CERN announces that World Wide Web protocols will remain free. By offering the software required to operate a web server with an open license, the European organization ensured its dissemination, and the WWW flourished.

Tennis ace Monica Seles is stabbed by an obsessed fan. Although the stab wound proved to be relatively harmless, the psychological ramifications meant that Seles did not play any tournaments for over two years.

The fall of Saigon marks the end of the Vietnam War. As Communist forces gained control of Saigon, South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh, who had only been in office for 2 days, surrendered unconditionally.

Germany and its World War I allies become the first countries to use daylight saving time (DST). The rationale was to save energy to aid the war effort. Other European countries, such as the United Kingdom, first introduced DST later that year.

George Washington becomes the first U.S. President. Washington took the oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City. In the United States, he is venerated as one of the country's founding fathers.