In History, Today on February 16

The European Union approved a $2.1 billion aid package for Greece to help boost its economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pope Francis met with Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, marking the first meeting between a pope and a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church since the East–West Schism of 1054.

A fire broke out at a market in Kolkata, resulting in the deaths of at least 19 people and injuring several others.

A massive protest took place in Bahrain as part of the Arab Spring, with demonstrators demanding political reforms and greater freedoms. The protests were centered at the Pearl Roundabout in the capital, Manama.

The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, officially came into force after being adopted in 1997. It marked a significant step in global efforts to combat climate change.

The Los Angeles Lakers retired Magic Johnson's number 32 jersey.

The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being the notorious Nazi death camp guard 'Ivan the Terrible', begins in Jerusalem.

Hezbollah is founded in Lebanon.

The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia killed 75 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.

Fidel Castro becomes the Prime Minister of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista.

The British destroyer HMS Cossack boarded the German tanker Altmark in Norwegian waters, freeing 299 British prisoners.

Wallace H. Carothers receives a patent for nylon.

Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Lithuania declared its independence from Germany and Russia, establishing the short-lived Act of Independence of Lithuania.

The worst blizzard in recorded history in Washington, D.C. caused heavy snow, severely disrupting communications and transportation.

American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

Studebaker Brothers Wagon Company, the precursor to the later automobile manufacturer, was established in South Bend, Indiana.

The London & Greenwich Railway, the first railway in the world to be entirely elevated and fully lit, opens the first section between Spa Road and Deptford.

The first Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the captured USS Philadelphia.

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain, succeeding Sir Robert Walpole, who resigned due to political pressures and declining support in Parliament. This marked a significant political transition as Wilmington had been a key figure aligned with Walpole's political rival, John Carteret.

The first known cheque is written in England.

The Peace of Longjumeau was signed, temporarily ending the Second War of Religion in France amidst the French Wars of Religion, which were conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants).

Andrew of Longjumeau is sent by King Louis IX of France as an ambassador to the Mongol Empire.

King Amalric I of Jerusalem launched an expedition into Egypt with the intention of capturing Cairo. This marked part of the ongoing power struggle during the Crusades between the Christian and Muslim forces.

Pope Gregory I, also known as Gregory the Great, issues a decree that would later influence the Gregorian Chant, a form of plainchant used in the Roman Catholic Church.

Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman historian, records that Valentinian I, the Roman Emperor, appointed his son Gratian as co-emperor.

The Roman Emperor Jovian, involved in restoring Christianity as the official religion of Rome after Julian the Apostate's reign, dies unexpectedly, leading to the ascension of Valentinian I as emperor shortly afterward.