1992
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Background Information
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| Millennium: | 2nd millennium |
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| Centuries: | 19th century – 20th century – 21st century |
| Decades: | 1960s 1970s 1980s – 1990s – 2000s 2010s 2020s |
| Years: | 1989 1990 1991 – 1992 – 1993 1994 1995 |
| 1992 by topic: |
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| By country |
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| Leaders |
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| Birth and death categories |
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| Establishments and disestablishments categories |
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| Works and introductions categories |
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| Gregorian calendar | 1992 MCMXCII |
| Ab urbe condita | 2745 |
| Armenian calendar | 1441 ԹՎ ՌՆԽԱ |
| Assyrian calendar | 6742 |
| Bahá'í calendar | 148–149 |
| Bengali calendar | 1399 |
| Berber calendar | 2942 |
| British Regnal year | 40 Eliz. 2 – 41 Eliz. 2 |
| Buddhist calendar | 2536 |
| Burmese calendar | 1354 |
| Byzantine calendar | 7500–7501 |
| Chinese calendar | 辛未年十一月廿七日 (4628/4688-11-27) — to — 壬申年十二月初八日(4629/4689-12-8) |
| Coptic calendar | 1708–1709 |
| Ethiopian calendar | 1984–1985 |
| Hebrew calendar | 5752–5753 |
| Hindu calendars | |
| - Vikram Samvat | 2048–2049 |
| - Shaka Samvat | 1914–1915 |
| - Kali Yuga | 5093–5094 |
| Holocene calendar | 11992 |
| Igbo calendar | |
| - Ǹrí Ìgbò | 992–993 |
| Iranian calendar | 1370–1371 |
| Islamic calendar | 1412–1413 |
| Japanese calendar | Heisei 4 (平成4年) |
| Juche calendar | 81 |
| Julian calendar | Gregorian minus 13 days |
| Korean calendar | 4325 |
| Minguo calendar | ROC 81 民國81年 |
| Thai solar calendar | 2535 |
| Unix time | 694224000–725846399 |
1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year that started on a Wednesday. In the Gregorian calendar, it was the 1992nd year of Anno Domini, or of the Common Era; the 992nd year of the 2nd millennium; the 92nd year of the 20th century; and the 3rd of the 1990s. The year 1992 was designated as the " International Space Year" by the United Nations.
Events
January
- January 1
- Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
- George H. W. Bush becomes the first U.S. President to address the Australian Parliament.
- January 2 – President of Russia Boris Yeltsin ends price controls, resulting in prices of some goods and services becoming 3 to 5 times more expensive.
- January 6 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is proclaimed by the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
- January 7 – The Yugoslav Air Force downs a helicopter, killing five military observers from the European Community.
- January 8 – George H. W. Bush is televised falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and fainting.
- January 9 – Bosnian Serbs declare their own republic within Bosnia and Herzegovina, in protest of the decision by Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats to seek EC recognition.
- January 11
- Singer Paul Simon is the first major artist to tour South Africa after the end of the cultural boycott.
- Shanda Sharer is tortured and burned to death in Madison, Indiana by four teenage girls.
- January 12 – The second round of Algeria's general elections is cancelled when the first round is favorable to the Islamic Salvation Front.
- January 13 – Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
- January 15 – The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia begins to break up. Slovenia and Croatia gain independence and international recognition in some Western countries.
- January 16 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign a pact in Mexico City ending a 12-year civil war that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
- January 18 – In Nairobi, Kenya, more than 100,000 attend protests demanding an end to one-party rule by the Kenya African National Union.
- January 19 – The Bulgarian presidential election is won by Zhelyu Zhelev, leader of the Union of Democratic Forces.
- January 20 – Cuba executes Eduardo Diaz Betancourt, who was found guilty of sabotage and terrorism.
- January 21 – Faced with decreased military spending, United Technologies Corporation announces it will eliminate 13,900 jobs by 1993.
- January 22
- January 24
- In El Salvador, an army colonel and a lieutenant of the Atlacatl Battalion are each sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests and their housekeepers.
- China and Israel establish diplomatic relations.
- January 26
- Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting cities of the United States and her allies with Nuclear Weapons. In return George H. W. Bush announces that the United States and her allies will stop targeting Russia and the remaining communist states with Nuclear Weapons.
- In Mauritania, security forces open fire on opponents of President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, killing at least five people.
- January 27
- Macy's files for bankruptcy.
- Nagorno-Karabakh War: in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, fighting between Armenians and Azeris leaves at least 60 people dead.
- January 30 – North Korea signs an accord with the International Atomic Energy Agency allowing for international inspections of North Korea's nuclear power plants.
- January 31 – The heads of state of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and of most of the temporary members, meet in New York City to discuss the new world order in the post-Cold War world.
February
- February 1
- President of the United States George H. W. Bush meets with President of Russia Boris Yeltsin at Camp David, where they formally declare that the Cold War is over.
- The United States Coast Guard begins deporting the first of some 14,000 refugees from Haiti.
- February 4 – In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez leads an unsuccessful coup attempt against President of Venezuela Carlos Andrés Pérez.
- February 6 – The United States Senate approves a measure calling for the faster phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons under the revised Montreal Protocol; the phase-out is scheduled to be completed by 2000.
- February 7 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, founding the European Union.
- February 8 – The opening ceremony for the 1992 Winter Olympics is held in Albertville, France.
- February 9 – Algerian Civil War: The government of Algeria declares a state of emergency and begins a crackdown on the Islamic Salvation Front.
- February 10 – Boxer Mike Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, is found guilty of raping 18-year-old Desiree Washington, Miss Black Rhode Island, by a jury in Indianapolis. On March 26, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
- February 11 – An F-16 jet crashes into a residential district of Hengelo, the Netherlands; no casualties are reported.
- February 14 – Ukraine and four other nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States reject Russia's proposal to maintain unified armed forces. Ukraine, Moldova, and Azerbaijan announce they will go ahead with plans to create their own armed forces.
- February 16 – In Lebanon, Israeli helicopter gun ships assassinate Abbas al-Musawi, the leader of Hezbollah, and his son, in retaliation for a February 14 raid that killed three Israeli soldiers.
- February 17 – A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.
- February 18
- Iraq disarmament crisis: The Executive Chairman of UNSCOM details Iraq's refusal to abide by UN Security Council disarmament resolutions.
- The New Hampshire primary is won by Paul Tsongas on the Democratic side; for the Republicans, Pat Buchanan has a surprisingly strong showing (37%) against incumbent president George H. W. Bush.
- February 21 – The United Nations Security Council approves Resolution 743 to send a UNPROFOR peacekeeping force to Yugoslavia.
- February 23 – The closing ceremony of the 1992 Winter Olympics is held in Albertville.
- February 25 – February 26 – 613 Azerbaijani civilians are massacred in Khojaly.
- February 26 – The Supreme Court of Ireland rules that a 14-year-old rape victim may travel to England to have an abortion.
March
- March 1 – The first victims of the Bosnian War are a Serb groom's father and an Orthodox Priest in a Sarajevo shooting. A majority of the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat communities vote for Bosnian independence.
- March 3 – Turkey's worst coal mine disaster leaves 263 dead near Zonguldak.
- March 4 – The Supreme Court of Algeria bans the Islamic Salvation Front, which was poised to win control of the Parliament of Algeria in runoff elections.
- March 9 – The People's Republic of China ratifies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
- March 10 – Following Super Tuesday voting, Bill Clinton is declared the likely winner of the Democratic Party presidential primaries.
- March 11 – Manuel de Dios Unanue, former editor of El Diario La Prensa, is slain in a restaurant in Queens, New York after having received death threats from the Colombian drug cartels.
- March 12 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- March 13 – In eastern Turkey, an earthquake registering a surface wave magnitude of 6.8, kills over 500.
- March 16 – President Russia announces the creation of a separate Russian army, leading to questions about the viability of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
- March 18 – White South Africans vote in favour of political reforms which will end the apartheid regime and create a power-sharing multi-racial government.
- March 19
- Paul Tsongas withdraws from the Democratic Party presidential primaries, virtually assuring a victory for Bill Clinton.
- Dow Corning announces that it will stop manufacturing silicone breast implants.
- March 22
- In French regional elections, the conservative Rally for the Republic and the centre-right Union for French Democracy win in a landslide, capturing 20 of 22 metropolitan regional presidencies.
- STS-45: Space Shuttle Atlantis takes off from Cape Canaveral carrying instruments designed to study global warming.
- March 24 - The Open Skies Treaty is signed in Helsinki, Finland to establish a program of unarmed survelliance flights over the 34 member states. It will go into effect on January 1, 2002.
- March 25
- The International Atomic Energy Agency orders Iraq to destroy an industrial complex at Al Atheer that was being used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
- Pakistan won Cricket World Cup for very first time beating England and became Cricket Champion.
- March 29 – In France, police arrest three men believed to be planning a Basque separatist terrorist attack at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
- March 31 – The Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of Singapore comes into force.
April
- April 5
- The Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (without the presence of Serb political delegates) proclaims independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- Bosnian War: Serb troops, following a mass rebellion of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Bosnian declaration of independence from Yugoslavia, besiege the city of Sarajevo.
- Approximately 500,000 people march on Washington, D. C. in support of abortion rights in advance of oral arguments in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
- President of Peru Alberto Fujimori issues Decree Law 25418, dissolving the Congress of the Republic of Peru, imposing censorship and having opposition politicians arrested, setting off the 1992 Peruvian constitutional crisis.
- April 7 – The United States recognizes the independence of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Slovenia. The European Community also recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- April 9
- A Miami, Florida jury convicts former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega of assisting Colombia's cocaine cartel.
- The United Kingdom general election is narrowly won by the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major.
- April 10 – A Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb explodes in the Baltic Exchange in the City of London; 3 are killed, 91 injured.
- April 12 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland. The resort and its park's name were subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
- April 13 – Roermond, the Netherlands, is rocked by an earthquake along the Peel Fault.
- April 15 – The National Assembly of Vietnam adopts the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- April 16 – President of Afghanistan Mohammad Najibullah is ousted and detained by Muslim rebels moving towards Kabul, setting the stage for the civil war in Afghanistan (1992–1996).
- April 20
- April 21 – The death of Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich of Russia results in a succession dispute between Nicholas Romanov, Prince of Russia and Vladimir's daughter Maria for the leadership of the Imperial Family of Russia.
- April 22 – Fuel that leaked into a sewer explodes in Guadalajara, Mexico; 215 are killed, 1,500 injured.
- April 27 – Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman elected Speaker of the British House of Commons.
- April 28 – The two remaining constituent republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – Serbia and Montenegro – form a new state, named the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (after 2003, Serbia and Montenegro), bringing to an end the official union of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Montenegrins, Bosnian Muslims and Macedonians that existed from 1918 (with the exception of the period during World War II).
- April 29 – Los Angeles riots: Acquittal of four police officers in the Rodney King beating criminal trial triggers massive rioting in Los Angeles. The riots will last for six days resulting in 53 deaths and over a $1 billion in damages before order is restored.
May
- May 5 – Russian leaders in Crimea declare their separation from Ukraine as a new republic. They withdraw the secession on May 10.
- May 7
- STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its maiden flight, as a replacement for a lost Space Shuttle.
- Michigan Legislature approves the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. With that approval, the amendment had been adopted by 38 states and was thereby approved.
- May 9 – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is adopted in New York
- May 10 – Sweden wins the Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague.
- May 12 – The United States recalls United States Ambassador to Yugoslavia Warren Zimmermann to protest military aggression against Bosnia and Hercegovina.
- May 13 – Falun Gong is introduced by Li Hongzhi in China.
- May 15
- May 16 – STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage.
- May 16- May 17 – Bosnian War: U.N. peacekeepers withdraw from Sarajevo.
- May 17 – Protests begin in Bangkok, Thailand, against the government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon, sparking a bloody crackdown.
- May 23 – A Mafia bomb kills Italian anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone.
- May 24
- In Thailand, Suchinda Kraprayoon agrees to resign.
- Serbian irregulars kill at least 16 people on a bread line in Sarajevo.
- May 25 – In Australia, Lindy Chamberlain receives compensation for wrongful conviction on murder charges.
- May 26 – Charles Geschke, President of Adobe Systems, is kidnapped from his company parking lot. The kidnappers demand $650,000 ransom; they are later apprehended.
- May 30 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 imposes economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an effort to end its attacks on Bosnia and Hercegovina.
June
- June 2 – In a national referendum Denmark rejects the Maastricht Treaty by a thin margin.
- June 8 – The first World Ocean Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- June 16
- A 'Joint Understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this is later codified in START II).
- A federal grand jury indicts Caspar Weinberger for his role in covering up the Iran–Contra affair.
- June 17 – Two German relief workers held since 1989, Thomas Kemptner and Heinrich Struebig, are released. They were the last Western hostages in Lebanon.
- June 20 – In Estonia, the kroon replaces the Soviet ruble.
- June 21 – Nelson Mandela announces that the African National Congress will halt negotiations with the government of South Africa following the Boipatong massacre of June 17.
- June 22 – Two skeletons excavated in Yekaterinburg are identified as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Tsarina Alexandra.
- June 23
- The Israeli legislative election is won by the Israeli Labor Party under the leadership of Yitzhak Rabin, ousting a Likud government.
- Gambino Crime Family Boss John Gotti is sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Paul Castellano and other crimes.
- June 25 – Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) founded.
- June 26
- Denmark beats Germany 2–0 to win the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- United States Secretary of the Navy Henry L. Garrett III resigns in the wake of the Tailhook scandal.
- June 28
- Estonia holds a referendum on its constitution, that will come into effect on July 3.
- Junko Tabei scales Puncak Jaya to become the first woman to complete the Seven Summits.
- June 29
- A bodyguard assassinates President Mohamed Boudiaf of Algeria.
- The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 5-4 decision.
July
- July 4 – Steffi Graf wins the 1992 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles. On July 5, Andre Agassi wins the 1992 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles.
- July 6 - July 8 – The 18th G7 summit is held in Munich.
- July 6 – July 29 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses a U.N. inspection team access to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. UNSCOM claims that it has reliable information that the site contains archives related to illegal weapons activities. U.N. Inspectors stage a 17-day "sit-in" outside of the building, but leave when their safety is threatened by Iraqi soldiers.
- July 8 – Amoco and Unocal Corporation announce restructuring plans that will eliminate 10,000 jobs in 1992 and 1993.
- July 9 – Bill Clinton announces his selection of Al Gore as his running mate in the 1992 U.S. presidential election.
- July 10
- In Miami, Florida, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.
- The Giotto spacecraft flies past Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup, gathering measurements about the comet.
- July 13 – Yitzhak Rabin becomes prime minister of Israel.
- July 16
- Ross Perot announces he is ending his presidential campaign.
- At the 1992 Democratic National Convention, Bill Clinton accepts his party's presidential nomination on behalf of the "forgotten middle class".
- July 17 – The Slovak National Council declares Slovakia an independent country, signaling the breakup of Czechoslovakia.
- July 19
- A car bomb placed by mafia with collaboration of Italian intelligence kills judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
- The Cabinet of Israel approves a freeze on new settlements in the occupied territories, a move expected to reinvigorate the Middle East Peace Process.
- July 20
- Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
- An airlift of food and medicine to Sarajevo is halted after 23 days due to renewed fighting.
- A Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey crashes in the Potomac River as it approached Marine Corps Base Quantico, killing all seven people on board.
- July 22 – Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison, fearing extradition to the United States.
- July 23 – Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
- July 25 – August 9 – The 1992 Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Spain.
- July 26 – Iraq agrees to allow U.N. weapons inspectors to search the Iraqi Agricultural Ministry building in Baghdad. When inspectors arrive on July 28 and 29, they found nothing and voice suspicions that Iraqi records had been removed.
- July 31
- The ex-Soviet Republic of Georgia becomes the 179th member of the United Nations.
- Thai Airways Flight 311 operated by Airbus A310-300 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
- China General Aviation Flight 7552 bound for Xiamen crashes soon after taking off from Nanjing Dajiaochang Airport, killing 108 of the 116 people on board.
August
- August 3 - August 4 – Millions of black South Africans participate in a general strike called by the African National Congress to protest the lack of progress in negotiations with the government of President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk.
- August 6 – President Bush urges the United Nations to approve a military intervention in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
- August 10 – The UK government bans the Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist paramilitary organisation that had been legal for 20 years.
- August 12 – Canada, Mexico, and the United States announce that a deal has been reached on the North American Free Trade Agreement; the deal will be formally signed on December 17, 1992.
- August 17 – The 1992 Republican National Convention convenes in Houston.
- August 18 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom John Major announces the creation of the Iraqi no-fly zones.
- August 20 – Kristiansund's connection to the mainland of Norway, Krifast, opens.
- August 21 – August 22 – Events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, are sparked by a Federal Marshal surveillance team, resulting in the death of a Marshal, Sam Weaver and his dog and the next day the wounding of Randy Weaver, the death of his wife Vicki and the wounding of Kevin Harris.
- August 23 – Hurricane Andrew attains Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale, and at 2100 UTC hits Eleuthera and the Bahama Banks.
- August 24 – A special commission in Brazil concludes that there is sufficient evidence to begin impeachment proceedings against President of Brazil Fernando Collor de Mello, finding he had accepted millions of dollars worth of illegal payments from business interests.
- August 24 – August 28 – Hurricane Andrew hits south Florida and dissipates over the Tennessee valley when it merges with a storm system; 23 are killed.
- August 29 – In Rostock, Germany, tens of thousands rally to protest neo-Nazi attacks on refugees and immigrants begun on August 22.
- August 30 – The 11-day Ruby Ridge standoff ends with Randy Weaver surrendering to federal authorities.
September
- September 1 – In Beijing, police arrest Shen Tong for his role in organizing the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
- September 2 – An earthquake in Nicaragua kills at least 116 people.
- September 7
- In Ciskei, members of the Ciskei Defence Force loyal to dictator Oupa Gqozo open into a crowd of anti-Gqozo protestors organized by the African National Congress, killing at least 28 people and wounding nearly 200.
- President of Tajikistan Rahmon Nabiyev is forced to resign following weeks of clan and religious warfare that left nearly 2,000 people dead.
- September 11 – Hurricane Iniki hits the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai and Oahu.
- September 12
- STS-47: Dr. Mae Jemison becomes the first African American woman to travel into space, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
- In Peru, police arrest Abimael Guzmán, the leader of the Shining Path guerilla movement, who had evaded capture for 12 years.
- September 16 – Black Wednesday: The pound sterling and the Italian lira are forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
- September 17 – Two Kurdish opposition leaders are assassinated by the Iranian Kazem Darabi and the Lebanese Abbas Rhayel.
- September 20 – French voters narrowly approve the Maastricht Treaty in the French Maastricht Treaty referendum.
- September 21 – Mexico establishes diplomatic relations with Vatican City, ending a break that lasted over 130 years.
- September 23
- A large Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb destroys the forensic laboratories in Belfast.
- Operation Julin is the last nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nevada Test Site.
- September 28 – Law enforcement officials in the United States, Colombia, and Italy announce that they have arrested more than 165 people on money laundering charges related to cocaine trafficking.
- September 29 – The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil votes to impeach President of Brazil Fernando Collor de Mello, the country's first democratically elected leader in 29 years. Vice President Itamar Franco becomes acting president.
October
- October 1
- Cartoon Network is first broadcast on television.
- Ross Perot reenters the U.S. presidential election.
- October 2 – A riot breaks out in the Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, resulting in the Carandiru Massacre.
- October 3 – After performing a song protesting alleged child abuse by the Catholic Church, Sinéad O'Connor rips up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, causing huge controversy, leading the switchboards at NBC to ring off the hook.
- October 4
- The Bijlmerramp disaster: An Israeli plane crashes in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 43 are killed, many more injured.
- The government of Mozambique signs a truce with leaders of RENAMO, ending the 16-year-old Mozambican Civil War.
- October 6 – Lennart Meri becomes the first president of newly independent Estonia.
- October 7 – In Peru, Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán is convicted of treason and sentenced to life in prison.
- October 9 – The Chief of Naval Operations adopts the US Navy's core values: Honour, Courage and Commitment.
- October 10 – Tens of thousands rally in Washington, D. C., calling on the government to dedicate more funding to combating HIV/AIDS and unveiling the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
- October 11
- Catechism of the Catholic Church promulgated by Pope John Paul II with his apostolic constitution, Fidei depositum.
- George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot participate in the first of three televised debates.
- October 12
- In the Dominican Republic, Pope John Paul II celebrates the 500th anniversary of the meeting of 2 cultures.
- The 1992 Cairo earthquake kills 543 people and injures more than 6,500.
- October 14 – In Japan, Shin Kanemaru of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party resigns over receiving illegal payments from Sagawa Express.
- October 17 – Yoshihiro Hattori, a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student, mistakes the address of a party and is shot dead after knocking on the wrong door in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooter, Rodney Peairs, is later acquitted, sparking outrage in Japan.
- October 19 – The Communist Party of China promotes several market-oriented reformers to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, signaling a defeat for hard-line ideologues.
- October 21 – Tens of thousands of coal miners march in London to protest government plans to close coal mines and reduce the number of coal miners.
- October 23 – Emperor of Japan Akihito begins the first imperial visit of China, telling a Beijing audience he felt deep sorrow for the suffering of the Chinese people during World War II.
- October 24 – The Toronto Blue Jays become the first non-American team to win the World Series.
- October 25 – Lithuania holds a referendum on its first constitution after declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
- October 26 – In a national referendum, voters in Canada reject the Charlottetown Accord.
- October 28 – End of the world, predicted by the Dami Mission in South Korea, does not occur.
- October 31 – Pope John Paul II issues an apology, and lifts the edict of the Inquisition against Galileo Galilei.
November
- November 3 – United States presidential election, 1992: Bill Clinton is elected the 42nd President of the United States.
- November – More than 350,000 people rally in Berlin to protest right-wing violence against immigrants, but the event is marred by radical leftists thowing stones and eggs at President of Germany Richard von Weizsäcker and Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl.
- November 11 – The Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.
- November 13
- The government of Peru announces it has arrested a small group of army officers who were plotting the assassination of President Alberto Fujimori.
- A report by the World Meteorological Organization reports an unprecedented level of ozone depletion in both the Arctic and Antarctic.
- Boxer Riddick Bowe defeats Evander Holyfield to become undisputed heavyweight champion.
- November 15 – The Lithuanian parliamentary election sees the Communists of the Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania, led by Algirdas Brazauskas, return to power.
- November 18 – Russian President Boris Yeltsin releases the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of KAL 007, shot down by the Soviets in 1983.
- November 20 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, causing over £50 million worth of damage.
- November 24
- In the People's Republic of China, a China Southern Airlines domestic flight crashes, killing all 141 people on board.
- Elizabeth II describes this year as an annus horribilis (horrible year), due to various scandals damaging the image of the Royal Family, as well as the Windsor Castle fire.
- November 25
- The Czechoslovakia Federal Assembly votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, starting on January 1, 1993.
- In a national referendum related to abortion, voters in Ireland reject the proposed Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1992 (Ireland) but approve the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
- November 27
- Disney's Aladdin was released in theaters everywhere.
- The government of Venezuela announces that it has put down a coup attempt by a group of army officers who bombed the presidential palace.
- November 30
- The trial of 14 South Vietnamese accused of murdering 24 North Vietnamese begins in Hong Kong (ends November 29, 1994).
- Secretary-General of the United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali encourages the United Nations Security Council to pass United Nations Security Council Resolution 794, authorizing military intervention in the Somali Civil War to allow emergency food supplies to reach the people of Somalia. The Council passes the resolution on December 3, and United States Marines begin arriving in Somalia on December 9.
December
- December 3
- UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid gets distributed and establishing peace in Somalia.
- The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while on approach to La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.
- The first SMS message is sent over the Vodafone GSM network in the United Kingdom.
- December 4 – U.S. military forces land in Somalia.
- December 6 – Extremist Hindu activists demolish Babri Masjid – a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya, India, which had been used as a temple since 1949, leading to widespread communal violence, including the Mumbai Riots, in all killing over 1500 people.
- December 7 – The United States wins the 1992 Davis Cup.
- December 8 – The last blast is fired at the Falu Copper Mine in Falun, Sweden, after a millennium of continuous operation.
- December 9 – The Prince and Princess of Wales publicly announce their separation.
- December 12 – An earthquake hits Flores, Indonesia, leaving 2,500 dead.
- December 18 – The South Korean presidential election is won by Kim Young-sam, the first non-military candidate elected since 1961.
- December 19 – State President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk dismisses or suspends 23 military officers, including six generals, who were suspected of unauthorized activities designed to disrupt negotiations with the African National Congress.
- December 20 – The Folies Bergère music hall in Paris, France, closes.
- December 21
- A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56 people.
- President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević defeats Milan Panić in the Serbian presidential election.
- December 22 – Archives of Terror discovered by Dr. Martín Almada detailing the fates of thousands of Latin Americans who had been secretly kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the security services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. This was known as Operation Condor.
- December 24
- President-elect Bill Clinton names the final members of his cabinet.
- President George H. W. Bush pardons six national security officials implicated in the Iran–Contra affair, including Caspar Weinberger.
- December 27 – A U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon shoots down an Iraqi MiG-25 Foxbat that violated the Iraqi no-fly zones.
- December 29 – Brazil's president Fernando Collor de Mello is found guilty on charges that he stole more than $32 million from the government, preventing him from holding any elected office for 8 years.
- December 31 – President Bush arrives in Somalia to spend New Year's Day with U.S. troops who were part of the Unified Task Force.
Date unknown
- First confirmed detection of extrasolar planets with the discovery of several terrestrial-mass planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12 by Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail.
- Deng Xiaoping accelerates market reforms to establish a socialist market economy in the People's Republic of China.
- Queensland introduces Freedom Of Information Laws.
- The Council for National Academic Awards, UK is wound up.
- The Hospital Chaplains' Fellowship joins with the National Association of Whole Time Hospital Chaplains to form the College of Health Care Chaplains in the UK.
Deaths
January
- January 1 – Grace Hopper, American computer scientist (b. 1906)
- January 2 – Virginia Field, British actress (b. 1917)
- January 3 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (b. 1897)
- January 7 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer (b. 1951)
- January 9 – Bill Naughton, British playwright (b. 1910)
- January 11 - Shanda Sharer, American murder victim (b. 1979)
- January 17 – Frank Pullen, English business person and racehorse owner (b. 1915)
- January 18 – Aleksandr Almetov, Soviet Olympic ice hockey player (b. 1940)
- January 22 – A.J. Antoon, American theatre director (b. 1944)
- January 23
- January 26 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1912)
- January 27 – Sally Hayfron, Wife of Robert Mugabe and first lady of Zimbabwe (b. 1933)
- January 29 – Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915)
February
- February 2 – Bert Parks, American game show host (b. 1914)
- February 3 – Junior Cook, American musician (b. 1934)
- February 4 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish model (b. 1911)
- February 8 – Stanley Armour Dunham, Grandfather of US President Barack Obama (b. 1918)
- February 10 – Alex Haley, American author (b. 1921)
- February 11 – Ray Danton, American actor (b. 1931)
- February 12 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
- February 13 – Dorothy Tree, American actress (b. 1906)
- February 15 – William Schuman, American composer (b. 1910)
- February 16
- February 20
- February 23 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek Communist leader (b. 1906)
- February 29 – La Lupe, Cuban singer (b. 1936)
March
- March 2 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
- March 3 – Robert Beatty, Canadian actor (b. 1909)
- March 4
- March 5 – Pare Lorentz, American filmmaker (b. 1905)
- March 9 – Menachem Begin, 6th Prime Minister of Israel, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1913)
- March 11
- March 14 – Jean Poiret, French actor, screenwriter, director (b. 1926)
- March 16 – Yves Rocard, French nuclear physicist (b. 1903)
- March 17 – Jack Arnold, American TV and film director (b. 1912)
- March 18 – Antonio Molina, Spanish singer (b. 1928)
- March 19 – Cesare Danova, American actor (b. 1926)
- March 20 – Georges Delerue, French composer (b. 1925)
- March 21
- March 23 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- March 25 – Nancy Walker, American actress (b. 1922)
- March 28 – Nikolaos Platon, Greek archaeologist (b. 1909)
- March 29 – Paul Henreid, Austrian-born actor (b. 1908)
- March 30 – Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist (b. 1919)
April
- April 2 – Juan Gómez González, Juanito, Spanish footballer (b. 1954)
- April 4
- April 5
- Nawab Zulfikar Ali Khan, Indian Royal- Titular Nawab of Rampur. Also an Indian politician and army major. Car accident (b. 1933)
- Suada Dilberović, Bosnian medical student. First casualty of the Siege of Sarajevo (b. 1968)
- Molly Picon, American actress (b. 1898)
- Sam Walton, American businessman, founder of Wal-Mart (b. 1918)
- April 6 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (b. 1920)
- April 7 – Ace Bailey, Canadian hockey player (b. 1903)
- April 8 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
- April 10
- Peter D. Mitchell, British biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1920)
- Sam Kinison, American comedian (b. 1953)
- April 11 – Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter (b. 1920)
- April 13 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
- April 14
- April 16 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
- April 19
- April 20 – Benny Hill, British comedian and actor (b. 1924)
- April 23
- April 25 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese songwriter (b. 1965)
- April 27
- April 28 – Francis Bacon, Irish-born painter (b. 1909)
- April 29 – Mae Clarke, American actress (b. 1910)
May
- May 3 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (b. 1902)
- May 4 – Gregor Mackenzie, British Labour Party politician (b. 1927)
- May 5 – Adriana Admiraal-Meijerink, Dutch olympic fencer (b. 1893)
- May 6 – Marlene Dietrich, German actress (b. 1901)
- May 10 – John Lund, American actor (b. 1911)
- May 12 – Robert Reed, American actor (b. 1932)
- May 13
- May 14
- May 17 – Lawrence Welk, American musician (b. 1903)
- May 18 – Marshall Thompson, American actor (b. 1925)
- May 21 – T. B. Ilangaratne, Sri Lankan author, dramatist, actor and politician (b. 1913)
- May 22
- May 23
- May 25
- May 30 – Karl Carstens, former President of the Federal Republic of Germany (b. 1914)
June
- June 2 – Philip Dunne, American screenwriter and director (b. 1908)
- June 3 – Robert Morley, English actor (b. 1908)
- June 4 – Carl Stotz, American founder of Little League Baseball (b. 1910)
- June 11 - Marjorie Newell Robb, Survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912 (b. 1889)
- June 18
- June 19 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, British tennis player (b. 1896)
- June 21
- June 21 – Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah, Bangladeshi poet (b. 1956)
- June 22 – Chuck Mitchell, American actor (b. 1927)
- June 25
- June 26 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (b. 1921)
- June 27 – Allan Jones, American actor (b. 1907)
- June 28
- June 29
July
- July 2 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish flamenco singer (b. 1950)
- July 4
- July 5 - Paul Hackman, Canadian musician (b. 1953)
- July 9 – Eric Sevareid, American journalist (b. 1912)
- July 10 – Doris Tate, American campaigner for the rights of crime victims (b. 1924)
- July 11 – Deng Yingchao, Chinese Communist politician, widow of Zhou Enlai (b. 1904)
- July 13 – Albert Pierrepoint, British Chief Executioner (b. 1905)
- July 15 – Hammer DeRoburt, first President of Nauru (b. 1922)
- July 18 – Rudolph Ising, cartoon animator (b. 1903)
- July 19
- July 22 – John Meyendorff, Russian-born Orthodox scholar (b. 1926)
- July 23
- July 24 – Arletty, French singer and actress (b. 1898)
- July 25 – Alfred Drake, American actor (b. 1914)
- July 26 – Mary Wells, American singer (b. 1943)
- July 27 – Anthony Salerno, American mobster (b.1911)
- July 30
- July 31 – Leonard Cheshire, English war hero and philanthropist (b. 1917)
August
- August 3 – Wang Hongwen, Chinese Communist politician (b. 1935)
- August 4
- August 5
- August 7 – Francisco Fernández Ordóñez, Spanish politician, former Foreign minister (b. 1930)
- August 8
- August 9 – Fereydoun Farrokhzad, Iranian Entertainer (b. 1936)
- August 12 – John Cage, American composer (b. 1912)
- August 16 – Mark Heard, American singer (b. 1951)
- August 18
- August 29 – Teddy Turner, English actor (b. 1917)
September
- September 1
- September 2 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1902)
- September 4 - John van Dreelen, Dutch actor (b. 1922)
- September 12
- September 25 – César Manrique, Spanish artist (b. 1919)
- September 29 – Paul Jabara, American actor, singer, and songwriter (b. 1948)
October
- October 4 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1936)
- October 5 – Eddie Kendricks, American singer (b. 1939)
- October 6 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (b. 1922)
- October 7 – Tevfik Esenç, last known speaker of Ubykh (b. 1904)
- October 8 – Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1913)
- October 12
- October 16 – Shirley Booth, American actress best known for playing the title character in the television series Hazel (b. 1898)
- October 17
- October 19
- October 21 – Jim Garrison, American attorney (b. 1921)
- October 22
- October 24 - Laurie Colwin, American author (b. 1944)
- October 25
- October 27 – David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (b. 1917)
- October 31 - Gary Rippingale, English ice hockey player (b. 1974)
November
- November 2 – Hal Roach, American director and producer (b. 1892)
- November 4
- November 5 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer. (b. 1900)
- November 7
- November 10 – Chuck Connors, American actor (b. 1921)
- November 11 – Earle Meadows, American Olympic athlete (b. 1913)
- November 19 – Diane Varsi, American actress (b. 1938)
- November 21 – Kaysone Phomvihane, Laotian statesman and Communist Party leader, president of the Republic (b. 1920)
- November 22 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (b. 1905)
- November 23 – Roy Acuff, American singer (b. 1903)
- November 25 – Joseph Arthur Ankrah, Ghanaian military office, former head of the State (b. 1903)
- November 26 – John Sharp, English actor (b. 1920)
- November 29 – Emilio Pucci, Italian fashion designer (b. 1914)
December
- December 2 - Michael Gothard, British actor (b. 1939)
- December 3
- December 6
- Mimi Smith, maternal aunt and guardian of John Lennon (b. 1914)
- Percy Herbert, English actor (b. 1920)
- December 9 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor (b. 1922)
- December 10 – Celia Gámez, Argentinian actress,(b. 1908)
- December 12
- December 17 – Dana Andrews, American actor (b. 1909)
- December 18 – Mark Goodson, American game show producer (b. 1915)
- December 21
- December 22
- December 23 – Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (b. 1950)
- December 24 – Pierre Culliford, Peyo, Belgian comics artist, creator of The Smurfs (b. 1928)
- December 25
- December 26 – Nikita Magaloff, Georgian-Russian pianist (b. 1912)
- December 29 – Vivienne Segal, American actress (b. 1897)
Date unknown
- Luigi Stipa, Italian aeronautical, hydraulic, and civil engineer and aircraft designer (b. 1900)
Nobel Prizes
- Physics – Georges Charpak
- Chemistry – Rudolph A. Marcus
- Medicine – Edmond H. Fischer, Edwin G. Krebs
- Literature – Derek Walcott
- Peace – Rigoberta Menchú
- Economics – Gary Becker
