The United States military ends its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror".
South Ossetia declares its independence from Georgia.
A French-supported coup d'état in the Central African Empire overthrows Emperor Bokassa I.
Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.
The Cunard Liner Queen Elizabeth 2 is launched in Clydebank, Scotland.
Following the Battle of Burki, the Indian Army captures Dograi in during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
The Treaty on Relations between the USSR and the GDR is signed.
The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed for seven years due to World War II.
Six days after a referendum, King Christian X of Denmark annuls the declaration of independence of the Faroe Islands.
Irish War of Independence: British police known as "Black and Tans" burn the town of Balbriggan and kill two local men in revenge for an IRA assassination.
The White Star Line's RMS Olympic collides with the British warship HMS Hawke.
Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile.
U.S. President Chester A. Arthur is sworn in upon the death of James A. Garfield the previous day.
Bishop John Coleridge Patteson, first bishop of Melanesia, is martyred on Nukapu, now in the Solomon Islands.
American Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga, in northwestern Georgia, ends in a Confederate victory.
The future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom begins the first visit to North America by a Prince of Wales.
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.
The Treaty of Ryswick is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic, ending the Nine Years' War.