What major events took place in 1996?

This depends, of course, on what country you live in. 
There were major elections in many countries, including the US, Australia, Portugal, and
others.  There were various disasters and coups and
such.

On a worldwide scale, perhaps the most important
event of this year was the Dunblane massacre in Scotland.  This was a shocking event in
which a man killed 16 children aged 5 or 6 years old.  It gained worldwide attention
because of the age of the children and the number of victims.  There was also a mass
killing in Australia that year which got less attention because its victims were
adults.

Another event that got a lot of attention that year
was the birth of the first cloned sheep.  This was the sheep that was named "Dolly." 
She was cloned and born in the UK.