On This Day: 16 February

16 February in world history

• 2000Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 crashes near Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, California, killing all three aboard.
• 1986The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
• 1985The Lebanese Shia political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah released a manifesto describing its ideology and goals.
• 1984Iran launches Operation Dawn 5, a major offensive during the Iran–Iraq War targeting the Basra–Baghdad highway, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.
• 1983The Ash Wednesday bushfires burned over half a million acres (over 2,000 km2) each in both South Australia and Victoria, killing 75 people and injuring 2,676 others.
• 1978The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).
• 1960The U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
• 1959Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
• 1940World 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.
• 1934The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund.
• 1918The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence, proclaiming the restoration of an independent Lithuania.
• 1900The Southern Cross Expedition led by Carsten Borchgrevink achieved a new Farthest South of 78° 50'S, making the first landing at the Great Ice Barrier.
• 1899Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded.
• 1866Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
• 1862American Civil War: A Union victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson gave General Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender".
• 1804First Barbary War: Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a U.S. Navy raid to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia in the harbor of Tripoli (depicted), denying her use to the Barbary States.
• 1270Livonian Crusade: In the Battle of Karuse, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania achieved a decisive victory over the Livonian Order on the frozen surface of the Baltic Sea.
• 1249King Louis IX dispatched André de Longjumeau as the French ambassador to the Mongol Empire.

Born on 16 February

• 1987Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2008)
• 1978Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketerIndia
• 1939Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino lawyer and judge
• 1927June Brown, English actress (died 2022)
• 1878James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (died 1920)
• 1834Ernst Haeckel, German biologist, physician, and philosopher (died 1919)

Died on 16 February

• 2015R. R. Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (born 1957)India
• 1998Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (born 1908)
• 1944Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1870)India
• 1932Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1841)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 16 February in history?

2000: Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 crashes near Sacramento Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova, California, killing all three aboard. 1986: The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. 1985: The Lebanese Shia political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah released a manifesto describing its ideology and goals. 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.

Which famous people were born on 16 February?

Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2008) (1987); Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer (1978); Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino lawyer and judge (1939); June Brown, English actress (died 2022) (1927).

Which day is observed on 16 February?

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); Elizabeth Peratrovich Day (Alaska).