1991#January

{{Multiple image

| image_style = border:none;b

| perrow = 3/3/3/3

| image1 = Serb T-55 Battle of the Barracks.JPG

| image2 = Ausbruch des Pinatubo 1991.jpg

| image3 = Lauda air flight 004.jpg

| image4 = USAF F-16A F-15C F-15E Desert Storm edit2.jpg

| image5 = Boris Yeltsin 22 August 1991-1.jpg

| image6 = Moby Prince.jpg

| image7 = Flooded village after 1991 cyclone.jpg

| image8 = George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign the START 1991.jpg

| image9 = Nationair DC-8-61 C-GMXQ FAO 1989.png

| total_width = 271

| footer = From left to right, top to bottom:

A destroyed Serbian T-55 tank during the Croatian War of Independence, the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars;
the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, the second-most powerful eruption of the 20th century;
Lauda Air Flight 004 crashes, killing all 223 on board;
USAF aircraft fly over burned-out Kuwaiti oil fields towards the end of the Gulf War;
Boris Yeltsin waves the new Russian flag after the 1991 Soviet coup d'etat attempt;
the MV Moby Prince, which collides with an oil tanker in Italy, causing a disastrous fire and 140 deaths;
a flooded village in Bangladesh after a cyclone killed 138,866 people;
the United States and soon-to-be dissolved Soviet Union sign the START I treaty;
Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes on-runway during an emergency landing, causing all 261 people on board to die.

}}

It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving fifteen sovereign republics and the CIS in its place. In July 1991, India abandoned its policies of dirigism, license raj and autarky and began extensive liberalisation to its economy. This increased GDP but also increased income inequality over the next two decades.{{Cite news |date=July 21, 2011 |title=India's economy: One more push |url=http://www.economist.com/node/18988536 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006111625/http://www.economist.com/node/18988536 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |access-date=October 4, 2014 |newspaper=The Economist}} A UN-authorized coalition force from 34 nations fought against Iraq, which had invaded and annexed Kuwait in the previous year, 1990. The conflict would be called the Gulf War and would mark the beginning of a since-constant American military presence in the Middle East. The clash between Serbia and the other Yugoslav republics would lead into the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars, which ran through the rest of the decade.

In the context of the apartheid, the year after the liberation of political prisoner Nelson Mandela, the Parliament of South Africa repeals the Population Registration Act, 1950, overturning the racial classification of the population, a key component of apartheid.{{cite news|first=Scott|last=Kraft|date=June 18, 1991|title=S. Africa Repeals Apartheid Basis|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-18-mn-929-story.html|access-date=August 2, 2020|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214112117/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-18-mn-929-story.html|url-status=live}}

The year 1991 saw the rise of a ten-year-long boost of the US domestic economy with the Dow Jones Industrial Average remarkably closing in April at above 3,000 for the first time.{{cite news|first=Scot J.|last=Paltrow|date=April 18, 1991|title=Dow's Close Tops 3,000 Barrier for First Time : Stocks: The index had passed the mark on other days, but retreated before the end of tradings|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-18-mn-177-story.html|access-date=December 14, 2021|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214105833/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-18-mn-177-story.html|url-status=live}} This situation would only be cut short by the Dot-com bubble of 2000–2002.

In August, the World Wide Web, originally conceived during the previous year, was released outside CERN to other research institutions starting in January 1991 and publicly announced in August, also establishing the first website ever, "info.cern.ch". This step was a key factor that led to the mid-1990s public breakthrough of the internet, which would eventually accelerate the already ongoing globalization around the globe.

In terms of popular culture, during this year alternative rock saw a new height of popularity when some of the earliest music exponents of the virtually unknown grunge sound were released, including the influential Nevermind album by Seattle-based band Nirvana in September 1991.{{cite web|last=Cameron|first=Keith|date=June 11, 2011|title=Nirvana kill hair metal|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/nirvana-kill-hair-metal|access-date=June 19, 2020|website=The Guardian|archive-date=June 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621153223/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/nirvana-kill-hair-metal|url-status=live}} It was also in 1991 that hip-hop music reached an unprecedented mainstream level of success.{{cite news|last=Thompson|first=Derek|date=May 8, 2015|title=1991: The Most Important Year in Pop-Music History|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/05/1991-the-most-important-year-in-music/392642|access-date=December 14, 2021|archive-date=December 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214120206/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/05/1991-the-most-important-year-in-music/392642/|url-status=live}} Electronic music derivative forms were also starting to gain momentum and would define, along with the previous scenes, the sound for most of the decade.

Events

= January =

January 1 – Czechoslovakia becomes the second Eastern European country to abandon its command economy.{{Cite news|last=Greenhouse|first=Steven|date=January 1, 1991|title=Czechs Begin Shift to a Free Market|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/01/world/czechs-begin-shift-to-a-free-market.html|access-date=August 18, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105063345/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/01/world/czechs-begin-shift-to-a-free-market.html|url-status=live}}
January 5 – Georgian troops attack Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, starting the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.{{cite web|url=http://www.caucasus.dk/chapter4.htm|title=The Georgian – South Ossetian Conflict|last=Cvetkovski|first=Nikola|publisher=Danish Association for Research on the Caucasus|access-date=April 11, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430213436/http://www.caucasus.dk/chapter4.htm|archive-date=April 30, 2009}}
January 7 – 1991 Haitian coup d'état: An attempted coup by the Tonton Macoute, a paramilitary force under former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, is thwarted in Haiti.{{Cite web|title=The Lantern 8 January 1991 – Ohio State University Newspaper Archives|url=https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19910108-01.2.43&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|access-date=2021-06-12|website=osupublicationarchives.osu.edu|archive-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005155035/https://osupublicationarchives.osu.edu/?a=d&d=LTN19910108-01.2.43&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|url-status=live}} On July 30, he is convicted by a jury of attempting to overthrow the country's first democratically elected government.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
January 9
Gulf War: U.S. Secretary of State James Baker meets with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz but fails to produce a plan for the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait.{{Cite news|last=Friedman|first=Thomas L.|date=January 9, 1991|title=Confrontation in the Gulf; Iraqi, in Geneva, Says Pressure Won't Work|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/09/world/confrontation-in-the-gulf-iraqi-in-geneva-says-pressure-won-t-work.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002019/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/09/world/confrontation-in-the-gulf-iraqi-in-geneva-says-pressure-won-t-work.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last2=Drozdiak|first2=William|last1=Hoffman|first1=David|date=January 9, 1991|title=Baker and Aziz Arrive in Geneva|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/01/09/baker-and-aziz-arrive-in-geneva/585e554f-ffb9-4576-9bb7-86ec42640575/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=December 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229222527/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/01/09/baker-and-aziz-arrive-in-geneva/585e554f-ffb9-4576-9bb7-86ec42640575/|url-status=live}}
In Sebokeng, South Africa, gunmen open fire on mourners attending the funeral of an African National Congress leader, killing 45 people.{{Cite web|title=South African major mass killings timeline 1900–2012 {{!}} South African History Online|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/south-african-major-mass-killings-timeline-1900-2012|access-date=2021-06-12|website=sahistory.org.za|archive-date=May 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508083518/https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/south-african-major-mass-killings-timeline-1900-2012|url-status=live}}
January 12 – Gulf War: The 102nd U.S. Congress passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.{{Cite web|last1=Fritz|first1=Sarah|last2=Eaton|first2=William J.|date=January 13, 1991|title=Congress Authorizes Gulf War : Historic act: The vote in both houses, supporting Bush and freeing troops to attack Iraq, is decisive and bipartisan. It is the strongest move since Tonkin Gulf.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-13-mn-374-story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207050820/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-13-mn-374-story.html|archive-date=February 7, 2021|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times}}
January 13 – Singing Revolution: Soviet forces storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence, killing 14 civilians and injuring 702 more. In Latvia, a series of confrontations between the Latvian government and the Soviet government take place in Riga.{{cite news|title=On This Day 13 January, 1991: Bloodshed at Lithuanian TV station|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/13/newsid_4059000/4059959.stm|access-date=September 13, 2011|work=BBC News|date=January 13, 1991|archive-date=November 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109010731/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/13/newsid_4059000/4059959.stm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the Barricades (1990–1991) {{!}} Aizsardzības ministrija|url=http://www.mod.gov.lv/en/about-us/history/adoption-declaration-independence-barricades-1990-1991|access-date=2021-06-12|website=mod.gov.lv|archive-date=July 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727192552/https://www.mod.gov.lv/en/about-us/history/adoption-declaration-independence-barricades-1990-1991|url-status=live}} Lithuania formally declares independence on February 16, and voters in Estonia and Latvia vote for independence on March 3.{{cite book|first=Anatol|last=Lieven|title=The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iz3NACNOpCAC&pg=PA410|year=1994|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-06078-2|pages=410|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101429/https://books.google.com/books?id=iz3NACNOpCAC&pg=PA410#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Parks|first=Michael|date=March 4, 1991|title=Estonia, Latvia Vote Overwhelmingly for Independence : Baltics: Secession from the Soviet Union passes by wide margins in both republics. The next test is a countrywide referendum on Gorbachev's plan.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-04-mn-92-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=August 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804170803/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-04-mn-92-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Clines|first=Francis X.|date=March 4, 1991|title=Latvia and Estonia Vote for Sovereignty|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/world/latvia-and-estonia-vote-for-sovereignty.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303074429/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/04/world/latvia-and-estonia-vote-for-sovereignty.html|url-status=live}}
January 15
Gulf War: The UN deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.{{Cite web|last1=Goldman|first1=John J.|last2=Kempster|first2=Norman|date=November 30, 1990|title=U.N. Gives Iraq Until Jan. 15 to Leave Kuwait or Face War : Gulf crisis: Historic measure passes 12 to 2, with China abstaining. It is only the second time the Security Council has voted to use military force.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-30-mn-5769-story.html|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=February 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201154339/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-11-30-mn-5769-story.html|url-status=live}}
Prime Minister of Cape Verde Pedro Pires resigns following his party's loss in the Cape Verdean parliamentary election. Later on February 17, António Mascarenhas Monteiro wins the country's first multiparty presidential election since 1975.{{Cite journal|last=Baker|first=Bruce|date=December 2006|title=Cape Verde: The Most Democratic Nation in Africa?|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/div-classtitlecape-verde-the-most-democratic-nation-in-africadiv/0CB09558A9EAFBE92F718ADF6BE9D0C2|journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies|volume=44|issue=4|pages=495|doi=10.1017/S0022278X06002060|s2cid=144361839|access-date=April 2, 2019|archive-date=April 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402202637/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/div-classtitlecape-verde-the-most-democratic-nation-in-africadiv/0CB09558A9EAFBE92F718ADF6BE9D0C2|url-status=live|issn=0022-278X}}
January 16 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins with air strikes against Iraq.{{cite web|first=Edwin E.|last=Moïse|title=Limited War : The Stereotypes|url=http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/EdMoise/limit1.html|access-date=July 2, 2010|publisher=Clemson University|archive-date=August 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806173418/http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/EdMoise/limit1.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite book|last=Valentine|first=Janet G.|title=American Military History: A Survey From Colonial Times to the Present|date=May 23, 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-315-51100-9|page=358|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQ03DAAAQBAJ|access-date=September 10, 2023|archive-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005160246/https://books.google.com/books?id=pQ03DAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
January 17
Gulf War: Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel. Iraqi attacks continue with 15 people injured in Tel Aviv on January 19 and 96 people injured in Ramat Gan on January 22.{{cite web|last=Rostker|first=Bernard|year=2000|title=Information Paper: Iraq's Scud Ballistic Missiles|url=http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Pentagon/dodscud.htm|access-date=May 21, 2009|publisher=Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control from 2000 to 2006|archive-date=May 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514212635/http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Pentagon/dodscud.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|last1=Fetter|first1=Steve|last2=Lewis|first2=George N.|last3=Gronlund|first3=Lisbeth|author3-link=Lisbeth Gronlund|date=January 28, 1993|title=Why were Casualties so low?|url=https://api.drum.lib.umd.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4738f048-bb00-4f30-8097-2ff88be6a792/content|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240817070947/https://api.drum.lib.umd.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4738f048-bb00-4f30-8097-2ff88be6a792/content|archive-date=August 17, 2024|url-status=live|journal=Nature|location=London|volume=361|issue=6410|pages=293–296|doi=10.1038/361293a0|hdl=1903/4282|s2cid=4343235|hdl-access=free}}{{cite news|last=Kifner|first=John|date=January 23, 1991|title=War in the Gulf: Tel Aviv; 3 Die, 96 are Hurt in Israeli Suburb|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/23/world/war-in-the-gulf-tel-aviv-3-die-96-are-hurt-in-israeli-suburb.html|access-date=August 18, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630062830/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/23/world/war-in-the-gulf-tel-aviv-3-die-96-are-hurt-in-israeli-suburb.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Atkinson|first1=Rick|last2=Balz|first2=Dan|date=January 23, 1991|title=Scud Hits Tel Aviv, Leaving 3 Dead, 96 Hurt|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/fogofwar/archive/post012291.htm|access-date=June 2, 2013|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006145653/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/fogofwar/archive/post012291.htm|url-status=live}}
Harald V of Norway becomes the king of Norway after the death of his father, Olav V.{{Cite web|title=Harald V {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-V|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=September 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910205016/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-V|url-status=live}}
January 18 – Eastern Air Lines shuts down after 62 years of operations, citing financial problems. Later on December 4, Pan American World Airways ceases its operations.{{Cite web|last=Bearak|first=Barry|date=January 20, 1991|title=The Day After Eastern Folds: Many Passengers Are Left Up in the Air : Travel: Some connect with other carriers, several are left on standby status. The 62-year-old airline finally succumbed to a number of infirmities.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-20-mn-895-story.html|access-date=August 18, 2020|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=August 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830184945/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-20-mn-895-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Airways|date=December 4, 2016|title=December 4, 1991: The Last "Clipper" Flight|url=https://airwaysmag.com/airchive/the-last-clipper-flight/|access-date=August 18, 2020|website=Airways Magazine|archive-date=August 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200830192338/https://airwaysmag.com/airchive/the-last-clipper-flight/|url-status=dead}}
January 22 – Gulf War: The British Army SAS patrol, Bravo Two Zero, is deployed in Iraq.{{Cite web|title=The SAS Operations {{!}} Gulf-war {{!}} Britain's Small Wars|url=https://britains-smallwars.com/campaigns/gulf-war/page.php?art_url=gulf-sas|access-date=November 20, 2024|website=britains-smallwars.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722141527/https://britains-smallwars.com/campaigns/gulf-war/page.php?art_url=gulf-sas|archive-date=July 22, 2024}}
January 24 – The government of Papua New Guinea signs a peace agreement with separatist leaders from Bougainville Island, ending fighting that had gone on since 1988.{{cite book|last=Woodbury|first=Jo|title=The Bougainville Independence Referendum: Assessing the Risks and Challenges Before, During and After the Referendum|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/ADC/Publications/IndoPac/Woodbury%20paper%20(IPSD%20version).pdf|series=Indo-Pacific Strategy Papers|date=January 2015|publisher=Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies (CDSS), Australian Defence College|location=Canberra|page=7|access-date=March 13, 2021|archive-date=October 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029183001/http://www.defence.gov.au/ADC/Publications/IndoPac/Woodbury%20paper%20%28IPSD%20version%29.pdf|url-status=live}}
January 26 – President Siad Barre is overthrown, and Somalia enters a civil war. Three days later, Ali Mahdi Muhammad is inaugurated as the next president.{{Cite web|title=Mohamed Siad Barre {{!}} president of Somalia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohamed-Siad-Barre|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=December 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226092942/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mohamed-Siad-Barre|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=January 29, 1991|title=New President of Somalia Is Sworn In|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-29-mn-417-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002027/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-29-mn-417-story.html|url-status=live}}
January 29
In South Africa, Nelson Mandela of the African National Congress and Mangosuthu Buthelezi of the Inkatha Freedom Party agree to end violence between the two organizations.{{Cite web|url=https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/cis/omalley/OMalleyWeb/03lv02039/04lv02040/05lv02042.htm|title=1991|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=omalley.nelsonmandela.org|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614095018/https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/cis/omalley/OMalleyWeb/03lv02039/04lv02040/05lv02042.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Noble|first=Kenneth B.|date=September 15, 1991|title=Two Black Groups and Pretoria Sign Peace Agreement|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/world/two-black-groups-and-pretoria-sign-peace-agreement.html|access-date=February 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206223956/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/world/two-black-groups-and-pretoria-sign-peace-agreement.html|url-status=live}}
Gulf War: The first major ground engagement of the war, the Battle of Khafji, begins. The battle lasts until February 1.{{cite web|url=http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2014/February%202014/0214reversal.aspx|title=AirLand Reversal|last=Lambeth|first=Benjamin S.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219160549/http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2014/February%202014/0214reversal.aspx|archive-date=February 19, 2014|url-status=live|website=Airforcemag.com|date=February 1, 2014}}

= February =

February 1
USAir Flight 1493 collides with a SkyWest Airlines Fairchild Metroliner at Los Angeles International Airport, killing 34 people.{{cite book|author=United States. National Transportation Safety Board|title=Aircraft Accident Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfY5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA107|year=1995|publisher=U.S. Government|pages=107|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207103558/https://books.google.com/books?id=YfY5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA107#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
A 6.4 {{M|b|link=y}} Hindu Kush earthquake causes severe damage in northeast Afghanistan, leaving 848 dead and 200 injured.{{Cite news|title=Afghanistan/Pakistan Earthquake Feb 1991 UNDRO Situation Reports 1 – 6 – Afghanistan|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistanpakistan-earthquake-feb-1991-undro-situation-reports-1-6|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=ReliefWeb|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistanpakistan-earthquake-feb-1991-undro-situation-reports-1-6|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=66 Significant Earthquakes where Country = AFGHANISTAN|url=https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-data?country=AFGHANISTAN|last=National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information|year=1972|publisher=NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information|doi=10.7289/V5TD9V7K}}
February 6 – A Boeing KC-135E Stratotanker was involved in an accident over Saudi Arabia when two engines on the left wing detached from the aircraft. The pilots managed to execute an emergency landing saving all four crew members onboard. The aircraft was later repaired and returned to service.
February 7
1991 Haitian coup d'état: Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Whitaker|title=An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord ...|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ8wAAAAMAAJ|year=1994|publisher=J. Whitaker|page=900|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207103715/https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ8wAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}} He is ousted on September 30 and later reinstated in 1994. In response to the coup and in an effort to encourage the coup leaders to restore democracy, the U.S. expands trade sanctions on Haiti to include all goods except food and medicine on October 29.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.{{Cite news|last1=Whitney|first1=Craig R.|date=February 8, 1991|title=I.R.A. Attacks 10 Downing Street With Mortar Fire as Cabinet Meets|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/08/world/ira-attacks-10-downing-street-with-mortar-fire-as-cabinet-meets.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511123919/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/08/world/ira-attacks-10-downing-street-with-mortar-fire-as-cabinet-meets.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=February 7, 1991|title=Terror at 10 Downing St. : Prime Minister, War Cabinet Unhurt in IRA Mortar Attack|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-07-mn-1272-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015202231/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-07-mn-1272-story.html|url-status=live}}
Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Kuwait, thus starting the ground phase of the war.{{Cite web|last=Taylor|first=Alan|title=Operation Desert Storm: 25 Years Since the First Gulf War – The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/01/operation-desert-storm-25-years-since-the-first-gulf-war/424191/|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=The Atlantic|archive-date=June 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606114115/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/01/operation-desert-storm-25-years-since-the-first-gulf-war/424191/|url-status=live}}
February 11 – The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is formed in The Hague, Netherlands.{{cite book|author=Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization|title=Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization: yearbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7GhbDxIUkIIC&pg=PA4|year=1997|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=90-411-0439-9|pages=4|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101359/https://books.google.com/books?id=7GhbDxIUkIIC&pg=PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
February 13 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad, killing hundreds of Iraqis. US military intelligence claims it was a military facility while Iraqi officials identify it as a bomb shelter.{{Cite news|last=Stanley|first=Alessandra|date=February 14, 1991|title=War in the Gulf: The Overview; Iraq says U.S. killed hundreds of civilians at shelter, but alies call it military post|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/14/world/war-gulf-overview-iraq-says-us-killed-hundreds-civilians-shelter-but-allies-call.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803160347/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/14/world/war-gulf-overview-iraq-says-us-killed-hundreds-civilians-shelter-but-allies-call.html|url-status=live}}
February 15 – The Visegrád Group, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is established by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland.{{cite book|title=RFE/RL Research Report|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a35pAAAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=RFE/RL, Incorporated|page=19|access-date=October 8, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101319/https://books.google.com/books?id=a35pAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}
February 18 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army explodes bombs in the early morning, at both Paddington station and Victoria station, in London.{{Cite news|last1=Schmidt|first1=William E.|date=February 19, 1991|title=2 Rail Terminals In Central London Hit By I.R.A. Bombs|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/19/world/2-rail-terminals-in-central-london-hit-by-ira-bombs.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/19/world/2-rail-terminals-in-central-london-hit-by-ira-bombs.html|url-status=live}}
February 20 – President of Albania Ramiz Alia dismisses the government of Prime Minister Adil Çarçani and appoints Fatos Nano as the next prime minister in an effort to stem pro-democracy protests.{{Cite web|title=13. Albania (1913–present)|url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/albania-1913-present/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=uca.edu|archive-date=December 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203005307/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/europerussiacentral-asia-region/albania-1913-present/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Adil Carcani, prime minister of Albania'|url=https://apnews.com/article/0527b66ce4005c2d7cafcb2dc11203e6|date=October 15, 1997|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=Associated Press News|agency=Associated Press|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://apnews.com/article/0527b66ce4005c2d7cafcb2dc11203e6|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|last1=Binder|first1=David|date=February 23, 1991|title=Albanian Names Cabinet Amid Unrest|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/23/world/albanian-names-cabinet-amid-unrest.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/23/world/albanian-names-cabinet-amid-unrest.html|url-status=live}}
February 22 – Gulf War: Iraq accepts a Soviet-proposed cease fire agreement. The U.S. rejects the agreement, instead saying that retreating Iraqi forces will not be attacked if they leave Kuwait within 24 hours.
February 23 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong deposes Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan in a bloodless coup d'état.{{Cite web|last=Wallace|first=Charles P.|date=February 25, 1991|title=Thai Coup Leaders Plan Elections in Six Months : Takeover: The military junta also says it wants to amend the constitution. The whereabouts of the deposed prime minister are unknown.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-25-mn-1472-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723144402/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-25-mn-1472-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Pace|first=Eric|date=August 7, 1999|title=Sunthorn Kongsompong, 68; Thai General Led 1991 Coup|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/07/world/sunthorn-kongsompong-68-thai-general-led-1991-coup.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029192801/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/07/world/sunthorn-kongsompong-68-thai-general-led-1991-coup.html|url-status=live}}
February 25 – Gulf War: Part of an Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 29 U.S. soldiers and injuring 99 more. It is the single-most devastating attack on U.S. forces during the war.{{cite web|title=DOD: Information Paper- Iraq's Scud Ballistic Missiles|url=http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Pentagon/dodscud.htm|access-date=March 18, 2010|publisher=Iraqwatch.org|archive-date=May 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514212635/http://www.iraqwatch.org/government/US/Pentagon/dodscud.htm|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Timeline of the Persian Gulf War|url=https://www.britannica.com/list/persian-gulf-war-timeline|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=May 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527140803/https://www.britannica.com/list/persian-gulf-war-timeline|url-status=live}}
February 26 – Gulf War: On Baghdad radio, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat; the fire lasts until November 7.{{Cite news|last=Boustany|first=Nora|date=February 27, 1991|title=Saddam Tells Iraqis of Pullout But Claims "Dignified" Victory|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/02/27/saddam-tells-iraqis-of-pullout-but-claims-dignified-victory/76eedd4f-50a2-48f7-860a-43388a08e5d3/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=March 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307013405/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/02/27/saddam-tells-iraqis-of-pullout-but-claims-dignified-victory/76eedd4f-50a2-48f7-860a-43388a08e5d3/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Persian Gulf War {{!}} Definition, Summary, History, Dates, Combatants, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Persian-Gulf-War|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=June 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602182044/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/452778/Persian-Gulf-War|url-status=live}}
February 27
Gulf War: U.S. President Bush declares victory over Iraq and orders a cease-fire. U.S. troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf on March 10.
In the Bangladeshi general election, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins 139 of 300 seats in the Jatiyo Sangshad, leading BNP leader Khaleda Zia to become the president on March 19.{{Cite web|title=BANGLADESH: parliamentary elections Jatiya Sangsad, 1991|url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2023_91.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|website=archive.ipu.org|archive-date=August 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806213441/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2023_91.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last1=Crossette|first1=Barbara|date=March 1, 1991|title=General's Widow Wins Bangladesh Vote|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/01/world/general-s-widow-wins-bangladesh-vote.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029101013/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/01/world/general-s-widow-wins-bangladesh-vote.html|url-status=live}}

= March =

March 3
The first presidential election in the history of São Tomé and Príncipe is won by Miguel Trovoada.{{Cite web|title=Sao Tome and Principe (10/24/11)|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/saotomeandprincipe/182234.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|website=U.S. Department of State|archive-date=August 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801133600/https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/saotomeandprincipe/182234.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=São Tomé and Príncipe: Freedom in the World 2020 Country Report|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/sao-tome-and-principe/freedom-world/2020|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Freedom House|archive-date=June 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606122031/https://freedomhouse.org/country/sao-tome-and-principe/freedom-world/2020|url-status=live}}
A video captures the beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. Four Los Angeles police officers are indicted on March 15 for the beating.{{cite web|title=The Holliday Videotape, George Holliday Video of King Beating|url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/kingvideo.html|publisher=University of Missouri Kansas City Law School|access-date=2021-06-12|archive-date=February 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224184149/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/kingvideo.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Mydans|first=Seth|date=March 6, 1992|title=Police Beating Trial Opens With Replay of Videotape|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/06/us/police-beating-trial-opens-with-replay-of-videotape.html|access-date=April 20, 2010|archive-date=July 17, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717123022/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/06/us/police-beating-trial-opens-with-replay-of-videotape.html|url-status=live}}
March 6 – Prime Minister of India Chandra Shekhar resigns following a dispute with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, whose support had kept him in power.{{Cite news|date=March 7, 1991|title=India's Prime Minister Resigns|work=The Christian Science Monitor|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0307/ofill07.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0882-7729|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/0307/ofill07.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Joshi|first=Vijay|title=India's Prime Minister Resigns|url=https://apnews.com/article/7466ecc67afb7635076ea9723ffb999f|date=March 6, 1991|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043154/https://apnews.com/article/7466ecc67afb7635076ea9723ffb999f|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Chandra Shekhar {{!}} prime minister of India|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chandra-Shekhar|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713012656/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chandra-Shekhar|url-status=live}}
March 9 – Massive demonstrations are held against Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade; two people are killed, and tanks are deployed in the streets.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SczBzxA6-IC&pg=PR26|title=The "Yugoslav" Crisis in International Law: General Issues|volume=1|first1=D. Daniel L.|last1=Bethlehem|first2=Marc|last2=Weller|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|isbn=9780521463041|page=XXVI|access-date=March 9, 2013|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101319/https://books.google.com/books?id=7SczBzxA6-IC&pg=PR26#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
March 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: In the Salvadoran legislative election, the Nationalist Republican Alliance wins 39 of the 48 seats in the legislative assembly.{{Cite news|agency=Reuters|date=March 24, 1991|title=Governing Salvadoran Party Wins Legislative Vote|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/24/world/governing-salvadoran-party-wins-legislative-vote.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029101157/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/24/world/governing-salvadoran-party-wins-legislative-vote.html|url-status=live}}{{cite book|editor-last=Nohlen|editor-first=Dieter|editor-link=Dieter Nohlen|title=Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19-928357-6|page=284}}
March 13
The U.S. Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.{{Cite web|last=Rowley|first=James|title=Exxon Agrees to $1 Billion Settlement of Oil Spill|url=https://apnews.com/article/e2ceb29859cbab2950defd40bdc0e772|date=March 14, 1991|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002019/https://apnews.com/article/e2ceb29859cbab2950defd40bdc0e772|url-status=dead}}
The Acid Rain Treaty of 1991 is signed between the American and Canadian governments.{{cite book|author=Canada|title=Transboundary Air Pollution: Agreement Between the United States of America and Canada, Signed at Ottawa March 13, 1991 with Annexes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=om1RhTvdrVUC&pg=PA18|year=1993|publisher=Department of State|pages=18|access-date=January 16, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101344/https://books.google.com/books?id=om1RhTvdrVUC&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
March 14
Gulf War: Emir of Kuwait Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah returns to Kuwait after seven months of exile in Saudi Arabia.{{Cite web|title=Sheikh Jābir al-Aḥmad al-Jābir al-Ṣabāḥ {{!}} emir of Kuwait|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sheikh-Jabir-al-Ahmad-al-Jabir-al-Sabah|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=May 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523120102/http://www.britannica.com/biography/Sheikh-Jabir-al-Ahmad-al-Jabir-al-Sabah|url-status=live}}
The Troubles: After 16 years in prison for allegedly bombing a public house in a Provisional IRA attack, the "Birmingham Six" are freed when a court determines that the police fabricated evidence.{{cite news|last=Peirce|first=Gareth|date=March 12, 2011|title=The Birmingham Six: Have we learned from our disgraceful past?|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/mar/12/gareth-peirce-birmingham-six|access-date=November 15, 2018|archive-date=November 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124141842/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2011/mar/12/gareth-peirce-birmingham-six|url-status=live}}R v McIlkenney (1991) 93 Cr.App.R. 287–318.
Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert –which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine– is officially inaugurated.{{Cite news |title=Escondida – BHP: Tres décadas de éxito y desarrollo en Chile |date=2021-03-26 |url=https://www.nuevamineria.com/revista/escondida-bhp-tres-decadas-de-exito-y-desarrollo-en-chile/ |access-date=2025-05-28 |work=Revista Nueva Minería y Energía |language=es}}
March 15
Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the U.K., the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.) relinquish all remaining rights to the country.
The U.S. and Albania resume diplomatic relations for the first time since 1939.{{Cite web|title=History of the U.S. and Albania|url=https://al.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/io/|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=U.S. Embassy in Albania|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319022854/https://al.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/io/|url-status=dead}}
March 17
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: In a national referendum, 77% of voters in the Soviet Union vote in favor of keeping the 15 Soviet republics together; six Union Republics effectively boycott the referendum.{{Cite web|title=Confused Soviet Referendum|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-03-15-1991074066-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=The Baltimore Sun|date=March 15, 1991|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713020501/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-03-15-1991074066-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=June 29, 2015|title=March Referendum|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/march-referendum/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|archive-date=May 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517052306/http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/march-referendum/|url-status=live}}
In the Finnish parliamentary election, the Centre Party wins 55 of 200 seats in the parliament, ending 25 years of dominance by the Social Democratic Party of Finland.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=March 20, 1991|title=Finnish Parliament: Average Age Under 40|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/20/world/finnish-parliament-average-age-under-40.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029101127/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/20/world/finnish-parliament-average-age-under-40.html|url-status=live}}
March 23 – The Sierra Leone Civil War begins when the Revolutionary United Front attempts a coup against the Sierra Leone government.{{cite book|last=Varisco|first=Andrea Edoardo|title=Research in Security Sector Reform Policy: The Case of Sierra Leone|date=July 19, 2017|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-58675-9|page=11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h4otDwAAQBAJ|access-date=September 10, 2023|archive-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005160247/https://books.google.com/books?id=h4otDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=The Sierra Leone War begins|url=https://aaregistry.org/story/the-sierra-leone-war-begins/|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=African American Registry|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411002152/https://aaregistry.org/story/the-sierra-leone-war-begins/|url-status=live}}
March 24 – The Beninese presidential election, Benin's first presidential election since 1970, is won by Nicéphore Soglo.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=March 26, 1991|title=Official Result in Benin Vote Shows Big Loss for Kerekou (Published 1991)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/26/world/official-result-in-benin-vote-shows-big-loss-for-kerekou.html|access-date=February 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601223719/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/26/world/official-result-in-benin-vote-shows-big-loss-for-kerekou.html|url-status=live}}
March 26
In Mali, military officers led by Amadou Toumani Touré arrest President Moussa Traoré and suspend the constitution.{{Cite news|date=March 26, 1991|title=Military Leader of Mali Overthrown, Arrested|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/03/27/military-leader-of-mali-overthrown-arrested/4e046a11-622d-4149-8c81-3314a67d32e2/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|agency=Associated Press|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125092455/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/03/27/military-leader-of-mali-overthrown-arrested/4e046a11-622d-4149-8c81-3314a67d32e2/|archive-date=November 25, 2024}}
Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur.{{Cite web|title=Treaty of Asunción {{!}} South America [1991]|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Treaty-of-Asuncion|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=August 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801174555/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Treaty-of-Asuncion|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=SICE: Trade Agreements: Treaty of Asuncion|url=http://www.sice.oas.org/trade/mrcsr/mrcsrtoc.asp|access-date=2021-06-12|website=sice.oas.org|archive-date=April 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425145807/http://www.sice.oas.org/Trade/MRCSR/MRCSRTOC.ASP|url-status=live}}
March 31
Albania holds its first multi-party elections since 1923. The socialist ruling Party of Labour of Albania won a landslide victory with 169 of the 250 seats in the parliament.{{cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2001_91.htm|title=Albania: Elections held in 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612120711/http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2001_91.htm|archive-date=2011-06-12|url-status=live|work=Inter-Parliamentary Union|year=1991}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Nohlen|editor1-first=Dieter|editor2-last=Stöver|editor2-first=Philip|editor1-link=Dieter Nohlen|title=Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook|publisher=Nomos Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-3-8329-5609-7|page=137}}
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Georgia votes for independence from the Soviet Union while on April 9, the Supreme Council declares the independent Republic of Georgia.

= April =

April 2 – Government-imposed prices increase double or triple the cost of consumer goods in the Soviet Union.{{Cite journal|last1=Filatochev|first1=Igor|last2=Bradshaw|first2=Roy|year=1992|title=The Soviet Hyperinflation: Its Origins and Impact throughout the Former Republics|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/152269|journal=Soviet Studies|volume=44|issue=5|pages=739–759|doi=10.1080/09668139208412045|jstor=152269|issn=0038-5859|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002019/https://www.jstor.org/stable/152269|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=The Economic Collapse of the Soviet Union|url=https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sovietcollapse.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|website=sjsu.edu|archive-date=July 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724100857/https://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/sovietcollapse.htm|url-status=dead}}
April 3 – Iraq disarmament crisis: The UN Security Council passes Resolution 687, which calls for the destruction or removal of all of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons and a complete ban of ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 km. It also calls for an end to Iraq's support for international terrorism; it is accepted by Iraq three days later.{{Cite web|title=United Nations Security Council {{!}} Treaties & Regimes {{!}} NTI|url=https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/un-security-council/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=nti.org|archive-date=May 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513122735/https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/un-security-council/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Security Council Resolution 687|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/Chronology/resolution687.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=United Nations|archive-date=June 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610103845/http://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/Chronology/resolution687.htm|url-status=live}}
April 4
U.S. Senator John Heinz and six other people are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania.{{Cite news|last1=Cushman|first1=John H. Jr.|date=April 5, 1991|title=Senator Heinz and 6 Others Killed in Midair Crash Near Philadelphia|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/05/us/senator-heinz-and-6-others-killed-in-midair-crash-near-philadelphia.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507171620/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/05/us/senator-heinz-and-6-others-killed-in-midair-crash-near-philadelphia.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=King|first=Larry|date=April 5, 1991|title=Sen. Heinz, 6 others die in Pa. plane-copter collision Two children killed as debris hits school|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-04-05-1991095117-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=The Baltimore Sun|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625062310/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-04-05-1991095117-story.html|url-status=live}}
Forty people are taken hostage in Sacramento, California; six gunmen and hostages are killed.{{Cite news|last1=Gross|first1=Jane|date=April 6, 1991|title=6 Are Killed as 8-Hour Siege By Gang Ends in California|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/06/us/6-are-killed-as-8-hour-siege-by-gang-ends-in-california.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705190520/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/06/us/6-are-killed-as-8-hour-siege-by-gang-ends-in-california.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last1=Paddock|first1=Richard C.|last2=Dizon|first2=Lily|date=April 15, 1991|title=3 Vietnamese Brothers in Shoot-Out Led Troubled Lives : Crime: They had problems in school and apparently felt like failures. Some teachers express surprise at violence of siege at Sacramento store.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-15-mn-108-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=May 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510054339/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-15-mn-108-story.html|url-status=live}}
April 5
Former U.S. Senator John Tower and 22 others are killed in an airplane crash in Brunswick, Georgia.{{Cite web|last=Knutson|first=Lawrence L.|title=Crash That Killed 23 Laid to Faulty Propellor Controls|url=https://apnews.com/article/70a5d06c92324ad02162adc3a5f4b214|date=April 28, 1992|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=March 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305015608/https://apnews.com/article/70a5d06c92324ad02162adc3a5f4b214|url-status=dead}}
Space Shuttle Atlantis leaves an observatory in Earth's orbit to study gamma rays before returning on April 11. It is followed by Space Shuttle Discovery, which studies instruments related to the Strategic Defense Initiative from April 29 to May 6. Space Shuttle Columbia carries the Spacelab into orbit on June 5.
April 9 – The first Soviet troops leave Poland.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/04/10/1st-soviet-troops-leave-poland/|work=Chicago Tribune|title=1st Soviet Troops Leave Poland|date=April 10, 1991|access-date=October 6, 2013|archive-date=December 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228202950/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-04-10/news/9102010956_1_presence-of-soviet-troops-soviet-soldiers-soviet-plans|url-status=live}}
April 10
A South Atlantic tropical cyclone develops in the Southern Hemisphere off the coast of Angola, the first of its kind to be documented by weather satellites.{{Cite web|title=The 1991 "Angola Cyclone" – STORM2K|url=http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=116885|access-date=2021-06-12|website=storm2k.org|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015230028/http://www.storm2k.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=116885|url-status=live}}
The Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, resulting in 140 deaths with one survivor.{{cite news|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1991/04/12/may-day-may-day.html|title=May – Day, May – Day Ci ha speronato una bettolina|newspaper=la Repubblica|date=April 12, 1991|page=5|access-date=September 25, 2011|first=Claudia|last=Fusani|language=it|archive-date=September 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925200450/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1991/04/12/may-day-may-day.html|url-status=live}}
April 12 – The Warsaw Stock Exchange opens in Poland.{{Cite journal|date=January 1, 2004|title=Trading on the Warsaw stock exchange—from reopening in 1991–2000|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1061951804000175|journal=Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation|volume=13|issue=2|pages=121–134|doi=10.1016/j.intaccaudtax.2004.09.003|issn=1061-9518|last1=de la Rosa|first1=Denise|last2=Crawford|first2=Dean|last3=Franz|first3=Diana R.|access-date=2021-06-12|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015230026/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1061951804000175|url-status=live}}
April 14 – In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam; they are found in an abandoned car near the museum less than an hour later.{{Cite news|author=|date=August 27, 2020|title=Factbox: High profile art thefts|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-art-frans-hals-theft-fact-idUSKBN25N2KU|access-date=2021-06-12|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015202553/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-art-frans-hals-theft-fact-idUSKBN25N2KU|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Montgomery|first=Paul L.|date=April 15, 1991|title=Lost and Found: Huge van Gogh Theft Fails|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/15/arts/lost-and-found-huge-van-gogh-theft-fails.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064051/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/15/arts/lost-and-found-huge-van-gogh-theft-fails.html|url-status=live}}
April 15
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is inaugurated.{{Cite web|title=The history of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)|url=https://www.ebrd.com/who-we-are/history-of-the-ebrd.html#:~:text=The%20year%20was%201991,%20the,business%20for%20the%20first%20time.|access-date=2021-06-12|website=ebrd.com|archive-date=August 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830103554/https://www.ebrd.com/who-we-are/history-of-the-ebrd.html#:~:text=The%20year%20was%201991,%20the,business%20for%20the%20first%20time.|url-status=live}}
End of Apartheid: The European Economic Community lifts economic sanctions on South Africa.{{Cite news|last=Riding|first=Alan|date=April 16, 1991|title=European nations to lift sanctions on South Africa|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/16/world/european-nations-to-lift-sanctions-on-south-africa.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029101424/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/16/world/european-nations-to-lift-sanctions-on-south-africa.html|url-status=live}}
April 16 – 18 – General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev begins the first ever visit of a Soviet leader to Japan, but fails to resolve the two countries' dispute over ownership of the Kuril Islands.{{Cite news|last=Weisman|first=Steven R.|date=April 16, 1991|title=Gorbachev on Peace Mission to Japan|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/16/world/gorbachev-on-peace-mission-to-japan.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029103029/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/16/world/gorbachev-on-peace-mission-to-japan.html|url-status=live}}
April 17 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time in history, at 3,004.46.{{Cite web|title=A History of The Dow Jones Industrial Average|url=https://apnews.com/article/50399f1ad8429b5259a2890d963a25fb|access-date=2021-06-12|work=Associated Press News}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}{{Cite news|last=Norris|first=Floyd|date=April 18, 1991|title=Market Place; At Last, Dow Closes Above 3,000|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/18/business/market-place-at-last-dow-closes-above-3000.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029103054/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/18/business/market-place-at-last-dow-closes-above-3000.html|url-status=live}}
April 18 – Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq declares some of its chemical weapons and materials to the UN, as required by Resolution 687, and claims that it does not have a biological weapons program.
April 19 – George Carey is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion.{{cite book|first=Edward|last=Carpenter|title=Cantuar: The Archbishops in Their Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ee0-EsYR9aEC&pg=PA2|date=January 1, 1997|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-264-67449-0|pages=2|access-date=September 30, 2020|archive-date=7 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101433/https://books.google.com/books?id=ee0-EsYR9aEC&pg=PA2#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
April 22
A 7.7 {{M|w|link=y}} Limon earthquake strikes Costa Rica and Panama with a maximum Mercalli intensity, causing between 47 and 87 deaths and up to 759 injuries.{{Cite web|title=Today in Earthquake History|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=4&day=22|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=United States Geological Survey|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723195400/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=4&day=22|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=April 23, 1991|title=Quake Hits Costa Rica and Panama : Disaster: The 7.4 temblor kills at least 19. Damage is heavy in Caribbean coastal area.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-23-mn-689-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=July 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724185104/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-23-mn-689-story.html|url-status=live}}
In Taiwan, the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion are abolished, having been in effect for 43 years.{{Cite web|title=History of Constitutional Revisions in the Republic of China|url=http://www.taiwandocuments.org/constitution07.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|website=taiwandocuments.org|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211011151/http://www.taiwandocuments.org/constitution07.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite book|title=Constitutional Reform and the Future of the Republic of China|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|year=1991|isbn=9780873328807|editor1-last=Feldman|editor1-first=Harvey|series=Taiwan in the Modern World|pages=1, 3–7, 39}}
April 23 – Prime Minister of Iceland Steingrímur Hermannsson resigns following an inconclusive parliamentary election; he is succeeded by Davíð Oddsson on April 30.{{Cite web|title=Prime Minister Ousted; Feminists Win Big in Election|url=https://apnews.com/article/91a35dba150251f6d9ccd697738fc695|access-date=2021-06-12|work=Associated Press News}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}{{Cite web|title=NATO Who's who?: PM Iceland|url=https://www.nato.int/cv/hsg/ic/oddsson.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|website=nato.int|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509235152/https://www.nato.int/cv/hsg/ic/oddsson.htm|url-status=live}}
April 26
A series of 55 tornadoes break out in the central U.S., killing 21. The most notable tornado strikes Andover, Kansas.{{Cite web|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|title=Timeline for supercell that produced the Wichita/Andover Tornado|url=https://www.weather.gov/ict/AndoverTimeline|access-date=2021-06-12|website=weather.gov|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613003530/https://www.weather.gov/ict/AndoverTimeline|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|title=The April 26, 1991 Great Plains Tornado Outbreak|url=https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19910426|access-date=2021-06-12|website=weather.gov|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613003524/https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19910426|url-status=live}}
Esko Aho at the age of 36 becomes the youngest-ever Prime Minister of Finland.{{cite book|author=United States. Central Intelligence Agency|title=The World Factbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVaOgbFeuXwC&pg=PA134|year=1989|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|pages=134|access-date=September 30, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101350/https://books.google.com/books?id=kVaOgbFeuXwC&pg=PA134#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}

File:1991 Bangladesh Cyclone 29 apr 1991 0019Z.jpg]]

April 29
A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, killing an estimated 138,000 people.{{cite book|author=United Nations. Dept. of Public Information|title=Yearbook of the United Nations. 45.1991(1992)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTdmYFgvyi0C&pg=PA416|date=December 24, 1992|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=0-7923-1970-2|pages=416|access-date=September 30, 2020|archive-date=7 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102643/https://books.google.com/books?id=BTdmYFgvyi0C&pg=PA416#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
A 7.0 {{M|w|link=y}} earthquake in Racha, Georgia, kills 270 people and leaves 100,000 others homeless.{{cite web|last=Nikoleishvili|first=I.|title=Earthquake in Racha and Middle Age Monuments|url=http://www.opentext.ge/art/archit/medieval/racha.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721025942/http://www.opentext.ge/art/archit/medieval/racha.htm|archive-date=July 21, 2011|access-date=August 10, 2010}}{{cite journal|last=Arafiev|first=S.S.|author2=Rogozhin E.A.|author3=Bykova V.V.|author4=Dorbath C.|year=2006|title=Deep Structure of the Racha Earthquake Source Zone from Seismic Tomography Data|url=http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/AInv/2006_PSE_Racha.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Izvestiya, Physics of the Solid Earth|volume=42|issue=1|pages=27–40|bibcode=2006IzPSE..42...27A|doi=10.1134/s1069351306010034|s2cid=128784815|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807114528/http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/AInv/2006_PSE_Racha.pdf|archive-date=August 7, 2011|name-list-style=amp}}
April 29 – 30 – In Lesotho, a bloodless coup ousts military ruler Justin Lekhanya, with Chairman of the Military Council Elias Phisoana Ramaema replacing him two days later.{{cite book|author=((32nd 1991))|title=The Europa World Year Book, 1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CmOUWTetnQ4C|year=1991|publisher=Europa Publications Limited|isbn=978-0-946653-69-0|page=1664|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102947/https://books.google.com/books?id=CmOUWTetnQ4C|url-status=live}}

=May=

May 1 – Angolan Civil War: The MPLA and UNITA agree to the Bicesse Accords, which are formally signed on May 31 in Lisbon.Wright, George. The Destruction of a Nation: United States' Policy Towards Angola Since 1945, 1997. Page 159.{{Cite web|title=PA-X: Peace Agreements Database|url=https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/207|access-date=2021-06-12|website=peaceagreements.org|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/207|url-status=live}}
May 6 – In the U.S., Time magazine publishes "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power," an article highly critical of the Scientology movement.{{cite news|last=Behar|first=Richard|title=Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power|magazine=Time|date=May 6, 1991|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220082505/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,972865,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 20, 2007|access-date=March 20, 2014|pages=50–57}}
May 12 – Nepal holds its first multiparty legislative election since 1959.{{Cite news|date=February 19, 2018|title=Nepal profile – Timeline|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12499391|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-date=June 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605194152/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12499391|url-status=live}}
May 15 – Édith Cresson becomes France's first female prime minister.{{Cite web|title=Edith Cresson {{!}} premier of France|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edith-Cresson|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=February 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220120641/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edith-Cresson|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Drozdiak|first=William|date=May 18, 1991|title=France The Female Prime Minister|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/05/18/france-the-female-prime-minister/6124e5d4-3baa-4eb3-9067-aa7ba3cbc8c3/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125093132/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/05/18/france-the-female-prime-minister/6124e5d4-3baa-4eb3-9067-aa7ba3cbc8c3/|archive-date=November 25, 2024}}
May 16 – Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress during a 13-day royal visit in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web|title=Address by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to a Joint Meeting of the United States Congress {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives|url=https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2013/2013-135-050/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=history.house.gov|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516161309/https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2013/2013-135-050/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Eaton|first=William J.|date=May 17, 1991|title=Queen Addresses Joint Congress Session|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-17-mn-1884-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=May 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512215804/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-05-17-mn-1884-story.html|url-status=live}}
May 18 – Somaliland secedes from Somalia; its independence is not recognised by the international community.{{Cite web|title=20 Years After Secession, Somaliland Still Seeks Recognition|url=https://www.voanews.com/africa/20-years-after-secession-somaliland-still-seeks-recognition|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=Voice of America|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723183603/https://www.voanews.com/africa/20-years-after-secession-somaliland-still-seeks-recognition|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|title=Somaliland Wants To Make One Thing Clear: It Is NOT Somalia|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/05/30/530703639/somaliland-wants-to-make-one-thing-clear-it-is-not-somalia|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=NPR|date=May 30, 2017|last1=Beaubien|first1=Jason|archive-date=April 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415055609/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/05/30/530703639/somaliland-wants-to-make-one-thing-clear-it-is-not-somalia|url-status=live}}
May 19 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: In the Croatian independence referendum, voters in the Socialist Republic of Croatia vote to leave SFR Yugoslavia.{{Cite news|last=Sudetic|first=Chuck|date=May 20, 1991|title=Croatia Votes for Sovereignty and Confederation|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/20/world/croatia-votes-for-sovereignty-and-confederation.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124201026/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/20/world/croatia-votes-for-sovereignty-and-confederation.html|url-status=live}}
May 21
At Sriperumbudur, India, a suicide bomber from LTTE attacks a political meeting, killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and at least 14 others.{{cite web|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/nation/2018/may/21/a-look-back-at-rajiv-gandhi-assassination-rare-images-from-the-past-101515.html|title=A look back at Rajiv Gandhi assassination: Rare images from the past|website=The New Indian Express|access-date=December 11, 2020|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514210449/http://www.newindianexpress.com/galleries/nation/2018/may/21/a-look-back-at-rajiv-gandhi-assassination-rare-images-from-the-past-101515.html|url-status=dead}}
Ethiopian Civil War: Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia to Zimbabwe, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.{{cite book|title=The World Factbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkQfwA30aY4C&pg=PA107|year=1992|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|pages=107|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102945/https://books.google.com/books?id=JkQfwA30aY4C&pg=PA107#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
May 22 – Acting Prime Minister of South Korea Ro Jai-bong resigns in the wake of rioting following the beating to death of a student by police on April 26. He is succeeded by Chung Won-shik two days later.{{cite book|author1=World Book, Inc|author2=World Book Encyclopedia|title=The World Book Year Book, 1992|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIovVAHq-CkC|date=February 1992|publisher=World Book, Incorporated|isbn=978-0-7166-0492-1|page=22|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101931/https://books.google.com/books?id=YIovVAHq-CkC|url-status=live}}
May 24 – Following authorisation by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Operation Solomon commences to airlift most of the remaining Beta Israel community from Ethiopia to Israel.{{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Spector|title=Operation Solomon: The Daring Rescue of the Ethiopian Jews|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_6JuMlIHH4C&pg=PA232|date=March 15, 2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983910-0|pages=232|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101919/https://books.google.com/books?id=g_6JuMlIHH4C&pg=PA232#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
May 25 – The Surinamese general election is won by the military-backed New Front for Democracy and Development.{{sfn|Nohlen|2005|pp=614–615}}
May 26 – Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashes near Bangkok, Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.{{cite book|author1=Jay Levinson|author2=Hayim Granot|title=Transportation Disaster Response Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0jQIn-0hAbMC&pg=PA57|year=2002|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-12-445486-6|pages=57|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101931/https://books.google.com/books?id=0jQIn-0hAbMC&pg=PA57#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
May 28 – Ethiopian Civil War: The forces of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front seize the capital Addis Ababa.{{Cite news|last=Krauss|first=Clifford|date=May 28, 1991|title=Ethiopian rebels storm the capital and seize control|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/28/world/ethiopian-rebels-storm-the-capital-and-seize-control.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310123923/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/28/world/ethiopian-rebels-storm-the-capital-and-seize-control.html|url-status=live}}

=June=

File:Pinatubo91eruption clark air base.jpg]]

June 3 – Mount Unzen in Japan erupts, killing 46 people as a result of pyroclastic flow.{{cite web|title=Mount Unzen {{!}} volcano, Japan|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Unzen|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=July 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730221820/https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Unzen|url-status=live}}
June 4
Fatos Nano resigns as Prime Minister of Albania following a nationwide strike. President of Albania Ramiz Alia appoints Ylli Bufi as his successor.{{cite web|title=The Communist government resigned Tuesday under an agreement by...|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/06/04/The-Communist-government-resigned-Tuesday-under-an-agreement-by/5766676008000/|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=United Press International|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612003244/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/06/04/The-Communist-government-resigned-Tuesday-under-an-agreement-by/5766676008000/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Hard-line Communist picked as Albanian prime minister|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/06/06/Hard-line-Communist-picked-as-Albanian-prime-minister/6582676180800/|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=United Press International|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612002855/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/06/06/Hard-line-Communist-picked-as-Albanian-prime-minister/6582676180800/|url-status=live}}
A large solar flare triggers an unusually large aurora as far south as Pennsylvania.{{cite journal|last=Wald|first=Matthew|title=Severe Sun Storm Threatens Utilities|journal=The New York Times|date=June 6, 1991|page=16|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/06/us/severe-sun-storm-threatens-utilities.html|access-date=May 23, 2016|archive-date=January 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118091204/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/06/us/severe-sun-storm-threatens-utilities.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Large Solar Flares Since 1976|url=http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/Educational/2/3/9|work=Australian Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=May 23, 2016|archive-date=June 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624075042/http://www.sws.bom.gov.au/Educational/2/3/9|url-status=live}}
June 5
President of Algeria Chadli Bendjedid declares a state of emergency as Prime Minister Mouloud Hamrouche resigns after 11 days of protests against the government; Hamrouche is replaced by Sid Ahmed Ghozali.{{cite news|date=June 5, 1991|title=Algeria Puts Off Elections; Premier Quits : North Africa: The president declares a state of siege after rioting by Muslim fundamentalists. The army moves in.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-05-mn-227-story.html|access-date=November 20, 2024|website=Los Angeles Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241120134435/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-05-mn-227-story.html|archive-date=November 20, 2024}}{{cite news|date=June 5, 1991|title=Algerian government resigns amid violence|url=https://tampabay.com/archive/1991/06/05/algerian-government-resigns-amid-violence/|access-date=November 20, 2024|website=Tampa Bay Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124153139/https://tampabay.com/archive/1991/06/05/algerian-government-resigns-amid-violence/|archive-date=November 24, 2020}}
End of Apartheid: The South African Parliament votes to repeal laws banning Black ownership of land.{{cite news|date=June 6, 1991|title=S. Africa Abolishes Laws Banning Black Land Ownership|url=https://latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-06-mn-255-story.html|access-date=November 20, 2024|website=Los Angeles Times|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121122736/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-06-mn-255-story.html|archive-date=November 21, 2024}}
June 7 – Approximately 200,000 people attend a parade of 8,800 returning Persian Gulf War troops in Washington, D.C.{{cite journal|last=Fitzgerald|first=David|date=March 2019|title=Support the Troops: Gulf War Homecomings and a New Politics of Military Celebration|journal=Modern American History|volume=2|issue=1|pages=1–22|doi=10.1017/mah.2019.1|s2cid=159284106|issn=2515-0456|doi-access=free|hdl=10468/9737|hdl-access=free}}{{cite news|last2=Brown|first2=DeNeen L.|last1=Jordan|first1=Mary|author-link1=Mary Jordan (journalist)|date=June 10, 1991|title=On The Mall, The Celebration Lingers|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/10/on-the-mall-the-celebration-lingers/89f330fe-462e-457f-b8c4-c8162d82c6d5/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=October 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026131915/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/10/on-the-mall-the-celebration-lingers/89f330fe-462e-457f-b8c4-c8162d82c6d5/|url-status=live}}
June 9 – A major collapse at the Emaswati Colliery in Swaziland traps 26 miners 65 meters below the surface; they are rescued 30 hours later.{{cite web|title=Twenty-six miners trapped in a Swaziland coal mine are rescued with help from South Africa. {{!}} South African History Online|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/twenty-six-miners-trapped-swaziland-coal-mine-are-rescued-help-south-africa|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=sahistory.org.za|archive-date=July 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730144513/https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/twenty-six-miners-trapped-swaziland-coal-mine-are-rescued-help-south-africa|url-status=live}}
June 12
Boris Yeltsin is elected President of the Russian SFSR; he officially begins his term on July 10.{{cite book|title=FBIS Report: Central Eurasia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0ZjcgSaaiUC|year=1992|publisher=The Service|page=7|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101919/https://books.google.com/books?id=R0ZjcgSaaiUC|url-status=live}}
Sri Lankan civil war: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill 152 civilians in Kokkadichcholai.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=June 14, 1991|title=Sri Lankans Accuse Army of Massacre|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/14/world/sri-lankans-accuse-army-of-massacre.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029103516/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/14/world/sri-lankans-accuse-army-of-massacre.html|url-status=live}}
The Party of Labour of Albania is dissolved and succeeded by the Socialist Party of Albania, marking the end of communist rule in Albania.{{cite web|title=Albanian Socialist Party {{!}} political party, Albania|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Albanian-Socialist-Party|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=June 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623221816/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Albanian-Socialist-Party|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Sudetic|first=Chuck|date=June 12, 1991|title=Albania's Communists in Upheaval|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/12/world/albania-s-communists-in-upheaval.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029103434/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/12/world/albania-s-communists-in-upheaval.html|url-status=live}}
June 15
In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century; the final death toll exceeds 800. The eruption causes a global cooling of around 0.4 °C.{{cite book|title=Mount Pinatubo: The June 1991 Eruptions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeUKAQAAIAAJ|year=1992|publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Geophysical Data Center|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207101821/https://books.google.com/books?id=SeUKAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal|last=Hoppe|first=K.|date=July 18, 1992|title=Mt. Pinatubo's Cloud Shades Global Climate|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3976864|journal=Science News|volume=142|issue=3|pages=37|doi=10.2307/3976864|jstor=3976864|issn=0036-8423|access-date=August 4, 2022|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102336/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3976864?origin=crossref|url-status=live}}
The Indian general elections end; the Indian National Congress wins the most seats but fails to secure a majority. Six days later, Congress leader P. V. Narasimha Rao becomes Prime Minister of India.{{cite web|title=INDIA: parliamentary elections Lok Sabha, 1991|url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2145_91.htm|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=archive.ipu.org|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2145_91.htm|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=P.V. Narasimha Rao {{!}} prime minister of India|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-V-Narasimha-Rao|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=June 2, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602181221/https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-V-Narasimha-Rao|url-status=live}}
June 16 – Father's Day Bank Massacre: Four security guards are shot to death during a bank robbery at the United Bank Tower in Denver, Colorado, United States. The person subsequently charged with the crime was acquitted, and the case remains unsolved.{{cite news|last=Romero|first=John|url=http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-fathers-day-massacre-mystery-txt,0,2862251.story|title=19 years later, Denver bank massacre still a mystery|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716234552/http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-fathers-day-massacre-mystery-txt,0,2862251.story|archive-date=July 16, 2011|url-status=dead|work=KDVR|location=Denver|date=May 24, 2010}}
June 17
End of Apartheid: The South African parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which has required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.{{cite news|last=Wren|first=Christopher S.|date=June 18, 1991|title=South Africa Scraps Law Defining People by Race|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/18/world/south-africa-scraps-law-defining-people-by-race.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029103557/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/18/world/south-africa-scraps-law-defining-people-by-race.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Kraft|first=Scott|date=June 18, 1991|title=South Africa Abolishes Race Registration Law|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/18/south-africa-abolishes-race-registration-law/defbe86b-3085-49d9-8fd7-ae1254b5100e/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121122816/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/18/south-africa-abolishes-race-registration-law/defbe86b-3085-49d9-8fd7-ae1254b5100e/|archive-date=November 21, 2024}}
President of Turkey Turgut Özal appoints Mesut Yılmaz as Prime Minister following Yıldırım Akbulut's resignation. Yılmaz forms a new government on June 23, which lasts until November when it is replaced by the government of Süleyman Demirel.Türkiye'nin 75 Yılı, Tempo yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1998{{cite journal|year=1997|title=Appendix|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26726878|journal=Insight Turkey|issue=7|pages=179–190|jstor=26726878|issn=1302-177X|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104231232/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26726878|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Süleyman Demirel {{!}} president of Turkey|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suleyman-Demirel|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617110531/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suleyman-Demirel|url-status=live}}
June 20
In West Germany, the Bundestag votes to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin.{{cite web|title=On This Day: Germany votes to move capital to Berlin|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2018/06/20/On-This-Day-Germany-votes-to-move-capital-to-Berlin/5661529425096/|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=United Press International|archive-date=July 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724064754/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2018/06/20/On-This-Day-Germany-votes-to-move-capital-to-Berlin/5661529425096/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Fisher|first=Marc|author-link=Marc Fisher|date=June 20, 1991|title=Berlin Voted New Seat of Government|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/21/berlin-voted-new-seat-of-government/d26089a2-faf4-4cfd-b481-ca67d9ee2f45/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121122940/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/21/berlin-voted-new-seat-of-government/d26089a2-faf4-4cfd-b481-ca67d9ee2f45/|archive-date=November 21, 2024}}
Harry Collinson, the planning officer for Derwentside District Council, is shot dead at Butsfield, County Durham, England, and the incident is caught on camera by a BBC regional news crew.{{cite web|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15576202.albert-dryden-shooting-still-haunted-day-saw-man-killed-cold-blood/|title=Albert Dryden Shooting: 'Still haunted by day I saw a man killed in cold blood'|date=September 17, 2018|access-date=November 21, 2024|last=Summers|first=Mark|work=The Northern Echo|url-status=live|archive-date=April 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430123537/https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15576202.albert-dryden-shooting-still-haunted-day-saw-man-killed-cold-blood/}}
June 23 – 28 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UN inspection teams attempt to intercept Iraqi vehicles carrying nuclear related equipment. Iraqi soldiers fire warning shots in the air to prevent inspectors from approaching the vehicles.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
June 25 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia.{{cite web|title=Milestones: 1989–1992 – Office of the Historian|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/breakup-yugoslavia|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=history.state.gov|archive-date=June 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609125535/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/breakup-yugoslavia|url-status=live}}
June 28 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Comecon is dissolved in Moscow, Russia.{{cite web|last=Shepherd|first=Leslie|title=Soviet-Led Comecon Trading Bloc To Disband|url=https://apnews.com/article/ea422353d454637df6e14349b1854165|date=May 19, 1991|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=March 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319223114/https://apnews.com/article/ea422353d454637df6e14349b1854165|url-status=dead}}

= July =

July 1
In the U.S., telephone services go down in Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and San Francisco as a result of a software bug, affecting nearly 12 million customers.{{Cite news|last=Andrews|first=Edmund L.|date=July 10, 1991|title=Faulty Software Code Is Cited in Phone Disruptions|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/10/us/faulty-software-code-is-cited-in-phone-disruptions.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029104126/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/10/us/faulty-software-code-is-cited-in-phone-disruptions.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=PART ONE: Crashing the System|url=http://www.mit.edu/hacker/part1.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=mit.edu|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610003134/http://www.mit.edu/hacker/part1.html|url-status=live}}
The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved in Prague, Czechoslovakia.{{Cite web|title=Warsaw Pact {{!}} Summary, History, Countries, Map, Significance, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Warsaw-Pact|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=March 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307024152/https://www.britannica.com/event/Warsaw-Pact|url-status=live}}
The world's first GSM telephone call is made in Finland.{{Cite web|date=September 5, 2016|title=Who was first?|url=https://www.ericsson.com/en/about-us/history/changing-the-world/world-leadership/who-was-first|access-date=November 11, 2021|website=ericsson.com|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111081011/https://www.ericsson.com/en/about-us/history/changing-the-world/world-leadership/who-was-first|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Arghire|first=Ionut|date=July 1, 2011|title=20 Years Since the First GSM Call|url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/20-Years-Since-the-First-GSM-Call-209354.shtml|access-date=November 11, 2021|website=softpediaglish|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111081010/https://news.softpedia.com/news/20-Years-Since-the-First-GSM-Call-209354.shtml|url-status=live}}
July 4 – The Constituent Assembly of Colombia proclaims a new constitution,{{Cite web|title=11. Colombia (1910–present)|url=https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/western-hemisphere-region/colombia-1910-present/|access-date=February 2, 2024|website=uca.edu|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914001220/https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/western-hemisphere-region/colombia-1910-present/|archive-date=September 14, 2024}} allowing the President of Colombia César Gaviria to lift the country's seven-year-long state of siege.{{cite news|last=Brooke|first=James|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/05/world/colombia-s-rewritten-charter-opens-politics-to-new-forces.html|title=Colombia's Rewritten Charter Opens Politics to New Forces|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 5, 1991|access-date=November 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525223611/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/05/world/colombia-s-rewritten-charter-opens-politics-to-new-forces.html|archive-date=May 25, 2015|url-status=live}}
July 7 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Brioni Agreement ends the Ten-Day War in Slovenia.{{cite book|author1=István Gyarmati|author2=Theodor Winkler|title=Post-Cold War Defense Reform: Lessons Learned in Europe and the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G32Hf131kAcC&pg=PA112|year=2002|publisher=Potomac Books, Inc.|isbn=978-1-57488-577-4|pages=112|access-date=April 11, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102445/https://books.google.com/books?id=G32Hf131kAcC&pg=PA112|url-status=live}}
July 9
End of Apartheid: The International Olympic Committee readmits South Africa to the Olympics. The following day, U.S. President Bush terminates 1986-enacted U.S. sanctions on South Africa.{{Cite web|last=Tempest|first=Rone|date=July 10, 1991|title=South Africa Readmitted to Olympics Competition : Apartheid: Nation ends 21 years as a sports pariah because of racism. It is eligible for the 1992 Games.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-10-mn-1896-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-10-mn-1896-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Honey|first=Peter|title=Bush ends ban on trade with South Africa Executive order tied to "profound" moves on apartheid|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-07-11-1991192039-story.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=The Baltimore Sun|date=July 11, 1991|archive-date=June 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622051207/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-07-11-1991192039-story.html|url-status=live}}
Iran–Contra affair: Alan Fiers agrees to plead guilty to two charges of lying to the U.S. Congress. Later on September 16, D.C. Judge Gerhard Gesell issues a ruling clearing Col. Oliver North of all charges.{{Cite news|last=Wines|first=Michael|date=July 30, 1991|title=Washington at Work; Quintessential Spy Undone by His Own Loyalty|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/30/us/washington-at-work-quintessential-spy-undone-by-his-own-loyalty.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/30/us/washington-at-work-quintessential-spy-undone-by-his-own-loyalty.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Johnston|first=David|title=All Iran-contra charges against North dropped Prosecutors cite taint of testimony given to Congress|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-09-17-1991260006-story.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=The Baltimore Sun|date=September 17, 1991|archive-date=June 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622052741/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-09-17-1991260006-story.html|url-status=live}}
July 11
A solar eclipse of record totality occurs in the Northern hemisphere and is witnessed by hundreds of millions of people in Hawaii, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.{{cite journal|url=https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1989JRASC..83..157E|title=Predictions for the Total Solar Eclipse of 1991|last=Espenak|first=Fred|journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|volume=83|date=June 1989|pages=157–178|bibcode=1989JRASC..83..157E |access-date=November 25, 2024|url-status=live|archive-date=November 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125135126/https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1989JRASC..83..157E}}{{cite web|url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/culture/how-did-mexicans-experience-the-last-total-solar-eclipse-of-1991/|title=How did Mexicans experience the last total solar eclipse of 1991?|date=April 8, 2024|access-date=November 25, 2024|website=Mexico News Daily|url-status=live|archive-date=April 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425031338/https://mexiconewsdaily.com/culture/how-did-mexicans-experience-the-last-total-solar-eclipse-of-1991/}}
Nigeria Airways Flight 2120, a Douglas DC-8 operated by Canadian airline Nolisair, catches fire and crashes soon after takeoff from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 261 people on board.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=July 12, 1991|title=261 Die as a Flight for Muslim Pilgrims Crashes Near Jidda|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/12/world/261-die-as-a-flight-for-muslim-pilgrims-crashes-near-jidda.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308160902/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/12/world/261-die-as-a-flight-for-muslim-pilgrims-crashes-near-jidda.html|url-status=live}}
July 15 – Chemical Bank and Manufacturers Hanover Corporation amalgamate, becoming the largest bank merger in history.{{Cite web|last=Deckelman|first=Paul|title=Chemical Bank, Manufacturers Hanover officially merge|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/12/31/Chemical-Bank-Manufacturers-Hanover-officially-merge/3446694155600/|date=December 31, 1991|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=United Press International|archive-date=June 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611235804/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/12/31/Chemical-Bank-Manufacturers-Hanover-officially-merge/3446694155600/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Chemical Banking Corporation {{!}} American bank holding company|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chemical-Banking-Corporation|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=May 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511011124/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chemical-Banking-Corporation|url-status=live}}
July 16 – Soviet President Gorbachev arrives in London to ask for aid from the leaders of the G7.{{Cite news|last=Clines|first=Francis X.|date=May 23, 1991|title=Gorbachev pleads for $100 billion in aid from West|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/23/world/gorbachev-pleads-for-100-billion-in-aid-from-west.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630145459/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/23/world/gorbachev-pleads-for-100-billion-in-aid-from-west.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Whitney|first=Craig R.|date=September 2, 1991|title=Gorbachev Asks British Leader for Economic Aid|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/02/world/gorbachev-asks-british-leader-for-economic-aid.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029105714/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/02/world/gorbachev-asks-british-leader-for-economic-aid.html|url-status=live}}
July 18 – The governments of Mauritania and Senegal sign a treaty ending the Mauritania–Senegal Border War, which has been fought since April 1989.{{Cite web|title=Communal Violence in Mauritania and Senegal 1989–1992|url=https://climate-diplomacy.org/case-studies/communal-violence-mauritania-and-senegal-1989-1992|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=climate-diplomacy.org|date=January 1989|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516234603/https://climate-diplomacy.org/case-studies/communal-violence-mauritania-and-senegal-1989-1992|url-status=live}}
July 22 – U.S. boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with the rape, three days earlier, of Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington in Indianapolis, Indiana.{{Cite web|last=Hudson|first=Maryann|date=September 10, 1991|title=Tyson Indicted; Allegedly Raped Beauty Hopeful|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-10-mn-2440-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002022/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-10-mn-2440-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Brubaker|first=Bill|date=September 10, 1991|title=Tyson Indicted on Rape, 3 Other Counts in Indiana|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/09/10/tyson-indicted-on-rape-3-other-counts-in-indiana/51808ac3-5e35-451e-b452-e878368f7a66/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122140328/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/09/10/tyson-indicted-on-rape-3-other-counts-in-indiana/51808ac3-5e35-451e-b452-e878368f7a66/|archive-date=November 22, 2024}}
July 24 – Finance Minister of India Manmohan Singh announces a new industrial policy, marking the start of economic liberalisation in India.{{Cite news|last=Hazarika|first=Sanjoy|date=July 25, 1991|title=India Retreats From Socialist Past|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/25/business/india-retreats-from-socialist-past.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029104315/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/25/business/india-retreats-from-socialist-past.html|url-status=live}}
July 25 – British astronomers announce their discovery of what appears to be an extrasolar planet.{{Cite web|last=Dye|first=Lee|date=July 25, 1991|title=Planet Believed Found Beyond Solar System|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-25-mn-175-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002019/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-25-mn-175-story.html|url-status=live}}
July 29 – In New York City, a grand jury indicts Bank of Credit and Commerce International of the largest bank fraud in history, accusing the bank of defrauding depositors of US$5 billion.{{Cite news|last=Lohr|first=Steve|date=August 12, 1991|title=World-Class Fraud: How B.C.C.I. Pulled It Off – A special report.; At the End of a Twisted Trail, Piggy Bank for a Favored Few|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/12/business/world-class-fraud-bcci-pulled-it-off-special-report-end-twisted-trail-piggy-bank.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707012400/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/12/business/world-class-fraud-bcci-pulled-it-off-special-report-end-twisted-trail-piggy-bank.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last1=Fritz|first1=Sara|last2=Bates|first2=James|date=July 11, 1991|title=BCCI Case May Be History's Biggest Bank Fraud Scandal : Finance: Losses from seized institution may reach $15 billion. Some Third World central banks could collapse.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-11-mn-2869-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723170410/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-11-mn-2869-story.html|url-status=live}}
July 31
U.S. President Bush and Soviet President Gorbachev sign START I in Moscow, Soviet Union.{{Cite web|title=Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/start-treaty-1991.htm|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=National Park Service|archive-date=June 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606113645/https://www.nps.gov/articles/start-treaty-1991.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Andrew Glass|title=Bush and Gorbachev sign nuclear arms pact, July 31, 1991|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/31/bush-and-gorbachev-sign-nuclear-arms-pact-july-31-1991-743837|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Politico|date=July 31, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102432/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/31/bush-and-gorbachev-sign-nuclear-arms-pact-july-31-1991-743837|archive-date=December 7, 2023}}
Singing Revolution: Soviet Special Purpose Police Unit forces (OMON) kill seven Lithuanian customs officials in Medininkai, the deadliest of the Soviet OMON assaults on Lithuanian border posts.{{Cite news|last=Keller|first=Bill|date=August 1, 1991|title=Gunmen Kill 6 Lithuania Border Guards|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/01/world/gunmen-kill-6-lithuania-border-guards.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029104456/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/01/world/gunmen-kill-6-lithuania-border-guards.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Tracevskis|first=Rokas M.|title=Remembering the Medininkai massacre|url=https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/23284/|date=August 5, 2009|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=The Baltic Times|archive-date=August 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805210829/https://www.baltictimes.com/news/articles/23284/|url-status=live}}

=August=

File:Обломки рухнувшей Варшавской радиомачты.jpg after its collapse on August 8]]

File:1991 coup attempt1.jpg: The coup attempt in Moscow]]

August 1 – Israel agrees to participate in the Madrid Conference of 1991, which opens on October 30.
August 4 – The cruise liner MTS Oceanos sinks off the coast of South Africa, leading to the rescue of all 571 passengers on board by SAAF helicopters.{{Cite news|last=Wren|first=Christopher S.|date=August 5, 1991|title=Over 500 Are Rescued as Greek Cruise Ship Sinks Off South African Coast|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/05/world/over-500-are-rescued-as-greek-cruise-ship-sinks-off-south-african-coast.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318061753/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/05/world/over-500-are-rescued-as-greek-cruise-ship-sinks-off-south-african-coast.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Eddings|first=Jerelyn|title=South Africa probes cause of luxury liner's sinking|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-08-06-1991218021-story.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=The Baltimore Sun|date=August 6, 1991|archive-date=June 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622053131/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1991-08-06-1991218021-story.html|url-status=live}}
August 6 – Tim Berners-Lee announces the World Wide Web project and software on the alt.hypertext newsgroup. The first website, "info.cern.ch", is created.{{Cite web|title=Press Release: W3C Launches International Program Office for WAI|url=https://www.w3.org/Press/IPO-announce.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=w3.org|date=October 22, 1997|archive-date=August 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802135953/https://www.w3.org/Press/IPO-announce.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=A short history of the Web|url=https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web/short-history-web|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=CERN|archive-date=April 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417082120/https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web/short-history-web|url-status=live}}
August 7 – Former Iranian prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar is assassinated in the Parisian suburb of Suresnes.{{cite news|last=Jacinto|first=Leela|date=May 19, 2010|title=Ali Vakili Rad: The Perfect Murder and An Imperfect Getaway|website=France 24|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20100518-ali-vakili-rad-perfect-murder-imperfect-getaway-shapour-bakhtiar|access-date=July 31, 2013|archive-date=August 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130809141440/http://www.france24.com/en/20100518-ali-vakili-rad-perfect-murder-imperfect-getaway-shapour-bakhtiar|url-status=live}}
August 8 – The Warsaw radio mast, the tallest structure in the world at the time, collapses.{{cite web|title=25 years ago today, the tallest structure on earth you've never heard of collapsed|url=https://www.newstalk.com/news/25-year-ago-today-the-tallest-structure-on-earth-youve-never-heard-of-collapsed-582011|date=August 9, 2016|website=Newstalk.com|access-date=December 7, 2020|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111193132/https://www.newstalk.com/news/25-year-ago-today-the-tallest-structure-on-earth-youve-never-heard-of-collapsed-582011|url-status=live}}
August 17 – The remains of the Prussian King Frederick the Great are re-interred in Potsdam, Germany.{{Cite web|last=Thorson|first=Larry|title=Precede Hechingen Frederick The Great Being Returned To Prussian Grave|url=https://apnews.com/article/6c528d7edbe51167154a830b564d6143|date=August 17, 1991|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002022/https://apnews.com/article/6c528d7edbe51167154a830b564d6143|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|last=Fisher|first=Marc|date=August 16, 1991|title=Frederick The Grave|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/08/17/frederick-the-grave/20b2dfdd-69fa-487d-a568-77ffa8cda4df/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125093149/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/08/17/frederick-the-grave/20b2dfdd-69fa-487d-a568-77ffa8cda4df/|archive-date=November 25, 2024}}{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=Tamara|date=August 13, 1991|title=Postscript : Coming Home to Rest After 205 Years, 6 Stops : Frederick the Great wanted to be buried in the garden of his summer palace. Now, he's about to get his wish.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-13-wr-1088-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002019/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-13-wr-1088-story.html|url-status=live}}
August 17 – 20 – Hurricane Bob hits North Carolina and New England, killing 17 people and causing US$1.5 billion in damage.{{Cite web|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|title=Hurricane Bob, August 18–19, 1991|url=https://www.weather.gov/mhx/HurricaneBob1991EventReview|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=weather.gov|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613003526/https://www.weather.gov/mhx/HurricaneBob1991EventReview|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=August 19, 1991|title=Hurricane Hits North Carolina and Moves North|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/19/us/hurricane-hits-north-carolina-and-moves-north.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002023/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/19/us/hurricane-hits-north-carolina-and-moves-north.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Hurricane Bob Howls into New England After Lashing Long Island, East Coast|url=https://apnews.com/article/8aa2b54331db039d8a6c4b963870da71|date=August 19, 1991|access-date=June 13, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616042824/https://apnews.com/article/8aa2b54331db039d8a6c4b963870da71|url-status=dead}}
August 19 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is put under house arrest while vacationing in Crimea during an attempted coup. Led by Vice President Gennady Yanayev and seven others, the coup collapses in less than 72 hours and is protested by over 100,000 people outside the parliament building. Gorbachev returns to Moscow three days later and arrests the coup leaders.{{Cite web|title=Soviet Coup of 1991 {{!}} Soviet history|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Soviet-Coup-of-1991|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501093549/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Soviet-Coup-of-1991|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|date=August 18, 2011|title=Moscow 1991: A coup that seemed doomed from the start|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14579945|access-date=June 13, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002019/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14579945|url-status=live}}
August 20 – Singing Revolution: Estonia declares independence from the Soviet Union, followed by Latvia the next day.

File:Flag of Russia.svg

August 22 – Singing Revolution: Iceland becomes the first nation to recognize the independence of the Baltic states. It is followed by the U.S. on September 2 and the Soviet Union on September 6.{{Cite web|title=25 years ago today: Iceland recognises Estonia and Latvia|url=https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2016/08/22/25_years_ago_today_iceland_recognises_estonia_and_l/|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Iceland Monitor|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002022/https://icelandmonitor.mbl.is/news/politics_and_society/2016/08/22/25_years_ago_today_iceland_recognises_estonia_and_l/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last1=Dahlburg|first1=John-Thor|last2=Marshall|first2=Tyler|date=September 7, 1991|title=Independence for Baltic States : Freedom: Moscow formally recognizes Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, ending half a century of control. Soviets to begin talks soon on new relationships with the three nations.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-07-mn-1530-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603043522/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-07-mn-1530-story.html?_amp=true|url-status=live}}
August 23 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Russia restores the white-blue-red tricolour as its national flag.{{Cite web|title=Flag of Russia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Russia|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025144020/https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Russia|url-status=live}}
August 24 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Ukraine declares independence, followed by Belarus the next day, from the Soviet Union.{{cite book|author1=Paul G. Lewis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKYMwihCa8QC&pg=PA141|title=Party Development and Democratic Change in Post-Communist Europe: The First Decade|author2=Professor Paul Lewis|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7146-5155-2|pages=141|access-date=August 25, 2020|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207102350/https://books.google.com/books?id=sKYMwihCa8QC&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}
August 25
Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Serbian forces begin an attack on the Croatian town of Vukovar.{{Cite web|title=The Battle of Vukovar: Croatia's Hope to Defend Their Land|work=StMU History Media|url=https://stmuhistorymedia.org/the-battle-of-vukovar-croatias-hope-to-defend-their-land/|last=Sanchez|first=Dylan|date=October 8, 2018|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://stmuhistorymedia.org/the-battle-of-vukovar-croatias-hope-to-defend-their-land/|url-status=dead}}
Linus Torvalds posts messages to the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.minix, regarding the new operating system kernel he has developed, called Linux.{{Cite web|title=LINUX's History by Linus Torvalds|url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~awb/linux.history.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=cs.cmu.edu|archive-date=September 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914053148/https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~awb/linux.history.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=History|url=https://tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/sect_01_01.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=tldp.org|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043353/https://tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/sect_01_01.html|url-status=live}}
Michael Schumacher, regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in history, makes his Formula One debut at the Belgian Grand Prix.{{Cite news|date=October 12, 2003|title=Who is the greatest ever?|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3168114.stm|work=BBC Sport|last=Benson|first=Andrew|access-date=July 25, 2020|archive-date=October 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016052557/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3168114.stm|url-status=live}}
August 29 – Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Maronite general Michel Aoun leaves Lebanon on a French warship into exile.{{Cite web|date=August 31, 1991|title=Lebanon's Aoun in Exile at French Villa : Mideast: Mutinous general is spirited out of Beirut under an amnesty for war crimes.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-31-mn-1251-story.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-31-mn-1251-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Boustany|first=Nora|date=August 30, 1991|title=Aoun Leaves Lebanon To Live in Exile|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/08/30/aoun-leaves-lebanon-to-live-in-exile/fc2c3697-3b42-4af1-8574-296e26bb7b15/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=December 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224143945/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/08/30/aoun-leaves-lebanon-to-live-in-exile/fc2c3697-3b42-4af1-8574-296e26bb7b15/|url-status=live}}
August 30 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Moldova declares independence from the Soviet Union, followed by Azerbaijan.{{cite book|last=Potier|first=Tim|title=Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia : a legal appraisal|publisher=Kluwer Law International|location=The Hague Boston|year=2001|isbn=9789041114778|page=16}}
August 31 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan declare their independence; Tajikistan follows suit on September 9.

=September=

Image:Baltic states flag map.svg

September 3 – In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people.{{Cite web|date=September 4, 1991|title=Food Plant Fire Kills 25; Exits Blocked : Disaster: Chicken workers in North Carolina are trapped in a facility that had never been inspected for safety. Another 40 workers hurt.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-04-mn-1427-story.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-04-mn-1427-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=The Tragic Story of the Hamlet Fire|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=984823229|access-date=June 13, 2021|publisher=NPR|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616043309/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=984823229|url-status=live}}
September 4 – Sverdlovsk's name is restored to its pre-communist–era name Yekaterinburg. Two days later, Leningrad is renamed St. Petersburg.{{Cite news|agency=Reuters|date=September 24, 1991|title=Reverting to Original Name, Sverdlovsk Is Yekaterinburg|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/24/world/reverting-to-original-name-sverdlovsk-is-yekaterinburg.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029111642/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/24/world/reverting-to-original-name-sverdlovsk-is-yekaterinburg.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=Leningrad changes its name back to St Petersburg|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-45411151|date=September 5, 2018|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-date=May 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511115117/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-45411151|url-status=live}}
September 5 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union self-dissolves, being replaced by Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and State Council of the Soviet Union.{{Cite news|last=Schmemann|first=Serge|date=September 6, 1991|title=Soviet turmoil; Soviet congress yields rule to Republics to avoid political and economic collapse|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/06/world/soviet-turmoil-soviet-congress-yields-rule-republics-avoid-political-economic.html|access-date=June 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623001222/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/06/world/soviet-turmoil-soviet-congress-yields-rule-republics-avoid-political-economic.html|url-status=live}}
September 8 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent, beginning a name dispute with Greece.
September 11
Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Israel releases 51 Arab prisoners and the bodies of nine guerrillas, paving the way for the release of the last western hostages in Lebanon.{{Cite web|last=Wright|first=Robin|date=September 12, 1991|title=Israel Frees 51 Arab Prisoners : Mideast: Officials act after receiving proof that a soldier captured in Lebanon is dead. The U.N. mediation success raises U.S. hopes for release of Western hostages.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-12-mn-2961-story.html|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015190311/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-12-mn-2961-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Hostage Talks Advance As Israel Frees Arab Prisoners|url=https://apnews.com/article/8e59e14746e4d17097ff537cbb1e3af8|access-date=June 16, 2021|work=Associated Press News}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}
The Soviet Union announces plans to withdraw military and economic aid to Cuba.{{Cite web|last=McManus|first=Doyle|date=September 12, 1991|title=Soviet Troops to Leave Cuba, Gorbachev Says|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-12-mn-2964-story.html|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405152550/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-12-mn-2964-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Cuba – National evolution and Soviet influence|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Cuba|access-date=June 16, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=August 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823081846/https://www.britannica.com/place/Cuba|url-status=live}}
September 15 – In the Swedish general election, the Social Democrats suffer their worst election results in 60 years, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson.{{Cite web|title=Sweden: parliamentary elections Riksdagen, 1991|url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2303_91.htm|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=archive.ipu.org|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002022/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2303_91.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Rapp|first=Johan|title=Ingvar Carlsson: A Leader Who Put the Team Above Himself With PM-Sweden Election, Bjt|url=https://apnews.com/article/5f949132139314c8efa02c6faffdf4e8|date=September 16, 1991|access-date=June 13, 2021|work=Associated Press News|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://apnews.com/article/5f949132139314c8efa02c6faffdf4e8|url-status=dead}}
September 17 – North Korea, South Korea, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia join the UN.{{Cite web|last=Nations|first=United|title=Member States|url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=United Nations|archive-date=June 29, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629090000/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states|url-status=live}}
September 19 – Ötzi the Iceman is found in the Alps.{{Cite web|first=Stephanie|last=Pappas|title=Ötzi the Iceman may have scaled ice-free Alps|url=https://www.livescience.com/otzi-iceman-lived-in-ice-free-alpine.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=livescience.com|date=December 17, 2020|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://www.livescience.com/otzi-iceman-lived-in-ice-free-alpine.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=October 30, 2019|title=Scientists reconstruct Ötzi the Iceman's frantic final climb|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/scientists-reconstruct-otzi-iceman-final-climb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227235442/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/scientists-reconstruct-otzi-iceman-final-climb|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 27, 2021|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=History}}{{Cite web|title=Otzi {{!}} Discovery & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Otzi|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=June 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220624172716/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Otzi|url-status=live}}
September 21 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Armenia declares independence from the Soviet Union. Nearly a month later on October 27, Turkmenistan declares its independence. Kazakhstan follows suit on December 16.
September 21 – 30 – Iraq disarmament crisis: IAEA inspectors discover files on Iraq's hidden nuclear weapons program. Iraqi officials refuse to let them leave with the documents, prompting a standoff that continues until the UN Security Council threatens enforcement actions on Iraq.{{Cite news|last=Lewis|first=Paul|date=September 28, 1991|title=44 U.N. Inspectors Freed by Iraq With Secret Nuclear Documents|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/28/world/44-un-inspectors-freed-by-iraq-with-secret-nuclear-documents.html|access-date=June 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909143618/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/28/world/44-un-inspectors-freed-by-iraq-with-secret-nuclear-documents.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Iraqi breach of international obligations|url=https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ235/PLAW-105publ235.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205010012/https://www.congress.gov/105/plaws/publ235/PLAW-105publ235.pdf|archive-date=February 5, 2024|url-status=live|access-date=March 6, 2022|website=congress.gov}}
September 22 – The Huntington Library makes the Dead Sea Scrolls available to the public for the first time.{{Cite journal|collaboration=American Library Association|title=The Dead Sea Scrolls are opened to the public {{!}} Library Association|journal=College & Research Libraries News|date=July 18, 2019|url=https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/19723|doi=10.5860/crln.52.10.629|doi-access=free|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-date=July 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726022100/https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/19723|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|date=September 22, 1991|title=Monopoly Over Dead Sea Scrolls Is Ended|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/22/us/monopoly-over-dead-sea-scrolls-is-ended.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122183023/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/22/us/monopoly-over-dead-sea-scrolls-is-ended.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Chandler|first=Russell|date=September 22, 1991|title=Library Lifts Veil on Dead Sea Scrolls : Antiquities: The Huntington breaks four decades of secrecy surrounding biblical texts.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-mn-4145-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015214110/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-22-mn-4145-story.html|url-status=live}}
September 24 – Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Lebanese kidnappers release Jackie Mann after more than two years of captivity.{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2015|last=Fisk|first=Robert|title=Beirut hostage war hero dies|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/beirut-hostage-war-hero-dies-1581687.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204061741/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/beirut-hostage-war-hero-dies-1581687.html|archive-date=February 4, 2024|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=The Independent}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=November 14, 1995|title=Jack Mann 81; Was Beirut Hostage|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/14/world/jack-mann-81-was-beirut-hostage.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002022/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/14/world/jack-mann-81-was-beirut-hostage.html|url-status=live}}
September 25 – Salvadoran Civil War: Representatives of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front reach an agreement with President of El Salvador Alfredo Cristiani, setting the stage for the end of the war.{{Cite web|date=June 13, 1991|title=Bush Praises Salvadoran Leader's Peace Efforts|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-13-mn-898-story.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002023/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-13-mn-898-story.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last1=Gruson|first1=Lindsey|date=March 22, 1990|title=El Salvador and Rebels Reportedly Agree to Talks|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/22/world/el-salvador-and-rebels-reportedly-agree-to-talks.html|access-date=June 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/22/world/el-salvador-and-rebels-reportedly-agree-to-talks.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front {{!}} political party, El Salvador|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Farabundo-Marti-National-Liberation-Front|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=May 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514084047/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Farabundo-Marti-National-Liberation-Front|url-status=live}}
September 27 – U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces unilateral reductions in short-range nuclear weapons and calls off 24-hour alerts for long-range bombers. The Soviet Union responds with similar unilateral reductions on October 5.{{Cite web|title=The Presidential Nuclear Initiatives (PNIs) on Tactical Nuclear Weapons at a Glance {{!}} Arms Control Association|url=https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/pniglance|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=armscontrol.org|archive-date=May 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529221813/https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/pniglance|url-status=live}}
September 29 – Salvadoran Civil War: An army colonel of the Atlácatl Battalion is found guilty of the 1989 murders of six Jesuits.{{Cite web|title=Conviction over murder of Jesuit priests must break the chain of impunity|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/09/el-salvador-condena-asesinato-sacerdotes-jesuitas/|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=Amnesty International|date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630145412/https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/09/el-salvador-condena-asesinato-sacerdotes-jesuitas/|url-status=live}}

=October=

October 1 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Forces of the Yugoslav People's Army surround Dubrovnik, beginning the Siege of Dubrovnik, which lasts until May 31, 1992.{{Cite news|last=Silber|first=Laura|date=October 2, 1991|title=Yugoslav Forces Attack Dubrovnik Resort|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/03/yugoslav-forces-attack-dubrovnik-resort/a2294eab-0269-4953-884c-4eaf1fe17f12/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122140931/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/03/yugoslav-forces-attack-dubrovnik-resort/a2294eab-0269-4953-884c-4eaf1fe17f12/|archive-date=November 22, 2024}}{{Cite web|title=Dubrovnik {{!}} Croatia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Dubrovnik|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=May 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518184141/https://www.britannica.com/place/Dubrovnik|url-status=live}}
October 3–November 2 – The 1991 Rugby World Cup takes place in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and France and is won by Australia who beat England in the final.{{Cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/mar/17/my-favourite-game-france-v-england-rugby-world-cup-1991|title= My favourite game - France v England Rugby World Cup 1991|work=The Guardian|date=2020|access-date=16 March 2025}}
October 3 – Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Foley announces the closure of the House Bank by the end of the year after revelations that House members have written numerous bad checks.{{Cite web|title=This is about this country's lack of leadership|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/10/20/this-is-about-this-country-s-lack-of-leadership/|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Tampa Bay Times|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015201301/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1991/10/20/this-is-about-this-country-s-lack-of-leadership/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Labaton|first=Stephen|date=November 22, 1991|title=House Leaders Decide Against Vote on S.& L. Bailout Bill|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/22/business/house-leaders-decide-against-vote-on-s-l-bailout-bill.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029112919/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/22/business/house-leaders-decide-against-vote-on-s-l-bailout-bill.html|url-status=live}}
October 4 – Carl Bildt succeeds Ingvar Carlsson as Prime Minister of Sweden.{{Cite web|title=Prime Ministers of Sweden Since World War II|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/prime-ministers-of-sweden-since-world-war-ii.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=WorldAtlas|date=April 25, 2017|archive-date=May 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509231758/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/prime-ministers-of-sweden-since-world-war-ii.html|url-status=live}}
October 6 – President Gorbachev condemns antisemitism in the Soviet Union in a statement read on the 50th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacres, which saw the death of 35,000 Jews in Ukraine during WWII.{{Cite news|last=Clines|first=Francis X.|date=October 7, 1991|title=Gorbachev Condemns Anti-Semitism, Past and Present|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/07/world/gorbachev-condemns-anti-semitism-past-and-present.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029112055/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/07/world/gorbachev-condemns-anti-semitism-past-and-present.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|first=Vincent J.|last=Schodolski|date=October 7, 1991|location=Moscow|title=Gorbachev rues Jewish exodus|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-10-07-9103310768-story.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317015122/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-10-07-9103310768-story.html|url-status=live}}
October 7 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The Yugoslav Air Force bombs the office of Croatian President Franjo Tuđman, causing the Croatian Parliament to cut all remaining ties with Yugoslavia the following day.{{Cite news|last=Harden|first=Blaine|date=October 7, 1991|title=Yugoslav Jets Attack Palace in Zagreb|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/08/yugoslav-jets-attack-palace-in-zagreb/798a3dd4-738d-4495-b129-2c5de20e615e/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122140934/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/08/yugoslav-jets-attack-palace-in-zagreb/798a3dd4-738d-4495-b129-2c5de20e615e/|archive-date=November 22, 2024}}
October 11
In the Russian SFSR, the KGB is replaced by the SVR, with the KGB officially ending operations on November 6.{{cite book|last=Sakwa|first=Richard|title=Russian Politics and Society|date=September 11, 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-58769-8|pages=91–92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WTiCAgAAQBAJ|access-date=September 10, 2023|archive-date=October 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231005160248/https://books.google.com/books?id=WTiCAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Carlisle|first=Rodney|title=Encyclopedia of Intelligence and Counterintelligence|date=March 26, 2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-47177-6|page=368|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXysBwAAQBAJ|access-date=September 10, 2023|archive-date=7 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207104209/https://books.google.com/books?id=oXysBwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}Signals Intelligence in the Post-cold War Era p. 24
Iraq disarmament crisis: The UN Security Council passes Resolution 715, demanding that Iraq "accept unconditionally the inspectors and all other personnel designated by the Special Commission."{{Cite web|title=Security Council Resolution 715|url=https://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/Chronology/resolution715.htm|access-date=June 16, 2021|work=United Nations|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411141007/https://www.un.org/Depts/unscom/Chronology/resolution715.htm|url-status=live}} Iraq rejects the resolution, calling it "unlawful".
October 12 – Askar Akayev is confirmed as the first president of Kyrgyzstan in an uncontested poll.{{Cite news|date=January 11, 2021|title=Kyrgyzstan profile – Timeline|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16185772|access-date=June 12, 2021|archive-date=June 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612174414/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16185772|url-status=live}}{{cite book|editor1-last=Nohlen|editor1-first=Dieter|editor2-last=Grotz|editor2-first=Florian|editor3-last=Hartmann|editor3-first=Christof|editor1-link=Dieter Nohlen|title=Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume 1|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-19-924958-X|page=448}}
October 13 – In the Bulgarian parliamentary election, the Union of Democratic Forces defeats the Bulgarian Socialist Party, leaving no remaining Communist governments in Eastern Europe.{{sfn|Nohlen|Stöver|2010|pp=369, 382}}{{Cite web|author=UNHCR|title=Refworld {{!}} Bulgaria. Movements Towards Democratization|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a6084.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=Refworld|archive-date=September 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914132139/https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6a6084.html|url-status=live}}
October 15
Clarence Thomas is confirmed as the new U.S. Supreme Court Justice following Thurgood Marshall's retirement.{{Cite web|title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 102nd Congress – 1st Session|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00220|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=U.S. Senate|archive-date=April 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407085736/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=102&session=1&vote=00220|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Rosenthal|first=Andrew|date=June 28, 1991|title=Marshall retires from High Court; blows to Liberals|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/28/us/marshall-retires-from-high-court-blow-to-liberals.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614103615/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/28/us/marshall-retires-from-high-court-blow-to-liberals.html|url-status=live}}
The leaders of the Baltic States—Arnold Rüütel of Estonia, Anatolijs Gorbunovs of Latvia, and the Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania—sign the OSCE Final Act in Helsinki, Finland.Mitä Missä Milloin, Kansalaisen vuosikirja 1993, p. 21. Helsinki: Otava, 1992. ISBN 951-1-12269-X. (in Finnish)
The Oh-My-God particle, the highest energy cosmic ray ever recorded, is detected.{{cite journal |last1=O’Callaghan |first1=Jonathan |date=May 30, 2023 |title=We are finally closing in on the cosmic origins of the 'OMG particle' |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25834413-100-we-are-finally-closing-in-on-the-cosmic-origins-of-the-omg-particle/ |url-status=live |journal=New Scientist |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609005718/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25834413-100-we-are-finally-closing-in-on-the-cosmic-origins-of-the-omg-particle/ |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |access-date=June 8, 2023}}
October 16 – Luby's shooting: 23 people are killed at a Luby's restaurant in Killeen, Texas after George Hennard drives his truck through the establishment and begins firing at diners. It becomes the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and wouldn't be surpassed until the Virginia Tech shooting.
October 18 – The Soviet Union restores its diplomatic relations with Israel, which have been suspended since the 1967 Six-Day War.{{Cite news|last=Haberman|first=Clyde|date=October 19, 1991|title=Israel and Soviets Restore Full Relations|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/19/world/israel-and-soviets-restore-full-relations.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028112304/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/19/world/israel-and-soviets-restore-full-relations.html|url-status=live}}
October 20
The Harare Declaration is signed in Harare, Zimbabwe, laying down the Commonwealth of Nations membership criteria.{{cite web|date=October 20, 1991|title=Harare Commonwealth Declaration|url=http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=34457|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040207030954/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=34457|archive-date=February 7, 2004|access-date=July 25, 2007|work=Commonwealth Secretariat}}
A large suburban firestorm centered in Oakland Hills, California, kills 25 people and injures 150 others.{{Cite web|title=EBRPD – The Oakland Hills Firestorm {{!}} Forward|url=https://www.ebparks.org/about/history/the_oakland_hills_firestorm___forward.htm|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=ebparks.org|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516123802/https://www.ebparks.org/about/history/the_oakland_hills_firestorm___forward.htm|url-status=live}}
A 6.8 M_w earthquake strikes Uttarkashi, India, killing at least 768 people and destroying thousands of homes.{{cite web|last1=Jain|first1=Sudhir. K.|title=Garhwal Earthquake of Oct. 20, 1991|url=https://www.nicee.org/eqe-iitk/uploads/EQR_Uttarkashi.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520050915/https://www.nicee.org/eqe-iitk/uploads/EQR_Uttarkashi.pdf|archive-date=May 20, 2022|url-status=live|volume=26|number=2|pages=1–3|year=1992|series=EERI Special Earthquake Report|work=National Information Centre of Earthquake Engineering|last2=Singh|first2=Ramesh P.|last3=Gupta|first3=Vinay K.|last4=Nagar|first4=Amit}}
October 21 – Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Jesse Turner, a mathematics professor who has been held hostage for more than four years, is released.{{Cite news|last1=Boustany|first1=Nora|last2=Diehl|first2=Jackson|last3=Priest|first3=Dana|date=October 21, 1991|title=Hostage Turner Freed, Arrives in Damascus|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/22/hostage-turner-freed-arrives-in-damascus/b6628fa2-38e0-4cf7-a68c-9c8b253c8891/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241122141047/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/10/22/hostage-turner-freed-arrives-in-damascus/b6628fa2-38e0-4cf7-a68c-9c8b253c8891/|archive-date=November 22, 2024}}{{Cite news|last=Hedges|first=Chris|date=October 23, 1991|title=Ex-Beirut Hostage Is in Care of U.S.|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/23/world/ex-beirut-hostage-is-in-care-of-us.html|access-date=June 12, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029112537/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/23/world/ex-beirut-hostage-is-in-care-of-us.html|url-status=live}}
October 23 – In Paris, the Vietnam-backed government of the state of Cambodia signs an agreement with the Khmer Rouge to end the civil war and bring the Khmer Rouge into power despite its role in the Cambodian genocide. The deal ends the Cambodian–Vietnamese War and results in the creation of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia.{{Cite web|title=Khmer Rouge {{!}} Facts, Leadership, Genocide, & Death Toll|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khmer-Rouge|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107033002/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khmer-Rouge|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=United Nations transitional authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) – Mandate|url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/untacmandate.html#:~:text=UNITED%20NATIONS%20TRANSITIONAL%20AUTHORITY%20IN,Paris%20on%2023%20October%201991.|access-date=June 13, 2021|work=United Nations|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019211537/https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/untacmandate.html#:~:text=UNITED%20NATIONS%20TRANSITIONAL%20AUTHORITY%20IN,Paris%20on%2023%20October%201991.|url-status=live}}
October 27 – The first free parliamentary elections in Poland since 1928 are held.{{Cite web|title=POLAND : parliamentary elections Sejm, 1991|url=http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2255_91.htm|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=archive.ipu.org|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101103307/http://archive.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2255_91.htm|url-status=live}}
October 28 – November 4 – The 1991 Perfect Storm strikes the northeastern U.S. coast and Atlantic Canada, causing over US$200 million of damage and resulting in 12 direct fatalities.{{Cite web|title=The Ocean Prediction Center and 'The Perfect Storm'|url=https://ocean.weather.gov/perfectstorm/mpc_ps_intro.php|access-date=June 13, 2021|website=ocean.weather.gov|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002020/https://ocean.weather.gov/perfectstorm/mpc_ps_intro.php|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=The Perfect Storm (1991)|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-perfect-storm-1991.htm|access-date=June 13, 2021|work=National Park Service|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613002021/https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-perfect-storm-1991.htm|url-status=live}}
October 29 – NASA's Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.{{Cite web|title=NASA – NSSDCA – Data Collection – Details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/dataset/display.action?id=PSSB-00623|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015201302/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/dataset/display.action?id=PSSB-00623|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=May 16, 2019|title=Spacecraft Exploration of Gaspra|url=https://www.britannica.com/explore/space/spacecraft-exploration-gaspra/|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=SpaceNext50 {{!}} Encyclopedia Britannica|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015170819/https://www.britannica.com/explore/space/spacecraft-exploration-gaspra/|url-status=live}}
October 31 – November 3 – The Halloween blizzard hits the U.S. Upper Midwest, killing 22 people and causing US$100 million in damage.{{Cite web|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|title=The Halloween Blizzard of 1991|url=https://www.weather.gov/dlh/1991halloweenblizzard|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=weather.gov|archive-date=June 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613003527/https://www.weather.gov/dlh/1991halloweenblizzard|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=July 30, 2018|title=On This Day: The Halloween Blizzard of 1991|url=http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/halloween-blizzard-1991|access-date=June 12, 2021|work=NCEI|archive-date=March 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327204140/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/halloween-blizzard-1991|url-status=live}}

= November =

File:Vukovar-watertower-after-war.jpg; Croatian War of Independence ]]

November 4 – 5 – End of Apartheid: The African National Congress leads a general strike, demanding representation in the government and an end to the value-added tax.{{Cite news|last=Wren|first=Christopher S.|date=November 5, 1991|title=Strike by Blacks Paralyzes South Africa|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/05/world/strike-by-blacks-paralyzes-south-africa.html|access-date=April 3, 2023|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403204819/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/05/world/strike-by-blacks-paralyzes-south-africa.html|url-status=live}}
November 5
Tropical Storm Thelma causes flash floods in the Philippine city of Ormoc, killing more than 4,900 people.{{cite web|first=Monte L.|last=Peterson|publisher=United States Army Corps of Engineers|date=July 1992|access-date=November 6, 2022|title=Reconnaissance Report: Flooding Resulting From Typhoon Uring in Ormoc City, Leyte Province, The Philippines|url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a269264.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015071309/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a269264.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 15, 2014|pages=1–49}}
China and Vietnam restore diplomatic relations after a 13-year rift which followed the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War.{{Cite news|last=Wilhelm|first=Kathy|date=November 6, 1991|title=China and Vietnam Normalize Relations|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/11/06/china-and-vietnam-normalize-relations/8b90e568-cb51-44a3-9a84-90a515e29129/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125093247/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/11/06/china-and-vietnam-normalize-relations/8b90e568-cb51-44a3-9a84-90a515e29129/|archive-date=November 25, 2024}}{{Cite web|last=Holley|first=David|date=November 6, 1991|title=China and Vietnam Normalize Relations|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-06-mn-954-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015202014/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-06-mn-954-story.html|url-status=live}}
November 6 – The CPSU and its republic-level division, the Communist Party of the Russian SFSR, are banned in the Russian SFSR by presidential decree.{{Cite web|date=September 1, 2015|title=Communist Party Banned|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/the-august-coup/the-august-coup-texts/communist-party-banned/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|archive-date=August 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824205800/https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/the-august-coup/the-august-coup-texts/communist-party-banned/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=Yeltsin bans Communist Party|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/11/06/Yeltsin-bans-Communist-Party/1265689403600/|access-date=2021-06-12|work=United Press International|archive-date=June 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619153931/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/11/06/Yeltsin-bans-Communist-Party/1265689403600/|url-status=live}}
November 7 – The first report on carbon nanotubes is published by Sumio Iijima in Nature.{{Cite journal|last=Iijima|first=Sumio|date=November 1991|title=Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/354056a0|journal=Nature|volume=354|issue=6348|pages=56–58|doi=10.1038/354056a0|bibcode=1991Natur.354...56I|s2cid=4302490|issn=1476-4687|access-date=2021-06-12|archive-date=July 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713091406/http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v354/n6348/abs/354056a0.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|title=The Discovery of Carbon Nanotubes – Basle, 22.11.2007|url=https://www.balzan.org/en/prizewinners/sumio-iijima/the-discovery-of-carbon-nanotubes-iijima|access-date=2021-06-12|website=balzan.org|language=it-it|archive-date=July 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728043938/https://www.balzan.org/en/prizewinners/sumio-iijima/the-discovery-of-carbon-nanotubes-iijima|url-status=dead}}
November 9 – The British JET fusion reactor generates 1.5 MW output power.{{Cite web|title=What Happened on November 9, 1991|url=https://www.onthisday.com/date/1991/november/9|access-date=June 7, 2022|website=OnThisDay.com|date=November 9, 1991|archive-date=May 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524033915/https://www.onthisday.com/date/1991/november/9|url-status=live}}
November 14
American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103.{{Cite web|title=New Charges in Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-charges-in-pan-am-flight-103-bombing-122120|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Federal Bureau of Investigation|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618053212/https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/new-charges-in-pan-am-flight-103-bombing-122120|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|title=The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/panam103/timeline.htm|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111015103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/panam103/timeline.htm|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last1=Ostrow|first1=Ronald J.|last2=Wright|first2=Robin|date=November 14, 1991|title=2 to Be Charged in Pan Am Bombing : Lockerbie disaster: The Libyans are expected to be indicted today for the 1988 attack on Flight 103 that killed 270. Both reportedly are intelligence operatives.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-14-mn-1854-story.html|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Los Angeles Times|archive-date=January 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103100110/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-14-mn-1854-story.html|url-status=live}}
Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after 13 years of exile.{{Cite news|last=Shenon|first=Philip|date=November 15, 1991|title=Joyous Sihanouk Returns to Cambodia From Exile|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/15/world/joyous-sihanouk-returns-to-cambodia-from-exile.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207193138/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/15/world/joyous-sihanouk-returns-to-cambodia-from-exile.html|url-status=live}}
Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland free.{{Cite news|last=Frankel|first=Glenn|date=November 19, 1991|title=Hostages Waite, Sutherland Freed in Lebanon|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/11/19/hostages-waite-sutherland-freed-in-lebanon/41cb30ca-e2af-4458-811f-0e82eafe267c/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125094052/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/11/19/hostages-waite-sutherland-freed-in-lebanon/41cb30ca-e2af-4458-811f-0e82eafe267c/|archive-date=November 25, 2024}}
November 18 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The forces of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serb paramilitaries take the Croatian town of Vukovar after the 87-day Battle of Vukovar. They kill more than 260 Croatian prisoners of war.{{cite web|publisher=Institute for War and Peace Reporting|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,HRV,,513f0f672,0.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416035603/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,HRV,,513f0f672,0.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 16, 2013|title=Witness Seized 'Last Chance' to Escape Vukovar Massacre|date=March 8, 2013|access-date=April 1, 2013}}
November 20 – An Azerbaijani Mil Mi-8 helicopter carrying a 19-member peacekeeping mission team is shot down by Armenian military forces in Khojavend District, Azerbaijan.{{cite news|first=Roman|last=Glebov|date=November 25, 1991|title=Республики. В Азербайджане сбит вертолет с VIP на борту|language=ru|trans-title=Republics. A helicopter with VIP on board has been shot down in Azerbaijan.|publisher=Kommersant|url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-rss.aspx?DocsID=1595|access-date=April 14, 2010|archive-date=July 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726121720/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc-rss.aspx?DocsID=1595|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|date=November 21, 2008|title=Azerbaijan Association. 17 year passes since "Mi-8" military helicopter was shot in Garakand sky – complete list of the perished people|url=http://www.azerbaijanfoundation.az/eng/factsarts/210-17-year-passes-since-mi-8-military.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706130732/http://www.azerbaijanfoundation.az/eng/factsarts/210-17-year-passes-since-mi-8-military.html|archive-date=July 6, 2011|access-date=April 14, 2010}}
November 21 – The UN Security Council recommends Egypt's deputy prime minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali to be the next Secretary-General of the UN.{{Cite web|date=August 4, 2016|title=Boutros Boutros-Ghali|url=https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/boutros-boutros-ghali|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=United Nations Secretary-General|archive-date=July 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713103858/https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/boutros-boutros-ghali|url-status=live}}
November 23 – Members of the Communist Party of Great Britain vote to dissolve the party and found the think-tank Democratic Left in its place.{{Cite web|title=CPGB: History of the Communist Party of Great Britain|url=https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/sections/britain/history.htm|access-date=2021-06-12|website=marxists.org|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812173414/https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/sections/britain/history.htm|url-status=live}}
November 24 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies in London from AIDS induced pneumonia. In an unrelated incident, Kiss drummer Eric Carr dies from heart cancer.{{Cite web|date=November 25, 1991|title=Queen star dies after Aids statement|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1991/nov/25/paulmyers|access-date=June 12, 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308220238/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1991/nov/25/paulmyers|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=November 26, 1991|title=Eric Carr, 41, Is Dead; Rock Band's Drummer|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/26/obituaries/eric-carr-41-is-dead-rock-band-s-drummer.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622165741/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/26/obituaries/eric-carr-41-is-dead-rock-band-s-drummer.html|url-status=live}}
November 26 – The National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and renames several cities to their Azeri names.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}
Michael Jackson releases Dangerous, selling 5 million copies in the first week.{{Cite web |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Billboard-Index/IDX/1991/1991-12-14-Billboard-Page-0077.pdf#search=%22michael%20jackson%20dangerous%20album%20sales%22 |title=Michael Jackson |website=worldradiohistory.com |access-date=2025-03-16}}
November 27 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: The UN Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution opening the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.{{Cite web|title=UNPROFOR|url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/unprof_b.htm#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20became%20actively,to%20implement%20immediately%20a%20%22general|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=United Nations|archive-date=December 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207103951/https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/past/unprof_b.htm#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20became%20actively,to%20implement%20immediately%20a%20%22general|url-status=live}}

= December =

Image:RIAN archive 848095 Signing the Agreement to eliminate the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.jpg: The signing of the agreement effectively ending the Soviet regime's existence and the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States.]]

December 1 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Ukrainians vote overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union in a referendum.{{Cite web|date=September 28, 2015|title=Ukrainian Independence Referendum|url=http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/the-end-of-the-soviet-union/the-end-of-the-soviet-union-texts/ukrainian-independence-declaration/|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Seventeen Moments in Soviet History|archive-date=June 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628160706/http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1991-2/the-end-of-the-soviet-union/the-end-of-the-soviet-union-texts/ukrainian-independence-declaration/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Antonov|first=Nikola|date=August 25, 1991|title=Ukraine Declares Independence, Sets Referendum|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/08/25/ukraine-declares-independence-sets-referendum/ee9266e3-dd83-4568-b7e5-40715ca0c77a/|access-date=June 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125094324/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/08/25/ukraine-declares-independence-sets-referendum/ee9266e3-dd83-4568-b7e5-40715ca0c77a/|archive-date=November 25, 2024}}
December 4
Lebanon Hostage Crisis: Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years of captivity as a hostage in Beirut – the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon.{{Cite news|last=Hedges|first=Chris|date=December 5, 1991|title=The Last U.S. Hostage; Anderson, Last U.S. Hostage, Is Freed By Captors In Beirut|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/05/world/the-last-us-hostage-anderson-last-us-hostage-is-freed-by-captors-in-beirut.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|title=This Day in History: Journalist Terry Anderson Abducted in Beirut|url=https://www.voanews.com/usa/day-history-journalist-terry-anderson-abducted-beirut|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114103209/https://www.voanews.com/usa/day-history-journalist-terry-anderson-abducted-beirut|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 14, 2019|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=Voice of America}}
John Leonard Orr, one of the most prolific serial arsonists of the 20th century, is arrested in California.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=December 20, 1991|title=Arson Investigator-Novelist Is Charged With Setting Fires|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/20/us/arson-investigator-novelist-is-charged-with-setting-fires.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331}}
Pan Am is officially dissolved after 64 years of operation
December 8 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: In the Białowieża Forest Nature Reserve in Belarus, the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine sign an agreement officially ending the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place.{{Cite web|title=The Belavezha Accords signed|url=https://www.prlib.ru/en/history/619792|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Presidential Library}}{{Cite web|title=Belovezha Accords and Beyond: Delineating the Russian State. {{!}} National Technical Reports Library – NTIS|url=https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB2003101228.xhtml|access-date=2021-06-12|website=ntrl.ntis.gov}}
December 11 – Dissolution of Yugoslavia: Croatian forces kill 18 Serbs and one Hungarian in the village of Paulin Dvor, Croatia.{{Cite news|date=November 4, 2010|title=Serb leader Tadic apologises for 1991 Vukovar massacre|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11689153|access-date=June 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=November 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101201624/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11689153}}
December 12
The government of Nigeria moves the capital from Lagos to Abuja.{{Cite web|last=Braimah|first=Ayodale|date=August 11, 2014|title=Abuja, Nigeria (1991– ) •|url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/abuja-nigeria-1991/|access-date=2021-06-12}}{{Cite news|date=March 14, 2015|title=Eight countries that moved their capitals|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-31877909|access-date=June 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=June 1, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240601185603/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-31877909}}
Ukraine becomes the first post-Soviet republic to decriminalize homosexuality.{{cite web|last=Ottosson|first=Daniel|date=May 2008|title=State-sponsored Homophobia: A world survey of laws prohibiting same sex activity between consenting adults|url=http://www.ilga.org/statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306021141/http://www.ilga.org/statehomophobia/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2008.pdf|archive-date=March 6, 2009|access-date=May 5, 2009|publisher=International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA)|page=45}}
December 15 – The Egyptian ferry {{ship|MV|Salem Express||2}} sinks in the Red Sea, killing more than 450 people.{{Cite web|title=Survivors of Ferry Disaster in Red Sea Tell of Terror at Sea|url=https://apnews.com/article/5de9fc002bf566c54c73968db68bd98b|access-date=2021-06-12|work=Associated Press News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103042233/https://apnews.com/article/5de9fc002bf566c54c73968db68bd98b|archive-date=January 3, 2021|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=December 18, 1991|title=Divers Recover Bodies of Captain And Others From Egyptian Ferry|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/18/world/divers-recover-bodies-of-captain-and-others-from-egyptian-ferry.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331}}
December 16 – The UN General Assembly adopts UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86, repealing a previous resolution adopted in 1975 which had ruled that Zionism is a form of racism.{{Cite web|title=General Assembly Resolution 46/86, Revocation of Resolution 3379|date=December 16, 1991|url=https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/mfadocuments/yearbook8/pages/260%20general%20assembly%20resolution%2046-86-%20revocation.aspx|access-date=June 17, 2021|website=mfa.gov.il}}
December 19
Paul Keating defeats Bob Hawke in a Labor Party leadership ballot and consequently becomes the Prime Minister of Australia; he is sworn in the following day.{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-19/o27reilly-recollections-hawke-keating-challenges/3738542|title=Hawke and Keating: a masterclass in political killing|date=December 19, 2011|publisher=ABC News|location=Australia|last1=West|first1=William}}
Skarnsund Bridge opens in Norway, becoming the world's longest cable-stayed bridge for two years with a span of {{convert|530|m|ft|0}}.{{Cite thesis|title=Discrete optimum design of cable-stayed bridges|url=https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/handle/10316/97110|publisher=00500::Universidade de Coimbra|date=July 2015|degree=masterThesis|first=Andrea|last=Đerek}}
December 21 – The North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NAC-C) meets for the first time.{{Cite web|title=NATO Update – Summary 1991|url=https://www.nato.int/docu/update/1991/summarye.htm|access-date=July 24, 2020|website=nato.int}}
December 22 – Armed opposition groups launch a military coup against President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia.{{Cite web|title=The Tbilisi War: Then And Now|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/georgia-civil-war-slider-gallery-then-now/31617821.html|access-date=November 9, 2022|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}
December 24 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Russian SFSR President Boris Yeltsin sends a letter to UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, declaring that Russia will be the succeeding country to the collapsing Soviet Union in the United Nations.{{Cite web|title=Where can I find the letters of 24 December 1991 regarding the continuation of the membership of the USSR by the Russian Federation? – Ask DAG!|url=https://ask.un.org/faq/378083|access-date=November 9, 2022|publisher=United Nations|archive-date=November 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109183532/https://ask.un.org/faq/378083|url-status=dead}}
December 25
Dissolution of the Soviet Union: Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union, from which most republics have already seceded, anticipating the dissolving of the 69-year-old state.{{Cite news|date=December 13, 2016|title=Mikhail Gorbachev: The man who lost an empire|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38289333|access-date=June 12, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=February 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213142323/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38289333}}{{Cite web|title=Mikhail Gorbachev {{!}} Biography, Facts, Cold War, & Significance|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mikhail-Gorbachev|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}
The Russian SFSR officially renames itself the Russian Federation.{{Cite web|title=Russia – The World Factbook|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/russia/|access-date=2021-06-12|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}
December 26 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Supreme Soviet meets for the last time, formally dissolves the Soviet Union, and adjourns sine die, ending the Cold War. All remaining Soviet institutions eventually cease operation on December 31.{{Cite web|title=collapse of the Soviet Union {{!}} Causes, Facts, Events, & Effects|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}{{Cite news|date=December 26, 1991|title=End of the Soviet Union; Gorbachev's Six Tumultuous Years at Soviet Helm|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/26/world/end-of-the-soviet-union-gorbachev-s-six-tumultuous-years-at-soviet-helm.html|access-date=2021-06-12|issn=0362-4331}}

Births and deaths

Nobel Prizes

File:Nobel medal.png

Chemistry – Richard R. Ernst
Economics – Ronald Coase
Literature – Nadine Gordimer
Peace – Aung San Suu Kyi
Physics – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes
Physiology or Medicine – Erwin Neher, Bert Sakmann