What Happened On This Day – February 16
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2005The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect
The global warming pact was ratified by 191 countries to date - excluding the United States.
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1987The first trial against John Demjanjuk begins in Jerusalem
Demjanjuk was falsely accused of being a particularly brutal Nazi guard dubbed “Ivan the Terrible”; in a separate trial in 2011, he was convicted by a German criminal court as an accessory to the murder of 27,900 people.
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1985Hezbollah is founded
The Lebanese political party and militant group is classified as a terrorist organization by several western countries.
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1959Fidel Castro becomes Cuba's Prime Minister
Castro's rise to power came shortly after his “26th of July Movement” had overthrown dictator Fulgencio Batista in what became known as the Cuban Revolution.
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1923The burial chamber of Pharoh Tutankhamun is opened
Howard Carter's discovery is one of archeology's best known, especially due to the myth of the “Curse of Tutankhamun” that was sparked by the death of Lord Carnarvon who was one of the first to enter the chamber.
Births On This Day,
February 16
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1979Valentino Rossi
Italian motorcycle racer
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1954Iain Banks
Scottish author
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1941Kim Jong-il
North Korean politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea
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1898Katharine Cornell
American actress, producer
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1831Nikolai Leskov
Russian author, playwright, journalist
Deaths On This Day,
February 16
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2013Tony Sheridan
English singer-songwriter, guitarist
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2002Walter Winterbottom
England football manager
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1984M. A. G. Osmany
Bangladeshi general
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1957Josef Hofmann
Polish/American pianist, composer
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1932Edgar Speyer
American/English financier, philanthropist