# On this day: February 16

February 16 is the 47th day of the year (47th in leap years), with 318 days left until the end of the year (319 in a leap year).

## February 16 in one line

Headline entries for February 16, from Wikipedia: in 1959, Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1; born 1848: Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (died 1917); died 1917: Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (born 1848). In 2026 it is a Monday, in 2027 a Tuesday.

## Events on February 16

- 1249 King Louis IX dispatched André de Longjumeau as the French ambassador to the Mongol Empire. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_de_Longjumeau)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karuse)
- 1742 Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Compton%2C_1st_Earl_of_Wilmington)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Decatur)
- 1859 The French government passed a law setting the musical note A4 to a frequency of 435 hertz, in the first attempt to standardize concert pitch. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert_pitch)
- 1862 American Civil War: A Union victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson gave General Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender". [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Donelson)
- 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/Knattspyrnuf%C3%A9lag_Reykjav%C3%ADkur)
- 1900 The 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carsten_Borchgrevink)
- 1918 The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence, proclaiming the restoration of an independent Lithuania. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania)
- 1922 A landslide in Byblos revealed a sarcophagus in an underground tomb that was later discovered to be part of a large Bronze Age necropolis. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_necropolis_of_Byblos)
- 1923 Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun)
- 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)
- 1936 The Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing parties, came to power in the Spanish general election, a factor in the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War five months later. [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/Patent)
- 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/Altmark_incident)
- 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)
- 1959 Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro)
- 1961 The DuSable Museum, the first museum dedicated to the study and conservation of African American history, culture, and art, was chartered. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuSable_Black_History_Museum)
- 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday_bushfires)
- 1985 The Lebanese Shia political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah released a manifesto describing its ideology and goals. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah)
- 1996 Eleven people died in a train collision in Silver Spring, Maryland, leading to the creation of comprehensive U.S. federal rules for the design of passenger cars. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Maryland_train_collision)
- 1998 While on approach to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, China Airlines Flight 676 crashed due to an over-reliance of the autopilot, which resulted in the deaths of 202 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Airlines_Flight_676)
- 2005 The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol)
- 2013 At least 91 people were killed and 190 others injured after a bomb hidden in a water tank exploded at a market in Hazara Town, Pakistan. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2013_Quetta_bombing)

## Born on February 16

- 1497 Philip Melanchthon, German astronomer, theologian, and academic (died 1560) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philipp_Melanchthon)
- 1812 Henry Wilson, American colonel and politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (died 1875) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wilson)
- 1822 Francis Galton, English biologist and statistician (died 1911) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton)
- 1831 Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (died 1895) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Leskov)
- 1834 Ernst Haeckel, German biologist, physician, and philosopher (died 1919) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Haeckel)
- 1838 Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (died 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Adams)
- 1848 Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (died 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Mirbeau)
- 1848 Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist, geneticist, and academic (died 1935) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_de_Vries)
- 1873 Radoje Domanović, Serbian journalist and author (died 1908) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radoje_Domanovi%C4%87)
- 1904 George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan)
- 1941 Kim Jong Il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong_Il)
- 1954 Iain Banks, Scottish author and playwright (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Banks)
- 1959 John McEnroe, American tennis player and sportscaster [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEnroe)
- 1964 Bebeto, Brazilian footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebeto)
- 1974 Mahershala Ali, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahershala_Ali)
- 1979 Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentino_Rossi)
- 1986 Diego Godín, Uruguayan footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_God%C3%ADn)
- 1988 Kim Soo-hyun, South Korean actor and singer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Soo-hyun)
- 1989 Elizabeth Olsen, American actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Olsen)
- 1990 The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeknd)
- 1994 Ava Max, American singer and songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Max)
- 1994 Federico Bernardeschi, Italian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Bernardeschi)

## Died on February 16

- 1279 Afonso III of Portugal (born 1210) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso_III_of_Portugal)
- 1391 John V Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1332) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_V_Palaiologos)
- 1899 Félix Faure, French merchant and politician, 7th President of France (born 1841) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9lix_Faure)
- 1907 Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1835) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giosu%C3%A8_Carducci)
- 1917 Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (born 1848) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octave_Mirbeau)
- 1932 Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1841) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Buisson)
- 1990 Keith Haring, American painter and activist (born 1958) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Haring)
- 1992 Angela Carter, English novelist, short story writer (born 1940) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Carter)
- 1992 Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician, 22nd President of Brazil (born 1917) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A2nio_Quadros)
- 1997 Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist and academic (born 1912) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chien-Shiung_Wu)
- 2000 Lila Kedrova, Russian-French actress and singer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila_Kedrova)
- 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)
- 2019 Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (born 1941) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Ganz)
- 2024 Alexei Navalny, Russian activist (born 1976) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Navalny)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Abda of Edessa [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abda_of_Edessa)
- Christian feast day: Elias and companions [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_and_Companions)
- Christian feast day: Juliana of Nicomedia (Catholic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_of_Nicomedia)
- Christian feast day: Onesimus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onesimus)
- Christian feast day: Charles Todd Quintard (Episcopal Church (USA)) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Todd_Quintard)
- Christian feast day: February 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_16_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong Il's birthday) (North Korea) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Shining_Star)
- Restoration of Lithuania's Statehood Day, celebrate the independence of Lithuania from Russia and Germany in 1918 (Lithuania) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Independence_of_Lithuania)
- Elizabeth Peratrovich Day (Alaska) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Peratrovich)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “February 16”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_16) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/February 16”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/February_16) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“February 16”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_16) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_16?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for February 16 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## February 16 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Monday | 2026-W08 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2027 | Tuesday | 2027-W07 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2028 | Wednesday | 2028-W07 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2029 | Friday | 2029-W07 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2030 | Saturday | 2030-W07 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on February 16

- [🇺🇸 United States](https://whathappen.today/holidays/united-states/): Washington's Birthday (2026)
- [🇨🇳 China](https://whathappen.today/holidays/china/): Chinese New Year's Eve (2026)
- [🇰🇷 South Korea](https://whathappen.today/holidays/south-korea/): The day preceding Korean New Year (2026)
- [🇦🇷 Argentina](https://whathappen.today/holidays/argentina/): Carnival Monday (2026)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← February 15](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-15/) · [February 17 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-17/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-16/