The UK votes to leave the European Union. Just over half of the electorate voted for “Brexit”, Britain's exit from the EU. The UK had been part of the union since 1973.

Yitzhak Rabin's Labor Party wins the election in Israel. Rabin became the country's fifth Prime Minister. For his engagement in a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 (together with Shimon Peres and Yasir Arafat). A year later, Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist.

The Antarctic Treaty comes into force. The treaty was the first arms control agreement signed during the Cold War. It sets Antarctica aside as a scientific preserve and prohibits military activities on the continent.

Wiley Post and Harold Gatty start their record-breaking flight around the world. The American-Australian team was the first to circumnavigate the planet in a single-engine plane. After several stops, they returned to Roosevelt Field eight days later. They took nearly two weeks less than the previous record holder, the German airship Graf Zeppelin.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is founded. The IOC is responsible for organizing the Olympic Games and similar events. The committee was established at the initiative of French educator, Pierre de Coubertin.