April 29 - In Los Angeles, California, the police officers that were accused of excessive force in their severe beating of Rodney King, were found "not guilty". The verdict resulted in several days of riots in L.A. and smaller riots around the country.
May 20 - Amy Fisher, the so-called "Long Island Lolita," is arrested for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco on the front porch of her Massapequa, New York home
May 26 - Charles Geschke, President of Adobe Systems is kidnapped from his company car park. Kidnappers demand ransom for $650,000 - they are later apprehended
July 6-29 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq refuses a U.N. inspection team access to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. UNSCOM claimed that it had reliable information that the site contained archives related to illegal weapons activities. U.N. Inspectors stage a 17-day "sit-in" outside of the building, but leave when their safety is threatened by Iraqi soldiers
November 5 - In Detroit, Michigan, black motorist Malice Green is beaten to death by policemen Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn during a struggle (the officers were later convicted and sentenced to prison)
November 20 - In England, a fire breaks out in the Private Chapel room of Windsor Castle, rages for 15 hours, and seriously damages the northwest side of the building (an investigation found that the fire was ignited after a spotlight came into contact with a curtain over an extended period).
December 3 - The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil runs aground in a storm while on approach to La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo
December 29 - Brazil's president Fernando Collor de Mello resigns, following charges that he stole more than $32 million from the government and impeachment precedings.
Growing Pains actress Tracey Gold loses a massive amount of weight due to anorexia nervosa and is placed in hospital care. As a result, she is written out of most of the final episodes.
After 30 years on the air, Johnny Carson announces his retirement. David Letterman, who had been promised The Tonight Show upon Carson's retirement years earlier leaves NBC for CBS when the network gives the show to frequent guest host Jay Leno.
Barney & Friends, a children's educational television show starring a giant purple dinosaur, premieres.
