Events from the year 1998 in the United States .
Events
January
January 26: President Clinton becomes embroiled in the Lewinsky scandal January 1 – Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants.[ 1]
January 4–10 – A massive winter storm , partly caused by El Niño , strikes New England , southern Ontario , Quebec , and New Brunswick , resulting in widespread power failures, severe damage to forests, and numerous deaths.
January 8 – Ramzi Yousef is sentenced to life in prison for planning the 1993 World Trade Center bombing .
January 14 – Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis ).
January 15–18 – The Winter X Games take place in Crested Butte .[ 2]
January 17 – Paula Jones accuses U.S. President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment .
January 23 – Mir Qazi is sentenced to death for a 1993 assault rifle attack outside CIA headquarters that killed two and wounded three.
January 25 – Super Bowl XXXII : The Denver Broncos become the first AFC team in 14 years to win the Super Bowl , as they defeat the Green Bay Packers , 31–24.
January 26
January 27 – U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton appears on The Today Show vast right-wing conspiracy ".
January 28 – Ford Motor Company announces the buyout of Volvo Cars for $6.45 billion.
January 29 – In Birmingham, Alabama , a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Rudolph is the prime suspect.
February
February – Iraq disarmament crisis : The United States Senate passes Resolution 71, urging U.S. President Bill Clinton to "take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq 's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
February 3
February 6
Child rapist Mary Kay Letourneau is sent back to prison after violating a no-contact order and again raping her victim. Letourneau previously struck a plea deal to only serve six months for her crimes, but her breach of the contact order meant the full seven year five month sentence was restored.[ 3]
Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport .
February 7–22 – The United States compete at the Winter Olympics in Nagano , Japan and win 6 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals.
February 7 – Roger Nicholas Angleton commits suicide in a prison cell in Houston , Texas and admits to murdering socialite Doris Angleton in his suicide note.
February 10 – Voters in Maine repeal a gay rights law passed in 1997, becoming the first U.S. state to abandon such a law.[ 4]
February 12 – The presidential line-item veto is declared unconstitutional by a United States federal judge.
February 14 – The Department of Justice announces that Eric Robert Rudolph is a suspect in an Alabama abortion clinic bombing .
February 15 – Dale Earnhardt wins the Daytona 500 on his 20th attempt.
February 18 – Two white separatists are arrested in Nevada , accused of plotting biological warfare on New York City subways .
February 19 – Larry Wayne Harris of the Aryan Nations and William Leavitt are arrested in Henderson, New York , for possession of military grade anthrax .
February 20 – Iraq disarmament crisis : Iraqi President Saddam Hussein negotiates a deal with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan , allowing weapons inspectors to return to Baghdad , preventing military action by the United States and Britain .
February 23 – Florida El Niño Outbreak : Tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.
April
April – The unemployment rate drops to 4.3%, the lowest level since February 1970.
April 6
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 9,000 for the first time, and ending a gain of 49.82 points, 9,033.23.
Long running British children's television series Teletubbies PTV .
April 7 – Citicorp and Travelers Group announce plans to merge, creating the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world, Citigroup .
April 8 – April 1998 Birmingham tornado : An F5 tornado strikes the western portion of the Birmingham, Alabama area, killing 32 people.
April 16 – An F3 tornado passes through downtown Nashville, Tennessee , the first significant tornado in 11 years to directly hit a major city. An F5 tornado travels through rural portions south of Nashville (see 1998 Nashville tornado outbreak ).
April 18 – Toon Disney – devoted to carrying animated series and movies, 24 hours a day, is launched by The Walt Disney Company .
April 22 – The Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World opens to the public for the first time.
April 27 – The Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is imploded to make way for the brand new Aladdin Hotel & Casino.
April 30 – Daniel V. Jones , a cancer and HIV-positive patient, commits suicide on a Los Angeles freeway after a police standoff. The event was broadcast live on television and caused controversy about airing police chases.
June
June 2 – California voters approve Proposition 227 , abolishing the state's bilingual education program.
June 4 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing .
June 5 – A strike begins at the General Motors Corporation parts factory in Flint, Michigan , quickly spreading to five other assembly plants and lasting seven weeks.
June 7 – Three white supremacists murder James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas .
June 12
June 14 – The Chicago Bulls win their 6th NBA title in 8 years when they beat the Utah Jazz , 87–86 in Game 6. This is also Michael Jordan 's last game as a Bull, clinching the game in the final seconds on a fadeaway jumper .
June 16
June 19 – Walt Disney Pictures ' 36th feature film, Mulan
June 25
June 28 – The World Wrestling Federation holds its King of the Ring pay-per-view event at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . The Undertaker throws Mankind off the Hell in a Cell structure, causing him to plummet sixteen feet through an announcers' table .
August
August 7: U.S. embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya August 7 – 1998 U.S. embassy bombings : The bombings of the United States embassies in Dar es Salaam , Tanzania , and Nairobi , Kenya kill 224 people and injure over 4,500; they are linked to terrorist Osama bin Laden , an exile of Saudi Arabia .
August 14 – Gary C. Evans , infamous in New York's Capital Region for killing five people, escapes police custody and kills himself by jumping off a bridge.
August 17 – Monica Lewinsky scandal : U.S. President Bill Clinton admits in taped testimony that he had an "improper physical relationship" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky . He also admits before the nation that night in a nationally televised address that he "misled people" about his sexual affair with Lewinsky.
August 20 – 1998 U.S. embassy bombings : The United States military launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania . The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum is destroyed in the attack.
August 26 – Iraq disarmament crisis : Scott Ritter resigns from UNSCOM , sharply criticizing the Clinton administration and the U.N. Security Council for not being vigorous enough about insisting that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction be destroyed. Ritter tells reporters that "Iraq is not disarming," "Iraq retains the capability to launch a chemical strike."[ 7]
August 30 – The World Wrestling Federation holds its SummerSlam event from Madison Square Garden in New York City , New York .
September
September 8: Mark McGwire breaks the single-season home run record September 2 – A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 airliner (Swissair Flight 111 ) crashes near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia , after taking off from New York City en route to Geneva ; all 229 people on board are killed.[ 8]
September 4 – Google , Inc. is founded in Menlo Park, California , by Stanford University Ph.D. candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin .[ 9]
September 8 – St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire breaks baseball's single-season home run record, formerly held since 1961 by Roger Maris . McGwire hits #62 at Busch Stadium in the 4th inning off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel .
September 9 – Serial killer Dana Sue Gray pleads guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in California . She is also believed to have murdered a third victim.[ 10]
September 11 – Documents relating to Project FUBELT are declassified by the National Security Archive , outlining secret CIA operations to promote a military coup against Chilean president Salvador Allende after he won the 1970 election .[ 11]
September 20 – Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida opens.
September 25–28 – Major creditors of Long-Term Capital Management , a Greenwich, Connecticut -based hedge fund , after days of tough bargaining and some informal mediation by Federal Reserve officials, agree on terms of a re-capitalization.
September 29 – Iraq disarmament crisis : The U.S. Congress passes the Iraq Liberation Act , which states that the United States wants to remove Saddam Hussein from power and replace the government with a democratic institution.
December
December – Grade school children in Aurora, Colorado , collect $35,000 to purchase and free enslaved children in Sudan .
December 1 – Exxon announces a US$73.7 billion deal to buy Mobil , thus creating Exxon-Mobil , the second-largest company on the planet by revenue.
December 5 – D.C. United defeats Vasco da Gama 2–1 on aggregate to win the Interamerican Cup (one of the greatest triumphs in the history of U.S. club soccer).
December 16–19 – Iraq disarmament crisis : U.S. President Bill Clinton orders American and British airstrikes on Iraq . UNSCOM withdraws all weapons inspectors from Iraq.
December 17 – Claudia Benton , of West University Place , Texas , is murdered in her house by Angel Maturino Resendiz (his third victim in his third incident).
December 18 – DreamWorks' second film, The Prince of Egypt Book of Exodus , it receives generally positive reviews and becomes a modest box office success. Over time, the film grows in esteem to the point that many now consider it the best DreamWorks film and one of the best animated films ever made.[ 13]
December 19 – Lewinsky scandal : President Bill Clinton is impeached by the United States House of Representatives . (He was later acquitted.)
December 21 – Iraq disarmament crisis : UN Security Council members France, Germany and Russia call for sanctions to end against Iraq . The 3 Security Council members also call for UNSCOM to either be disbanded or for its role to be recast. The U.S. says it will veto any such proposal.
December 26 – Iraq disarmament crisis : Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern "no-fly zones".
January
Tfue Liza Soberano XXXTentacion Ariel Winter Bradie Tennell January 1 – Samuel Kwong , fencer
January 2 – Tfue , YouTuber
January 3 – Emiru , YouTuber
January 4
January 6 – Norman Grimes , sprinter
January 8 – DiJonai Carrington , basketball player
January 9 – Kerris Dorsey , actress and singer
January 10 – Michael Mmoh , tennis player
January 12 – Nathan Gamble , actor
January 13 – Kamron Doyle , bowler
January 16 – Dion Lennox , wrestler
January 21 – Amelia Hundley , artistic gymnast
January 22 – Silentó , rapper
January 23
January 24 – Jay Versace , record producer and former internet personality
January 26 – Leeah D. Jackson , actress
January 27 – Devin Druid , actor
January 28 – Ariel Winter , actress
January 31 – Bradie Tennell , figure skater
February
Khalid Chappell Roan Blu DeTiger February 1 – Stefan Kozlov , tennis player
February 4 – Malik Monk , basketball player
February 6 – Adley Rutschman , baseball player
February 11
February 12 – River Radamus , Olympic Alpine ski racer
February 15 – Zachary Gordon , actor
February 17 – Devin White , football player
February 18 – Matthew Davidson , guitarist and singer
February 19 – Chappell Roan , singer
February 20 – Corbin , singer
February 22 – Blu DeTiger , singer
February 26
March
Amanda Gorman Jack Harlow Ethel Cain March 2 – Tua Tagovailoa , football player
March 4 – Obi Toppin , basketball player
March 5 – Micah Fowler , actor
March 7 – Amanda Gorman , poet and activist
March 9
March 10 – Justin Herbert , football player
March 13 – Jack Harlow , rapper
March 17 – Sam Denby , YouTuber and podcaster
March 21 – Miles Bridges , basketball player
March 24
March 25 – Ryan Simpkins , actress
March 27 – Shady Elnahas , wrestler and retired judoka
March 29 – Shealeigh , singer/songwriter
March 31 – Jakob Chychrun , ice hockey player
April
Paris Jackson Elle Fanning Peyton List Mallory Swanson April 1 – Mitchell Robinson , basketball player
April 3 – Paris Jackson , daughter of Michael Jackson
April 4 – Malcolm Sutherland-Foggio , cancer fundraiser
April 6
April 9 – Elle Fanning , actress
April 14 – Brandon Ratcliff , actor
April 16 – Jake Vedder , Olympic snowboarder
April 19 – Diondre Overton , football player (d. 2024 )
April 21 – Jarrett Allen , basketball player
April 24 – Ryan Whitney , actress and singer
April 27 – Blaze Bernstein , murder victim (d. 2018 )
April 29 – Mallory Swanson , soccer player
June
Tana Mongeau Sistine Stallone June 6 – Kenny Pickett , football player
June 8 – Arjun Ayyangar , pianist
June 9 – Ben Loomis , Olympic skier
June 11 – Hank Walker , wrestler
June 14 – Azaria Hill , Olympic bobsledder
June 15 – Rachel Covey , actress
June 16 – Lauren Taylor , actress and singer
June 18 – Masha Slamovich , Russian-born wrestler
June 19
June 24
June 27 – Sistine Stallone , actress
June 29 – Michael Porter Jr. , basketball player
July
Malia Obama Emily Fox Jaden Smith Maya Hawke Cailee Spaeny July 1 – Chloe Bailey , singer/songwriter, record producer, and actress
July 4 – Malia Obama , daughter of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
July 5 – Emily Fox , soccer player
July 7 – Dylan Sprayberry , actor
July 8 – Jaden Smith , actor, rapper, songwriter, dancer, and the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
July 9 – Robert Capron , actor
July 10
July 15
July 18 – D. Savage , rapper
July 19
July 19 – Oliver Crane , rower
July 22 – Madison Pettis , actress
July 24 – Cailee Spaeny , actress
July 27 – Patrick Crusius , mass murderer
July 29 – Clayton Keller , ice hockey player
July 30 – Jake Pates , Olympic snowboarder
July 31
August
Clairo Tziarra King August 1
August 3 – Cozi Zuehlsdorff , actress and singer
August 4 – Lil Skies , rapper
August 6 – Forrest Goodluck , actor
August 7 – Jalen Hurts , football player
August 8
August 11 – Nadia Azzi , pianist
August 13 – Justin Schoenefeld , freestyle skier
August 18
August 24 – Tziarra King , soccer player
August 25 – China Anne McClain , actress and singer
August 27 – Rod Wave , musician
August 28 – Weston McKennie , soccer player
August 29 – D'Angelo Wallace , youtube commentator
October
Roddy Ricch October 1
October 4 – Christopher Lillis , freestyle skier
October 6 – Matt Cornett , actor and singer
October 7 – Ryan Trahan , YouTuber
October 15 – Ryder Anderson , football player
October 18 – Emily Robinson , actress
October 20 – Thomas Rousseau , far-right activist and founder of Patriot Front
October 22
October 23 – Amandla Stenberg , actress
October 26 – Samantha Isler , actress
October 28
October 29 – Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark, son of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
Deaths
January
Sonny Bono January 1 – Helen Wills , American tennis player (b. 1905 )January 4 – Mae Questel , American actress (b. 1908 )January 5 – Sonny Bono , American singer, actor, and politician (b. 1935 )January 11 – Ellis Rabb , American director and actor (b. 1930 )January 12 – Phyllis Nelson , singer (b. 1950 )January 15 – Junior Wells , American harmonica player (b. 1934 )January 16 – Emil Sitka , American actor (b. 1914 )January 18 – Benjamin Hoskins Paddock , American bank robber and con man, FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive (b. 1905 )January 19 – Carl Perkins , American musician and guitarist (b. 1932 )January 20 – Bobo Brazil , professional wrestler (b. 1924 )January 21
January 26 – Ethelreda Leopold , American actress (b. 1914 )January 29 – Joseph Alioto , American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1916 )
February
Carl Wilson George H. Hitchings February 2 – Raymond Cattell , British-American psychologist (b. 1905 in the United Kingdom )February 3
February 6 – Carl Wilson , American musician (b. 1946 )February 7
February 10 – Buddy , notable canine (b. 1988 )February 11 – Jonathan Hole , American actor (b. 1904 )February 14 – Thomas McKimson , American animator (b. 1907 )February 17 – Bob Merrill , American composer and screenwriter (b. 1921 )February 18
Harry Caray , American television and radio broadcaster (b. 1914 )Scott O'Hara , American pornographic performer, author, poet, editor and publisher (b. 1961 )February 19 – Grandpa Jones , American musician (b. 1913 )February 22
February 23 – Philip Abbott , American actor (b. 1924 )February 24 – Henny Youngman , British-born American comedian (b. 1906 )February 26 – Theodore Schultz , American economist (b. 1902 )February 27
March
Lloyd Bridges March 1
March 2
March 3
March 4 – Jim Cullom , American gridiron football player (b. 1925 )March 7 – Bernarr Rainbow , historian of music education, organist, and choir master, (b. 1914 )March 8 – Ray Nitschke , American football player (b. 1936 )March 10 – Lloyd Bridges , American actor (b. 1913 )March 12 – Risen Star , American racehorse (b. 1985 )March 15 – Benjamin Spock , American rower, pediatrician, and author (b. 1903 )March 20 – George Howard , American jazz saxophone musician (b. 1956 )March 29 – Kvitka Cisyk , American opera singer (b. 1953 )March 31 – Bella Abzug , American lawyer, feminist activist, and politician (b. 1920 )
July
Roy Rogers Alan Shepard July 2 – Kay Thompson , American author and actress (b. 1909 )July 3 – Danielle Bunten Berry , American software developer (b. 1949 )July 4 – Gregg Burge , American tap dancer and choreographer (b. 1957 )July 5 – Sid Luckman , American football player (b. 1916 )July 6 – Roy Rogers , American singer and actor (b. 1911 )July 17
July 19 – Elmer Valo , Slovak baseball player (b. 1921 )July 21
July 22 – Don Dunphy , American television and radio sports announcer (b. 1908 )July 27 – Binnie Barnes , British-born American actress (b. 1903 )July 28 – Harvie Branscomb , American university president (b. 1894 )July 29 – Jerome Robbins , American choreographer and director (b. 1918 )July 30 – Buffalo Bob Smith , American children's television host (b. 1917 )
September
George Wallace Florence Griffith Joyner September 1 – Cary Middlecoff , American golfer (b. 1921 )September 2
September 5 – Leo Penn , American actor and director (b. 1921 )September 8 – Leonid Kinskey , Russian-born actor (b. 1903 )September 11 – Dane Clark , American actor (b. 1912 )September 13 – George Wallace , American politician (b. 1919 )September 14 – Johnny Adams , American singer (b. 1932 )September 15 – Fred Alderman , American Olympic sprinter (b. 1905 )September 20 – Muriel Humphrey Brown , American politician (b. 1912 )September 21 – Florence Griffith Joyner , American runner (b. 1959 )September 23 – Mary Frann , American actress (b. 1942 )September 26 – Betty Carter , American jazz singer (b. 1929 )September 27 – Doak Walker , American football player (b. 1927 )September 29 – Herbert V. Prochnow , U.S. banker and author (b. 1897 )September 30
October
Roddy McDowall October 2 – Gene Autry , American actor, singer, and sports team owner (b. 1907 )October 3 – Roddy McDowall , British-born American actor (b. 1928 )October 6
October 10
October 11 – Richard Denning , American actor (b. 1914 )October 12 – Matthew Shepard , American murder victim (b. 1976 )October 14 – Frankie Yankovic , American musician (b. 1916 )October 16 – Jon Postel , American Internet pioneer (b. 1943 )October 24 – Mary Calderone , American physician, public health advocate (b. 1904 )October 28 – James Goldman , American writer (b. 1927 )
December
Martin Rodbell Irene Hervey December 1
December 5 – Hazel Bishop , American chemist and inventor (b. 1906 )December 6 – Michael Zaslow , American actor (b. 1942 )December 7 – Martin Rodbell , American scientist (b. 1925 )December 9 – Archie Moore , American professional boxer (b. 1916 )December 11 – Lynn Strait , American musician (b. 1968 )December 12
December 14
December 15 – Brady Boone , American professional wrestler (b. 1958 )December 16 – William Gaddis , American writer (b. 1922 )December 17 – Claudia Benton , Peruvian-born child psychologist (b. 1959 )December 19 – Gordon Gunter , American marine biologist and fisheries scientist (b. 1909 )December 20 – Irene Hervey , American actress (b. 1909 )December 22 – Virginia Graham , American talk-show host (b. 1912 )December 23
December 25 – Richard Paul , American actor (b. 1940 )December 26
References
↑ Greg Lamotte (January 23, 1998). "Smoking ban in California bars widely ignored" . CNN. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2021 . ↑ Bell, Daniel (March 17, 2016). Encyclopedia of International Games 512. ISBN 978-1-4766-1527-1 . ↑ "LeTourneau's prison term seen as unavoidable" . products.kitsapsun.com . Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020 .↑ "Maine Voters Repeal a Law On Gay Rights" . The New York Times . February 12, 1998. Retrieved July 16, 2016 .↑ Getlen, Larry (September 6, 2014). "Inside the murder of Phil Hartman" . ↑ "Teen guilty in Mississippi school-shooting rampage ". CNN. ↑ "Transcript: Fox News Interviews Scott Ritter – Fox News" . Fox News . Retrieved July 16, 2016 .↑ Turner, Craig; Velzen, Andrew Van (September 3, 1998). "Swissair Jet Crashes Off the Coast of Nova Scotia" . Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 3, 2024 . ↑ "Corporate Information: Google Milestones" . Google, Inc. Archived from the original on October 28, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009 .↑ "Dana Sue Gray -- unusual female serial killer -- the Crime Library - Crime Library on truTV.com" . www.trutv.com . Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2022 .↑ Smith Jr., W. Thomas (2003). "FUBELT, Project" . Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency 105. ISBN 9781438130187 . Retrieved January 2, 2015 .↑ Jimenez, Stephen (September 24, 2013). The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard 368. ISBN 978-1586422141 . Retrieved December 1, 2023 . ↑ "Why 'The Prince of Egypt is DreamWorks' Best Film" . Collider . April 7, 2023. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023 .↑ Zenko, Micah (August 3, 2010). Between Threats and War: U.S. Discrete Military Operations in the Post-Cold War World 29. ISBN 978-0-8047-7190-0 . ↑ Wilford, John Noble (August 28, 1998). "Frederick Reines Dies at 80; Nobelist Discovered Neutrino" The New York Times . Retrieved October 24, 2021 . ↑ Carol Velásquez (September 19, 2021), "Luis Carlos Meyer: 105 años del Rey del Porro" [ 105 years of the King of Porro] , Radio Nacional de Colombia , retrieved June 11, 2026 ↑ "Owens, Elisabeth" . American National Biography Subscription needed.
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Media related to 1998 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons