February 16 in History

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.

A bomb blast at a market in Hazara Town, Quetta, Pakistan kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others.

The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.

The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.

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

Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 crashes near Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, California, killing all three aboard.

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.

A Chicago-bound Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, collides with a MARC commuter train bound for Washington, D.C., killing 11 people.

Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.

The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.

China Airlines Flight 2265 crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Penghu Airport in Taiwan, killing all 13 aboard.

Hezbollah is founded.

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.

The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75.

The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).

In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.

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.

The Great Sheffield Gale impacts the United Kingdom, killing nine people; the city of Sheffield is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged.

Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.

Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.

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.

Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.

World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.

The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945, the first anti-discrimination law in the United States, was signed into law.

World War II: In the early phases of the Third Battle of Kharkov, Red Army troops re-enter the city.

World War II: In Athens, the Greek People's Liberation Army is established

World War II: Attack on Aruba, first World War II German shots fired on a land based object in the Americas.

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.

Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.

The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election.

The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund.

The Commission of Government is officially sworn in; ending 79 years of responsible government in Newfoundland.

The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA.

Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.

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.

Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded.

The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).

Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.

American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.

Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon.

Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.

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.

Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the First English Civil War.

Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse.

Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.

Yuki Naito, Japanese tennis player

Koffee, Jamaican singer, songwriter and rapper

Coby White, American basketball player

Carlos Yulo, Filipino artistic gymnast

Ignatius Ganago, Cameroonian footballer

Marie Ulven Ringheim, Norwegian singer, songwriter and music producer

An Hyejin, South Korean volleyball player

Kim Suji, South Korean diver

Jordan Greenway, American ice hockey player

Denzel Curry, American rapper

Katy Dunne, English tennis player

Carina Witthöft, German tennis player

Annika Beck, German tennis player

Federico Bernardeschi, Italian footballer

Ava Max, American singer and songwriter

Nicolai Boilesen, Danish footballer

Zsófia Susányi, Hungarian tennis player

Sergio Canales, Spanish footballer

The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer

Elizabeth Olsen, American actress

Diego Capel, Spanish footballer

Denílson, Brazilian footballer

Korbinian Holzer, German ice hockey player

Zhang Jike, Chinese table tennis player

Andrea Ranocchia, Italian footballer

Kim Soo-hyun, South Korean actor and singer

Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2008)

Theresa Goh, Singaporean swimmer

Tommy Milone, American baseball player

Jon Ossoff, American politician and filmmaker

Hasheem Thabeet, Tanzanian basketball player

Diego Godín, Uruguayan footballer

Shawne Williams, American basketball player

Simon Francis, English footballer

Stacy Lewis, American golfer

Ron Vlaar, Dutch footballer

Sofia Arvidsson, Swedish tennis player

Oussama Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer

Agyness Deyn, English model, actress, and singer

Tuomo Ruutu, Finnish ice hockey player and coach

Manny Delcarmen, American baseball player

Aleksandr Dmitrijev, Estonian footballer

Lupe Fiasco, American rapper

Rickie Lambert, English footballer

Jay Howard, English race car driver

Susanna Kallur, Swedish sprint hurdler

Jerry Owens, American baseball player

Qyntel Woods, American basketball player

Longineu W. Parsons III, French-American musician and songwriter

Stéphane Dalmat, French footballer

Eric Mun, American-South Korean singer and actor

Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer

Tia Hellebaut, Belgian high jumper and chemist

Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer

John Tartaglia, American actor, singer, and puppeteer

Ian Clarke, Irish-American computer scientist, founded Hyphanet

Ahman Green, American football player

Alexei Morozov, Russian ice hockey player and executive

Eric Byrnes, American baseball player and sportscaster

Kyo, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer

Mahershala Ali, American actor

José Dominguez, Portuguese footballer and manager

Cathy Freeman, Australian sprinter

Jerome Bettis, American football player

Zoran Čampara, Bosnian football player

Sarah Clarke, American actress

Naomi Nishida, Japanese actress

Michael Avenatti, American attorney and pundit

Craig Laundy, Australian politician

Angelo Peruzzi, Italian footballer and manager

Warren Ellis, English author and screenwriter

Keith Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Dave Lombardo, Cuban-American musician and songwriter

Bebeto, Brazilian footballer and manager

Christopher Eccleston, English actor

John Balance, English singer-songwriter (died 2004)

Niko Nirvi, Finnish journalist

Andy Taylor, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Pete Willis, English guitarist and songwriter

John McEnroe, American tennis player and sportscaster

Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player and sportscaster

Natalie Angier, American author

Ice-T, American rapper and actor

Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player (died 2026)

Herb Williams, American basketball player and coach

LeVar Burton, American actor, director, and producer

Vincent Ward, New Zealand director and screenwriter

Iain Banks, Scottish author and playwright (died 2013)

Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (died 1996)

Michael Holding, Jamaican cricketer and sportscaster

John Bradbury, English musician, songwriter, and producer (died 2015)

Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player and manager

Roberta Williams, American video game designer, co-founded Sierra Entertainment

James Ingram, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2019)

Peter Kitchen, English footballer

William Katt, American actor

Peter Hain, Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales

Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler and coach (died 2014)

Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (died 2020)

Glyn Davies, Welsh farmer and politician

Richard Ford, American novelist and short story writer

António Mascarenhas Monteiro, Cape Verdean politician, 2nd President of Cape Verde (died 2016)

Yang Jen-fu, Taiwanese politician (died 2024)

Kim Jong Il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (died 2011)

Hannelore Schmatz, German mountaineer (died 1979)

Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino lawyer and judge

John Corigliano, American composer and academic

Paul Bailey, British novelist, critic, and biographer

Valentin Bondarenko, Soviet aviator and cosmonaut (died 1961)

Yuri Manin, Russian-German mathematician and academic (died 2023)

Carl Icahn, American businessman and investor

Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (died 2016)

Sonny Bono, American actor, singer, and politician (died 1998)

Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (died 2014)

Bradford Parkinson, American colonel and engineer

Kenneth Price, American painter and sculptor (died 2012)

Ken Brown, English footballer and manager

August Coppola, American author and academic (died 2009)

Marlene Hagge, American golfer (died 2023)

Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (died 2014)

Gretchen Wyler, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2007)

Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2002)

Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2006)

Ken Takakura, Japanese actor and singer (died 2014)

Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer and architect (died 1980)

Peter Porter, Australian-English poet and educator (died 2010)

June Brown, English actress (died 2022)

Margot Frank, German-Dutch holocaust victim (died 1945)

John Schlesinger, English actor and director (died 2003)

Ed Emshwiller, American illustrator and experiment film maker (died 1990)

Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (died 2016)

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, German soldier and pilot (died 1950)

Jean Behra, French race car driver (died 1959)

John Galbraith Graham, English priest and academic (died 2013)

Vera-Ellen, German-American actress, singer, and dancer (died 1981)

Anna Mae Hays, American general (died 2018)

Georges Ulmer, Danish-French actor and composer (died 1989)

Bill Doggett, American pianist and composer (died 1996)

Jimmy Wakely, American country music singer-songwriter and actor (died 1982)

Hugh Beaumont, American actor and director (died 1982)

Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (died 1998)

Vera Menchik, Russian-Czechoslovak-British chess player (died 1944)

Henrietta Barnett, English Women's Royal Air Force officer (died 1985)

James Baskett, American actor and singer (died 1948)

George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (died 2005)

Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist and actor (died 1978)

Cyril Vincent, South African cricketer (died 1968)

Wayne King, American singer-songwriter and conductor (died 1985)

Chester Morris, American actor (died 1970)

Eugénie Blanchard, French super-centenarian (died 2010)

Katharine Cornell, American actress and producer (died 1974)

Hans F. K. Günther, German eugenicist and academic (died 1968)

Kathleen Clifford, American actress (died 1962)

Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (died 1951)

Pamela Colman Smith, English occultist and illustrator (died 1951)

James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (died 1920)

Tom Crean, Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer (died 1938)

G. M. Trevelyan, English historian and academic (died 1962)

Radoje Domanović, Serbian journalist and author (died 1908)

Billy Hamilton, American baseball player and manager (died 1940)

Ossian Everett Mills, American academic, founded Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (died 1920)

Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist, geneticist, and academic (died 1935)

Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (died 1917)

George Kennan, American journalist and explorer (died 1924)

Henry M. Leland, American engineer and businessman, founded Cadillac and Lincoln (died 1932)

Armand Guillaumin, French painter (died 1927)

Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (died 1918)

Ernst Haeckel, German biologist, physician, and philosopher (died 1919)

Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (died 1895)

Lars Hertervig, Norwegian painter (died 1902)

Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet and author (died 1886)

Peter Kosler, Slovenian lawyer, geographer, and cartographer (died 1879)

Francis Galton, English biologist and statistician (died 1911)

Heinrich Barth, German explorer and scholar (died 1865)

Henry Wilson, American colonel and politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (died 1875)

Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (died 1885)

Phineas Quimby, American mystic and philosopher (died 1866)

Maria Pavlovna, Russian Grand Duchess (died 1859)

Pierre Rode, French violinist and composer (died 1830)

Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (died 1804)

Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher and engraver (died 1813)

Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian botanist, chemist, and mycologist (died 1817)

Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (died 1758)

John Sharp, English archbishop (died 1714)

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (died 1688)

Kanō Eitoku, Japanese painter and educator (died 1590)

Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (died 1572)

Georg Joachim Rheticus, Austrian cartographer and instrument maker (died 1574)

Philip Melanchthon, German astronomer, theologian, and academic (died 1560)

Krishnadevaraya, emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire (died 1529)

Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (died 1540)

John I, Duke of Cleves (died 1481)

Coluccio Salutati, Italian political leader (died 1406)

Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, Chinese emperor (died 1332)

Nichiren, founder of Nichiren Buddhism (died 1282)

Billy Steinberg, American songwriter (born 1950)

Frederick Wiseman, American filmmaker (born 1930)

Viktor Antonov, Bulgarian artist (born 1972)

Alexei Navalny, Russian activist (born 1976)

Gustavo Noboa, Ecuadorian politician, 42nd President of Ecuador (born 1937)

Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (born 1941)

Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1922)

Lasse Braun, Algerian-Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936)

Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (born 1946)

R. R. Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1957)

Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (born 1971)

Ken Farragut, American football player (born 1928)

Kralle Krawinkel, German guitarist (born 1947)

Michael Shea, American author (born 1946)

Colin Edwards, Guyanese footballer (born 1991)

Grigory Pomerants, Russian philosopher and author (born 1918)

Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1940)

Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (born 1954)

Elyse Knox, American model, actress, and fashion designer (born 1917)

John Macionis, American swimmer and lieutenant (born 1916)

Anthony Shadid, American journalist (born 1968)

Len Lesser, American actor (born 1922)

Justinas Marcinkevičius, Lithuanian poet and playwright (born 1930)

Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, South Korean cardinal (born 1921)

Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (born 1966)

Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (born 1925)

Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (born 1937)

Rusty Magee, American actor and composer (born 1955)

Walter Winterbottom, English footballer and manager (born 1913)

Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (born 1916)

William Masters, American gynecologist and sexologist (born 1915)

Marceline Day, American actress (born 1908)

Lila Kedrova, Russian-French actress and singer

Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-American businessman, founded PING (born 1911)

Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (born 1908)

Sheu Yuan-dong, Taiwanese politician (born 1927)

Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist and academic (born 1912)

Roberto Aizenberg, Argentinian painter and sculptor (born 1922)

Roger Bowen, American actor and author (born 1932)

Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (born 1905)

Brownie McGhee, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1915)

Angela Carter, English novelist, short story writer (born 1940)

Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician, 22nd President of Brazil (born 1917)

Herman Wold, Norwegian-Swedish economist and statistician (born 1908)

Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan lieutenant and engineer (born 1932)

Keith Haring, American painter and activist (born 1958)

Ye Shengtao, Chinese writer, educator, and politician (born 1894)

M. A. G. Osmani, Bangladeshi general (born 1918)

Erich Hückel, German physicist and chemist (born 1895)

Janani Luwum, bishop, Church of Uganda, martyr (born c.1922)

Rózsa Péter, Hungarian mathematician (born 1905)

Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (born 1903)

John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand Rifle (born 1888)

Smiley Burnette, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1911)

James M. Canty, American educator, school administrator, and businessperson (born 1865)

Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (born 1891)

Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (born 1876)

Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1870)

Frida Felser, German opera singer and actress (born 1872)

Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1841)

Edgar Speyer, American-English financier and philanthropist (born 1862)

Eddie Foy Sr., American actor and dancer (born 1856)

Vera Kholodnaya, Ukrainian actress (born 1893)

Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (born 1848)

Nicholas of Japan, Russian-Japanese monk and saint (born 1836)

Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1835)

Félix Faure, French merchant and politician, 7th President of France (born 1841)

Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealand journalist, poet, and politician (born 1843)

William Pennington, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born 1796)

Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (born 1758)

Richard Mead, English physician (born 1673)

James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (born 1686)

Esprit Fléchier, French bishop and author (born 1632)

Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and politician, 24th Governor of the Duchy of Milan (born 1585)

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Spanish explorer (born 1509)

Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat (born 1493)

Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (born 1452)

John V Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1332)

Rupert I, Elector Palatine (born 1309)

Gertrude of Hohenberg, queen consort of Germany (born c. 1225)

Afonso III of Portugal (born 1210)

Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (born 1204)

Richard of Dover, Archbishop of Canterbury

Mary the Younger, Byzantine saint (born 875)

Zhu Yi, Chinese general (born 483)