WHAT HAPPENED IN 1996.
Look what happened the 1996.

Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Netherlands. (1. January 1996)

The Motorola StarTAC, the first flip phone and one of the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption, goes on sale. (3. January 1996)

An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 237 on the ground; the aircraft's crew of 6 survive the crash. (8. January 1996)

First Chechen War: Chechen separatists launch a raid against the helicopter airfield and later a civilian hospital in the city of Kizlyar in the neighboring Dagestan, which turns into a massive hostage crisis involving thousands of civilians. (9. January 1996)

Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour. (11. January 1996)

The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union. (17. January 1996)

The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. (19. January 1996)

Polish Prime Minister Józef Oleksy resigns amid charges that he spied for Moscow. (24. January 1996)

Billy Bailey becomes the last person to be hanged in the USA. (25. January 1996)

In a military coup Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane. (27. January 1996)

Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day. (27. January 1996)

President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing. (29. January 1996)

La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire. (29. January 1996)

An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400. (31. January 1996)

Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake. (31. January 1996)

The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress. (1. February 1996)

Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and ties all-time record low temperature at -26 °F (-32.2 °C) (4. February 1996)

Willamette Valley Flood of 1996: Floods in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, United States, causes over US$500 million in property damage throughout the Pacific Northwest. (6. February 1996)

Birgenair Flight 301 crashed off the coast of the Dominican Republic, and all 189 people inside the airplane are killed. This is the worst accident/incident involving a Boeing 757. (6. February 1996)

The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act. (8. February 1996)