In the United States, approximately 56% of men and 52% of women over the age of 15 are married.

The first female U.S. attorney general, Janet Reno, appoints an independent counsel to investigate the Whitewater scandal, which allegedly implicates the Clintons in a fraudulent real estate scheme.

Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is physically assaulted in an attempt to eliminate her from competing in the 1994 Winter Olympics. Tonya Harding, Kerrigan's rival, and her ex-husband are among those later prosecuted for the attack.

The Clinton administration's efforts to reform health care fall apart.

In New York, four men are convicted of bombing the World Trade Center.

The presidents of Rwanda and Burundi die in a plane crash near Rwanda's capital. The next day, a civil war erupts that claims the lives of thousands.

The first multiracial free elections are held in South Africa, leading to the triumph of the African National Congress and the election of Nelson Mandela to the presidency.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis dies of non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer.

Paula Jones files a sexual harassment suit against United States President Bill Clinton.

Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman are stabbed to death in Los Angeles, California. Five days later, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders.

Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein I sign a treaty ending the countries' formal state of war.

In movies, Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, is released and will win an Oscar for Best Picture of 1994.

In a testament to the escalation of everyday Internet usage, America Online announces that it has reached 1 million subscribers.

The median income for the American family is $38,782.

The Republicans win a majority in the House as the Whitewater investigation becomes a problem for the Clintons.

The Justice Department charges CIA veteran Aldrich Ames with having sold national security secrets to the U.S.S.R.

The Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) opens between Britain and France.

Microsoft's founder, Bill Gates, purchases a manuscript written by Leonardo da Vinci for $30.8 million. The work records da Vinci's theories on the movement of air and water.

John Salvi kills two people when he storms two abortion clinics in Boston, Massachusetts. He commits suicide in prison two years later.

Israeli leaders Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasir Arafat are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the Middle East Peace Accord of 1993.