1992 in the United States

Federal government

President: George H. W. Bush (R-Texas)

Vice President: Dan Quayle (R-Indiana)

Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (Wisconsin)

Speaker of the House of Representatives: Tom Foley (D-Washington)

Senate Majority Leader: George J. Mitchell (D-Maine)

Congress: 102nd

January

January 1 – George H. W. Bush becomes the first U.S. President to address the Australian Parliament.

January 8 – George H. W. Bush is televised falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and fainting.

January 26

Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.

Super Bowl XXVI: The Washington Redskins defeat the Buffalo Bills 37-24 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

February

February 10

Tom Harkin wins the Iowa Democratic Caucus.

In Indianapolis, Indiana, boxer Mike Tyson is convicted of raping Desiree Washington.

February 17 – A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.

February 18 - In New Hampshire, U.S. President George H. W. Bush defeats Pat Buchanan in the Republican primary; Paul Tsongas leads the Democratic candidates.

March

March 10 - On 'Super Tuesday', U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton win most of the primaries held.

March 18 - On CNN's Larry King Live, Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot announces that he will run for U.S. President as an independent, if volunteers put him on the ballot in all 50 states.

March 30 – The 64th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, with The Silence of the Lambs winning Best Picture.

April

April 2 – In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of the murder of mob boss Paul Castellano and of racketeering, and is later sentenced to life in prison.

April 6 – Microsoft releases Windows 3.1.

April 8 – Former tennis player Arthur Ashe, 48, announces that he is suffering from the AIDS virus, which he is believed to have contracted from a blood transfusion during heart surgery in 1983. He was diagnosed with HIV more than three years ago.

April 9 – A Miami, Florida jury convicts former Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega of assisting Colombia's cocaine cartel.

April 13 – The Chicago Flood occurs.

April 29–May 4 – In Simi Valley, California, a jury acquits four LAPD police officers accused of excessive force in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, causing the 1992 Los Angeles riots and leading to 53 deaths and $1 billion in damage.

May

May 1 – Eric Houston of Yuba County kills 4, injures 9, and holds many others hostage at Lindhurst High School, Olivehurst, California.

May 5 – Alabama ratifies a 202-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a midterm or retroactive pay raise.

May 16 – STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage.

May 19

In San Francisco, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle gives his famous Murphy Brown speech.

In Massapequa, New York, Amy Fisher shoots Mary Jo Buttafuoco, wife of Joey Buttafuoco.

May 22 – After 30 years, Johnny Carson retires as host of NBC's The Tonight Show.

May 25 – Jay Leno becomes the new host of NBC's The Tonight Show, following the retirement of Johnny Carson.

June

June – As a result of the early 1990s recession and subsequently sluggish job creation, unemployment peaks at 7.8%, a level not seen since March 1984. This would later contribute to President George H. W. Bush's defeat to Bill Clinton in the election later that year.

June 1 – Kentucky celebrates its bicentennial statehood.

June 15 – During a spelling bee at a Trenton, New Jersey elementary school, U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle erroneously corrects a student's spelling of the word potato, indicating it should have an e at the end.

June 17 – A 'Joint Understanding' agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this is later codified in START II).

June 23 – Mafia boss John Gotti is sentenced to life in prison, after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering on April 2.

June 24 – The Franco-American Flag was officially raised for the first time in Manchester, New Hampshire. This flag was presented by singer Édith Butler as part of a tour.

June 28 – A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes Landers, California, followed by a magnitude 6.4 aftershock 8 km south-east of Big Bear Lake, California.

July

July 10 – In Miami, Florida, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.

July 16 - Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton is nominated for U.S. President and Tennessee Senator Al Gore for Vice President, at the Democratic National Convention in New York City.

August

August 11 – The largest shopping mall in the US, Minnesota's Mall of America is constructed on 78 acres (316,000 m²).

August 20 – The Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas renominates U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. Pat Buchanan, one of Bush's opponents in the primaries, delivers a controversial convention speech, in which he refers to a "religious war" in the country.

August 21–22 – Events at Ruby Ridge, Idaho are sparked by a Federal Marshal surveillance team, resulting in the death of a Marshal, Sam Weaver and his dog and the next day the wounding of Randy Weaver, the death of his wife Vicki and the wounding of Kevin Harris.

August 24–28 – Hurricane Andrew hits south Florida and dissipates over the Tennessee valley, killing 65 and causing US$26.5 billion in damage.

September

September 11 – Hurricane Iniki hits the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai and Oahu.

September 12 – STS-47: Dr. Mae Jemison becomes the first African American woman to travel into space, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

September 24 – The Kentucky Supreme Court, in Kentucky v. Wasson, holds that laws criminalizing same-sex sodomy are unconstitutional, and accurately predicts that other states and the nation will eventually rule the same way.

October

October 2 – Pittsburgh International Airport's new facility opens in Findlay Township, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The new terminal is built as an expansion for USAir and an upgrade from the older Pittsburgh International Airport facility.

October 3 – After performing a song protesting alleged child abuse by the Catholic Church, Sinéad O'Connor rips up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live, causing huge controversy, leading the switchboards at NBC to ring off the hook.

October 9

The Chief of Naval Operations adopts the US Navy's core values: Honor, Courage and Commitment.

A 13-kilogram (29-pound) meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's Chevrolet Malibu. It becomes known as the Peekskill Meteorite.

October 17 – Yoshihiro Hattori, a 16-year-old Japanese exchange student, mistakes the address of a party and is shot dead after knocking on the wrong door in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The shooter, Rodney Peairs, is later acquitted, sparking outrage in Japan.

October 29 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Depo-Provera for use as a contraceptive in the United States.

November

November 3 – Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeats incumbent President George H. W. Bush and businessman H. Ross Perot in the US presidential election.

November 25 – The Bodyguard, starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston, debuts in cinemas; it goes on to become the second highest grossing film of the year with nearly $122 million in revenue in its homeland alone and exceeding $410 million worldwide.

December

December 3 – UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with ensuring humanitarian aid gets distributed and establishing peace in Somalia.

December 4 – U.S. military forces land in Somalia.

December 5 – Kent Conrad of North Dakota resigns his seat in the United States Senate and is sworn into the other seat from North Dakota, becoming the only U.S. Senator ever to have held two seats on the same day.

December 8 – Lawrence Eagleburger is sworn in as the new Secretary of State, succeeding James Baker.

December 15 – Hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre releases his solo debut studio album The Chronic, which sparked the beginning of the mainstream popularity and success of Gangsta Rap, G-Funk, and West Coast Hip-Hop in the United States (a run that lasted from the early-to-mid-1990s).

Ongoing

Iraqi no-fly zones (1991–2003)

Deaths

January 27 – Allan Jones, actor and singer (b. 1907)

February 7 – Buzz Sawyer, wrestler and trainer (b. 1959)

February 27 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-born American academic and Senator for California (b. 1906)

March 26 – Barbara Frum, American-born Canadian radio and television journalist (b. 1937)

April 6 – Isaac Asimov, American science-fiction author

May 30 – Antoni Zygmund, Polish-born American mathematician (b. 1900)

June 6 – Larry Riley, actor (b. 1953)

August – Christopher McCandless, hitchhiker and subject of non-fiction (b. 1968)

September 21 – Bill Williams, actor

November 2 – Hal Roach, film and television producer, director, and actor (b. 1892)