The eight-hour day becomes the law for workers in the Netherlands.

Boris Yeltsin takes up the office as the first elected President of Russia.

The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test is conducted by the United States.

Kim Jong-il begins becomes the supreme leader of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.

A retrial of Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death her acquits

Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.

Philippine–American War officially ends

Pitcairn Island is discovered by Robert Pitcairn.

The very first Wal-Mart store opens in Rogers, Arkansas.