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A Sioux and Cheyenne war party kills U.S. Second Lieutenant Lyman Kidder, along with an Indian scout and ten enlisted men in Kansas.
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The Eleventh United States Census was taken June 2, 1890
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November 29 – Graham N. Fitch, United States Senator from Indiana from 1857 to 1861. (born 1809)dies
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March 6 – A coal mine explosion in West Virginia kills 50 miners.
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African-American boxer Jack Johnson defeats American boxer James J. Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match, sparking race riots across the United States.
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Edsel Ford succeeds his father as head of the Ford Motor Company.
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May 30 – In Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated.
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American gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion in Chicago, Illinois.
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Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace.
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July 2 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
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February 24 – The Mariner 6 Mars probe is launched.
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The Godfather is released in cinemas in the United States.
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Pac-Man, the best-selling arcade game of all time, is released.
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Cold War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Chemical Weapons Accord to end chemical weapon production and begin destroying their respective stocks.
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May 17 – Shawn Nelson, 35, goes on a tank rampage in San Diego.
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December 13 – The Texas Seven escape from their prison unit in Kenedy, Texas, and start a crime spree.
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August 29 – Republican presidential candidate John McCain chooses Sarah Palin as his running mate.
