February 16

February 16 in recent years

2024 (Friday)

2023 (Thursday)

2022 (Wednesday)

2021 (Tuesday)

2020 (Sunday)

2019 (Saturday)

2018 (Friday)

2017 (Thursday)

2016 (Tuesday)

2015 (Monday)

February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 318 days remain until the end of the year (319 in leap years).

Events

• 116 – Emperor Trajan sends laureatae to the Roman Senate at Rome on account of his victories and being conqueror of Parthia.
• 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
• 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse.
• 1630 – Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil.
• 1646 – Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the first English Civil War.
• 1699 – First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing the Greek Catholic clergy enjoyed the same privileges as Roman Catholic priests in the Principality of Transylvania.
• 1742 – Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
• 1804 – First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.
• 1852 – Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
• 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
• 1866 – Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
• 1874 – Silver Dollar becomes legal US tender.
• 1881 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).
• 1899 – Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded.
• 1918 – The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
• 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
• 1930 – The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA.
• 1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
• 1934 – The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund.
• 1936 – Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
• 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
• 1940 – World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
• 1943 – World War II: Red Army troops re-enter Kharkov.
• 1943 – World War II: Insertion of Operation Gunnerside, Norway.
• 1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.
• 1957 – The "Toddlers' Truce", a controversial television close down between 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm is abolished in the United Kingdom.
• 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
• 1960 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
• 1961 – Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
• 1961 – The DuSable Museum of African American History is chartered.
• 1962 – Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.
• 1968 – In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
• 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).
• 1983 – The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75.
• 1985 – Hezbollah is founded.
• 1986 – The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
• 1987 – The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
• 1991 – Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.
• 1998 – China Airlines Flight 676 crashes into a road and residential area near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan, killing all 196 aboard and seven more on the ground.
• 1999 – In Uzbekistan, a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islom Karimov.
• 1999 – Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrests one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
• 2005 – The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
• 2005 – The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004–2005 regular season and playoffs.
• 2006 – The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
• 2013 – A bomb blast at a market in Hazara Town in Quetta, Pakistan kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others.
• 2015 – A CSX train crashes in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, resulting in large fires.

Births

• 1032 – Emperor Yingzong of Song (d. 1067)
• 1222 – Nichiren, Japanese monk and scholar (d. 1282)
• 1304 – Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, Chinese emperor (d. 1332)
• 1497 – Philip Melanchthon, German astronomer, theologian, and academic (d. 1560)
• 1519 – Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (d. 1572)
• 1543 – Kanō Eitoku, Japanese painter and educator (d. 1590)
• 1620 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1688)
• 1643 – John Sharp, English archbishop (d. 1714)
• 1698 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (d. 1758)
• 1727 – Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian botanist, chemist, and mycologist (d. 1817)
• 1740 – Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher and engraver (d. 1813)
• 1761 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
• 1774 – Pierre Rode, French violinist and composer (d. 1830)
• 1786 – Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1859)
• 1802 – Phineas Quimby, American mystic and philosopher (d. 1866)
• 1804 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (d. 1885)
• 1812 – Henry Wilson, American colonel and politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
• 1821 – Heinrich Barth, German explorer and scholar (d. 1865)
• 1822 – Francis Galton, English biologist and statistician (d. 1911)
• 1824 – Peter Kosler, Slovenian lawyer, geographer, and cartographer (d. 1879)
• 1826 – Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet and author (d. 1886)
• 1831 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (d. 1895)
• 1834 – Ernst Haeckel, German biologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1919)
• 1838 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (d. 1918)
• 1843 – Henry M. Leland, American engineer and businessman, founded Cadillac and Lincoln (d. 1932)
• 1845 – George Kennan, American journalist and explorer (d. 1924)
• 1848 – Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist, geneticist, and academic (d. 1935)
• 1848 – Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1917)
• 1856 – Ossian Everett Mills, American academic, founded Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (d. 1920)
• 1866 – Billy Hamilton, American baseball player and manager (d. 1940)
• 1873 – Radoje Domanović, Serbian journalist and author (d. 1908)
• 1868 – Edward S. Curtis, American ethnologist and photographer (d. 1952)
• 1876 – G. M. Trevelyan, English historian and academic (d. 1962)
• 1878 – Pamela Colman Smith, English occultist and illustrator (d. 1951)
• 1878 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1920)
• 1884 – Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (d. 1951)
• 1887 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (d. 1962)
• 1891 – Hans F. K. Günther, German eugenicist and academic (d. 1967)
• 1896 – Eugénie Blanchard, French super-centenarian (d. 2010)
• 1898 – Katharine Cornell, American actress and producer (d. 1974)
• 1901 – Wayne King, American singer-songwriter and conductor (d. 1985)
• 1901 – Chester Morris, American actor (d. 1970)
• 1903 – Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist and actor (d. 1978)
• 1904 – James Baskett, American actor and singer (d. 1948)
• 1904 – George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (d. 2005)
• 1906 – Vera Menchik, Russian-English chess player (d. 1944)
• 1909 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor and director (d. 1982)
• 1909 – Jeffrey Lynn, American actor (d. 1995)
• 1909 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Bill Doggett, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
• 1919 – Georges Ulmer, Danish-French actor and composer (d. 1989)
• 1920 – Anna Mae Hays, American general
• 1921 – Vera-Ellen, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
• 1921 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (d. 1959)
• 1921 – Esther Bubley, American photographer (d. 1998)
• 1921 – John Galbraith Graham, English priest and academic (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, German soldier and pilot (d. 1950)
• 1923 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (d. 2016)
• 1926 – Margot Frank, German-Dutch holocaust victim (d. 1945)
• 1926 – John Schlesinger, English actor and director (d. 2003)
• 1927 – June Brown, English actress
• 1929 – Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer and architect (d. 1980)
• 1929 – Peter Porter, Australian-English poet and educator (d. 2010)
• 1931 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2002)
• 1931 – Ken Takakura, Japanese actor and singer (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2007)
• 1934 – August Coppola, American author and academic (d. 2009)
• 1934 – Marlene Hagge, American golfer
• 1935 – Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (d. 2016)
• 1935 – Sonny Bono, American actor, singer, and politician (Sonny & Cher) (d. 1998)
• 1935 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Bradford Parkinson, American colonel and engineer
• 1935 – Kenneth Price, American painter and sculptor (d. 2012)
• 1937 – Yuri Manin, Russian-German mathematician and academic
• 1938 – John Corigliano, American composer and academic
• 1939 – Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino lawyer and judge
• 1939 – Czesław Niemen, Polish singer-songwriter (Niebiesko-Czarni) (d. 2004)
• 1940 – Hannelore Schmatz, German mountaineer (d. 1979)
• 1941 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 2011)
• 1942 – Richard Williams, American tennis player and coach
• 1944 – Glyn Davies, Welsh farmer and politician
• 1944 – Richard Ford, American author and academic
• 1944 – António Mascarenhas Monteiro, Cape Verdean politician, 2nd President of Cape Verde
• 1948 – Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler and coach (d. 2014)
• 1949 – Lyn Paul, English singer and actress (The New Seekers)
• 1950 – Peter Hain, Kenyan-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
• 1951 – Barry Foote, American baseball player and coach
• 1952 – William Katt, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1952 – James Ingram, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1953 – John Bradbury, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (The Specials) (d. 2015)
• 1953 – Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
• 1953 – Roberta Williams, American video game designer, co-founded Sierra Entertainment
• 1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author and playwright (d. 2013)
• 1954 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (d. 1996)
• 1954 – Michael Holding, Jamaican cricketer and sportscaster
• 1956 – Vincent Ward, New Zealand director and screenwriter
• 1957 – LeVar Burton, German-American actor, director, and producer
• 1958 – Ice-T, American rapper and actor (Body Count)
• 1958 – Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player
• 1958 – Herb Williams, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – John McEnroe, German-American tennis player and sportscaster
• 1959 – Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1960 – Pete Willis, English guitarist and songwriter (Def Leppard, Atomic Mass, Gogmagog, and Roadhouse)
• 1961 – Des Hasler, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1961 – Andy Taylor, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Duran Duran and The Power Station)
• 1962 – John Balance, English singer-songwriter (Coil) (d. 2004)
• 1964 – Bebeto, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1964 – Christopher Eccleston, English actor
• 1965 – Dave Lombardo, Cuban-American drummer (Slayer, Grip Inc., Fantômas, Voodoocult, and Testament)
• 1967 – Keith Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1968 – Warren Ellis, English author and screenwriter
• 1969 – Gangrel, American wrestler and actor
• 1972 – Jerome Bettis, American football player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Sarah Clarke, American actress
• 1973 – Cathy Freeman, Australian sprinter
• 1973 – Maureen Johnson, American author
• 1974 – Fanis Katergiannakis, Greek footballer
• 1975 – Nanase Aikawa, Japanese singer
• 1975 – Vanina Ickx, Belgian race car driver
• 1976 – Kyo, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (Dir En Grey)
• 1976 – Eric Byrnes, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1977 – Ian Clarke, Irish-American computer scientist, founded Freenet
• 1977 – Ahman Green, American football player
• 1978 – Tia Hellebaut, Belgian high jumper and chemist
• 1978 – Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer
• 1978 – John Tartaglia, American actor, singer, and puppeteer
• 1979 – Eric Mun, American-South Korean singer and actor (Shinhwa)
• 1979 – Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
• 1980 – Longineu W. Parsons III, French-American drummer (Yellowcard)
• 1981 – Jay Howard, English race car driver
• 1981 – Jerry Owens, American baseball player
• 1981 – Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
• 1982 – Aleksandr Dmitrijev, Estonian footballer
• 1982 – Lupe Fiasco, American rapper and producer (Child Rebel Soldier and Japanese Cartoon)
• 1982 – Rickie Lambert, English footballer
• 1983 – Agyness Deyn, English model, actress, and singer
• 1984 – Sofia Arvidsson, Swedish tennis player
• 1984 – Oussama Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer
• 1985 – Simon Francis, English footballer
• 1985 – Ron Vlaar, Dutch footballer
• 1986 – Josje Huisman, Dutch singer, actress, dancer (K3)
• 1987 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
• 1987 – Theresa Goh, Singaporean swimmer
• 1987 – Hasheem Thabeet, Tanzanian basketball player
• 1988 – Diego Capel, Spanish footballer
• 1988 – Zhang Jike, Chinese table tennis player
• 1988 – Denílson Pereira Neves, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Andrea Ranocchia, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Kim Soo-hyun, South Korean actor and singer
• 1989 – Elizabeth Olsen, American actress
• 1990 – The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1991 – Sergio Canales, Spanish footballer
• 1992 – Nicolai Boilesen, Danish footballer
• 1992 – Zsófia Susányi, Hungarian tennis player
• 1994 – Annika Beck, German tennis player
• 1995 – Katy Dunne, English tennis player
• 1995 – Carina Witthöft, German tennis player

Deaths

• 549 – Zhu Yi, Chinese general (b. 483)
• 1247 – Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)
• 1279 – Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1210)
• 1390 – Rupert I, Elector Palatine (b. 1309)
• 1391 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1332)
• 1531 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1452)
• 1560 – Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat (b. 1493)
• 1645 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and politician, 24th Governor of the Duchy of Milan (b. 1585)
• 1710 – Esprit Fléchier, French bishop and author (b. 1632)
• 1721 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1686)
• 1754 – Richard Mead, English physician (b. 1673)
• 1820 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (b. 1758)
• 1898 – Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealand journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1843)
• 1899 – Félix Faure, French merchant and politician, 7th President of France (b. 1841)
• 1907 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1835)
• 1912 – Nicholas of Japan, Russian-Japanese monk and saint (b. 1836)
• 1917 – Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1848)
• 1919 – Vera Kholodnaya, Ukrainian actress (b. 1893)
• 1928 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (b. 1856)
• 1932 – Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
• 1932 – Edgar Speyer, American-English financier and philanthropist (b. 1862)
• 1944 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1870)
• 1957 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1876)
• 1961 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (b. 1891)
• 1967 – Smiley Burnette, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1911)
• 1974 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand Rifle(b. 1888)
• 1975 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (b. 1903)
• 1980 – Erich Hückel, German physicist and chemist (b. 1895)
• 1984 – M. A. G. Osmani, Bangladeshi general (b. 1918)
• 1990 – Keith Haring, American painter and activist (b. 1958)
• 1991 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan lieutenant and engineer (b. 1932)
• 1992 – Angela Carter, English journalist and author (b. 1940)
• 1992 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician, 22nd President of Brazil (b. 1917)
• 1992 – Herman Wold, Norwegian-Swedish economist and statistician (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Roberto Aizenberg, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Roger Bowen, American actor and author (b. 1932)
• 1996 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (b. 1905)
• 1996 – Brownie McGhee, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1915)
• 1997 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist and academic (b. 1912)
• 2000 – Marceline Day, American actress (b. 1908)
• 2000 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-French actress and singer
• 2000 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-American businessman, founded PING (b. 1911)
• 2001 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (b. 1916)
• 2001 – William Masters, American gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1915)
• 2002 – Walter Winterbottom, English footballer and manager (b. 1913)
• 2003 – Rusty Magee, American actor and composer (b. 1955)
• 2004 – Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Nicole DeHuff, American actress (b. 1975)
• 2005 – Narriman Sadek, Egyptian wife of Farouk I of Egypt (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (b. 1966)
• 2006 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, South Korean cardinal (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Len Lesser, American actor (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Justinas Marcinkevičius, Lithuanian poet and playwright (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (b. 1954)
• 2012 – Elyse Knox, American model, actress, and fashion designer (b. 1917)
• 2012 – John Macionis, American swimmer and lieutenant (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Anthony Shadid, American journalist (b. 1968)
• 2013 – Colin Edwards, Guyanese footballer (b. 1991)
• 2013 – Grigory Pomerants, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Ken Farragut, American football player (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Gert Krawinkel, German guitarist (Trio) (b. 1947)
• 2014 – Michael Shea, American author (b. 1946)
• 2015 – Lasse Braun, Algerian-Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
• 2015 – R. R. Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1957)
• 2015 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (b. 1971)
• 2016 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Abda of Edessa
  • Elias and companions
  • Juliana of Nicomedia (Catholic Church)
  • Onesimus
  • Charles Todd Quintard (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • February 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's Birthday) (North Korea)
• Restoration of Lithuania's Statehood Day, celebrate the independence of Lithuania from Russia and Germany in 1918 (Lithuania)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History