The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and 3 years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).

Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in ''Romer v. Evans'' against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.

The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.

The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.

First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal ''Science'' by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually.

In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.

The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.

PIA Flight 705, a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720 – 040 B, crashes while descending to land at Cairo International Airport, killing 119 of the 125 passengers and crew.

In Operation Redwing (shot ''Cherokee''), the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean;

The Kuomintang regime declares martial law in Taiwan.

In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.

World War II: Battle of Crete

Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.

At 07:52 Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He touched down at Le Bourget Field in Paris at 22:22 the next day.

Treaty of Jedda: the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Montreal, Quebec radio station XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled radio programming in North America.

The ''Saturday Evening Post'' publishes its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting (''Boy with Baby Carriage'').

Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country's first President.

The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.

History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope.

Krakatoa begins to erupt. The volcano's final and most notable explosion occurs on August 26.

The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed.

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.

American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.

American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.

{{HMS|Erebus|1826|6}} and {{HMS|Terror|1813|6}} with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in Britain, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.

York Minster is badly damaged by fire

Otto is named the first modern King of Greece.

Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.

By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution

The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.

Shakespeare's sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.

Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas.

Battle of Pampeluna: Ignatius Loyola is seriously wounded.

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.

John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship {{Ship||Matthew|ship|6}} looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).

King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá.

The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.

The Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.

An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia.

The First Council of Nicea