Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales get divorced. Their early marriage had been painted as a fairy tale but it was also highly dissected in the public eye and the pair were often featured in tabloids. Prince William as 14, while Prince Harry was 11 at the time.
A dramatic and emotional start when the cauldron was lit by sporting legend Muhammad Ali. Turkish weightlifter Naim Suleymanoglu became the first weightlifter in history to win three consecutive Olympic titles. Michael Johnson of the US became the first man in Olympic history to run and win both the 200m and 400m.
December 29, an Arctic system combined with a wet front to cause B.C.'s worst snowstorm in a region unaccustomed to a stereotypical Canadian winter. In Vancouver, 35 cm fell in 24 hours. It was the heaviest snowfall since records were kept in 1937. The situation was worse in the Fraser Valley, where the snow shut down Highway 1. Hundreds of drivers were left stranded in and around Chilliwack and were forced to find temporary shelter.
March 13: The Dunblane school massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School near Stirling, Scotland, when gunman Thomas Hamilton killed 16 children and one teacher before committing suicide. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history
June: the Nintendo 64 gaming console is first released in Japan. It was praised by critics and popular with consumers. It had some of the best graphics of any comparable gaming console. Many of the games that were available for the system were thought of as some of the most popular and influential games of all time, such as, Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Feb 19: the Canadian two-dollar "toonie" coin is introduced. Some of the early nicknames suggested included the "bearie" (analogous to the loonie and its loon), the "bearly", the "deuce", the "doubloonie" (a play on "double loonie" and the former Spanish doubloon coin), and the "moonie" (because it depicted "the Queen with a bear behind").
Fears over Mad Cow Disease (BSE) had increased after it was linked to a variant called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease that had proven fatal to humans. In order to reduce the spread of BSE, the UK had to cull all at risk cattle and it was not until 1999 that the ban ended.