This Day In History...
Feburary 16th, 2005 A.D.
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1249 - Andrew of Longjumeau was dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols.
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1279 - Afonso III of Portugal dies. His son Denis succeeds the Portuguese throne.
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1742 - Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
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1804 - First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate Philadelphia.
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1838 - Weenen Massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal were killed by Zulus.
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1852 - Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
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1857 - The National Deaf Mute College (later renamed Gallaudet University) is established. in Washington, DC becoming the first school for the advanced education of the deaf.
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1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
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1866 - Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes the British Secretary of State for War
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1868 - In New York City the Jolly Gorks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE).
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1883 - Ladies Home Journal is published for the first time.
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1899 - President Félix Faure of France dies in office.
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1918 - Lithuania declares its independence from both Russia and Germany.
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1923 - Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
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1936 - Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
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1937 - Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon.
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1940 - Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark, with 299 British prisoners, was boarded in neutral Norwegian waters by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack and the prisoners set free, a breach of Norwegian neutrality at the beginning of World War II.
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1943 - World War II: Russia reconquers Kharkov.
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1945 - World War II: American forces land on Corregidor island in the Philippines.
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1945 - American forces recapture the Bataan Peninsula.
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1959 - Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after President Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
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1961 - Explorer 9 launched. (See Explorer program)
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1968 - In Haleyville, Alabama the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
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1970 - Joe Frazier starts a heavyweight world boxing champion winning streak with the knock out of Jimmy Ellis in five rounds.
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1972 - NBA basketball player Wilt Chamberlain scores 30,000th point.
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1978 - The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
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1983 - The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia claim the lives of 71 people in Australia's worst ever fires.
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1986 - The Soviet liner Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
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1987 - The trial of John Demjanjuk, who was accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
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1989 - Pan Am flight 103: Investigators announce that the cause of the crash was a bomb hidden inside a radio-cassette player.
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1991 - Gulf War: U.S. and U.K. war planes bomb the suburbs of Baghdad, injuring at least 11 civilians and killing three others.
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1998 - A China Airlines Airbus A300-622R crashes on approach to airport, Taipei, Taiwan killing 203 including 6 on the ground
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1999 - In Uzbekistan a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islam Karimov.
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1999 - Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrested one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
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1999 - In Jasper, Texas, the trial begins of John William King who is accused of dragging African American James Byrd Jr. to death in an apparent hate crime.
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2005 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
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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 labour dispute.
