February 16
1804 - The U.S. frigate Philadelphia, captured and held by Barbary pirates at Tripoli during the Tripolitan War, was set fire to and destroyed by a small group of men led by Stephen Decatur.
1862 - The Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended as some 12,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered; Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s victory earned him the moniker “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”
1918 - Lithuania proclaimed its independence from Russia. (Lithuania, which was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, then the Soviet Union again during World War II, renewed its independence in 1990).
1923 - The tomb of King Tutankhamen was opened.
1937 - Nylon was patented.
1945 - American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II.
1959 - Fidel Castro became the leader of Cuba after having ousted right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista.
1960 - The nuclear-powered radar picket submarine USS Triton departed New London, Connecticut, on the first submerged circumnavigation by a vessel.
1961 - The United States launched the Explorer 9 satellite.
1968 - The nation's first 911 emergency service went into operation in Haleyville, Alabama.
1996 - Eleven people were killed in a fiery collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a Maryland commuter train in Silver Spring, Maryland.
1998 - A China Airlines Airbus A300 trying to land in fog near Taipei, Taiwan, crashed, killing all 196 people on board, plus seven on the ground.
1999 - Turkish commandos captured Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya, sparking seizures of embassies in Europe by Kurds.
2001 - The United States and Britain staged air strikes against radar stations and air defense command centers in Iraq.
2011 - Bookstore chain Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it would close nearly a third of its stores. (Borders closed all of its remaining stores in September 2011.)
2018 - In an indictment, special counsel Robert Mueller accused 13 Russians of an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election with a huge but hidden social media trolling campaign aimed in part at helping Donald Trump.
2018 - The FBI said it had received a tip in January that the suspect in the Parkland, Florida school shooting had a “desire to kill” and access to guns, but agents failed to investigate.
Birthdays
22 - Chloe East (actress)
29 - Ava Max (singer)
33 - The Weeknd (singer)
34 - Elizabeth Olsen (actress)
34 - Danielle Haim (musician)
36 - Ryan Follese (singer)
37 - Chloe Wepper (actress)
50 - Cathy Freeman (runner)
52 - Sarah Clarke (actress)
52 - Amanda Holden (actress)
64 - John McEnroe (tennis player)
65 - Ice-T (rapper/actor)
66 - LeVar Burton (actor)
72 - William Katt (actor)
93 - Peggy King (singer)
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Today in Sports History - February 16
1970 - Joe Frazier began his reign as the undefeated heavyweight world champion when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis in five rounds. He lost the title on January 22, 1973, when he lost for the first time in his professional career to George Foreman.
1972 - Los Angeles Laker Wilt Chamberlain topped the 30,000-point mark in his career during a game against the Phoenix Suns. He was the first NBA player to reach 30,000 points.
1989 - Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox) signed a three year contract worth $7,500,000.
1992 - The Los Angeles Lakers officially retired Magic Johnson's #32 jersey. Johnson was the fifth Laker player to have his jersey retired. The other players were Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
1992 - Michel Goulet (Chicago Black Hawks) became the 17th player to score 500 career goals.
1997 - Jeff Gordon became the youngest driver in NASCAR history to win the Daytona 500.
1999 - O.J. Simpson's 1968 Heisman Trophy was sold for $230,000. A court judgment ordered the trophy to be sold to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgment against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.
2004 - The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their NHL-record 12th consecutive home game.
2004 - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig approved the swap of Alex Rodriguez (Texas Rangers) and Alfonso Soriano (New York Yankees). The Rangers would also get a minor league player in the deal.
2005 - The NHL announced the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to a labor dispute. It was the first time a major sports league in North America lost an entire season to a labor dispute.
1804 - The U.S. frigate Philadelphia, captured and held by Barbary pirates at Tripoli during the Tripolitan War, was set fire to and destroyed by a small group of men led by Stephen Decatur.
1862 - The Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended as some 12,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered; Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s victory earned him the moniker “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”
1918 - Lithuania proclaimed its independence from Russia. (Lithuania, which was occupied by the Soviet Union, then Nazi Germany, then the Soviet Union again during World War II, renewed its independence in 1990).
1923 - The tomb of King Tutankhamen was opened.
1937 - Nylon was patented.
1945 - American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II.
1959 - Fidel Castro became the leader of Cuba after having ousted right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista.
1960 - The nuclear-powered radar picket submarine USS Triton departed New London, Connecticut, on the first submerged circumnavigation by a vessel.
1961 - The United States launched the Explorer 9 satellite.
1968 - The nation's first 911 emergency service went into operation in Haleyville, Alabama.
1996 - Eleven people were killed in a fiery collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a Maryland commuter train in Silver Spring, Maryland.
1998 - A China Airlines Airbus A300 trying to land in fog near Taipei, Taiwan, crashed, killing all 196 people on board, plus seven on the ground.
1999 - Turkish commandos captured Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya, sparking seizures of embassies in Europe by Kurds.
2001 - The United States and Britain staged air strikes against radar stations and air defense command centers in Iraq.
2011 - Bookstore chain Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it would close nearly a third of its stores. (Borders closed all of its remaining stores in September 2011.)
2018 - In an indictment, special counsel Robert Mueller accused 13 Russians of an elaborate plot to disrupt the 2016 U.S. presidential election with a huge but hidden social media trolling campaign aimed in part at helping Donald Trump.
2018 - The FBI said it had received a tip in January that the suspect in the Parkland, Florida school shooting had a “desire to kill” and access to guns, but agents failed to investigate.
Birthdays
22 - Chloe East (actress)
29 - Ava Max (singer)
33 - The Weeknd (singer)
34 - Elizabeth Olsen (actress)
34 - Danielle Haim (musician)
36 - Ryan Follese (singer)
37 - Chloe Wepper (actress)
50 - Cathy Freeman (runner)
52 - Sarah Clarke (actress)
52 - Amanda Holden (actress)
64 - John McEnroe (tennis player)
65 - Ice-T (rapper/actor)
66 - LeVar Burton (actor)
72 - William Katt (actor)
93 - Peggy King (singer)
===============================
Today in Sports History - February 16
1970 - Joe Frazier began his reign as the undefeated heavyweight world champion when he knocked out Jimmy Ellis in five rounds. He lost the title on January 22, 1973, when he lost for the first time in his professional career to George Foreman.
1972 - Los Angeles Laker Wilt Chamberlain topped the 30,000-point mark in his career during a game against the Phoenix Suns. He was the first NBA player to reach 30,000 points.
1989 - Roger Clemens (Boston Red Sox) signed a three year contract worth $7,500,000.
1992 - The Los Angeles Lakers officially retired Magic Johnson's #32 jersey. Johnson was the fifth Laker player to have his jersey retired. The other players were Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
1992 - Michel Goulet (Chicago Black Hawks) became the 17th player to score 500 career goals.
1997 - Jeff Gordon became the youngest driver in NASCAR history to win the Daytona 500.
1999 - O.J. Simpson's 1968 Heisman Trophy was sold for $230,000. A court judgment ordered the trophy to be sold to help settle a $33.5 million civil judgment against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend.
2004 - The Pittsburgh Penguins lost their NHL-record 12th consecutive home game.
2004 - Baseball commissioner Bud Selig approved the swap of Alex Rodriguez (Texas Rangers) and Alfonso Soriano (New York Yankees). The Rangers would also get a minor league player in the deal.
2005 - The NHL announced the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to a labor dispute. It was the first time a major sports league in North America lost an entire season to a labor dispute.
