| 8th February 1996 | An IRA ceasefire ends when a half-tonne bomb explodes in London's Canary Wharf District, killing two and causing over £85 million worth of damage. |
| 14th February 1996 | Bob Paisley, former Liverpool football manager (b. 1919) dies. |
| 15th February 1996 | In southwest Wales, the oil tanker ‘Sea Empress’ runs aground, spilling 73,000 tonnes of crude oil that kills many birds. |
| 13th March 1996 | Unemployed former shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton walks into the Dunblane Primary School in Scotland and opens fire, killing sixteen students and one teacher before then shooting himself. |
| 17th March 1996 | Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup with a famous victory against the tournament favourite Australia. |
| 10th May 1996 | A sudden storm engulfs Mount Everest with several climbing teams stranded high on the mountain. Eight people are left dead and at least four other climbers die by the end of the month. 1996 remains the worst year of fatalities on the mountain to date. |
| 15th June 1996 | An IRA bomb explodes in Manchester, injuring over 200 people and devastating a large part of the city centre. |
| 29th June 1996 | “The Prince's Trust” concert is held in Hyde Park and is attended by 150,000 people. The Who headlines the event in their first performance since 1989. |
| 30th June 1996 | Germany beats the Czech Republic 2-1 with a Golden Goal in extra time to win Euro ‘96 at Wembley. |
| 8th July 1996 | Martina Hingis becomes the youngest person in history to win at Wimbledon in the Ladies' Doubles event, aged fifteen years and 282 days. |
| 19th July 1996 | The 1996 Summer Olympic Games is opened by U.S. President Bill Clinton in Atlanta, United States. |
| 27th July 1996 | The Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics kills one person and injures 111. |
| 11th August 1996 | Oasis plays the biggest free-standing concert in UK history at Knebworth, Hertfordshire. |
| 28th August 1996 | The Prince and Princess of Wales are formally divorced at the High Court of Justice in London. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled Diana, Princess of Wales. |
| 25th September 1996 | The last of the Magdalen Asylums is closed in Ireland. |
| 5th November 1996 | Democratic incumbent Bill Clinton defeats Republican challenger Bob Dole to win his second term in the 1996 U.S. presidential election. |
| 16th November 1996 | Mother Teresa receives honorary U.S. citizenship. |