The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.
The European Community recognizes the independence of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-51-I to deploy three communication satellites and repair a fourth malfunctioning one.
Turkish military diplomat Colonel Atilla Altıkat is shot and killed in Ottawa. Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide claim to be avenging the massacre of 1+1⁄2 million Armenians in the 1915 Armenian genocide.
South Korean presidential election: After successfully staging the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, General Chun Doo-hwan, running unopposed, has the National Conference for Unification elect him President of the Fourth Republic of Korea.
An attempted coup d'état fails in the African nation of Chad. The Government of Chad accuses Egypt of playing a role in the attempt and breaks off diplomatic relations.
The Mariner 2 unmanned space mission is launched to Venus by NASA.
The nuclear power station at Calder Hall in the United Kingdom was connected to the national power grid becoming the world's first commercial nuclear power station to generate electricity on an industrial scale.
The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain.
World War II: Japanese forces evacuate New Georgia Island in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
World War II: Aerial bombardment by the Luftwaffe razes to the ground the village of Vorizia in Crete.
First day of the Sarny Massacre, perpetrated by Germans and Ukrainians.
First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.
The first Afrikaans Bible is introduced during a Bible Festival in Bloemfontein.
Mexican Revolution: Battle of Ambos Nogales: U.S. Army forces skirmish against Mexican Carrancistas as part of the Mexican Border War.
World War I: The Kingdom of Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary, entering the war as one of the Allied nations.
World War I: Battle of Étreux: A British rearguard action by the Royal Munster Fusiliers during the Great Retreat.
World War I: Siege of Tsingtao: A Japanese fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Sadakichi Kato imposes a blockade along the whole coastline of German Tsingtao, initiating the Siege of Tsingtao.
The Qing dynasty promulgates the Qinding Xianfa Dagang, the first constitutional document in the history of China, transforming the Qing empire into a constitutional monarchy.