# What happened on February 16 in history?

**Date:** February 16  
**Events recorded:** 48  
**Years spanned:** 1249 – 2021  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/february/16/

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## Featured Event

**2005** — The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004–05 regular season and playoffs.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League)

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## Events on this date

- **1249** — Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_de_Longjumeau))
- **1270** — The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania))
- **1630** — Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrick_Lonck))
- **1646** — Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the First English Civil War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Torrington))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor))
- **1742** — Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Compton%2C_1st_Earl_of_Wilmington))
- **1796** — Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombo))
- **1804** — First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War))
- **1862** — American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War))
- **1866** — Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Cavendish%2C_8th_Duke_of_Devonshire))
- **1881** — The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway))
- **1899** — Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland))
- **1900** — The Southern Cross expedition led by Carsten Borchgrevink achieves a new Farthest South of 78° 50'S, making the first landing at the Great Ice Barrier. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Cross_Expedition))
- **1918** — The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Lithuania))
- **1923** — Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Carter))
- **1930** — The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Football_Federation))
- **1934** — The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Civil_War))
- **1934** — The Commission of Government is officially sworn in; ending 79 years of responsible government in Newfoundland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Commission_of_Government))
- **1936** — The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Spanish_general_election))
- **1937** — Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Carothers))
- **1940** — World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. A total of 299 British prisoners are freed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1942** — World War II: In Athens, the Greek People's Liberation Army is established ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens))
- **1942** — World War II: Attack on Aruba, first World War II German shots fired on a land based object in the Americas. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Aruba))
- **1943** — World War II: In the early phases of the Third Battle of Kharkov, Red Army troops re-enter the city. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Kharkov))
- **1945** — World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Corregidor_(1945)))
- **1945** — The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945, the first anti-discrimination law in the United States, was signed into law. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Equal_Rights_Act_of_1945))
- **1959** — Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Triton_(SSRN-586)))
- **1961** — Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorers_Program))
- **1962** — The Great Sheffield Gale impacts the United Kingdom, killing nine people; the city of Sheffield is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sheffield_Gale))
- **1962** — Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1962))
- **1968** — In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleyville%2C_Alabama))
- **1968** — Civil Air Transport Flight 010 crashes near Shongshan Airport in Taiwan, killing 21 of the 63 people on board and one more on the ground. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Transport_Flight_10))
- **1978** — The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system))
- **1983** — The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_bushfires))
- **1984** — Iran launches Operation Dawn 5, a major offensive during the Iran–Iraq War targeting the Basra–Baghdad highway, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran))
- **1985** — Hezbollah is founded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah))
- **1986** — The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union))
- **1986** — China Airlines Flight 2265 crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Penghu Airport in Taiwan, killing all 13 aboard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_2265))
- **1991** — Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua))
- **1996** — A Chicago-bound Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, collides with a MARC commuter train bound for Washington, D.C., killing 11 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak))
- **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 six more on the ground. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_676))
- **2000** — Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 crashes near Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, California, killing all three aboard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_Worldwide_Airlines_Flight_17))
- **2005** — The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol))
- **2005** — The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004–05 regular season and playoffs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Hockey_League))
- **2006** — The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Army_Surgical_Hospital))
- **2013** — A bomb blast at a market in Hazara Town, Quetta, Pakistan kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2013_Quetta_bombing))
- **2021** — Five thousand people gathered in the town of Kherrata, Bejaia Province to mark the second anniversary of the Hirak protest movement. Demonstrations had been suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kherrata))

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## Notable births on February 16

- **2001** — **Yuki Naito** — Japanese tennis player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Naito))
- **2000** — **Koffee** — Jamaican singer, songwriter and rapper ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_Koffee))
- **2000** — **Coby White** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coby_White))
- **2000** — **Carlos Yulo** — Filipino artistic gymnast ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Yulo))
- **1999** — **Ignatius Ganago** — Cameroonian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Ganago))
- **1999** — **Marie Ulven Ringheim** — Norwegian singer, songwriter and music producer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_in_Red))
- **1998** — **An Hyejin** — South Korean volleyball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Hye-jin))
- **1998** — **Kim Suji** — South Korean diver ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Su-ji_(diver)))
- **1997** — **Jordan Greenway** — American ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Greenway))
- **1995** — **Denzel Curry** — American rapper ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denzel_Curry))

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## Notable deaths on February 16

- **2026** — **Billy Steinberg** — American songwriter (born 1950) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Steinberg))
- **2026** — **Frederick Wiseman** — American filmmaker (born 1930) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Wiseman))
- **2025** — **Viktor Antonov** — Bulgarian artist (born 1972) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Antonov_(artist)))
- **2024** — **Alexei Navalny** — Russian activist (born 1976) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny))
- **2021** — **Gustavo Noboa** — Ecuadorian politician, 42nd President of Ecuador (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_Noboa))
- **2019** — **Bruno Ganz** — Swiss actor (born 1941) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Ganz))
- **2016** — **Boutros Boutros-Ghali** — Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1922) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boutros_Boutros-Ghali))
- **2015** — **Lasse Braun** — Algerian-Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasse_Braun))
- **2015** — **Lesley Gore** — American singer-songwriter (born 1946) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_Gore))
- **2015** — **R. R. Patil** — Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1957) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._R._Patil))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/february/16/](https://thisday.info/events/february/16/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.