7 February 855

An inquiry report of the United Nations Human Rights Council found systematic and wide-ranging violations of human rights in North Korea.

Researchers announced the discovery of the Happisburgh footprints in Norfolk, England, the oldest known hominid footprints outside Africa, at more than 800,000 years old.

President Ilham Aliyev issued a decree on the redenomination of Azerbaijan's currency, with 1 new manat equal to 5000 old manats.

Abdullah II became the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan following the death of his father King Hussein.

Steve Jobs returned to Apple Inc. as a consultant after the company's acquisition of his technology startup NeXT.

Ramzi Yousef, one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the bombing of Philippine Airlines Flight 434, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Having retired four months earlier, American basketball player Michael Jordan signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox to play baseball.

The Maastricht Treaty, which led to the formation of the European Union, was signed by the member states of the European Communities.

The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army shelled 10 Downing Street with mortars in a failed attempt to assassinate British prime minister John Major.

President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country after a popular uprising, ending 28 years of one-family rule in the nation.

During the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-B, astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart performed the first untethered spacewalk (pictured).

Neil Harvey became the youngest Australian to score a century in Test cricket.

World War II: Japan successfully withdrew its troops from Guadalcanal.

Soviet border guards opened fire on civilians attempting to cross the border from the Soviet Union to Romania near Lunca, killing several hundred people.

Walt Disney's Pinocchio, the first animated feature to win a competitive Academy Award, debuted at the Center Theatre in New York City.

Kid Auto Races at Venice, featuring the first appearance of comedy actor Charlie Chaplin's character the Tramp, was released.

A Chinese immigrant in San Francisco fell ill with the bubonic plague in the first epidemic of the disease in the continental United States.

Second Boer War: British troops made a third unsuccessful attempt to lift the siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Vaal Krantz.

The trustees of Seattle enacted an ordinance that expelled Native Americans from the newly incorporated town.

Napoleonic Wars: Two evenly matched frigates, the French Aréthuse and the British Amelia, battled to a stalemate (pictured) at the Îles de Los off the Guinean coast.

The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified.

American Revolutionary War: After three years and seven months, Spain and France abandoned their attempt (pictured) to capture Gibraltar from the British.

Supporters of the Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of vanity items such as cosmetics, art and books in Florence, Italy.

Albert, King of Sweden, granted a charter to the town of Ulvila, the third-oldest city in Finland.

Leo I (pictured), who ruled for nearly 20 years, was crowned Byzantine emperor.