Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife are shot dead by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, triggering the crisis that leads to the First World War.
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, drawing Europe's powers into a global war that lasts until the armistice of 11 November 1918.
Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring premieres in Paris amid uproar in the audience, becoming a landmark of modernist music.
Albert Einstein presents the field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, describing gravity as the curvature of spacetime.
RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage after striking an iceberg; more than 1,500 people die.
Irish republicans rise in Dublin and proclaim an Irish Republic; the rebellion is put down by British forces after six days.
Britain and France secretly agree to divide the Ottoman Empire's Arab lands into post-war spheres of influence.