February 16th archived daily history

Today February 16th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009

Events
1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols.
1646 – Battle of Great Torrington, Devon – the last major battle of the first English Civil War.
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.
1838 – Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
1852 – Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
1859 – The French Government passes a law to set the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz, in an attempt to standardize the pitch.
1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
1866 – Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes the British Secretary of State for War.
1868 – In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE).
1899 – President Félix Faure of France dies in office.
1899 – Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur Iceland s first football club 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.
1934 – Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republican Schutzbund.
1934 – Commission of Government is sworn in as form of direct rule for the Dominion of Newfoundland.
1936 – Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a 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: The USSR reconquers Kharkov.
1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
1947 – Canadians granted Canadian citizenship after 80 years of being British subjects. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
1957 – The Toddlers Truce, a controversial television closedown between 6.00pm and 7.00pm was abolished in the United Kingdom.
1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
1961 – Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
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, Illinois).
1983 – The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia claim the lives of 75 people in Australia s worst ever fires.
1985 – The founding of Hezbollah.
1986 – The Soviet liner 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.
1993 – Western Australia s and Australia s first woman Premier, Carmen Lawrence, is voted out of office.
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 arrested 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, becoming the first major sports league in North America to do so over a labor dispute.
2006 – The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.

Births
1032 – Emperor Yingzong of China (d. 1067)
1222 – Nichiren Daishonin, Japanese founder of Nichiren Buddhism (d. 1282)
1497 – Philipp Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (d. 1560)
1519 – Gaspard de Coligny, French Huguenot leader (d. 1572)
1543 – Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (d. 1590)
1620 – Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg, Duke of Prussia (d. 1688)
1643 – John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (d. 1714)
1698 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician (d. 1758)
1727 – Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (d. 1817)
1740 – Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher and engraver (d. 1813)
1761 – Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
1786 – Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1859)
1802 – Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, American philosopher (d. 1866)
1804 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (d. 1885)
1812 – Henry Wilson, 18th Vice President of US (d. 1875)
1821 – Heinrich Barth, German explorer (d. 1865)
1822 – Sir Francis Galton, English explorer and biologist (d. 1911)
1824 – Peter Kozler, Slovenian cartographer and geographer (d. 1879)
1826 – Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
1826 – Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet (d. 1886)
1831 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian writer (d. 1895)
1834 – Ernst Haeckel, German zoologist and philosopher (d. 1919)
1838 – Henry Adams, American historian and novelist (d. 1918)
1847 – Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (d. 1917)
1848 – Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist (d. 1935)
1856 – Rudolph Karstadt, German entrepreneur (d. 1944)
1856 – Willem Kes, Dutch conductor (d. 1934)
1866 – Billy Hamilton (baseball player), MLB Hall of Fame Outfielder (d. 1940)
1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet (d. 1949)
1874 – Marie Gutheil-Schoder, German soprano (d. 1935)
1876 – George Macaulay Trevelyan, English historian (d. 1962)
1878 – Pamela Colman Smith, artist, writer, designer of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck of tarot cards (d. 1951)
1880 – Frank Burke, American baseball player (d. 1946)
1883 – Elizabeth Craig, British writer (d. 1980)
1884 – Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (d. 1951)
1886 – Van Wyck Brooks, American historian and critic (d. 1963)
1887 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (d. 1962)
1898 – Katharine Cornell, American actress (d. 1974)
1891 – Hans F. K. Günther, German eugenicist (d. 1967)
1901 – Vincent Coleman, American actor (d. 1971)
1901 – Wayne King, American musician and orchestra leader (d. 1985)
1901 – Chester Morris, American film actor (d. 1970)
1903 – Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist (d. 1978)
1903 – George-Henri Lévesque, Quebec priest and sociologist (d. 2000)
1904 – George F. Kennan, American historian, diplomat and political policy-maker (d. 2005)
1906 – Vera Menchik, British-Czech chess player, the first Women s World Champion in chess (d. 1944)
1909 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor (d. 1982)
1909 – Jeffrey Lynn, American actor (d. 1995)
1909 – Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer (d. 1998)
1915 – Jim O Hora, American college football coach (d. 2005)
1915 – Elisabeth Eybers, South African poet (d. 2007)
1915 – Michael Relph, British film producer and director (d. 2004)
1916 – Bill Doggett, American jazz and rhythm and blues pianist and organist (d. 1996)
1918 – Patty Andrews, American singer
1920 – Anna Mae Hays, American army general
1921 – Jean Behra, French Formula One driver (d. 1959)
1921 – Araucaria, British crossword compiler
1921 – Vera-Ellen, American actress (d. 1981)
1922 – Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, German night fighter pilot (d. 1950)
1925 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitar master (d. 2004)
1926 – John Schlesinger, English film director (d. 2003)
1927 – June Brown, British actress
1929 – Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer (d. 1980)
1931 – George E. Sangmeister, American politician (d. 2007)
1931 – Ken Takakura, Japanese actor
1932 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (d. 2007)
1932 – Otis Blackwell, American songwriter and singer (d. 2002)
1932 – Harry Goz, American actor (d. 2003)
1932 – Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of Sierra Leone
1934 – Herbie & Harold Kalin, American singers
1934 – Marlene Hagge, American professional golfer
1935 – Sonny Bono, American entertainer & U.S. Congressman (d. 1998)
1936 – Jill Kinmont, American skier
1937 – Yuri Manin, Russian mathematician
1938 – John Corigliano, American composer
1938 – Barry Primus, American actor
1939 – Czeslaw Niemen, Polish singer-songwriter and composer (d. 2004)
1939 – Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
1942 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean leader
1943 – Brig Owens, American football player
1944 – Richard Ford, American novelist
1944 – António Mascarenhas Monteiro, 2nd President of Cape Verde
1945 – Jeremy Bulloch, English actor
1945 – Frank Welker, American voice actor
1946 – Ian Lavender, English actor
1948 – Eckhart Tolle, Author and spiritual teacher
1950 – Peter Hain, British politician
1950 – Kazuki Tomokawa, Japanese acid-folk singer
1950 – Roman Tam, Hong Kong famous singer (d. 2002)
1951 – William Katt, American actor
1952 – Barry Foote, Major League Baseball player
1953 – George Martin, American footballer
1953 – Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player
1953 – Roberta Williams, computer game designer
1954 – Michael Holding, West Indian fast bowler cricket
1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author
1954 – Margaux Hemingway, American actress and model (d. 1996)
1955 – Hunt Block, American actor
1956 – James Ingram, American singer
1957 – LeVar Burton, American actor
1958 – Natalie Angier, American journalist and author
1958 – Lisa Loring, American actress
1958 – Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player
1958 – Michael W. Burns, American politician
1959 – John McEnroe, American tennis player
1959 – Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player
1960 – Pete Willis, English guitarist (Def Leppard)
1960 – Cherie Chung, Hong Kong actress
1961 – Andy Taylor, English rock guitarist (Duran Duran)
1962 – John Balance, English musician (Coil, Psychic TV) (d. 2004)
1963 – Dave Lombardo, Cuban drummer (Slayer)
1963 – Dano Halsall, Swiss swimmer
1964 – Bebeto, Brazilian footballer
1964 – Christopher Eccleston, English actor
1967 – John Valentin, baseball player
1967 – Keith Gretzky, former hockey player; brother of Wayne Gretzky
1968 – Warren Ellis, British comic book writer
1969 – David Heath, American professional wrestler better known as Gangrel
1970 – D.J. Wallis, American fitness competitor
1970 – Serdar Ortac, Turkish popstar
1970 – Angelo Peruzzi, Italian footballer
1971 – Amanda Holden, British actress
1972 – Jerome Bettis, American football player.
1972 – Sarah Clarke, American actress
1973 – Christian Bassedas, Argentine former footballer
1973 – Cathy Freeman, Australian athlete
1973 – Nikos Kostakis, Greek footballer
1974 – Fanis Katergiannakis, Greek footballer
1974 – Johnny Tri Nguyen, Vietnamese American stuntman and martial arts actor
1975 – Nanase Aikawa, Japanese singer
1975 – Vanina Ickx, Belgian racing driver
1975 – Don Jeffcoat, American actor
1976 – Eric Byrnes, American baseball player
1976 – Kyo, Japanese singer (Dir en grey)
1976 – Joe Odagiri, Japanese actor
1977 – Ian Clarke, Irish computer programmer
1977 – Ahman Green, American football player
1978 – Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
1978 – John Tartaglia, Broadway actor and Muppeteer
1978 – Wasim Jaffer, Indian Cricketer
1979 – Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
1979 – Eric Mun, Korean rapper (Shinhwa)
1980 – Agim Kaba, American actor and film producer
1980 – Ashley Lelie, American football player
1981 – Jay Howard, British racing driver
1981 – Jerry Owens, American baseball player
1981 – Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
1982 – Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, American rapper
1983 – Tuomo Ruutu, Finnish ice hockey player
1985 – Zoi Dimoschaki, Greek swimmer
1987 – Theresa Goh, Singaporean Paralympic swimmer
1988 – Denílson Pereira Neves, Brazilian footballer
1991 – Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg, Princess of Luxembourg

Deaths
1247 – Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)
1279 – King Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1210)
1391 – John V Palaeologus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1332)
1531 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1452)
1560 – Jean du Bellay, French Catholic cardinal and diplomat
1710 – Esprit Fléchier, French writer and Bishop of Nîmes (b. 1632)
1721 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician (b. 1686)
1754 – Richard Mead, English physician (b. 1673)
1820 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish Lieutenant General and war hero (b. 1758).
1844 – Joseph Crosfield, English soap and alkali manufacturer (b. 1792)
1898 – Thomas Bracken, New Zealand poet (b. 1843)
1899 – Félix Faure, President of France (b. 1841)
1907 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1835)
1912 – St. Nikolai of Japan, Eastern Orthodox priest (b. 1836)
1917 – Octave Mirbeau, French writer (b. 1848)
1919 – Vera Kholodnaya, Russian film star (b. 1893)
1928 – Eddie Foy, American singer and dancer (b. 1856)
1932 – Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1841)
1967 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-born actor (b. 1887)
1967 – Smiley Burnette, American actor, singer and songwriter (b. 1911)
1974 – John Garand, Canadian rifle engineer and manufacturer (b. 1888)
1975 – Morgan Taylor, American athlete (b. 1903)
1975 – Norman Treigle, American bass-baritone (b. 1927)
1977 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (b. 1897)
1978 – E. Roland Harriman, American financier (b. 1895)
1979 – Nematollah Nassiri, executed Iran general/head of SAVAK (b. 1911)
1980 – Erich Hückel, German physicist (b. 1895)
1988 – Jean Carignan, French Canadian fiddler (b. 1916)
1990 – Keith Haring, American artist (b. 1958)
1991 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan Contra leader (b. 1932)
1992 – Angela Carter, English writer (b. 1940)
1992 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (b. 1917)
1992 – Herman Wold, Swedish statistician (b. 1908)
1996 – Roger Bowen, American actor (b. 1932)
1996 – Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California (b. 1905)
1996 – Brownie McGhee, American singer (b. 1915)
1997 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist (b. 1912)
1999 – Michael Larson, Press Your Luck Big-winning contestant (b. 1949)
2000 – Marceline Day, American actress (b. 1908)
2000 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-born engineer and inventor (b. 1911)
2000 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-born actress (b. 1918)
2001 – Bob Buhl, baseball player (b. 1928)
2001 – Howard W. Koch, American film director (b. 1916)
2001 – William Masters, American gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1915)
2002 – Walter Winterbottom, England football manager (b. 1913)
2003 – Eleanor Sis Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley (b. 1907)
2004 – Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (b. 1925)
2004 – Doris Troy, American singer (b. 1937)
2005 – Nicole DeHuff, American actress (pneumonia) (b. 1975)
2005 – Queen Narriman, second and last wife of King Farouk and mother of their only child King Fuad II
2006 – Johnny Grunge, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
2006 – Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances
Lithuania – Independence Day ([[1918)
Saint Abda of Edessa
Saint Elias and companions
Saint Juliana
Saint Gilbert of Sempringham
Saint Onesimus
February 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)