On This Day in History - February 16th - Almanac

Today is Sunday, Feb. 16, the 47th day of 2025 with 318 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include historian Henry Brooks Adams in 1838; actor Chester Morris in 1901; actor James Baskett in 1904; musician Patty Andrews (Andrews Sisters) in 1918; actor Vera-Ellen in 1921; musician/U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono in 1935; businessman Carl Icahn in 1936 (age 89); writer Richard Ford in 1944 (age 81); actor William Katt in 1951 (age 74); model/actor Margaux Hemingway in 1954; actor/filmmaker LeVar Burton in 1957 (age 68); actor/musician Ice-T in 1958 (age 67); International Tennis Hall of Fame member John McEnroe in 1959 (age 66); musician Andy Taylor (Duran Duran) in 1961 (age 64); actor Christopher Eccleston in 1964 (age 61); musician David Lombardo (Slayer/Misfits) in 1965 (age 60); actor Sarah Clarke in 1972 (age 53); actor Mahershala Ali in 1974 (age 51); musician Lupe Fiasco in 1982 (age 43); actor Elizabeth Olsen in 1989 (age 36); musician Danielle Haim in 1989 (age 36); musician/actor The Weeknd in 1990 (age 35); musician Ava Max in 1994 (age 31); musician Girl in Red in 1999 (age 26); actor Chloe East in 2001 (age 24).

On this date in history:

In 1923, archaeologists opened the treasure-laden inner tomb of Tutankhamen, "King Tut," in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.

In 1933, a patent for the synthetic fiber nylon was awarded to the DuPont Co.

In 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as Cuba's leader and set up a Communist regime.

In 1983, roaring summer brush fires fanned by 50 mph winds swept southern Australia, killing dozens of people and destroying at least 100 homes.

In 1984, Bill Johnson became the first American male downhill skier to win an Olympic gold medal. His mother, D.B. Johnson, told UPI, "I'm just so proud of him I could just burst."

In 1986, Mario Soares was elected Portugal's first civilian head of state in 60 years.

In 1992, the Los Angeles Lakers retired Magic Johnson's No. 32 jersey during a tearful ceremony.

In 1999, Germany announced $1.7 billion would be set aside to compensate victims of the Holocaust.

In 2005, after a five-month lockout, the National Hockey League canceled its entire 2004-05 season.

In 2009, Japan reported its domestic product fell at a 12.7 percent annual rate in the last quarter of 2008, plunging the country into what experts say was its worst financial crisis since World War II.

In 2011, Borders, the 40-year-old retail book superstore chain that began as a used book shop in Ann Arbor, Mich., and rapidly expanded in the 1990s with 650 locations and 19,500 employees, filed for bankruptcy. The retailer fully shuttered in September 2011.

In 2021, Dallas recorded its lowest temperature since 1949 -- minus 2 -- amid a widespread winter storm that left millions without power and killed at least 246 people in Texas.

In 2024, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died while in custody. He had been held at a penal colony in the Arctic on a 30-year sentence on extremism and fraud convictions.

A thought for the day: "You have to be able to accept failure to get better." -- NBA player LeBron James