February 16 in History: Events

Explore this date

The published February 16 chronology runs from 1270 to 2025, a span of 755 years. It contains 118 sourced records across 50 countries and 8 event categories. These figures describe the current collection, not all events that occurred on this date.

Start at the earliest published record or jump to the latest. The counts below show where this collection is concentrated.

Most represented topics

Politics & society · 49 records
War & conflict · 28 records
Sport · 18 records
Disasters · 9 records

Most represented countries

United Kingdom · 10 records
United States · 10 records
India · 7 records
Germany · 4 records
Australia · 3 records

Compare events across time

These pairs share a category and calendar date; the pairing does not imply a historical connection.

War & conflict: Battle of Karuse (1270) and Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) (2016) appear 746 years apart in this collection.
Politics & society: Earl of Wilmington succeeds Walpole as prime minister (1742) and 2023 Tripura Legislative Assembly election (2023) appear 281 years apart in this collection.
Technology & industry: The Canadian Pacific Railway Company is incorporated (1881) and The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia (2005) appear 124 years apart in this collection.

Some events have more than one location, so country counts can overlap. Read about our sources and editorial approach.

February 16 historical events

1270 — Battle of Karuse

The Battle of Karuse or Battle on the Ice was fought on 16 February 1270 between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Livonian Order on the frozen Baltic Sea between the island of Muhu and the mainland. The Lithuanians achieved a decisive victory. The battle, named after the village of Karuse, was the fifth-largest defeat of the Livonian or Teutonic Orders in the 13th century.

Location not yet verified · War & conflict · Checked 2026-10-18

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Most represented topics

Most represented countries

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February 16 historical events

1270 — Battle of Karuse

1531 — Siege of Diu (1531)

1586 — Battle of Malandari Pass

1595 — Assault on the Blackwater Fort

1630 — Dutch forces attack Olinda in Pernambuco

1646 — Battle of Torrington

1742 — Earl of Wilmington succeeds Walpole as prime minister

1796 — Invasion of Ceylon

1807 — Battle of Ostrołęka (1807)

1833 — 1833 Costa Rican Head of State election

1846 — 1846 Salvadoran presidential election

1862 — American Civil War: A Union victory at the Battle of Fort Donelson gave General Ulysses S. Grant the nickname "Unconditional Surrender"

1874 — Saga Rebellion

1881 — The Canadian Pacific Railway Company is incorporated

1889 — 1889 New South Wales colonial election

1899 — Reykjavík football club KR founded

1900 — Southern Cross Expedition

1902 — 1902 Costa Rican general election

1903 — 1903 Salvadoran presidential election

1909 — 1909 Pittsburgh mayoral election

1911 — 1911 Cambridge University by-election

1912 — Edmonton holds its post-amalgamation municipal election

1916 — Erzurum offensive

1918 — Act of Independence of Lithuania

1918 — Bolsheviks briefly take control of Sukhumi

1919 — 1919 Austrian Constituent Assembly election

1919 — 1919 Georgian parliamentary election

1919 — Wexford wins the postponed1918 All-Ireland football final

1923 — Howard Carter opens Tutankhamun’s sealed burial chamber

1930 — Romanian football body reorganized as an independent federation

1932 — Irish general election, 1932

1932 — Japanese army convenes Manchurian leaders to plan an administrative committee

1934 — Newfoundland’s Commission of Government sworn in

1936 — Spanish general election, 1936

1937 — Carothers granted US patent for linear condensation polymers

1940 — Altmark incident

1942 — Attack on Aruba

1942 — Greek National Liberation Front establishes ELAS

1943 — Portsmouth North by-election, 1943

1944 — Battle of Korsun–Cherkassy

1945 — Battle of Corregidor (1945)

1945 — The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945, the first anti-discrimination law in the United States, was signed into law

1949 — Israeli presidential election, 1949

1951 — Blockade of Wonsan

1956 — 1956 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

1957 — 1957 African Cup of Nations final

1959 — 1959 Australian Labor Party leadership spill

1959 — Fidel Castro sworn in as Cuba’s prime minister

1961 — Explorer9 launched from Wallops Island

1962 — North Sea storm surge begins flooding northern West Germany

1962 — The Great Sheffield Gale strikes Sheffield

1964 — Greek legislative election, 1964

1965 — Vũng Rô Bay incident

1966 — Battles of Nakhang

1968 — Civil Air Transport Flight 10

1968 — Haleyville makes the first U.S. 911 call

1970 — 1970 African Cup of Nations final

1978 — Christensen and Suess finish building CBBS

1980 — 1980 Denison state by-election

1983 — Ash Wednesday bushfires

1984 — Operation Dawn 5

1985 — Hezbollah issues its founding manifesto

1986 — Ouadi Doum airstrike

1986 — China Airlines Flight 2265 crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Penghu Airport in Taiwan, killing all 13 aboard

1986 — 1986 Portuguese presidential election

1986 — Mikhail Lermontov strikes rocks and sinks

1987 — Mizoram holds Legislative Assembly election

1988 — 1988 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary

1988 — 1988 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary

1991 — Enrique Bermúdez assassinated in Managua

1992 — Clonoe ambush

1995 — Islwyn by-election, 1995

1996 — UFC 8

1996 — 1996 Maryland train collision

1997 — Andorran parliamentary election, 1997