On This Day — 16 February

2021

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.

Kherrata

2013

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

February 2013 Quetta bombing

2006

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

Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

2005

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

Kyoto Protocol

2005

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

National Hockey League

2000

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

Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17

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.

China Airlines Flight 676

1996

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

Amtrak

1991

Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.

Nicaragua

1986

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

Soviet Union

1986

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

China Airlines Flight 2265

1985

Hezbollah is founded.

Hezbollah

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.

Iran

1983

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

Ash Wednesday bushfires

1978

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

Bulletin board system

1968

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

Haleyville, Alabama

1968

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.

Civil Air Transport Flight 10

1962

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

Great Sheffield Gale

1962

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

North Sea flood of 1962

1961

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

Explorers Program

1960

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.

USS Triton (SSRN-586)

1959

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

Fidel Castro

1945

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

Battle of Corregidor (1945)

1945

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

Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945

1943

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

Third Battle of Kharkov

1942

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

Athens

1942

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

Attack on Aruba

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.

World War II

1937

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

Wallace Carothers

1936

The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election.

1936 Spanish general election

1934

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

Austrian Civil War

1934

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

Newfoundland Commission of Government

1930

The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA.

Romanian Football Federation

1923

Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Howard Carter

1918

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

Council of Lithuania

1900

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.

Southern Cross Expedition

1899

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

Iceland

1881

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

Canadian Pacific Railway

1866

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

Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire

1862

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

American Civil War

1804

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

First Barbary War

1796

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

Colombo

1742

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

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington

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.

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

1646

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

Battle of Torrington

1630

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

Hendrick Lonck

1270

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

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

1249

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

André de Longjumeau