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| 1993 |
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| Clinton sparked major controversy when he attempted to lift the ban on gays in the military. Eventually, he opted for the compromise of permitting gays to stay in the military if they did not engage in homosexual conduct. | 1 |
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| Feb |
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| After being vetoed twice by Pres. Bush, the Family and Medical Leave Act was signed into law. The act required major companies to provide up to 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave for medical or family emergencies. | 2 |
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| Feb. 26 |
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| Six died and more than 1,000 were injured when a car bomb exploded in New York City's World Trade Center; several Muslim fundamentalists were arrested as possible perpetrators. | 3 |
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| April 22 |
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| The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, D.C. | 4 |
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| April 23 |
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| A U.S. Department of Defense report revealed that at least 117 naval officers could face disciplinary action growing out of sexual assaults on some 90 people at a 1991 Las Vegas convention of the Tailhook aviators group. | 5 |
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| April 25 |
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| More than 300,000 people marched on Washington, D.C., to demand equal rights for homosexuals. | 6 |
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| Sept. 22 |
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| The president revealed his health care plan. He promised that details of the plan were negotiable, but that the goal of health care for all Americans was not. | 7 |
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| Oct. 3 |
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| American troops who went to Somalia for humanitarian reasons in 1992 (See 1992, Dec) came under fire—twelve were killed, and more than 75 were injured. Pres. Clinton sent in more troops but promised to bring American troops home by March 1994. | 8 |
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| Oct. 7 |
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| Toni Morrison became the first African American to receive the Nobel Prize for literature. | 9 |
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| Nov. 9 |
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| The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided to expand the definition of sexual harassment to enable employees to win without having to prove psychological damage. | 10 |
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| Nov. 20 |
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| The Congress passed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which would significantly reduce trade barriers between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. | 11 |
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| Nov. 24 |
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| After seven years, Congress passed gun control legislation. The so-called Brady Bill mandated a waiting period of up to five days for handgun purchases. | 12 |
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