WORLD HISTORY · 1991 日本語
Events of 1991Heisei 3 (Japan) · Year of the Goat
What happened in 1991?
In 1991, the Gulf War began, and minesweepers from Japan's Self-Defense Forces were sent to the Persian Gulf. The Warsaw Pact military alliance was dissolved, and at the end of the year the Soviet Union broke up.
- Iijima Sumio discovers carbon nanotubesAsia
- Coalition air strikes start Gulf WarMiddle East
- Tokyo government moves to Nishi-ShinjukuAsia
- Japanese minesweepers depart for Persian GulfAsia
- Tohoku Shinkansen extends to Tokyo StationAsia
- Croatia and Slovenia declare independenceEurope
- Warsaw Pact dissolvedEurope
- Soviet Union dissolvesEurope
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1991 at a glance
| Japanese era | Heisei 3 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Goat |
| Age of people born in 1991 | Turn 35 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1990 (Heisei 2) ／ 1992 (Heisei 4) |
| Events | 185 |
| AP World History | Unit 9 (Globalization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 9 |
Famous people born in 1991
Our birthday pages list 674 people born in 1991. Here are some of them.
- Mike TroutBorn August 7 · turns 35 this year · American baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels and three-time Amer…
- Ed SheeranBorn February 17 · turns 35 this year · English singer-songwriter behind global hits such as "Thinking Out Loud," "Shap…
- Kenshi YonezuBorn March 10 · turns 35 this year
- Anri SakaguchiBorn March 3 · turns 35 this year
- Chinami YoshidaBorn July 26 · turns 35 this year
- Virgil van DijkBorn July 8 · turns 35 this year
- James RodríguezBorn July 12 · turns 35 this year
- Kaho OnoderaBorn November 11 · turns 35 this year
- Rio UchidaBorn September 27 · turns 35 this year
- Hasan PikerBorn July 25 · turns 35 this year
- Zohran MamdaniBorn October 18 · turns 35 this year
- Aaron DonaldBorn May 23 · turns 35 this year
Show 28 more
- Darius SlayBorn January 1 · turns 35 this year
- Glen Rice Jr.Born January 1 · turns 35 this year
- Xavier Su'a-FiloBorn January 1 · turns 35 this year
- Ben HardyBorn January 2 · turns 35 this year
- Dane GagaiBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Darius MorrisBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Goo HaraBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Jerson CabralBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Joonas NättinenBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Ryan EllisBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Sébastien FaureBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Özgür ÇekBorn January 3 · turns 35 this year
- Charles MeltonBorn January 4 · turns 35 this year
- Denis AlibecBorn January 5 · turns 35 this year
- Eric FisherBorn January 5 · turns 35 this year
- Duarte AlvesBorn January 6 · turns 35 this year
- Kevin GausmanBorn January 6 · turns 35 this year
- Will BartonBorn January 6 · turns 35 this year
- Caster SemenyaBorn January 7 · turns 35 this year
- Eden HazardBorn January 7 · turns 35 this year
- Michael WaltersBorn January 7 · turns 35 this year
- Tucker BarnhartBorn January 7 · turns 35 this year
- Greg SmithBorn January 8 · turns 35 this year
- Josh HazlewoodBorn January 8 · turns 35 this year
- Stefan JohansenBorn January 8 · turns 35 this year
- Stefan SavićBorn January 8 · turns 35 this year
- Ruby SohoBorn January 9 · turns 35 this year
- Álvaro SolerBorn January 9 · turns 35 this year
Events of 1991 (timeline · 185)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
Sharon Pratt Dixon becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.
Somali Civil War: The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu.
Roger Lafontant, former leader of the Tonton Macoute in Haiti under François Duvalier, attempts a coup d'état, which ends in his arrest.
Representatives from the United States and Iraq meet at the Geneva Peace Conference to try to find a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others.
Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning as aircraft strike positions across Iraq, it is also the first major combat sortie for the F-117. LCDR Scott Speicher's F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 is shot down by a Mig-25 and is the first American casualty of the War. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
Crown Prince Harald of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.
Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region, killing at least 848 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and present-day Tajikistan.
Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.
The Troubles: The Provisional IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street in London, the headquarters of the British government.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Voters in Lithuania vote for independence from the Soviet Union.
Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.
The Visegrád Group, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 crashes during takeoff from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, killing both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants.
The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated".
Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the deaths of more than 25,000 people, mostly civilians.
Establishment of Kuwait Democratic Forum, center-left political organization in Kuwait.
United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.
An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
1991 Salvadoran legislative election: The Nationalist Republican Alliance wins 39 of the 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador.
Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert – which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine – is officially inaugurated.
Cold War: The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany comes into effect, granting full sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
Singapore Airlines Flight 117 is hijacked by four Pakistani terrorists and diverted to Changi Airport.
Georgian independence referendum: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country's independence from the Soviet Union.
Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.
Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
Forty-one people are taken hostage inside a Good Guys! Electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three of the hostage takers and three hostages are killed.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-37 to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.
An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard, including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola, the first to be documented by satellites.
Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.
The Republic of Georgia introduces the post of President following its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
Fifty-five tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak's end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year's only F5 tornado.
Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-39, the first unclassified shuttle mission for the United States Department of Defense.
A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as ten million homeless.
The 7.0 Mw Racha earthquake affects Georgia with a maximum MSK intensity of IX (Destructive), killing 270 people.
Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon.
A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
A fire and explosion occurs at a fireworks factory at Sungai Buloh, Malaysia, killing 26.
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland.
Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras.
Lauda Air Flight 004 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes in the Phu Toei National Park in the Suphan Buri province of Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II peacekeeping mission.
Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009.
Kokkadichcholai massacre: The Sri Lankan Army massacres 152 minority Tamil civilians in the village of Kokkadichcholai near the Eastern Province town of Batticaloa.
In modern Russia's first democratic election, Boris Yeltsin is elected as the President of Russia.
In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, killing over 800 people.
Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin.
Sonic the Hedgehog is released in North America on the Sega Genesis platform, beginning the popular video game franchise.
The breakup of Yugoslavia begins when Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence from Yugoslavia.
Two days after it had declared independence, Slovenia is invaded by Yugoslav troops, tanks, and aircraft, starting the Ten-Day War.
Yugoslav Wars: The Brioni Agreement ends the ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.
A Beechcraft Model 99 crashes near Birmingham Municipal Airport (now Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport) in Birmingham, Alabama, killing 13 of the 15 people on board.
Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.
The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles.
Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet.
The Italian prosecuting magistrate Antonino Scopelliti is murdered by the 'Ndrangheta on behalf of the Sicilian Mafia while preparing the government's case in the final appeal of the Maxi Trial.
Nickelodeon's first line of "Nicktoons" (Doug, Rugrats and Ren & Stimpy) premiere on the channel.
Indian Airlines Flight 257, a Boeing 737-200, crashes during approach to Imphal Airport, killing all 69 people on board.
Strathfield massacre: In Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots and kills seven people and injures six others before turning the gun on himself.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The August Coup begins when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest while on holiday in the town of Foros, Ukraine.
Estonia, occupied by and incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, issues a decision on the re-establishment of independence on the basis of legal continuity of its pre-occupation statehood.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: More than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.
Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after its occupation by the Soviet Union since 1940.
Iceland is the first nation in the world to recognize the independence of the Baltic states.
The Battle of Vukovar begins. An 87-day siege of Vukovar by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various Serb paramilitary forces, between August and November 1991 (during the Croatian War of Independence).
The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Libero Grassi, an Italian businessman from Palermo, is killed by the Sicilian Mafia after taking a solitary stand against their extortion demands.
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Azerbaijan declares independence from Soviet Union.
The current international treaty defending indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989, comes into force.
The Russian parliament approves the name change of Leningrad back to Saint Petersburg. The change is effective October 1.
The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Continental Express Flight 2574 crashes in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake, killing 11 passengers and three crew.
NASA launches Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-48 to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.
Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
Ötzi the Iceman is discovered in the Alps on the border between Italy and Austria.
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
Upon the expiration of the Brioni Agreement, Croatia and Slovenia sever all official relations with Yugoslavia.
Prof. Anita Hill delivers her televised testimony concerning sexual harassment during the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination.
The "Oh-My-God particle", an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray measured at 40,000,000 times that of the highest energy protons produced in a particle accelerator, is observed at the University of Utah HiRes observatory in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah.
The leaders of the Baltic States, Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia and Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania, signed the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.
Rudrapur bombings by Sikh separatists, who explode two bombs, during a Ramlila Hindu celebration in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, killing 41 people.
The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopts a declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
A 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.
A massive firestorm breaks out in the hills of Oakland and Berkeley, California killing 25 people and destroying more than 3,000 homes, apartments and condominiums.
Three months after the end of the Ten-Day War, the last soldier of the Yugoslav People's Army leaves the territory of the Republic of Slovenia.
The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Madrid Conference commences in an effort to revive peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.
President of the Chechen Republic Dzhokhar Dudayev declares sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from the Russian Federation.
Tropical Storm Thelma causes flash floods in the Philippine city of Ormoc, killing more than 4,900 people.
Santa Cruz massacre: The Indonesian Army open fire on a crowd of student protesters in Dili, East Timor.
The Republic of Karelia, an autonomous republic of Russia, is formed from the former Karelian ASSR.
American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.
Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after thirteen years in exile.
Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon release Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland.
After an 87-day siege, the Croatian city of Vukovar capitulates to the besieging Yugoslav People's Army and allied Serb paramilitary forces.
The autonomous Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia, which would in 1993 become a republic, was established in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
An Azerbaijani MI-8 helicopter carrying 19 peacekeeping mission team with officials and journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District of Azerbaijan.
Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive. He dies the following day.
National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names.
Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.
Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut; he is the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon.
Yugoslav Wars: In Croatia, forces of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) heaviest bombardment of Dubrovnik during a siege of seven months.
The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum is held, with 99.98% voting in favor of independence.
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic is renamed into the Republic of Kazakhstan.
A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the honor killing of their daughter Palestina.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The leaders of 11 now effectively autonomous Soviet republics sign the Alma-Ata Protocol establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States in place of the collapsing Soviet Union.
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.
The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union, ending the Cold War.
Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 crashes in Gottröra in the Norrtälje Municipality in Sweden, injuring 92.
All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date, five days after the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1991 in the Japanese calendar?
1991 was Heisei 3 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1991?
1991 is the Year of the Goat.
How old is someone born in 1991?
They turn 35 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1991?
In 1991, the Gulf War began, and minesweepers from Japan's Self-Defense Forces were sent to the Persian Gulf. The Warsaw Pact military alliance was dissolved, and at the end of the year the Soviet Union broke up.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.