Historical Events
- American athlete Michael Johnson wins 200m at the Atlanta Olympics in a world record 19.32 seconds to become the first man to complete the 200m-400m double
- Dan O'Brien wins the decathlon gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics to become the first American since Bruce Jenner in 1976 to win the gruelling event
- French sprinter Marie-José Pérec wins the 200m final at the Atlanta Olympics to become only the 2nd athlete to win the 200-400m Olympic double (Valerie Brisco-Hooks 1984)
A Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin publishes the epic fantasy novel "A Game of Thrones", the first in his series "A Song of Ice and Fire"
- M2, MTV's second TV channel is launched
- Tiffeny Milbrett scores the winner as the US beats China 2-1 at the Atlanta Olympics for the first ever Olympic gold medal in women's soccer
Famous Deaths
- Frida Boccara, French singer, dies at 55
- John Lanigan, Australian operatic tenor (Covent Garden), dies at 75
- Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and international aid worker (b. 1929)
- Mohamed Farrah Aidid, President (ANS-CUS)/Somalia, dies
- Pierre Lucien Claverie, Algerian-French Bishop of Oran, murdered by Islamic extremists in Algeria at 58
- Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist (Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 1950 - isolation and discovery of cortisone ), dies at 99 [1]
Died in 1996 1996 Highlights
About August 1, 1996
Day of the Week: Thursday
How Long Ago? 27 years, 8 months and 27 days
Leap Year: Yes
Generation: Millennial
Chinese Zodiac: Rat
Star Sign: Leo
Music Charts
#1 Song: Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) - Los Del Rio
#1 Song: Wannabe - Spice Girls
