What are the important events that happened on February 16? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
February 16: Facts & Myths About This Day
February 16 is the 47th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 318 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is February 3, 2025 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,994,400 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘tetracontaheptagon’ day.
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Aquarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Amethyst is the modern birthstone for this month. Bloodstone is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 366 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,440 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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February 16 Historical Events
- 1866 –Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
- 1918 –The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
- 1934 –The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republican Schutzbund.
- 1936 –Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
- 1959 –Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
- 1961 –The DuSable Museum of African American History is chartered.
- 1968 –In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
- 1991 –Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.
- 1999 –Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrests one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
- 1999 –New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Earth Rabbit in Chinese astrology.
Who were born on February 16?
- 1761 –Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
- 1847 –Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (d. 1917)
- 1915 –Jim O'Hora, American college football coach (d. 2005)
- 1937 –Yuri Manin, Russian mathematician
- 1942 –Richard Williams, father of Venus Williams and Serena Williams
- 1945 –Jeremy Bulloch, English actor
- 1961 –LaGaylia Frazier, American-Swedish singer
- 1976 –Joe Odagiri, Japanese actor
- 1981 –Jerry Owens, American baseball player
- 1984 –Ous Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer
Who died on February 16?
- 1560 –Jean du Bellay, French Catholic cardinal and diplomat
- 1820 –Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish Lieutenant General and war hero (b. 1758)
- 1912 –St. Nikolai of Japan, Eastern Orthodox priest (b. 1836)
- 1932 –Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1841)
- 1974 –John Garand, Canadian rifle engineer and manufacturer (b. 1888)
- 1980 –Erich Hückel, German physicist (b. 1895)
- 1990 –Keith Haring, American artist (b. 1958)
- 1991 –Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan Contra leader (b. 1932)
- 2003 –Rusty Magee, American composer (b. 1955)
- 2011 –Len Lesser, American actor (b. 1922)
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