May 1992 in History

Events in History

Historic Publication

May 1 Danielle Steel’s historical romance novel “Jewels” is published

May 1 Eric Houston kills 4 in a California HS where he failed history 4 yrs prior
May 2 Yugoslav Army seizes Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic

Rodney King Riots

May 4 US Army and Marine Corps forces arrive in Los Angeles to end rioting following the acquittal of four police officers over the beating of Rodney King

Damage in Los Angeles after the 1992 riots, which killed 63 people and caused over $1 billion in damages

May 7 5 NYC cops arrested in Hauppauge, Long Island, for selling cocaine
May 7 Constitutional amendment barring mid-term congressional raises passes
May 7 US space shuttle STS-49 launched (maiden voyage of Endeavour)
May 9 America Cup finals begin in San Diego
May 9 Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the Karabakh War

Salem Witch Trials

May 9 Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial dedicated in Danvers (formally Salem Village) to mark 300 year anniversary of trials

May 10 Bible Lands Museum opens in Jerusalem Israel
May 12 1st Belgian woman (Ingrid Baeyens) to ascend Mount Everest
May 13 3 astronauts simultaneous walked in space for the 1st time
May 13 Concrete foundation for ballpark at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) is poured, In downtown Cleveland, Ohio
May 13 Li Hongzhi gave the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.
May 14 WIBC Bowling Queens won by Cindy Coburn-Carroll
May 15 Colombo '92 opens in Genoa Italy
May 15 NY department store chain Alexanders announces closing of all 11 stores
May 15 Part of Cruger Avenue in Bronx renamed Regis Philbin Avenue
May 16 Polls show Perot, Bush & Clinton could be in a deadlock
May 16 US space shuttle STS-49 lands (maiden voyage of Endeavour)
May 18 US Supreme Court rules states could not force mentally unstable criminal defendants to take anti-psychotic drugs
May 19 27th Amendment ratified, prohibits Congress from raising its salary

Event of Interest

May 19 Amy Fisher shoots Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face in an altercation over an affair with her husband, in Massapequa, New York

May 19 Englishman Dave Gauder, 224 lbs, pulls 196 ton jumbo jet, 3 inches

Event of Interest

May 20 At height of "Black May' political crisis in Thailand TV interview broadcast of King Bhumibol Adulyadej demanding Generals Suchinda and Chamlong work together

May 20 India launches its 1st satellite independently
May 21 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
May 21 New Jersey Senate overrides Governor Florio's veto & lowers sales tax to 6%
May 22 India launches its Agni rocket

Event of Interest

May 23 US President George H. W. Bush orders Coast Guard to intercept boats with Haitian refugees

May 25 Oscar Luigi Scalfaro elected President of Italy
May 28 65th National Spelling Bee: Amanda Goad wins spelling lyceum
May 30 NY Lotto pays $30 million to one winner (#s are 12-15-30-33-40-48)
May 30 UN votes for sanctions against Serb-led Yugoslavia to halt fighting
May 31 5th Children's Miracle Network Telethon raises $1,060,000

Deaths in History

May 2 Lee Salk, Russian-American child psychologist and author, dies of cardiac arrest at 65
May 2 Wilbur Mills, American congressmen (Democrat-AZ: 1939-77), famous for his involvement in a sex scandal with Fanne Foxe, dies at 82
May 3 Peter Bruni, dies of heart failure at 60
May 4 Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)
May 4 Henri Guillemin, French historian, dies at 89
May 4 Ismael Galeano, "Commandant Franklyn" (Contra), dies
May 4 Vitali Andreyevich Grishchenko, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 50
May 5 Stefano d'Arrigo, Siciilian writer, dies at 72
May 6 Jilly Rizzo, restaurateur/friend of Frank Sinatra, dies in a car crash at 75
May 8 Addeke H. Boerma, Dutch economist and general manager (FAO), dies at 80
May 8 Brian Moore, Northern Irish-Canadian writer (Catholics), dies of heart failure at 59
May 8 Margaretha D. Ferguson-Wigerink, Dutch author (Fear on Java), dies at 71
May 8 Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov, Soviet puppet master, dies at 90
May 9 Mike Tyrell, British air acrobat, dies in an accident at 45
May 10 Liesbeth Saijers, Dutch sculptor, dies at 76
May 11 Carlos Herrera, American drink inventor (Margarita), dies at 90

May 11 Elizabeth McDonald, American inventor (Spic & Span), dies at 98
May 13 F. E. McWilliam [Frederick Edward], Northern-Irish surrealist sculptor (Four Seasons Group), dies at 83
May 13 Gisela Elsner, German writer (Die Riesenzwerge, Rowohlt), commits suicide at 55
May 15 Robert Morris Page, US physicist (radar), dies at 88
May 20 Roger Keith Coleman, American murder who protested his innocence, is executed at 33
May 21 Brendan Mulholland, British reporter jailed for refusing to name his sources (Daily Mail), dies at 59
May 21 Elizabeth David, British cookbook writer (English Bread and Yeast Cookery), dies after a series of strokes at 72
May 21 Mrithi, gorilla (Gorilla in the Mist), dies at 24
May 22 Zellig S. Harris, Russian-American linguist, dies at 82
May 23 Giovanni Falcone, anti-mafia judge (Palermo), murdered
May 25 Philip C. Habib, US diplomat (Middle-East, Asia), dies at 72
May 25 Viktor Grishin, Soviet communist hardliner, dies at 78
May 27 Daniel Robberechts, Belgian writer (Aankomen in Avignon), dies at 55
May 27 Tony "Big Tuna" Accardo, American mobster (St Valentine's Day) and boss of the Chicago Outfit, dies of respiratory and heart conditions at 86
May 27 Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890)
May 29 Ruby Middleton Forsythe, African-American teacher (50 years in 1 room school in SC), dies at 86
May 30 Karl Carstens, German politician (President of the Federal Republic of Germany 1979-84), dies at 77
May 31 Lutz Stavenhagen, German politician, top aid to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, dies of pneumonia at 52