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View Full Version : February 16th - This Date in History



WillDekkard
02-16-2010, 03:26 AM
Hear are some notable events that happened on This Date in History
- February 16th
c/p from Wikipedia
* 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with Mongol Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
* 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 (1799).
* 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.
* 1899 – President F้lix Faure of France dies in office.
* 1899 – Knattspyrnuf้lag Reykjavํkur 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 Soviet troops reenter 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 close down 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.
* 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 Berm๚dez 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 ึcalan.
* 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.
end of c/p