The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over the judicial functions of the House of Lords.

Vladimir Putin becomes a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

Palau gains independence from the United Nations (trusteeship administered by the United States of America).

Turkish destroyer {{Ship|TCG|Muavenet|DM 357|6}} is crippled causing 27 deaths and injuries, by missiles negligently launched by U.S. aircraft carrier {{USS|Saratoga|CV-60|6}}.

New Zealand's Resource Management Act 1991 comes into force.

Denmark introduces the world's first legal modern same-sex civil union called "registered partnership".

The Whittier Narrows earthquake shakes the San Gabriel Valley, registering as magnitude 5.9.

The Israeli air force bombs PLO Headquarters in Tunis.

Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).

EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a Constructive Vote of No Confidence.

The United States returns sovereignty of the Panama canal to Panama.

The Voltaic Revolutionary Communist Party is founded.

Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom.

Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.

The Seychelles gain internal self-government. The Ellice Islands split from Gilbert Islands and take the name Tuvalu.

Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, United States.

Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time.

The Guyanese government takes over the British Guiana Broadcasting Service (BGBS).

West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatalities and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.

General Suharto crushes an attempted coup in Indonesia.

Apostasia of 1965, a political move in Greece designed to overthrow the Prime Minister, George Papandreou.

Japanese ''Shinkansen'' ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.

The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of University of California, Berkeley.

First broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

East and West Cameroon merge to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.

Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom.

NASA is created to replace NACA.

First appearance of ''In God We Trust'' on U.S. paper currency.

The People's Republic of China is declared by Mao Zedong.

The F-86 Sabre flies for the first time.

Mensa International is founded in the United Kingdom.

Nazi leaders are sentenced at Nuremberg Trials.

World War II: Naples falls to Allied soldiers.

{{USS|Grouper|SS-214|6}} torpedoes ''Lisbon Maru'' not knowing she is carrying British PoWs from Hong Kong

First flight of the Bell XP-59 "Aircomet".

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.

After a one-month Siege of Warsaw, hostile forces enter the city.

Germany annexes the Sudetenland.

The Japanese city Handa is founded in Aichi Prefecture.

Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain.

The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.

The Soviet Union introduces its First Five-Year Plan.

Sir Percy Cox lands in Basra to assume his responsibilities as high commissioner in Iraq.

World War I: Arab forces under T. E. Lawrence (a/k/a "Lawrence of Arabia") capture Damascus.

Los Angeles Times bombing: A large bomb destroys the ''Los Angeles Times'' building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21.

Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.

František Pavlík is killed in a demonstration in Prague, inspiring Leoš Janáček to the piano composition 1. X. 1905.

Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.

The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name ''k.u.k. Exportakademie''.

Czar Nikolay II expels Jews from major Russian cities.

In the U.S. state of California, Stanford University opens its doors.

The Yosemite National Park and the Yellowstone National Park are established by the U.S. Congress.

Balochistan is conquered by the British Empire.

First electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison.

John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the United States Marine Band.

Austria issues the world's first postcards.

The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American system of watch manufacturing.

German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens founds Siemens AG & Halske.

The ''News of the World'' tabloid begins publication in London.

South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa; it will later separate into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools.

Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoléon the previous spring.

The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orléans, Louisiana.

Spain cedes Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso.

Belgium is conquered by France.

First session of the French Legislative Assembly.

Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.

Coronation of Queen Mary I of England

Gerard de Ridefort, grandmaster of the Knights Templar since 1184, is killed in the Siege of Acre.

Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England.