On this day: February 16

Events on February 16

• 1249 King Louis IX dispatched André de Longjumeau as the French ambassador to the Mongol Empire. Wikipedia
• 1249 Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Wikipedia
• 1270 Livonian 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. Wikipedia
• 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
• 1796 Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon. Wikipedia
• 1804 First Barbary War: Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a U.S. Navy raid to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia in the harbor of Tripoli, denying her use to the Barbary States. Wikipedia
• 1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee. Wikipedia
• 1862 American Civil War: A Union victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson gave General Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender". Wikipedia
• 1899 Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded. Wikipedia
• 1918 The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state. Wikipedia
• 1930 The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA. Wikipedia
• 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
• 1942 World War II: In Athens, the Greek People's Liberation Army is established Wikipedia
• 1945 World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines. Wikipedia
• 1959 Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1. Wikipedia
• 1959 Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba, beginning his decades-long rule over the country. Wikipedia
• 1962 The Great Sheffield Gale impacts the United Kingdom, killing nine people; the city of Sheffield is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged. Wikipedia
• 1978 The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago). Wikipedia
• 1983 The 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. Wikipedia
• 1983 The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75. Wikipedia
• 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
• 1985 The Lebanese Shia political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah released a manifesto describing its ideology and goals. Wikipedia
• 1986 China Airlines Flight 2265 crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Penghu Airport in Taiwan, killing all 13 aboard. Wikipedia
• 1986 The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Wikipedia
• 1991 Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua. Wikipedia
• 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

Born on February 16

• 1497 Philip Melanchthon, German astronomer, theologian, and academic (died 1560) Wikipedia
• 1812 Henry Wilson, American colonel and politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (died 1875) Wikipedia
• 1822 Francis Galton, English biologist and statistician (died 1911) Wikipedia
• 1831 Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (died 1895) Wikipedia
• 1834 Ernst Haeckel, German biologist, physician, and philosopher (died 1919) Wikipedia
• 1838 Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (died 1918) Wikipedia
• 1843 Henry M. Leland, American engineer and businessman, founded Cadillac and Lincoln (died 1932) Wikipedia
• 1848 Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (died 1917) Wikipedia
• 1848 Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist, geneticist, and academic (died 1935) Wikipedia
• 1873 Radoje Domanović, Serbian journalist and author (died 1908) Wikipedia
• 1904 George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (died 2005) Wikipedia
• 1909 Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (died 1998) Wikipedia
• 1926 Margot Frank, German-Dutch holocaust victim (died 1945) Wikipedia
• 1941 Kim Jong Il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (died 2011) Wikipedia
• 1959 John McEnroe, American tennis player and sportscaster Wikipedia
• 1964 Bebeto, Brazilian footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1974 Mahershala Ali, American actor Wikipedia
• 1979 Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer Wikipedia
• 1986 Diego Godín, Uruguayan footballer Wikipedia
• 1989 Elizabeth Olsen, American actress Wikipedia
• 1990 The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia
• 1994 Ava Max, American singer and songwriter Wikipedia

Died on February 16

• 1279 Afonso III of Portugal (born 1210) Wikipedia
• 1391 John V Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1332) Wikipedia
• 1899 Félix Faure, French merchant and politician, 7th President of France (born 1841) Wikipedia
• 1907 Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1835) Wikipedia
• 1917 Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (born 1848) Wikipedia
• 1932 Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1841) Wikipedia
• 1974 John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand Rifle (born 1888) Wikipedia
• 1990 Keith Haring, American painter and activist (born 1958) Wikipedia
• 1992 Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician, 22nd President of Brazil (born 1917) Wikipedia
• 1997 Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist and academic (born 1912) Wikipedia
• 1998 Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (born 1908) Wikipedia
• 2016 Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1922) Wikipedia
• 2019 Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (born 1941) Wikipedia
• 2024 Alexei Navalny, Russian activist (born 1976) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

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

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “February 16” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.