1996 started on a Monday and was a leap year. 1996 was designated the International year for the eradication of poverty. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but instead outlines some key events of the year.
Major events :
January 7th. One of the worst blizzard's in American history, kills more than 150 people.
February 8th. IRA detonate huge bomb at Canary Wharf, London, killing 2.
March 2nd. Australian federal election held. Paul Keating loses to John Howard.
April 9th. The European Union officially recognises the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
May 21st. MV Bukoba sinks in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, killing almost 1,000 people.
June 19th. Boris Yeltsin wins the first round of presidential elections in Russia.
July 5th. Dolly the sheep is born, the first mammal to be successfully cloned.
August 23rd. Osama bin Laden writes, "The Declaration of Jihad on the Americans Occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places."
September 3rd. The U.S launches Operation Desert Strike against Iraq in reaction to the attack on Arbil.
October 6th. The government of New Zealand agrees to pay $130 million dollars worth of compensation for the loss of land suffered by the Maori population between 1844 and 1864.
November 5th. U.S presidential election, Bill Clinton defeats Bob Dole and commences his second term in office.
December 27th. The Taliban retake Bagram Air Base.