British beef farmers faced ruin as the market for their meat collapsed. Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden banned imports of British beef as cases of BSE were discovered in humans.
In showbiz, Madonna gave birth to daughter Lourdes, Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson who then married Debbie Rowe.
Other divorces included Charles and Diana and Fergie and Andrew.
'Swampy' became famous at the scene of the Newbury Bypass and a 12 year old girl became the youngest mother in the UK.
A gunman murdered 16 children and one of their teachers in an attack on a primary school in the Scottish town of Dunblane and a bomb at the 100th Olympics in Atlanta killed one woman and more than 100 people were injured.