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Today February 16th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. 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)
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