32 people.
- April 16 – An F3 tornado passes through downtown Nashville, Tennessee, the first significant tornado in 11 years to directly hit a major city. An F5 tornado travels through rural portions south of Nashville (see 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak).
- April 18 - Toon Disney – devoted to carrying animated series and movies, 24 hours a day, is launched by The Walt Disney Company.
- April 22 – The Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World opens to the public for the first time.
- April 27 – The Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is imploded to make way for the brand new Aladdin Hotel & Casino.
- April 30 – Daniel V. Jones, a cancer and HIV-positive patient, commits suicide on a Los Angeles freeway after a police standoff. The event was broadcast live on television and caused controversy about airing police chases.
May
In response to a series of Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan explodes five nuclear devices of its own in the Chaghai hills of Baluchistan, prompting the United States, Japan and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
- Saturday Night Live star Phil Hartman is murdered by his wife in their home, who then killed herself when police arrived.[5]
June
July
- July 5 – Japan launches a probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as an outer space-exploring nation.
- July 10
The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by former priest Rudolph Kos.
Russell Eugene Weston Jr. bursts into the United States Capitol and opens fire, killing two United States Capitol Police officers. He is later ruled incompetent to stand trial.
August
- August 7 – 1998 U.S. embassy bombings: The bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to terrorist Osama bin Laden, an exile of Saudi Arabia.
- August 14 – Gary C. Evans, infamous in New York's Capital Region for killing five people, escapes police custody and kills himself by jumping off a bridge.
- August 17 – Monica Lewinsky scandal: U.S. President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He also admits before the nation that night in a nationally televised address that he "misled people" about his sexual affair with Lewinsky.
- August 20 – 1998 U.S. embassy bombings: The United States military launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum is destroyed in the attack.
- August 26 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Scott Ritter resigns from UNSCOM, sharply criticizing the Clinton administration and the U.N. Security Council for not being vigorous enough about insisting that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction be destroyed. Ritter tells reporters that "Iraq is not disarming," "Iraq retains the capability to launch a chemical strike."[7]
September
- September 2 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 airliner (Swissair Flight 111) crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, after taking off from New York City en route to Geneva; all 229 people on board are killed.[8]
- September 4 – Google, Inc. is founded in Menlo Park, California, by Stanford University Ph.D. candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin.[9]
- September 8 – St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire breaks baseball's single-season home run record, formerly held since 1961 by Roger Maris. McGwire hits #62 at Busch Stadium in the 4th inning off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel.
- September 9 – Serial killer Dana Sue Gray pleads guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in California. She is also believed to have murdered a third victim.[10]
- September 20 – Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida opens.
- September 25–28 – Major creditors of Long-Term Capital Management, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund, after days of tough bargaining and some informal mediation by Federal Reserve officials, agree on terms of a re-capitalization.
- September 29 – Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.S. Congress passes the Iraq Liberation Act, which states that the United States wants to remove Saddam Hussein from power and replace the government with a democratic institution.
October
The Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off with 77-year-old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space. (He became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962.)
November
As part of the impeachment inquiry, House Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde sends a list of 81 questions to U.S. President Bill Clinton.
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- November 7 – John Glenn returns to Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
- November 9 – In the largest civil settlement in United States history, a federal judge approves a US$1.03 billion settlement requiring dozens of brokerage houses (including Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Salomon Smith Barney) to pay investors who claim they were cheated in a widespread price-fixing scheme on the NASDAQ.
- November 12 – Daimler-Benz completes a merger with Chrysler Corporation to form Daimler-Chrysler.
- November 13–14 – Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President Bill Clinton orders airstrikes on Iraq, then calls them off at the last minute when Iraq promises once again to "unconditionally" cooperate with UNSCOM.
- November 19 – Lewinsky scandal: The United States House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings against U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- November 20
- November 25
- November 24 – America Online announces it will acquire Netscape Communications in a stock-for-stock transaction worth US$4.2 billion.
- November 30 – Deutsche Bank announces a US$10 billion deal to buy Bankers Trust, thus creating the largest financial institution in the world.
December
- December – Grade school children in Aurora, Colorado, collect $35,000 to purchase and free enslaved children in Sudan.
- December 1 – Exxon announces a US$73.7 billion deal to buy Mobil, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, the second-largest company on the planet by revenue.
- December 5 – D.C. United defeats Vasco da Gama 2–1 on aggregate to win the Interamerican Cup (one of the greatest triumphs in the history of U.S. club soccer).
- December 16–19 – Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President Bill Clinton orders American and British airstrikes on Iraq. UNSCOM withdraws all weapons inspectors from Iraq.
- December 17 – Claudia Benton, of West University Place, Texas, is murdered in her house by Angel Maturino Resendiz (his third victim in his third incident).
- December 18 – DreamWorks' second film, The Prince of Egypt, is released in theaters. An epic and ambitious take on the Book of Exodus, it receives generally positive reviews and becomes a modest box office success. Over time, the film grows in esteem to the point that many now consider it the best DreamWorks film and one of the best animated films ever made.[12] [13]
- December 19 – Lewinsky scandal: President Bill Clinton is impeached by the United States House of Representatives. (He was later acquitted.)
- December 21 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council members France, Germany and Russia call for sanctions to end against Iraq. The 3 Security Council members also call for UNSCOM to either be disbanded or for its role to be recast. The U.S. says it will veto any such proposal.
- December 26 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern "no-fly zones".
Ongoing
Sports
Births
January
- January 1 – Samuel Kwong, fencer
- January 2 – Tfue, youtuber
- January 4
- January 6 – Norman Grimes, American sprinter
- January 9 – Kerris Dorsey, actress and singer
- January 10 – Michael Mmoh, tennis player
- January 12 – Nathan Gamble, actor
- January 13 – Kamron Doyle, bowler
- January 21 – Amelia Hundley, artistic gymnast
- January 22 – Silentó, rapper
- January 23
- January 24 – Jay Versace, record producer and former internet personality
- January 26 – Leeah D. Jackson, actress
- January 27 – Devin Druid, actor
- January 28 – Ariel Winter, actress
- January 31 – Bradie Tennell, figure skater
February
March
- March 2 – Tua Tagovailoa, American football player
- March 4 – Obi Toppin, basketball player
- March 5 – Micah Fowler, actor
- March 9 – Najee Harris, American football player
- March 10 – Justin Herbert, American football player[17]
- March 13 – Jack Harlow, rapper
- March 17 - Sam Denby, YouTuber and podcaster
- March 21 – Miles Bridges, basketball player
- March 24
- March 25 – Ryan Simpkins, actress
- March 29 – Shealeigh, singer and songwriter
- March 31 – Jakob Chychrun, ice hockey player
April
May
- May 2
- May 4
- May 6
- May 7 - Jimmy Donaldson, YouTuber & philanthropist
- May 12 – Tornado Alicia Black, tennis player
- May 13 – Mickey Moniak, baseball outfielder
- May 17 – Terrance Ferguson, basketball player
- May 23 – Steve Lacy, musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
- May 24 – Maya Higa, youtuber
- May 27 – Adam Riegler, actor
June
July
- July 1 - Chloe Bailey, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress
- July 7 – Dylan Sprayberry, actor
- July 8 – Jaden Smith, actor, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
- July 9 – Robert Capron, actor
- July 10
- July 15
- July 18 – D. Savage, rapper
- July 19 – Karl Jacobs, youtuber
- July 19 – Oliver Crane, rower
- July 22 – Madison Pettis, actress
- July 27 – Patrick Wood Crusius, mass murderer
- July 31
August
- August 1 - Khamani Griffin, actor
- August 2 - Joe Seo, actor
- August 3 - Cozi Zuehlsdorff, actress and singer
- August 6 - Forrest Goodluck, actor
- August 7 - Jalen Hurts, American football player
- August 8
- August 11 - Nadia Azzi, pianist
- August 13 - Justin Schoenefeld, freestyle skier
- August 18 - Nick Fuentes, Alt-right YouTuber
- August 24 - Tziarra King, soccer player
- August 25 - China Anne McClain, actress and singer
- August 27 - Rod Wave, musician
- August 28 - Weston McKennie, soccer player
- August 29 - D'Angelo Wallace, youtube commentator
September
October
- October 1 – Danika Yarosh, actress and dancer
- October 4 – Christopher Lillis, freestyle skier
- October 6 – Matt Cornett, actor and singer
- October 7 – Ryan Trahan, youtuber
- October 15 – Ryder Anderson, American football player
- October 18 – Emily Robinson, actress
- October 22 – Roddy Ricch, rapper
- October 23 – Amandla Stenberg, actress
- October 26 – Samantha Isler, actress
- October 28 – Nolan Gould, actor
- October 29 – Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark, son of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
November
December
Full date unknown
Deaths
January
- January 1 – Helen Wills, American tennis player (b. 1905)
- January 4 – Mae Questel, American actress (b. 1908)
- January 5 – Sonny Bono, American singer, actor, and politician (b. 1935)
- January 11 – Ellis Rabb, American director and actor (b. 1930)
- January 12 – Phyllis Nelson, singer (b. 1950)
- January 15 – Junior Wells, American harmonica player (b. 1934)
- January 16 – Emil Sitka, American actor (b. 1914)
- January 18 – Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, American bank robber and con man, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive (b. 1905)
- January 19 – Carl Perkins, American musician and guitarist (b. 1932)
- January 20 – Bobo Brazil, professional wrestler (b. 1924)
- January 21
- January 26 – Ethelreda Leopold, American actress (b. 1914)
- January 29 – Joseph Alioto, American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1916)
February
- February 2 – Raymond Cattell, British-American psychologist (b. 1905)
- February 3
- February 6 – Carl Wilson, American musician (b. 1946)
- February 7
- February 10 – Buddy, notable canine (b. 1988)
- February 11 – Jonathan Hole, American actor (b. 1904)
- February 17 – Bob Merrill, American composer and screenwriter (b. 1921)
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- Scott O'Hara, American pornographic performer, author, poet, editor and publisher (b. 1961)
- February 19 – Grandpa Jones, American musician (b. 1913)
- February 22
- February 23 – Philip Abbott, American actor (b. 1924)
- February 24 – Henny Youngman, British-born American comedian (b. 1906)
- February 26 – Theodore Schultz, American economist (b. 1902)
- February 27
March
- March 2 – Darcy O'Brien, American author (b. 1939)
- March 3 – Fred W. Friendly, American television journalist and executive (b. 1915)
- March 7 – Bernarr Rainbow, historian of music education, organist, and choir master, (b. 1914)
- March 8 – Ray Nitschke, American football player (b. 1936)
- March 10 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (b. 1913)
- March 12 – Risen Star, American racehorse (b. 1985)
- March 15 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (b. 1903)
- March 20 – George Howard, American jazz saxophone musician (b. 1956)
- March 29 – Kvitka Cisyk, American opera singer (b. 1953)
- March 31 – Bella Abzug, American lawyer, feminist activist, and politician (b. 1920)
April
May
June
July
- July 2 – Kay Thompson, American author and actress (b. 1909)
- July 3 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American software developer (b. 1949)
- July 4 – Gregg Burge, American tap dancer and choreographer (b. 1957)
- July 5 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
- July 6 – Roy Rogers, American singer and actor (b. 1911)
- July 17 – Joseph Maher, Irish-born American actor (b. 1933)
- July 19 – Elmer Valo, Slovak baseball player (b. 1921)
- July 21
- July 22 – Don Dunphy, American television and radio sports announcer (b. 1908)
- July 27 – Binnie Barnes, British-born American actress (b. 1903)
- July 28 – Harvie Branscomb, American university president (b. 1894)
- July 29 – Jerome Robbins, American choreographer and director (b. 1918)
- July 30 – Buffalo Bob Smith, American children's television host (b. 1917)
August
September
- September 1 – Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (b. 1921)
- September 2
- September 5 – Leo Penn, American actor and director (b. 1921)
- September 8 – Leonid Kinskey, Russian-born actor (b. 1903)
- September 11 – Dane Clark, American actor (b. 1912)
- September 13 – George Wallace, American politician (b. 1919)
- September 14 – Johnny Adams, American singer (b. 1932)
- September 15 – Fred Alderman, American sprint runner (b. 1905)
- September 20 – Muriel Humphrey Brown, American politician (b. 1912)
- September 21 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American runner (b. 1959)
- September 23 – Mary Frann, American actress (b. 1942)
- September 26 – Betty Carter, American jazz singer (b. 1929)
- September 27 – Doak Walker, American football player (b. 1927)
- September 29 – Herbert V. Prochnow, U.S. banker and author (b. 1897)
- September 30
October
- October 2 – Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and sports team owner (b. 1907)
- October 3 – Roddy McDowall, British-born American actor (b. 1928)
- October 6
- October 10
- October 11 – Richard Denning, American actor (b. 1914)
- October 12 – Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (b. 1976)
- October 14 – Frankie Yankovic, American musician (b. 1916)
- October 16 – Jon Postel, American Internet pioneer (b. 1943)
- October 24 – Mary Calderone, American physician, public health advocate (b. 1904)
- October 28 – James Goldman, American writer (b. 1927)
November
December
- December 1 – Freddie Young, American cinematographer (b. 1902)
- December 5 – Hazel Bishop, American chemist and inventor (b. 1906)
- December 6 – Michael Zaslow, American actor (b. 1942)
- December 7 – Martin Rodbell, American scientist (b. 1925)
- December 9 – Archie Moore, American professional boxer (b. 1916)
- December 11 – Lynn Strait, American musician (b. 1968)
- December 14
- December 15 – Brady Boone, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
- December 16 – William Gaddis, American writer (b. 1922)
- December 17 – Claudia Benton, Peruvian-born child psychologist (b. 1959)
- December 19 – Gordon Gunter, American marine biologist and fisheries scientist (b. 1909)
- December 20 – Irene Hervey, American actress (b. 1909)
- December 22 – Virginia Graham, American talk-show host (b. 1912)
- December 25 – Richard Paul, American actor (b. 1940)
- December 26
See also
Notes and References
- News: Smoking ban in California bars widely ignored. CNN. Greg Lamotte. English. 23 January 1998. 22 February 2021.
- Book: Bell . Daniel . Encyclopedia of International Games . 17 March 2016 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-1527-1 . 512 . en.
- Web site: LeTourneau's prison term seen as unavoidable. products.kitsapsun.com.
- Web site: Maine Voters Repeal a Law On Gay Rights. 12 February 1998. The New York Times. 16 July 2016.
- Web site: Inside the murder of Phil Hartman. Larry. Getlen. 6 September 2014.
- "Teen guilty in Mississippi school-shooting rampage". CNN.
- Web site: Transcript: Fox News Interviews Scott Ritter – Fox News. . 13 September 2002. 16 July 2016.
- Web site: Turner . Craig . Velzen . Andrew Van . 1998-09-03 . Swissair Jet Crashes Off the Coast of Nova Scotia . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240803190817/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-03-mn-19099-story.html . August 3, 2024 . 2024-08-03 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
- Web site: Corporate Information: Google Milestones . Google, Inc. . 2009-10-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20091028103709/https://www.google.com/corporate/history.html. 28 October 2009. live.
- Web site: Dana Sue Gray -- unusual female serial killer -- the Crime Library - Crime Library on truTV.com . www.trutv.com . 11 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081204110210/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/dana_sue_gray/11.html . 4 December 2008 . dead.
- Book: Jimenez . Stephen . The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard . September 24, 2013 . Steerforth . 978-1586422141 . 368 . December 1, 2023.
- Web site: 2023-04-07 . Why 'The Prince of Egypt is DreamWorks' Best Film . 2023-11-30 . Collider . en.
- Web site: 2023-05-05 . It's Time We Recognize The Prince of Egypt as one of the Greatest Animated Movies of All Time . 2023-11-30 . SyFy . en.
- Book: Zenko . Micah . Between Threats and War: U.S. Discrete Military Operations in the Post-Cold War World . 3 August 2010 . Stanford University Press . 978-0-8047-7190-0 . 29 . en.
- Web site: Caramanica . Jon . Coscarelli . Joe . XXXTentacion, Rapper Accused of Violent Crimes, Shot Dead at 20 (Published 2018) . The New York Times . 17 November 2020 . 18 June 2018.
- Web site: Adley Rutschman 2023 Player Outlook: Immediate Success in the Bigs Makes Him Expensive in 2023. www.rotoballer.com. 9 April 2023.
- Web site: Happy Birthday, Justin Herbert! . . 25 October 2022 . 10 March 2022.
- Web site: Peyton List. https://web.archive.org/web/20120616173906/http://www.disneychannelmedianet.com/web/showpage/showpage.aspx?program_id=900077&type=list. June 16, 2012. May 9, 2015. Disney Channel.
- News: Wilford . John Noble . Frederick Reines Dies at 80; Nobelist Discovered Neutrino . 24 October 2021 . . 28 August 1998 . subscription.
- Book: Owens, Elisabeth. American National Biography. http://www.anb.org/articles/11/11-01200.html. Oxford University Press. Subscription needed.
