Dashed left edge = started before January 1996 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond January 1996
Events in January 1996 13
1916 – 1996Francois MitterrandLongest Serving PresidentThe first Socialist president of the Fifth Republic, serving for 14 years.
1916 – 1996François Mitterrand (1916-1996)Died 8 January 1996, aged 79François Mitterrand served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest tenure in French republican history. He was the first Socialist elected to the office under the Fifth Republic and oversaw major reforms including abolition of the death penalty. He died of prostate cancer in Paris shortly after leaving office.
1960 – 1996Jonathan Larson (1960-1996)Died 25 January 1996, aged 35Jonathan Larson was an American composer and playwright who wrote the rock musical "Rent," a reimagining of "La Bohème" set among artists in New York's East Village. He died suddenly of an aortic dissection the night before the show's first Off-Broadway preview. "Rent" went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical.
1996AMD acquires NexGen — the Athlon foundationAMD acquires NexGen — a fabless semiconductor startup — in January 1996 for $857 million. NexGen had designed the Nx586 processor with a innovative microarchitecture that decodes complex x86 instructions into simpler internal operations (RISC-like micro-ops). NexGen's engineering team, led by Vinod Dham (formerly of Intel's Pentium team), becomes the core of AMD's processor design organisation. The NexGen acquisition is the most important in AMD's history: it provides the architectural foundation for the K6 and eventually the Athlon.
1996Australian Open 1996Men: Boris Becker · Women: Monica Seles
19961996: Damon HillWilliamsHill, son of two-time champion Graham Hill, won the title with Williams, becoming the first son of a World Champion to win the championship himself.
1996Hollywood Walk of FameReceived a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honouring her contribution to the film industry.
1996Muppet Treasure IslandPlayed Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island, revelling in the role opposite Kermit the Frog and delivering one of the most entertaining performances of his career.
1996Propa PropagandaPublished Propa Propaganda, one of his best-known collections, cementing his reputation as a political poet.
1996David Bowie inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of FameHall of FameInducted by David Byrne.
1996The Velvet Underground inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of FameHall of FameInducted by Patti Smith.
1996From Dusk Till DawnWritten, and actingRobert Rodriguez directs Tarantino's script, in which a hostage road movie turns without warning into a vampire siege halfway through. Tarantino plays Richie Gecko opposite George Clooney. It is the clearest early statement of his willingness to break a film in half on purpose.
1996Yasser Arafat Elected President of the Palestinian AuthorityFirst Palestinian presidential election held in the West Bank and GazaYasser Arafat was elected President of the newly formed Palestinian Authority in the first Palestinian presidential election, held in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the Oslo Accords framework. He won with an overwhelming majority against a single opponent. The vote also elected the first Palestinian Legislative Council.