Editing February 16 (section)

==Events==
===Pre-1600===
*[[1249]] &ndash; [[André de Longjumeau|Andrew of Longjumeau]] is dispatched by [[Louis IX of France]] as his [[ambassador]] to meet with the [[Khagan]] of the [[Mongol Empire]].
*[[1270]] &ndash; The [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] defeats the [[Livonian Order]] in the [[Battle of Karuse]].

===1601–1900===
*[[1630]] &ndash; Dutch forces led by [[Hendrick Lonck]] [[Dutch invasions of Brazil#Invasion of Olinda and Recife (1630-1654)|capture]] [[Olinda]] in what was to become part of [[Dutch Brazil]].
*[[1646]] &ndash; [[Battle of Torrington]], Devon: The last major battle of the [[First English Civil War]].
*[[1699]] &ndash; First [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|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 (1570–1711)|Principality of Transylvania]].
*[[1742]] &ndash; [[Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington|Spencer Compton]], [[Earl of Wilmington]], becomes [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Dermot J. T. Englefield|author2=Janet Seaton|author3=Isobel White|title=Facts about the British prime ministers: a compilation of biographical and historical information|url=https://archive.org/details/factsaboutbritis0000engl|url-access=registration|year=1995|publisher=H.W. Wilson Co.|isbn=978-0-8242-0863-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/factsaboutbritis0000engl/page/7 7]-9}}</ref>
*[[1796]] &ndash; [[Colombo]] in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their [[Invasion of Ceylon (1795)|invasion of Ceylon]].<ref>{{cite book | last = James | first = William | author-link = William James (naval historian) | year = 2002 | orig-year= 1827 | title = The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 1, 1793–1796 | publisher = Conway Maritime Press | location = London | isbn = 0-85177-905-0 |page=371}}</ref>
*[[1804]] &ndash; [[First Barbary War]]: [[Stephen Decatur]] leads a raid to burn the [[pirate]]-held frigate {{USS|Philadelphia|1799|6}}.
*[[1862]] &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: General [[Ulysses S. Grant]] [[Battle of Fort Donelson|captures]] [[Fort Donelson]], [[Tennessee]].
*[[1866]] &ndash; [[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire|Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington]] becomes British [[Secretary of State for War]].
*[[1881]] &ndash; The [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).
*[[1899]] &ndash; [[Iceland]]'s first football club, [[Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur]], is founded.<ref>{{cite book|author=David Felsch|title=Fußball in Island|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HQN_4jazfVAC&pg=PA4|date=5 March 2013|publisher=GRIN Verlag|isbn=978-3-656-38235-5|pages=4|access-date=17 February 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801120505/https://books.google.com/books?id=HQN_4jazfVAC&pg=PA4|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1900]] &ndash; The [[Southern Cross expedition]] led by [[Carsten Borchgrevink]] achieved a new [[Farthest South]] of 78° 50'S, making the first landing at the [[Ross Ice Shelf|Great Ice Barrier]].<ref>{{cite book|author-link= Hugh Robert Mill|last=Mill|first= Hugh Robert|title= The Siege of the South Pole|publisher=[[Alston Rivers]]|location= London|year= 1905 |pages=402}}</ref>

===1901–present===
*[[1918]] &ndash; The [[Council of Lithuania]] unanimously adopts the [[Act of Independence of Lithuania|Act of Independence]], declaring [[Lithuania]] an independent state.<ref>{{cite book|author=OECD|title=Investment Guides: Lithuania 1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4rWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|date=6 October 1998|publisher=OECD Publishing|isbn=978-92-64-16368-3|pages=18|access-date=17 February 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801132439/https://books.google.com/books?id=F4rWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1923]] &ndash; [[Howard Carter]] unseals the [[burial chamber]] of [[Pharaoh]] [[Tutankhamun]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Christina Riggs|title=Photographing Tutankhamun: Archaeology, Ancient Egypt, and the Archive|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L5V9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR11|date=27 December 2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-350-03854-7|pages=11|access-date=17 February 2020|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801133609/https://books.google.com/books?id=L5V9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PR11|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1930]] &ndash; The [[Romanian Football Federation]] joins [[FIFA]].
*[[1934]] &ndash; The [[Austrian Civil War]] ends with the defeat of the [[Social Democratic Party of Austria|Social Democrats]] and the [[Republikanischer Schutzbund]].
*[[1936]] &ndash; The Popular Front wins the [[1936 Spanish general election]].
*[[1937]] &ndash; [[Wallace H. Carothers]] receives a United States [[patent]] for [[nylon]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Norris McWhirter|author2=Moira F. Stowe|title=The Guinness book of answers: a handbook of general knowledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ4TAQAAMAAJ|date=June 1980|publisher=Guinness Superlatives|isbn=978-0-85112-202-1|page=125|access-date=2020-02-17|archive-date=2016-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623223230/https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ4TAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1940]] &ndash; [[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.
*[[1942]] &ndash; World War II: In [[Athens]], the [[Greek People's Liberation Army]] is established<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rizospastis.gr/story.do?id=672517|title=Η ίδρυση του ΕΛΑΣ |date=February 25, 2001|website=ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΗΣ | language=Greek |access-date=February 4, 2021|archive-date=February 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217150547/https://www.rizospastis.gr/story.do?id=672517|url-status=live}}</ref>
*  1942   &ndash; World War II: [[Attack on Aruba]], first World War II German shots fired on a land based object in the Americas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lago-colony.com/WORLD_WAR_II/life_magazine.htm|title=LIFE Magazine, Vol 12, No 9, March 2 1942, Page 15|language=en|access-date=2022-02-16|archive-date=2016-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915103914/http://www.lago-colony.com/WORLD_WAR_II/life_magazine.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1943]] &ndash; World War II: In the early phases of the [[Third Battle of Kharkov]], [[Red Army]] troops re-enter the city.
*[[1945]] &ndash; World War II: American forces [[Battle of Corregidor (1945)|land on]] [[Corregidor Island]] in the [[Philippines]].
*  1945   &ndash; The [[Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945]], the first [[anti-discrimination law]] in the United States, was signed into law.<ref name="Elizabeth Peratrovich"/>
*[[1959]] &ndash; [[Fidel Castro]] becomes Premier of [[Cuba]] after dictator [[Fulgencio Batista]] was overthrown on [[January 1]].
*[[1960]] &ndash; The U.S. Navy submarine {{USS|Triton|SSRN-586|6}} begins [[Operation Sandblast]], setting sail from [[New London, Connecticut]], to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
*[[1961]] &ndash; [[Explorer program]]: [[Explorer 9]] (S-56a) is launched.
*[[1962]] &ndash; The [[Great Sheffield Gale]] impacts the [[United Kingdom]], killing nine people; the city of [[Sheffield]] is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged.<ref name="rmets">{{cite web |last1=Eden |first1=Philip |title=The Sheffield Gale of 1962 |url=https://www.rmets.org/sites/default/files/hisnews1201.pdf |website=Royal Meteorological Society Newsletter |date=2012 |access-date=1 February 2022 |archive-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121220023/https://www.rmets.org/sites/default/files/hisnews1201.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
*  1962   &ndash; [[North Sea flood of 1962|Flooding]] in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.
*[[1968]] &ndash; In [[Haleyville, Alabama]], the first [[9-1-1]] emergency telephone system goes into service.
*  1968   &ndash; [[Civil Air Transport Flight 010]] crashes near [[Songshan Airport|Shongshan Airport]] in Taiwan, killing 21 of the 63 people on board and one more on the ground.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-92C B-1018 Taipei|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19680216-1|access-date=2022-02-15 |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]|archive-date=2016-12-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223062907/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19680216-1|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1978]] &ndash; The first computer [[bulletin board system]] is created ([[CBBS]] in [[Chicago]]).
*[[1983]] &ndash; The [[Ash Wednesday bushfires]] in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[South Australia]] kill 75.
*[[1985]] &ndash; [[Hezbollah]] is founded.
*[[1986]] &ndash; The [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] liner {{MS|Mikhail Lermontov||6}} runs aground in the [[Marlborough Sounds]], New Zealand.
*  1986   &ndash; [[China Airlines Flight 2265]] crashes into the Pacific Ocean near [[Penghu Airport]] in [[Taiwan]], killing all 13 aboard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19860216-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-281 B-1870 Magong Airport (MZG)|last=Ranter|first=Harro|website=Aviation Safety Network |language=en|access-date=2019-08-25|archive-date=2019-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223184854/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19860216-0|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[1991]] &ndash; [[Nicaragua]]n [[Contras]] leader [[Enrique Bermúdez]] is assassinated in [[Managua]].
*[[1996]] &ndash; A Chicago-bound [[Amtrak]] train, the ''[[Capitol Limited (Amtrak train)|Capitol Limited]]'', [[1996 Maryland train collision|collides]] with a [[MARC Train|MARC]] commuter train bound for Washington, D.C., killing 11 people.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kyriakos|first1=Marianne|last2=Miller|first2=Bill|title=MARC, Amtrak Trains Collide, Killing 12|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 17, 1996|accessdate=February 16, 2024|page=A1|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/marcwreck/main.htm}}</ref>
*[[1998]] &ndash; [[China Airlines Flight 676]] crashes into a road and residential area near [[Taoyuan International Airport|Chiang Kai-shek International Airport]] in [[Taiwan]], killing all 196 aboard and six more on the ground.
*[[2000]] &ndash; [[Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17]] crashes near [[Sacramento Mather Airport]] in [[Rancho Cordova, California]], killing all three aboard.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-71F N8079U Sacramento-Mather Airport, CA (MHR)|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20000216-0|access-date=2022-02-15 |publisher=Aviation Safety Network|archive-date=2022-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104125648/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20000216-0|url-status=live}}</ref>
*[[2005]] &ndash; The [[Kyoto Protocol]] comes into force, following its [[Ratification#Ratification of an international treaty|ratification]] by Russia.
*  2005   &ndash; The [[National Hockey League]] [[2004–05 NHL lockout|cancels]] the entire 2004–05 regular season and playoffs.
*[[2006]] &ndash; The last [[Mobile army surgical hospital (US)|Mobile army surgical hospital]] (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
*[[2013]] &ndash; A [[February 2013 Quetta bombing|bomb blast]] at a market in [[Hazara Town]], [[Quetta|Quetta, Pakistan]] kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others.
*[[2021]] &ndash; Five thousand people gathered in the town of [[Kherrata]], [[Bejaia Province]] to mark the second anniversary of the [[2019–21 Algerian protests|Hirak protest movement]]. Demonstrations had been suspended because of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Algeria: Thousands take to the streets to relaunch protest movement |url=https://www.dw.com/en/algeria-thousands-take-to-the-streets-to-relaunch-protest-movement/a-56593206 |access-date=March 11, 2021 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=February 16, 2021 |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303013601/https://www.dw.com/en/algeria-thousands-take-to-the-streets-to-relaunch-protest-movement/a-56593206 |url-status=live }}</ref>