Calendar date · February

What happened on February 16

On February 16, 1249: Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.

Events

48

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Aquarius

Featured moment · 1249

Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.

André de Longjumeau was a French diplomat and Dominican missionary and one of the most active Occidental diplomats in the East in the 13th century. He led two embassies to the Mongols: the first carried letters from Pope Innocent IV and the second bore gifts and letters from Louis IX of France to Güyük Khan. Well acquainted with the Middle East, he spoke Arabic and "Chaldean".

People

Born on February 16

Yuki Naito 2001– Japanese tennis player (born 2001)
Koffee 2000– Jamaican musician (born 2000)
Coby White 2000– American basketball player (born 2000)
Carlos Yulo 2000– Filipino artistic gymnast (born 2000)
Ignatius Ganago 1999– Cameroonian footballer (born 1999)
Marie Ulven Ringheim 1999– Norwegian singer-songwriter (born 1999)
An Hyejin 1998– South Korean volleyball player (born 1998)
Kim Suji 1998– South Korean diver (born 1998)
Jordan Greenway 1997– American ice hockey player (born 1997)
Show 9 more — notable births on February 16
Denzel Curry 1995– American rapper (born 1995)
Katy Dunne 1995– British tennis player (born 1995)
Carina Witthöft 1995– German tennis player
Annika Beck 1994– German tennis player
Federico Bernardeschi 1994– Italian footballer (born 1994)
Ava Max 1994– American singer and songwriter (born 1994)
Nicolai Boilesen 1992– Danish footballer (born 1992)
Zsófia Susányi 1992– Hungarian tennis player
Sergio Canales 1991– Spanish footballer (born 1991)

People

Died on February 16

Billy Steinberg American songwriter (1950–2026)
Frederick Wiseman American filmmaker (1930–2026)
Viktor Antonov Bulgarian video game artist (1972–2025)
Alexei Navalny Russian opposition leader and activist (1976–2024)
Gustavo Noboa President of Ecuador from 2000 to 2003
Bruno Ganz Swiss actor (1941–2019)
Boutros Boutros-Ghali UN Secretary-General from 1992 to 1996 (1922–2016)
Lasse Braun Italian pornographer, film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist and researcher
Lesley Gore American singer (1946–2015)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on February 16
R. R. Patil Indian politician (1956–2015)
Lorena Rojas Mexican actress and singer (1971–2015)
Ken Farragut American football player (1928–2014)
Kralle Krawinkel German guitarist (1947–2014)
Michael Shea American fiction author (1946–2014)
Colin Edwards Guyanese footballer
Grigory Pomerants Lithuanian-born Russian philosopher and cultural theorist
Tony Sheridan British musician (1940–2013)
Gary Carter American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (1954–2012)

Timeline

Every February 16 on record

  1. 1249 Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.

    French friar and diplomat

    André de Longjumeau was a French diplomat and Dominican missionary and one of the most active Occidental diplomats in the East in the 13th century. He led two embassies to the Mongols: the first carried letters from Pope Innocent IV and the second bore gifts and letters from Louis IX of France to Güyük Khan. Well acquainted with the Middle East, he spoke Arabic and "Chaldean".

  2. 1270 The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse.

    European state (c. 1236–1795)

    The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The state was founded by Lithuanians, who were at the time a polytheistic nation of several united Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija. By 1440 the grand duchy had become the largest European state, controlling an area from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.

  3. 1630 Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil.

    16/17th-century Dutch sea captain and naval hero

    Adm. Hendrick Corneliszoon Lonck was a Dutch naval hero, being the first Dutch sea captain to reach the New World.

  4. 1646 Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the First English Civil War.

    1646 battle of the First English Civil War in Devon, England

    The Battle of Torrington was a decisive battle of the south-western campaign of the First English Civil War and marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country. It took place in Torrington, Devon.

  5. 1699 First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing the Greek Catholic clergy enjoyed the same privileges as Roman Catholic priests in the Principality of Transylvania.

    Holy Roman Emperor from 1658 to 1705

    Leopold I was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain, Leopold became heir apparent in 1654 after the death of his elder brother Ferdinand IV. Elected in 1658, Leopold ruled the Holy Roman Empire until his death in 1705, becoming the second-longest-ruling emperor of the House of Habsburg.

  6. 1742 Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
  7. 1796 Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon.
  8. 1804 First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.
  9. 1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
  10. 1866 Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
  11. 1881 The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).
  12. 1899 Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded.
  13. 1900 The Southern Cross expedition led by Carsten Borchgrevink achieves a new Farthest South of 78° 50'S, making the first landing at the Great Ice Barrier.
  14. 1918 The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
  15. 1923 Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
Show 15 earlier entries from February 16
  1. 1930 The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA.
  2. 1934 The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund.
  3. 1934 The Commission of Government is officially sworn in; ending 79 years of responsible government in Newfoundland.
  4. 1936 The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election.
  5. 1937 Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
  6. 1940 World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. A total of 299 British prisoners are freed.
  7. 1942 World War II: In Athens, the Greek People's Liberation Army is established
  8. 1942 World War II: Attack on Aruba, first World War II German shots fired on a land based object in the Americas.
  9. 1943 World War II: In the early phases of the Third Battle of Kharkov, Red Army troops re-enter the city.
  10. 1945 World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.
  11. 1945 The Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945, the first anti-discrimination law in the United States, was signed into law.
  12. 1959 Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
  13. 1960 The U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
  14. 1961 Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
  15. 1962 The Great Sheffield Gale impacts the United Kingdom, killing nine people; the city of Sheffield is devastated, with 150,000 homes damaged.

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