Seattle
- Kurt Cobain died by suicide on April 5, bringing grunge's defining chapter to a wrenching close. The city mourned publicly in a way that felt new and strange.
- Jeff Bezos incorporated Amazon in Bellevue and began shipping books out of his garage.
- The Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles sent ripples through the Pacific Coast's sense of geological vulnerability, accelerating seismic-preparedness conversations in Seattle.
The United States
- Republicans swept Congress in the midterm "Republican Revolution," led by Newt Gingrich's Contract with America, ending 40 years of Democratic House control.
- The O.J. Simpson Bronco chase and subsequent murder trial transfixed the nation, exposing deep fault lines around race and the justice system.
- The Federal Assault Weapons Ban was signed; so was the sweeping Crime Bill. Both would be relitigated for the next 30 years.
The World
- An estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed in Rwanda in roughly 100 days while the international community watched and debated. (Reference, UN)
- Nelson Mandela was elected president in South Africa's first fully democratic election, closing the apartheid era.
- The Channel Tunnel opened, linking Britain and France by rail for the first time.
Program
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