Time Warp: 1991

Continuing with my birthday series, here's a look at what was happening in 1991; the year that I turned ten years old.  

1991 Recap

• January 17: War begins in the Persian Gulf, as a coalition of forces led by the United States attack Iraq by air.  The military action, dubbed "Operation Desert Storm", is taken in response to Iraq's invasion of neighboring country Kuwait (1, 2).  

• January 27: The New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.  With the game on the line, Bills kicker Scott Norwood misses a forty-five yard field goal try wide right.  New York's win gives the Giants their second Super Bowl victory (3, 4).  

• March 3: In Los Angeles, African-American motorist Rodney King is severely beaten by white officers of the Los Angeles Police Department.  King was being arrested for the alleged crime of driving while intoxicated.  All four officers involved were later acquitted of assault charges in the incident; this subsequently touched off the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.  (Note: Due to graphic content, I've chosen to not include the amateur video of King's beating here) (1)

• June 25: In Yugoslavia, Slovenia and Croatia each declare independence.  These events lead to beginning of the Yugoslav Wars, and a long period of bloodshed (5).  

• July 10: Change comes to the Soviet Union, as Boris Yeltsin is sworn in as the first elected president of Russia (1).  

• November 23: Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the British-based rock band "Queen", announces that he has AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).  Mercury dies from the disease a day later, at the age of forty-five (6).  

• December 21-26: Eleven Russian republics (including Russia itself) declare independence, and form the "Commonwealth of Independent States", or CIS.  Subsequently, the Soviet Union is declared dissolved; Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev resigns his position on December 25 (1, 7, 8). 

 

In my next entry, I'll take a closer look at what happened in 1997; the year of my sixteenth birthday.  

Sources:

1. "What Happened In 1991". Onthisday.Com, https://www.onthisday.com/date/1991. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

2. Cable News Network. Remembering Desert Storm, 20 Years Later. 2011, https://youtu.be/bhrtL_XVv3s. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

3. "Super Bowl XXV - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXV. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

4. YouTube User "BigTimeEmpire" (from original broadcast of the Columbia Broadcasting System).  Jack Buck Calls Scott Norwood's Missed FG In Super Bowl XXV. 2016, https://youtu.be/GVRNJnJt6hk. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

5. "Yugoslav Wars - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Wars. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

6. "Freddie Mercury - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

7. YouTube User "Paolo Cabling" (from original broadcast of the American Broadcasting Company).  Gorbachev Resignation And The Last Day Of The USSR 1991 (ABC's Nightline). 2019, https://youtu.be/njXaEZi9gDo?t=7. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.

8. "Dissolution Of The Soviet Union - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union. Accessed 15 Sept 2021.