Today in History

On February 16 in history ..

• 0374 - 9th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
• 0600 - Pope Gregory the Great decreea saying "God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze
• 1486 - Diet of Frankfort
• 1512 - Battle at Valeggio: French troops beat Venetianen
• 1559 - Pope Paul IV calls for deposition of sovereigns supporting heresy
• 1641 - English king Charles I accept Triennial Act
• 1655 - Dutch Grand Pensionary advisor Johan de Witt marries Wendela Bicker
• 1659 - 1st known check (£400) (on display at Westminster Abbey)
• 1666 - Netherlands & Brandenburg sign treaty
• 1677 - Earl of Shaftesbury arrested/confined in London Tower
• 1741 - Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine (2nd US Mag) begins publishing
• 1742 - Earl of Wilmington becomes British premier
• 1751 - 1st publication of Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard"
• 1760 - Native American hostages killed in Ft Prince George SC
• 1771 - Messier presents his original list of 45 M-objects to French Academy
• 1777 - Messier adds M53 to his catalog (globular cluster in Coma Berenice)
• 1804 - Lt Stephen Decatur raids Tripoli Harbor & burns Navy frigate "Philadelphia" after pirates seized it
• 1824 - Athenaeum founded
• 1832 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reaches St-Pauls (1°N, 29°W)
• 1838 - Kentucky passes law permitting women to attend school under conditions
• 1840 - American Charles Wilkes discovers Shackleton Ice Shelf, Antarctica
• 1846 - Battle of Sobraon ends 1st Sikh War in India
• 1854 - Franz Liszts symphony "Orpheus," premieres
• 1857 - Gallaudet College (Natl Deaf Mute college) forms (Wash DC)
• 1860 - Dutch Rochussen/Van Bosse govt resigns
• 1862 - Ft Donelson captured by Gen Grant (1,400 confederates surrender)
• 1864 - Battle of Mobile, AL - operations by Union Army
• 1868 - Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks forms (NY)
• 1878 - Silver dollar became US legal tender
• 1880 - American Society of Mechanical Engineers forms (NYC)
• 1883 - "Ladies Home Journal" begins publishing
• 1887 - 1st newspaper convention (Rochester NY)
• 1887 - Eduard Douwes Dekker writes his last text (Lf8-c5)
• 1892 - Opera "Werther," premieres in Vienna
• 1894 - British troops occupy Ilorin, Gold Coast
• 1899 - Pelham Warner scores 132 on Test Cricket debut (Eng v SA Johannesburg)
• 1900 - 1st Chinese daily newspaper in US publishes (Chung Sai Yat Po-SF)
• 1900 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias, 3 games to 1
• 1903 - -59°F (-51°C), Pokegama Dam, Minnesota (state record)
• 1905 - 1st US Esperanto club organizes in Boston
• 1909 - 1st subway car with side doors goes into service (NYC)
• 1909 - Serbia mobilizes against Austria-Hungary
• 1912 - VSV soccer team forms in Ijmuiden
• 1913 - President Taft agrees not to intervene in Mexico
• 1914 - 1st airplane flight (LA to SF)
• 1915 - Frank Home Run Baker, 28, announces retirement following a contract dispute with Connie Mack. He sits out 1915 season
• 1916 - Russian troops conquer Erzurum Armenia
• 1917 - 1st synagogue in 425 years opens in Madrid
• 1918 - Lithuania declares independence from Russia & Germany (National Day)
• 1923 - Allies accept Latvia's occupation of Memel territory
• 1923 - Howard Carter finds Pharoah Tutankhamen
• 1923 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard
• 1923 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger
• 1926 - Suzanne Lenglen defeats Helen Wills in Tennis at Cannes France
• 1927 - Noël Coward's "Marquise," premieres in London
• 1927 - US restores diplomatic relations with Turkey
• 1929 - KID-AM in Idaho Falls ID begins radio transmissions
• 1931 - Extreme right wing Svinhufvud becomes president of Finland
• 1932 - 1st patent issued for a tree, to James Markham for a peach tree
• 1933 - Catholic newspaper Germania warns against nazis/communists
• 1933 - England regains the Ashes, thanks to bodyline tactics
• 1936 - 4th Winter Olympic games close at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
• 1936 - Spanish Frente Popular (People's Front) wins elections
• 1937 - DuPont Corp patents nylon, developed by employee Wallace H Carothers
• 1937 - Jean Anouilh's "Le Voyageur Sans Baggage," premieres in Paris
• 1938 - US Federal Crop Insurance program authorized
• 1940 - British search plane finds German Altmark off Norway
• 1942 - German submarines attack Aruba oil refinery
• 1943 - -32°F (-36°C), Falls Village, Connecticut (state record)
• 1943 - British premier Winston Churchill gets pneumonia
• 1943 - Red army conquers Kharkov
• 1943 - Withdrawing Africa Corps reaches Mareth-line in North-Africa
• 1943 - Sign on Munich facade: "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" done by "White Rose" student group, caught on 2/18, beheaded on 2/22
• 1945 - US forces land on Corregidor, complete conquest on March 3
• 1945 - Venezuela declares war on nazi-Germany
• 1946 - "Duchess Misbehaves" closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 5 perfs
• 1946 - 1st commercially designed helicopter tested, Bridgeport Ct
• 1947 - Morton Gould's 3rd Symphony, premieres
• 1948 - 1st newsreel telecast, "20th Century Fox-Movietone News" shown on NBC
• 1948 - Miranda, famous moon of Uranus, photographed for 1st time
• 1950 - Longest-running prime-time game show, "What's My Line" begins on CBS
• 1950 - Writers fail to elect anyone to Baseball's Hall of Fame
• 1951 - NYC passes bill prohibiting racism in city-assisted housing
• 1951 - SF City Hall dome fire
• 1952 - Hall of Famer Honus Wagner, 77, retires; Pirates retire his #33
• 1952 - Ian Craig makes NSW cricket debut aged 16 years 249 days (NSW record)
• 1954 - WNEM TV channel 5 in Bay City, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting
• 1956 - Britain abolishes death penalty
• 1958 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA St Petersburg Golf Open
• 1959 - Fidel Castro named himself Cuba's premier after overthrowing Batista
• 1959 - Leonard Spigelgass' "Majority of One," premieres in NYC
• 1960 - US nuclear submarine USS Triton set off on underwater round-world trip
• 1961 - 1st all-solid-propellant rocket put in orbit, Wallops Island, Va
• 1961 - China uses it's 1st nuclear reactor
• 1961 - US satellite Explorer 9 is launched
• 1962 - Darius Milhaud's 12th Symphony, premieres
• 1962 - US Open Tennis: Jimmy Bostwick defeats brother Pete to win
• 1963 - 1st round-trip swim of Strait of Messina, Italy (Mary Revell of US)
• 1963 - Beatles top British rock charts with "Please, Please Me"
• 1963 - C & A Building in Amsterdam burns down
• 1964 - "Foxy" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 72 performances
• 1964 - Beatles' 2nd appearance on "Ed Sullivan Show"
• 1965 - "Baker Street" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 313 performances
• 1965 - Pegasus 1 launched to detect micro-meteors
• 1966 - Bob Cowper makes 307 v England at the MCG, 727 mins, 20 fours
• 1966 - End of Wally Grout's Test Cricket career, 187 dismissals as Aust WK
• 1966 - France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
• 1967 - Red Ruffing selected to Hall of Fame
• 1968 - Country's 1st 911 phone system went into service in Haleyville, Ala
• 1968 - Elvis Presley receives gold record for "How Great Thou Art"
• 1968 - Beatles George Harrison & John Lennon & wives fly to India for transcendental meditation study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
• 1970 - Joe Frazier TKOs Jimmy Ellis in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1972 - 1st NBA to score 30,000 points (Wilt Chamberlain in 940 games)
• 1972 - German mass murderers "Three of Breda" freed
• 1972 - Test Cricket debut of Lawrence Rowe WI v NZ Kingston, 214 & 100
• 1972 - Wilt Chamberlain hit 30,000 point mark during a game with Phoenix Suns
• 1973 - WI v Australia at Kingston, 1st time since 1955 without Sobers
• 1975 - Washington Capitals 1st NHL shutout, beating KC Scouts 3-0
• 1977 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
• 1978 - 1st Computer Bulletin Board System (Ward & Randy's CBBS, Chicago)
• 1979 - George Harrison releases "Blow Away"
• 1979 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1980 - Continuous traffic jam extends 176 km north of Lyons, France
• 1980 - Eric Heiden skates 5k in 7:02.29 (Olympic Record)
• 1982 - Agatha Barbara elected as 1st female president of Malta
• 1982 - Assembled STS-3 vehicle moves from Vandenberg AFB to launch pad
• 1982 - Lee Majors & Farrah Fawcett Majors divorce
• 1984 - Bill Johnson becomes 1st American to win Olympic downhill skiing gold
• 1984 - NJ Devils 1st OT goal, Jan Ludvig beats Hartford Whalers 6-5
• 1985 - Largest NBA crowd to date, 43,816, sees Phila at Detroit
• 1985 - Livingston Bramble defeats Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini to win WBA champ
• 1985 - NJ Devils score their fastest hat trick in 42 seconds
• 1986 - "Uptown... It's Hot!" closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 24 perfs
• 1986 - French air force bombs Ouadi Doum airport in Chad
• 1986 - Hein Vergeer becomes world champion skater
• 1986 - Karlstad skates world record 10 km (14:12.14)
• 1986 - Mario Soares (Socialist) elected Portugal's 1st civilian pres
• 1987 - John Demjanjuk, accused of being "Ivan the Terrible" trial begins
• 1988 - 1st documented combat action by US military advisors in El Salvador
• 1989 - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan & North Yemen form common market
• 1989 - Jane Fonda & Tom Hayden separate after 16 years of marriage
• 1989 - Orel Hershiser, Dodger pitcher signs $7.9M-3 year contract
• 1989 - Roger Clemens, Red Sox pitcher signs $7.5M-3 year contract
• 1989 - William Hayden becomes governor-general of Australia
• 1991 - Dutch PPR, Political Party Radicals, disbands
• 1991 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding
• 1992 - Former silver Goodyear blimps are now painted yellow & blue
• 1992 - LA Lakers retire Magic Johnson's #32 uniform
• 1993 - Sandra V"lker swims world record 50m backstroke (28.33 sec)
• 1994 - 6.5 earthquake strikes SE Sumatra, kills 200
• 1994 - Johann Olav Koss skates world record 1500m (1:51.29)
• 1994 - Premier Alfonso Bustamente ends govt in Peru
• 1996 - Gary Kirsten scores 188* for S Africa v UAE at Rawalpindi
• 1997 - At age 25, Jeff Gordon is youngest winner in Daytona 500 history
• 1997 - GTE Suncoast Senior Golf Classic
• 1997 - Paul Stankowski wins Hawaiian Golf Open
• 1997 - Terry-Jo Myers wins LPGA Los Angeles Women's Championship
• 1998 - Tellabs Inc acquires Coherent Communications Systems for $670 million

Famous birthdays on February 16 ..

• 1075 - Ordericus Vitalis, French monk/historian/poet
• 1497 - Philipp Melanchthon, Germ, Protestant reformer (Augsburgse Confessie)
• 1514 - Rhäticus, [Rheticus], Austrian astronomer/mathematician
• 1519 - Gaspard de Coligny, Huguenot leader/French admiral
• 1620 - Frederick William, Great Elector, founder of Brandenburg-Prussia
• 1669 - Arnold Boonen, Dutch portrait painter
• 1684 - Bohuslav M Czernohorsky, Czech monk/composer
• 1684 - Bohuslav Matej Czernohorsky, Czech monk/composer
• 1698 - Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician (heliometer)
• 1709 - Charles Avison, composer
• 1740 - Giambattista Bodoni, Saluzzo Italy, printer/typeface designer (Bodoni)
• 1746 - Johann Heinse, German Sturm und Drang novelist/art critic
• 1774 - Pierre Rode, composer
• 1787 - Andreas Schelfhout, Dutch painter/etcher/lithographer
• 1788 - Juan van Halen, Dutch/Spanish officer/adventurer
• 1790 - Chretien Urhan, composer
• 1807 - Lysander Cutler, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1866
• 1812 - Henry Wilson, (R) 18th VP (1873-75)
• 1813 - Joseph Reid Anderson, Brig General (Confederate Army) died in 1892
• 1813 - Semyon Stepanovich Gulak-Artemovsky, composer
• 1821 - Heinrich Barth, Hamburg Germany, geographer/explorer (Central Africa)
• 1822 - Francis Galton, Birmingham England, anthropologist & geneticist
• 1822 - James Patton Anderson, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1872
• 1823 - John Daniel Imboden, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1895
• 1826 - Franz von Holstein, composer
• 1826 - Joseph V von Scheffel, German writer (Gaudeamus)
• 1831 - Nikolai Leskow, writer
• 1832 - Camille Armand Jules Marie de Polignac, Mjr General (Confederate Army)
• 1834 - Ernst Heinrich Haeckel, Potsdam Germ, biologist (Causes of Evolution)
• 1836 - Benjamin Edward Woolf, Dutch composer
• 1838 - Arnoldus Pannevis, South African ship's doctor/linguist
• 1838 - Henry Adams, Boston Mass, historian, writer (Education of Henry Adams)
• 1847 - Ludwig Philipp Scharwenka, German composer (Album polonaise)
• 1848 - Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist (How species emerge)
• 1850 - Octave Mirbeau, France, writer (Journal of a Lady's Maid)
• 1852 - Charles Taze Russell, religion founder (Jehovah's Witnesses)
• 1852 - William Scarborough, Macon Ga, linguist/author (Birds of Aristophanes)
• 1854 - Oscar Fetras, composer
• 1856 - Willem Kes, Dutch violinist/composer/conductor (Parkorkest Amsterdam)
• 1858 - Laurence "Lon" Myers, US, track star (top US miler)
• 1866 - Johann Strauss, Austria, composer (Waltz King)
• 1866 - Vyacheslav I Ivanov, Russian philosopher/classical/poet [NS=Feb 28]
• 1866 - William "Sliding Billy" Hamilton, NJ, hall of fame baseball player
• 1868 - Wilhelm Schmidt, German anthropologist/linguist (Anthropos)
• 1876 - George Macauley Trevelyan, England, historian (Giuseppi Garibaldi)
• 1878 - Selim Palmgren, Finnish pianist/composer/conductor (Peter Schlemihl)
• 1881 - Maurits H E Uyldert, Dutch poet/writer (Youth of a Poet)
• 1884 - Robert Flaherty, Mich, father of documentary film (Nanook of North)
• 1886 - Andrew Ducat, cricketer (Test for Eng 1921 (3 & 2) Soccer intl)
• 1886 - Van Wyck Brooks, NJ, literary historian/writer (Ordeal of Mark Twain)
• 1890 - Semyon Semyonovich Bogatiryov, composer
• 1893 - Ivor Armstrong Richards, England, literary critic [OS]
• 1896 - Alexander Brailowsky, Russia, pianist (Chopin)
• 1896 - Charles A L Panzéra, French baritone (L'horizon Chimérique)
• 1898 - Katharine Cornell, actress (Barretts of Wimpole St)
• 1900 - Albert Maurice Hackett, playwright/screenwriter
• 1901 - Chester Morris, NYC, actor (Diagnosis: Unknown)
• 1901 - Wayne King, Savannah Ill, saxophonist/bandleader (Waltz King)
• 1903 - Edgar Bergen, Chicago, ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy)
• 1904 - Ellis Achong, cricketer (West Indian SLA, 8 wickets in 6 Tests)
• 1904 - George F Kennan, Milwaukee Wisc, US ambassador (to Moscow)
• 1905 - Jose Munoz Molleda, composer
• 1905 - Lord Franks, British ambassador (to US)
• 1906 - Jeffrey Lynn, actor (Tony Rome, Butterfield 8, Up Front)
• 1906 - Vera Menchik, Moscow, 1st official women's world chess champ (1927)
• 1907 - Anghélos Terzakis, Greece, writer (Without God)
• 1907 - Fernando Previtali, composer
• 1907 - Henri van Albada, Belgian sculptor (Charles V)
• 1909 - Hugh Beaumont, Lawrence Ks, actor (Ward Cleaver-Leave it to Beaver)
• 1909 - Jeffrey Lynn, Auburn Mass, actor (My Son Jeep, Roaring Twenties)
• 1910 - Michael Milne-Watson, CEO (BUPA)
• 1910 - Miguel Bernal Jiminez, composer
• 1911 - Hal Porter, Australia, writer (Tilted Cross, Paper Chase)
• 1912 - Arthur Crook, British editor (Times Literary Supplement)
• 1912 - Bob Tadema Sporry, Dutch (female) author
• 1912 - Del Sharbutt, Cleburne Tx, TV announcer (Your Hit Parade)
• 1912 - Machito "Frank Grillo", Florida, bandleader (created salsa music)
• 1912 - Maitland Mackie, Lord Lt (Aberdeenshire)
• 1914 - J Tobin, British anaesthetist
• 1914 - Jimmy Wakely, Mineola Ark, country vocalist (5 Star Jubilee)
• 1916 - William Ballard Doggett, jazz musician
• 1918 - Károly earl Khuen-Héderváry, Hungarian governor/premier (1910-12)
• 1920 - Hubert van Herreweghen, Flemish writer/journalist
• 1920 - Lee Russell, Cleveland Oh, vocalist (Vincent Lopez)
• 1920 - Patty Andrews, Minneapolis MN, vocalist (Andrews Sisters)
• 1921 - Jean Behra, auto racer
• 1922 - Geraint Evans, British opera vocalist (Knaben Wunderhorn)
• 1922 - Paul van 't Veer, Dutch journalist/writer (Het Vrije Volk)
• 1924 - James Swaffield, director-general (Swaffield & Clerk to the GLC)
• 1924 - Peter Webster, British High Court Judge
• 1925 - David Emms, director (London Goodenough Trust for Overseas Graduates)
• 1925 - John Schlesinger, London England, director (Midnight Cowboy, Darling)
• 1925 - PER Bailey, director (Gatwick & Stansted Airports)
• 1926 - Jack Levy, mechanical engineer
• 1926 - John Schlesinger, film director, (Midnight Cowboy)
• 1926 - Vera-Ellen, [Westmeyr Rohe], Cincinnati, actress/dancer (Wonder Man)
• 1929 - Peter NF Porter, Australian/British author/poet (Chair of Babel)
• 1930 - F G R Cuming, painter
• 1930 - Peggy King, Greensburg Pa, vocalist/actress (George Gobel Show)
• 1930 - Ricou Browning, Florida, director/actor (Thunderball)
• 1931 - A Kolleritsch, writer
• 1931 - Gamini Goonesena, cricket leg-spinner (all-rounder for Ceylon, Notts)
• 1931 - George E Sangmeister, (Rep-D-Illinois)
• 1931 - Ken Takakura, [Goichi Oda], Kita Japan, actor (Story of Antarctic)
• 1932 - A Appelfeld, writer
• 1932 - Gretchen Wyler, Bartlesville Okla, actress (Silk Stockings)
• 1932 - Nand Baert, Belgian radio/TV-host
• 1932 - Otis Blackwell, composer/singer
• 1934 - Austin "Ted" Taylor, US gospel/R&B-singer (Be Ever Wonderful)
• 1934 - Marlene Bauer Hagge, Eureka SD, LPGA golfer (1950 Woman Athlete)
• 1935 - Brian Bedford, England, actor (Anthony-Coronet Blue)
• 1935 - Robin Clark, chemist (FRS)
• 1935 - Sonny Bono, Detroit, vocalist (Sonny & Cher)/(Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98)
• 1937 - Paul Bailey, novelist
• 1937 - Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko, cosmonaut
• 1938 - Barry Primus, NYC, actor (Sgt McKenna-Cagney & Lacey, Boxcar Bertha)
• 1938 - John Corigliano, NYC, composer (Fern Hill, Ghosts of Versailles)
• 1939 - David Griffiths, portrait painter
• 1939 - Harold Kalin, singer
• 1940 - Karoli Ruth Needles, painter
• 1941 - Vitali Kuznetsov, USSR, judo (Olympic-silver-1972)
• 1942 - Gabriel Brncic, composer
• 1942 - Kim Chong-Il, [Yura], president of North-Korea (1994- )
• 1943 - Anthony Dowell, London, ballet dancer (Royal Ballet)
• 1943 - J D Moore, headmaster (St Dunstan's College)
• 1943 - James Beaton, British GC
• 1944 - Richard Ford, US author (Sportswriter)
• 1946 - Aleksandr Shaparenko, USSR, 1K kayak (Olympic-gold-1972)
• 1946 - Ian Lavender, British actor (Stupid Boy in Dad's Army)
• 1946 - J R Farndon, British consultant surgeon
• 1949 - Dorus Vrede, Surinam poet (Otobanda; the Other Bank)
• 1950 - Peter Hain, British MP
• 1950 - William Katt, LA Calif, actor (Greatest American Hero, 1st Love)
• 1953 - Andre St Lauren, NHLer
• 1953 - George Martin, NFLer (NY Giants)
• 1953 - Mike Ford, NYC, Canadian Tour golfer (1976 Port Jefferson Open)
• 1954 - David Lombardo, rocker
• 1954 - Iain [Menzies] Banks, UK, sci-fi author (Wasp Factory)
• 1954 - Michael Holding, cricket fast bowler (Whispering Death-Awesome for WI)
• 1955 - George Martin, NFL defensive back (NY Giants)
• 1955 - Guy Gallo, New Orleans LA, writer (Under the Volcano)
• 1955 - Jeff Clayton, US jazz saxophonist/composer (Groove Shop)
• 1956 - James Ingram, vocalist (On the Wings of Love)
• 1957 - LeVar Burton, Landstuhl Germany, (Roots, Star Trek Next Generation)
• 1958 - Herb Williams, NBA center (Toronto Raptors, NY Knicks)
• 1958 - Ice-T, rap singer/actor (New Jack City, Tank Girl, Crazy Six)
• 1958 - John Paul Morse, Marshall MI, PGA golfer (1995 United Airlines)
• 1958 - Lisa Loring, actress (As the World Turns, Wednesday-Addams Family)
• 1959 - John P McEnroe, tennis player (US Open 1979-81, 84 Wimb 1981, 83, 84)
• 1959 - Kelly Tripuka, Glenn Ridge NJ, NBA forward (Det Pistons, Utah Jazz)
• 1961 - Andy Taylor, Engld, rock guitarist (Duran Duran-Hungry Like the Wolf)
• 1962 - Alexa Kenin, NYC, actress (Mousie-Coed Fever)
• 1962 - Tony Kiley, rocker (Blow Monkeys-Wicked Ways)
• 1964 - Mark Price, NBA guard (Cleveland Caveliers)
• 1966 - Eric Uptagrafft, Spokane Wash, prone rifle (Olympics-1996)
• 1967 - Robert Massey, NFL cornerback (Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions)
• 1968 - Cecil Gray, NFL tackle (Arizona Cardinals)
• 1968 - Erik Regtop, Dutch soccer player (SC Heerenveen)
• 1969 - Claude Lambert, Montreal Quebec, boxer (Olympics-96)
• 1969 - Fermin Cacho, Barcelona Spain, 1500m (Olympics-2 gold-92, 96)
• 1969 - Tim Costo, US baseball infielder (Cincinnati Reds)
• 1970 - Saskia Linssen, Venlo Holland, playmate (Jun, 1991)
• 1971 - Anthony Abrams, NFL defensive tackle (KC Chiefs)
• 1971 - Chi Kredell, Long Beach Ca, water polo driver (Olympics-96)
• 1971 - Larry Jones, NFL running back (Washington Redskins)
• 1971 - Marco Sas, Dutch soccer player (NAC)
• 1971 - Mike Hubbard, Lynchburg VA, catcher (Chic Cubs)
• 1971 - Shivanthini Dharmasiri, Miss Universe-Sri Lanka (1996)
• 1971 - Van Tuinei, defensive end (San Diego Chargers)
• 1972 - Jerome Bettis, running back (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• 1973 - Cathy Freeman, Mackay Aust, 100m/200m/400m (Olympics-silver-92, 96)
• 1973 - James Young, Australian water polo player (Olympics-96)
• 1974 - Jevon Langford, defensive end (Cincinnati Bengals)
• 1974 - Kathy McCormack, ice hockey forward (Canada, Oly-Silver-98)
• 1974 - Kimberly Dawn Whipany, Okla, rocker (PC Quest-Can You See)
• 1975 - Casey Barrett, Montreal Quebec, 200m Butterfly (Olympics-96)
• 1975 - Marty Murray, Deloraine, NHL center (Calgary Flames)
• 1977 - Alexei Morozov, NHL forward (Team Russia Oly-Silver-1998, Pittsburgh)
• 1977 - Trina Jackson, 4X200m freestyle swimmer (Olympics-gold-96)
• 1978 - Caroline Hunt, Chic Ill, rhythmic gymnast (US team-96)
• 1979 - Emma Louise DeSilets, Miss Washington Teen USA (1997)
• 1998 - Mr Jefferson, Virginia, 1st cloned calf
• 2335 - Geordi La Forge, character on Star Trek Next Generation

Famous deaths on February 16 ..

• 0309 - Pamphilus van Caesarea, Palestinian scholar/martyr, beheaded
• 0923 - Abu Dja'far Mohammed Djarir al-Tabari, islamic historian, dies at 83
• 1247 - Hendrik Raspe, [Papenking], count of Thüringen, dies
• 1279 - Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79), dies
• 1391 - Johannes V Palaeologus, Emperor of Byzantium (1341-91), dies
• 1538 - Everhard/Erardus van de Mark, prince-bishop of Liege, dies at 65
• 1653 - Johannes Schultz, composer, dies at 70
• 1754 - Richard Mead, physician, dies
• 1779 - William Boyce, English organist/composer (Cathedral Music), dies
• 1791 - Richard earl d'Alton, Austria general of S Neth, commits suicide at 58
• 1799 - Charles Theoby, ruler (Palts & Bayern), dies at 74
• 1803 - Jan V clav Stich, Bohemian composer, dies at 56
• 1823 - Johann Gottfried Schict, composer, dies at 69
• 1825 - George Gerson, composer, dies at 34
• 1829 - François-Joseph Gossec, Belg/Fr composer (Messe of Morts), dies at 95
• 1834 - Lionel Lukin, life boat pioneer, dies
• 1851 - Anne Nagell van Ampsen, Dutch politician, dies at 95
• 1857 - Auguste-Gaspard-Louis Desnoyers, French engraver, dies at 77
• 1857 - Elisha Kent Kane, Arctic explorer (Kane Basin), dies at 37
• 1858 - Georg F Creuzer, German philological/historian, dies at 86
• 1864 - Vaclav Jindrich Veit, composer, dies at 58
• 1892 - Henry Walter Bates, naturalist/explorer (South America), dies
• 1899 - François Félix Faure, president of France (1895-99), dies at 57
• 1900 - George Labram, US mine engineer in South Africa, dies in battle
• 1907 - Giosué Carducci, poet (Nobel 1906), dies
• 1910 - Albert Heinrich Zabel, composer, dies at 75
• 1912 - Edgar Evans, British explorer (Antarctica), dies
• 1915 - Emil Waldteufel, [Charles Levy], French composer (Estudiantina), dies
• 1916 - Jeltje de Bosch Kemper, Dutch feminist, dies at 79
• 1916 - [Gerard] Jan Ligthart, Dutch educator (Ot & Sien), dies at 57
• 1931 - Dirk Schäfer, Dutch pianist/composer (Klavier), dies at 57
• 1933 - Archie Jackson, cricketer (of TB, Aus bat too briefly Avg 47.4), dies
• 1934 - Eduard Bagritsky, [Dzjubin], Russ poet/journalist, dies at 38
• 1936 - Tommy Ward, S African cricket wicket keeper (23 Tests), electrocuted
• 1938 - Otto zur Linde, German author (Lieder of the Leids), dies at 64
• 1939 - Jura Soyfer, writer, dies at 26
• 1944 - Edmund von Borck, composer, dies at 37
• 1945 - Billy Frank, cricketer (Test S Afr v Eng 1896, 5 & 2, 1-52), dies
• 1945 - Rudolf Värnlund, Swedish playwright (Upproret), dies at 45
• 1950 - David Denton, cricketer (England batsman in 11 Tests 1905-10), dies
• 1951 - Henri Velge, 1st chairman (Belgian Council of State), dies at 65
• 1952 - Knut [Pedersen] Hamsun, Norwegian writer (Wanders, Nobel 1920), dies
• 1957 - Leslie Hore-Belisha, [Lord Halifax], Brit min of Transport, dies at 63
• 1963 - Laszlo Lajtha, composer, dies at 70
• 1966 - Hendrik W Tilanus, artillery officer/leader (CHU 1939-63), dies at 81
• 1967 - Smiley Burnette, cowboy (Charlie-Petticoat Junction), dies at 55
• 1968 - Healey Willan, composer, dies at 87
• 1973 - Pieter Van der Bijl, cricketer (outstanding S Af bat in 1938-39), dies
• 1979 - Louise Allbritton, actress (Celia-Stage Door), dies at 58
• 1979 - Nematullah Nassiri, Iran general/head of Savak, executed
• 1979 - William Gargan, actor (New Adventures of Martin Kane), dies at 73
• 1981 - Howard Hanson, composer, dies at 84
• 1984 - Ken Williams, TV announcer (Video Village), dies at 69
• 1985 - Larry Ward, actor (Frank Ragan-Dakotas), dies at 69
• 1986 - Howard Da Silva, Cleve Oh, actor (Ben Franklin-1776), dies at 76
• 1987 - Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky, composer, dies at 82
• 1990 - Keith Haring, artist/cartoonist (brilliant baby), dies of AIDs at 31
• 1991 - Enrique B Varela, commandant Nicaragua contra's, dies
• 1992 - Abbas Musawi, leader of Hezbollah, assassinated
• 1992 - Angela Carter, British novelist (Magic Toyshop), dies of cancer at 51
• 1992 - George Mann MacBeth, Scottish journalist/poet (A War Quartet), dies
• 1992 - Janio Quadros, president of Brazil (1961), dies
• 1992 - Winand J Borgerhoff Mulder, court judge Amster (squaters), dies at 78
• 1993 - Donald Phelps, dies of AIDS at 61
• 1993 - Richard Salant, news president (CBS-60 Minutes), dies at 78
• 1995 - John Everett Allen, US businessman, dies at 91
• 1995 - Martin Soames, traveller, dies at 91
• 1996 - Brownie McGhee, blues guitarist, dies at 81
• 1996 - Charles McCorquodale, art historian, dies at 47
• 1996 - Edmund G "Pat" Brown, politician, dies at 90
• 1996 - Kenneth Robinson, politician/businessman, dies at 84
• 1996 - MacLean Stevenson, actor (M*A*S*H), dies of heart attack at 66
• 1996 - Roger Bowen, actor (M*A*S*H, Main Event, What about Bob), dies at 62
• 1996 - Susan Bosence, textile designer, dies at 82
• 1996 - Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee, blues singer/guitarist, dies at 80
• 1998 - Martha Gellhorn, war reporter (Reuthers), dies at 89