Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.

The London Agreement on translation of European patents, concluded in 2000, enters into force in 14 of the 34 Contracting States to the European Patent Convention.

the Los Angeles May Day mêlée occurs, in which the Los Angeles Police Department's response to a May Day pro-immigration rally become a matter of controversy.

The Puerto Rican government closes the Department of Education and 42 other government agencies due to significant shortages in cash flow.

Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.

2003 invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the {{USS|Abraham Lincoln|CVN-72|6}} (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended".

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares the existence of "a state of rebellion", hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, storm towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion.

Croatian forces launch Operation Flash during the Croatian War of Independence.

Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics steals his 939th base, making him the all-time leader in this category. However, his accomplishment is overshadowed later that evening by Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers, when he pitches his seventh career no-hitter, breaking his own record.

The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) was granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church of the Philippines.

Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.

Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis is awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.

The 1982 World's Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.

Japan's Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.

36 people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.

Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) is formed to take over U.S. passenger rail service.

Protests erupt in Seattle, Washington, following the announcement by U.S. President Richard Nixon that U.S. Forces in Vietnam would pursue enemy troops into Cambodia, a neutral country.

Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between ROC and PRC, takes place.

The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.

Cold War: 1960 U-2 incident|U-2 incident

Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

A doctor in Japan reports an "epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system", marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.

The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.

Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as leader.

Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano; 11 persons were killed and 33 wounded.

The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy.

Start of 3 year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.

The Yugoslav partisans free Trieste.

World War II: A German newsreader officially announces that Adolf Hitler has "fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany".

World War II: German forces launch a major attack on Tobruk.

The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to war.

The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.

The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.

The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.

The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris.

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members.

The {{RMS|Lusitania}} departs from New York City on her two hundred and second, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives, including 128 Americans, rousing American sentiment against Germany.

The Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo, New York.

The Scofield mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.

Spanish-American War: The Battle of Manila Bay (1898)|Battle of Manila Bay

Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.

The World's Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.

Rallies were held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day culminating in the Haymarket Affair.

The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opened for business.

Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States.

Proclamation of the demand for eight-hour workday in the United States.

Alexandra Palace reopens after the 1873 fire burnt it down.

The Folies Bergère opens in Paris.

The Empire of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance

American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.

The Philippine peso is introduced into circulation.

Queen Victoria opens the Great Exhibition in London.

The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.

Hong Kong Police Force, the world's second, Asia's first modern police force is established.

The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.

The British colonies abolish slavery.

Opening night of the opera ''The Marriage of Figaro'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna, Austria.

Kamehameha I, the king of Hawai{{okina}}i defeats Kalanikupule and establishes the Kingdom of Hawai{{okina}}i.

American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.

Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.

Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain.

Publication of ''Species Plantarum'' by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

The first cricket match is played in America.

The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Stefan Batory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become the co-rulers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Wars of Scottish Independence end: Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton

The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.

Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor.