The Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons in the 87 countries that had ratified the convention.
Before a crowd of about 165,000 at the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, Ric Flair and Antonio Inoki competed in the main event of Collision in Korea, the highest attended professional wrestling event of all time.
The acquittal of policemen who had beaten African-American motorist Rodney King sparked six days of civil unrest in Los Angeles (damage pictured), during which 63 people were killed.
The controversial Broadway musical Hair, a product of the counterculture of the 1960s, opened, with its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.