The Maastricht Treaty enters into force, formally establishing the European Union and laying the groundwork for a single currency.
Generals led by Dương Văn Minh overthrow President Ngô Đình Diệm, who is killed with his brother Ngô Đình Nhu the next day.
A conflict between North Vietnam and the Viet Cong on one side and South Vietnam, backed by the United States and its allies, on the other; it ends with the fall of Saigon in 1975.
The National Liberation Front (FLN) fights French rule; the war ends with the Évian Accords and Algerian independence in 1962.
A massive earthquake, followed by a tsunami and fires, devastates Lisbon, killing tens of thousands and deeply influencing Enlightenment thought.