When kids like you study history 100 years from now, what will they learn about 1995? It may be called "The Year of the O.J. Trial," or "The Year of the Republican Congress" or "The Year TIME FOR KIDS Began." But 1995 was bigger than that. It was 365 days full of heroes, inventions, natural disasters, scientific discoveries, fights and agreements between nations, politicians and ordinary citizens. When future historians try to understand 1995, they will rely on old news stories and photos. Here are some of the year's big events. With best wishes for '96, we invite you to check out 1995 once more before it's gone.
January
A major earthquake shakes Kobe, Japan. More than 5,000 people are killed.
February
Newt Gingrich emerges as a very powerful leader of Republicans in the U.S. Congress.
March
Basketball legend Michael Jordan returns to the Chicago Bulls with a new number after 17 months in retirement.
April
A bomb explodes in front of a federal building in Oklahoma City. The explosion rips through the building and kills 167 people. The FBI orders the arrest of bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh two days later.
May
Doctors find the deadly Ebola virus is spreading through Zaïre, Africa.
June
U.S. pilot Scott O'Grady is shot down over Bosnia. He is rescued and given a hero's welcome six days later.
July
A severe heat wave blasts the U.S., especially Chicago.
August
NATO planes bomb Serbian guns in Bosnia in an attempt to force the Serbs to make peace.
September
Cal Ripken Jr. plays his 2,131st consecutive baseball game, breaking Lou Gehrig's 50-year-old record.
October
In Washington, African-American men rally at the Million Man March.
The yearlong trial of O.J. Simpson ends when a jury finds O.J. not guilty of killing his ex-wife Nicole and Ronald Goldman.
November
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated as he fights for peace.
December
President Bill Clinton orders U.S. troops to Bosnia.