1993

May 1

• A Tamil Tigers suicide bomber assassinates President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka. 25 others die as well. [1] [31]
• Hans [Henri EA] Tuynman, provo (Full-time Provo), dies at age 50. [1]
• Pierre Bérégovoy, former Prime Minister of France (1992-93), commits suicide at age 67. [1] [31]

May 2

• Julio Gallo, wine maker (Gallo), dies in a car accident at age 82. [1]
• Will Weng, Sunday Times crossword puzzle editor (1968-78), dies at age 86. [1]

May 5

• Balak Brahmachari [Marxist Godman], Indies guru, dies at age 73. [1]
• Irving Howe, US writer/critic (Dissent), dies at age 72. [1]
• Lenore Kingston Jenson dies of cancer at age 79. [1]

May 6

• Ann Todd, actress (Things to Come, Danny Boy), dies of stroke at age 84. [1]
• Minnie Gentry, actress (Def by Temptation), dies in New York at age 77. [1]
• STS-55 (Columbia) lands. [1]

May 7

• Mary Philbin, actress (Phantom of the Opera), dies at age 89. [1]
• South Africa agrees to multi-racial elections. [1]

May 8

• Kees Deenik, singer/conductor, dies. [1]
• Death of Avram Davidson, American writer (born 1923). [31]

May 9

• Freya Stark, English author (Sunday Bloody Sunday), dies at age 61. [1]
• Landslide in Nambija, Ecuador, kills 300. [1]
• Mary Duncan Sanford dies at age 98. [1]
• Paraguay holds its first presidential and parliamentary elections in 50 years. [1]
• Penelope Gilliatt [Conner], British author, dies. [1]

May 10

• World's worst factory fire at the Kader Toy Factory in Bangkok, Thailand, kills 188, injures 469. [1] [31] [287.332]
• Last TV appearance of Mies Bouwman. [1]
• Paul Cézannes still life painting sells for US$28,600,000 in New York City. [1]
• Premier Lubbers opens Terminal West on Schiphol. [1]

May 11

• 28th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins. [1]
• Paramaribo Suriname TV studio destroyed by fire. [1]

May 12

• Final episode of six year run of ABC's Wonder Years in Netherlands. [1]
• Last broadcast of Cheers on NBC-TV. [1]
• CBS' TV show Knots Landing ends 14 year run with 334th show. [1]

May 13

• 6th annual business person run held in Wall Street. [1]
• Borolas [Joaquin Garcia], Mexican comedian (Santa Sangre), dies of heart attack at age 71. [1]
• Methane gas explosion in Secunda coal mine South Africa, kills 50. [1]
• The last episode of TV show Knots Landing airs in the USA. [129]

May 14

• Patrick Haemers, Belgian criminal, commits suicide at age 40. [1] [31]
• William Randolph Hearst, US newspaper magnate (Pulitzer), dies at age 85. [1]

May 15

• Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas opens. [1]

May 16

• Farmer Sugeng finds 1.2 million-year-old Pithecanthropus IX skull. [1]
• Marv Johnson, US soul singer (You Got What it Takes), dies at age 54. [1]
• Süleyman Demirel elected President of Turkey. [1]

May 17

• Harry Elstrøm, Danish/Belgian sculptor, dies at age 86. [1]

May 18

• Danish people vote in favor of ratifying the Maastricht Treaty. [1]
• Heinrich Albertz, theologist/mayor of Berlin (1966-67), dies at age 78. [1]
• Italian police arrest Mafia boss Benedetto "Nitto" Santapaola. [1]
• Pamela M Cunnington, English architect/writer, dies at age 67. [1]

May 19

• Boeing 727 crashes into mountain at Medellín, Colombia, kills 132. [1]
• Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,500 for first time (3,500.03). [1]
• Nemesio Antunes, Chilean painter, dies at age 75. [1]
• Richard Murphy, director (Three Stripes in the Sun), dies of stroke at age 81. [1]

May 20

• Ten-metre meteor comes within 150,000 km of Earth (1993KA). [1]
• Intel announces availability of the Pentium processor. Prices are US$878 for 60 MHz, and US$965 for 66 MHz. [4]
• 274th and final Cheers on NBC. [1]
• Max Klein, inventor (paint by numbers), dies at age 77. [1]
• Ukraine Premier Leonid Koetsjma resigns. [1]

May 21

• Dayanara Torres, 18, of Puerto Rico, crowned 42nd Miss Universe. [1]
• John Frost, English Lieutenant-Colonel (operation Market Garden 1944), dies at age 80. [1]
• John Holland, actor (They Saved Hitler's Brain), dies at age 65. [1]
• Opposition leader Xanana Gusmao of East-Timor sentenced to life. [1]
• Venezuela president Carlos Andrés Pérez fired. [1]

May 22

• Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Polish/US pianist (Carnegie Hall), dies at age 100. [1]

May 23

• James Millhollin, actor (Anston Foster-Grindl), dies at age 77. [1]

May 24

• At the COMDEX show, Microsoft formally launches the Windows NT operating system. Initial version is 3.1. Price is US$495, or US$295 as an upgrade from a previous Windows operating system. The software comprises over 4 million lines of code. [4]
• Eritrea achieves independence from Ethiopia after 30-year civil war. [1] [31]
• Jesus Posadas Ocampo, Mexican cardinal/archbishop, shot dead at age 66. [1]
• Kurd rebellion kills 33 soldiers and five citizens in Turkey. [1]
• Milton O Thompson, astronaut (Dynasoar, X-15), dies at age 66. [1]

May 25

• Dan Seymour, actor (Bombs over Burma, Intrigue, Watusi), dies at age 78. [1]
• Louise Tazewell, entertainer, dies at age 93. [1]

May 26

• Carleton Morse, radio dramatist (One Man's Family), dies at age 91. [1]
• Cor de Great, pianist/conductor/composer (Vernissage), dies at age 78. [1]
• Marvin Young, producer/child actor (Player), dies at age 90. [1]

May 27

• Jan Wiley, actress (Underdog, Brute Man, She Wolf of London), dies. [1]
• A car bomb at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence kills five; the Mafia is suspected. [1] [31]
• Death of Werner Stocker, German actor (born 1955). [31]
• Willem P G Assmann, Dutch Member of Parliament, dies at age 85. [1]

May 28

• Disney releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film Super Mario Bros. to theaters in the US. [9]
• 200,000 demonstrate against mafia terror. [1]
• Polish Government of Suchocka falls. [1]

May 29

• Neo-Nazis kill five Turkish women in Solingen, Germany. [1]
• Tiny Hofman, Amsterdam activist (Nieuwmarkt), dies at age 68. [1]

May 30

• Herman S Blount Sun Ra, US jazz pianist (Solar Arkestra), dies at age 79. [1]
• Sun Ra, American blues pianist/orchestra leader, dies of strokes at age 79 (born 1914). [1] [31]

May 31

• John Granger, actor (Advise and Consent), dies at age 69. [1]
• President Dobrica Cosic of Yugoslavia flees. [1]

June 4

• Disney releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film Guilty as Sin to theaters in the US. [6]
• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Life with Mikey to theaters in the US. [6]

June 5

• 24 Pakistani troops in the United Nations forces are killed in Mogadishu, Somalia. [31]
• In Minnesota, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurs. [53]
• Death of Conway Twitty, country music singer (born 1933). [31]

June 6

• Mongolia holds its first direct presidential elections. [31]

June 8

• In Paris, Christian Didier breaks into the home of Rene Bousquet, banker and former Vichy France administrator, and shoots him dead. [31]

June 9

• Death of Alexis Smith, Canadian actress (born 1921). [31]

June 10

• Death of Les Dawson, British comedian (born 1931). [31]

June 11

• Jurassic Park movie debuts in theaters. [31]
• Disney generally releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film What's Love Got to Do with It to theaters in the US. [6]

June 13

• Death of Deke Slayton, astronaut (born 1924). [31]

June 14

• Mulitpartyists win a referendum on the future of the one-party system in Malawi. [31]
• Tansu Çiller becomes prime minister of Turkey. [31]

June 15

• Death of John Connally, Governor of Texas (born 1917). [31]

June 18

• Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM weapons inspectors to install remote-controlled monitoring cameras at two missile engine test stands. [31]
• Columbia Pictures releases the film Last Action Hero to theaters in the USA. [8]
• John Sculley steps down as CEO of Apple Computer, remaining as chairman. The board of directors names Michael Spindler as new CEO. (Steve Jobs brought Sculley into Apple in 1983, who effectively forced Jobs out of the company two years later.) [4]

June 19

• Death of William Golding, English writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911). [31]

June 20

• A 7.5 earthquake hits Japan, killing 385 people. [31]

June 22

• A Unabomber bomb injures Charles Epstein in Tiburon, California. [31]
• Japan's New Party Sakigake breaks away from the Liberal Democratic Party. [31]
• Death of Patricia Nixon, First Lady of the United States (born 1912). [31]

June 24

• A Unabomber bomb injures computer scientist David Gelernter at Yale University. [31]
• Andrew Wiles wins worldwide fame after presenting his solution for Fermat's Last Theorem, a problem that has been unsolved for more than three centuries. [31]

June 25

• Kim Campbell becomes the 19th and first female Prime Minister of Canada. [31]
• Litas currency is introduced in Lithuania. [31]

June 26

• Death of William H. Riker, American political scientist (born 1920). [31]

June 27

• In Bad Kleinen, Germany, GSG 9 troopers arrest terrorists Birgit Hogefeld and Wolfgang Grams. [31]
• U.S. President Bill Clinton orders a cruise missile attack on Iraqi intelligence headquarters in the Al-Mansur District of Baghdad, in response to the attempted assassination of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush during his visit to Kuwait in mid-April. [31]

June 28

• Death of G.G. Allin, American singer and bandleader (born 1956). [31]
• Death of Boris Christoff, Bulgarian bass (born 1914). [31]

June 29

• Death of Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican singer (born 1946). [31]

June 30

• Death of George "Spanky" McFarland, American actor (born 1928). [31]

July 2

• Death of Fred Gwynne, American actor and comedian (born 1926), mostly known as Herman Munster from TV show The Munsters. [31]
• Disney re-releases the film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to theaters in the USA. The film had been painstakingly restored and flaws fixed by Eastman Kodak's Cinesite division over 18 weeks. [6]
• Disney releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film Son-in-Law to theaters in the US. [6]

July 3

• Death of Curly Joe DeRita, American comedian (born 1909). [31]

July 12

• A magnitude 7.8 earthquake off Hokkaido, Japan launches a devastating tsunami up to 30 metres in height, killing 202 on the small island of Okushiri, Hokkaido. [31] [53]

July 16

• Disney releases the Walt Disney Pictures live-action feature film Hocus Pocus to theaters in the US. [6]

July 19

• U.S. President Bill Clinton announces his 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy regarding gays in the American military. [31]

July 20

• White House deputy counsel Vince Foster commits suicide in Virginia. [31]

July 23

• Candelária massacre: Brazilian police officers kill eight street kids in Rio de Janeiro. [31]
• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Another Stakeout to theaters in the US. [6]

July 26

• Asiana Air Flight 733 crashes into Mt. Ungeo in Haenam, South Korea killing 68. [31]

July 29

• The Israeli Supreme Court acquits accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free. [31]

July 31

• Death of Baudouin I, King of Belgium (born 1930). [31]

(month unknown)

• In the USA, the Wisconsin Powerball lottery grand prize of US$111 million is won by a couple. [40.40]

August 3

• Death of Theodore Parker, renowned ornithologist (born 1953). [31]

August 4

• A federal judge sentences Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights. [31]

August 6

• Louis Freeh is confirmed by the United States Senate as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [31]
• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film My Boyfriend's Back to theaters in the US. [6]

August 8

• South of the Mariana Islands, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurs. Forty-eight people injured on Guam. [53]

August 9

• King Albert II of Belgium is sworn into office nine days after the death of his brother, King Baudouin I. [31]

August 10

• Death of Øystein Aarseth, Norwegian musician (Mayhem) (born 1968). [31]
• On South Island, New Zealand, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurs. The shock was also felt at Sydney, Australia. [53]

August 13

• Over 130 die in the collapse of Royal Plaza Hotel at Nakhon Ratchasima in Thailand's worst hotel disaster. [31]

August 19

• In Norway, Varg Vikernes is arrested and charged with the murder of Øystein Aarseth, of Mayhem. He will a receive a 21 year sentence for this and other crimes he committed which include the burning of the Fantoft stave church outside of Bergen, Norway, the Åsane Church in Bergen, the Storetveit Church in Bergen, the Skjold Church in Vindafjord and the Holmenkollen Chapel in Oslo. [31]

August 20

• Death of Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (born 1912). [31]

August 21

• NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Observer orbiter three days before the spacecraft is scheduled to enter orbit around Mars. [5] [31]

August 27

• Disney releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film Father Hood to theaters in the US. [6]

August 30

• The Late Show with David Letterman premieres on CBS. [31]

September 4

• Death of Hervé Villechaize, French-born actor (born 1943). [5] [31]

September 8

• Disney releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film The Joy Luck Club to theaters in the US. [6]

September 9

• Death of Helen O'Connell, American singer (born 1920). [31]

September 10

• Near the coast of Chiapas, Mexico, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. Felt in much of Central America. [53]
• Disney releases the Hollywood Pictures live-action feature film Money for Nothing to theaters in the US. [6]

September 11

• Death of Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian conductor, in Vienna, Austria (born 1912). [31] [37]

September 13

• Norwegian parliamentary election: The Labour Party wins a plurality of the seats, and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland retains office. [31]
• Palistinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shake hands in Washington D.C., after signing the Oslo peace accord. [31] [46.517] [129]
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien premieres on NBC. [31]
• Acclaim Entertainment releases the Mortal Kombat video game for the Super NES, Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Gear game systems in the US. Price for the Super NES is US$74.99, for the Game Boy US$34.99. Acclaim spent US$10 million on pre-release marketing, declaring the day "Mortal Monday". [9]

September 19

• In Poland, a coalition of left parties win 66 percent of parliament seats. [46.232]

September 20

• Death of Erich Hartmann, world's highest scoring Fighter Ace (born 1922). [31]

September 21

• In Oregon, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurs. [53]

September 22

• Death of Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (born 1903). [31]

September 24

• Death of Ian Stuart Donaldson, British musician (born 1957). [31]
• Disney releases the Touchstone Pictures / Samuel Goldwyn live-action feature film The Program to theaters in the US. [6]

September 27

• Death of Jimmy Doolittle, American general (born 1896). [31]

September 29

• Christies Auctions sells a US 1868 3-cent rose George Washington postage stamp with "B" grill embossing for US$96,000 (including buyer's fee). The stamp is one of four known. [302.24]

September 30

• In Southern India, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurs. Nearly 10,000 people killed, about 30,000 injured and extreme devastation in the Latur-Osmanabad area. Nearly all buildings destroyed in the village of Khillari. Felt in large parts of central and southern India. This earthquake is the largest known earthquake to occur in the area. [31] [53]