Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.

Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.

Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.

Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.

Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.

Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.

Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).

Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.

Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.

The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports.

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

World War II: In Anzio, Italy, German forces launch a counteroffensive during the Allied Operation Shingle.

Imperial Japanese naval forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign.

The second full length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.

The classic board game Monopoly is invented.

The Mud March is the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.

Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing ''J'Accuse''.

The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

''HMS Orpheus'' sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.

The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the second piece of legislation (the Electoral Act of 1856) anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot.

The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company after a peaceful abdication of Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh.

Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar.

The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.

Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Eylau

The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.

The bonfire of the vanities occurs in which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy.

Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales.

The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.

Pandulf IV of Benevento is killed battling the invading Normans at the Battle of Montesarchio.

Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.