On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 47 of the year.

Monday, February 16th

Today is Innovation Day, Presidents Day and Carnival of Brazil. Your star sign is Aquarius and your birthstone is Amethyst.
2020 – The 80-meter cargo vessel MV Alta washed ashore near Ballycotton, County Cork, Ireland, after being driven onto rocks by Storm Dennis.
The 80-meter cargo vessel MV Alta washed ashore near Ballycotton, County Cork, Ireland, after being driven onto rocks by Storm Dennis.
Today’s birthdays
1958 – Ice-T (68), American rapper (“O.G. Original Gangster”) and actor (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Tank Girl), born in Newark, New Jersey, United States.

1959 – John McEnroe (67), American former professional tennis player, born in Wiesbaden, Germany.

1960 – Pete Willis (66), English guitarist and a founding member of the hard rock band Def Leppard until 1982 (Phil Collen replaced him), born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
1961 – Andy Taylor (65), English guitarist and former member with Duran Duran (“Hungry Like the Wolf”), born in Cullercoats, Northumberland.
1964 – Christopher Eccleston (62), English actor (Gone in 60 Seconds, 28 Days Later, Doctor Who (2005)), born in Salford, Greater Manchester.
1971 – Amanda Holden (55), English media personality (Britain’s Got Talent), actress (The Grimleys) and co-host of Heart Breakfast radio, born in Portsmouth.
1989 – Elizabeth Olsen (37), American actress (WandaVision, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War), born in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, United States.
1990 – The Weeknd (36), Canadian singer-songwriter (“Blinding Lights”) and actor, born in Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.
1994 – Ava Max (32), American singer and songwriter (“Kings & Queens”, “Sweet but Psycho”), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States.
Famous deaths
2015 – Lesley Gore (b. 1946), American singer (“It’s my Party”, “You Don’t Own Me”) and actress who appeared in the original series of Batman as Pussycat.
2013 – Tony Sheridan (b. 1940), English rock and roll guitarist best known as an early collaborator of the Beatles (though the record was labelled as being with “The Beat Brothers”), one of two non-Beatles (the other being Billy Preston).
The day today
1918 – Lithuania declares independence from Russia and Germany. The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence in Vilnius, proclaiming the restoration of a sovereign state free from Russian and German rule. This Act established a democratic state, navigating the constraints of German military occupation during World War I.

1923 – Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s coffin was discovered. English archeologist Howard Carter entered the tomb on November 22, where everything was fully intact, untouched for over 3,000 years. Inside there were four rooms, and upon opening the last chamber on this day, they found the golden coffin belonging to King Tutankhamun.

1927 – The birth of actress June Muriel Brown, MBE (d. 2022). She is best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders, a role she played from 1985 to 2020. In 2005, she won Best Actress at the Inside Soap Awards and received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2005 British Soap Awards.

1940 – World War II: In a daring night raid, known as the Altmark incident, a boarding party from HMS Cossack successfully rescued 299 British prisoners of war from the Altmark, a 12,000 ton German tanker, in Norwegian waters. The Altmark was returning to Germany with the merchant sailors who had been picked up from ships sunk by the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

1946 – The birth of actor Ian Lavender (d. 2024). His best remembered role was as Private Frank Pike, the youngest member and ‘stupid boy’ of the platoon in the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army. Lavender has a ‘cameo role’ in the 2016 film adaptation of the series and the actor Frank William takes the role of the Reverend Timothy Farthing. The Dad’s Army went on general release in cinemas on 5th February 2016.
1957 – Pete Murray began hosting The Six-Five Special, the BBC’s first dedicated rock ‘n’ roll music program. Co-hosted with Josephine Douglas, the live Saturday evening show aimed at young audiences featured rock, skiffle, and jazz, running until 1958 and marking a shift in British television entertainment.
1959 – Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba. After leading a Communist guerilla campaign that forced dictator Fulgencio Batista into exile, Castro then became the leader and was sworn in.
1968 – The first-ever 911 call in the United States was made in Haleyville, Alabama. It was a milestone in establishing a national emergency number following recommendations from the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. While the US implemented 911 in 1968, the UK had already been using 999 as a national emergency number since 1937.
1972 – Many homes and businesses were without electricity for up to nine hours a day from this day. Miners, into the sixth week of their strike over pay, picketed power stations and all other sources of fuel supply in an attempt to step up pressure on the Government.
1985 – Ministry of Defence assistant secretary Clive Ponting resigns from his post five days after being acquitted of breaching section two of the Official Secrets Act regarding the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands Conflict.
1990 – The British government’s announcement that members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) would be allowed to serve on Royal Navy warships triggered protests and concerns from the wives of naval seamen. Many wives feared that long, six-month deployments with men and women living in close proximity on ships would lead to romantic relationships, with one protester stating, “It’s setting wood next to fire and sooner or later it’s going to ignite”.
2005 – Reality documentary The Apprentice (UK) premiered with businessman Lord Alan Sugar as the leading judge. Originally, the prize was a £100,000-a-year job with Lord Sugar. From 2011 (Series 7) onwards, the prize changed to a £250,000 investment for a business partnership with him.
2005 – The Kyoto Protocol, a landmark international treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat global warming, officially entered into force. While it was hailed as a significant step in international climate policy, it faced a major setback when the United States and Australia, two of the world’s largest emitters at the time, refused to ratify it.
2013 – Lionel Messi scored his 300th goal for Barcelona’s and quickly followed it with his 301st goal for the team, winning the game 2-1 against Granada in Spain’s La Liga football league.
2020 – The 80-meter cargo vessel MV Alta washed ashore near Ballycotton, County Cork, Ireland, after being driven onto rocks by Storm Dennis. The “ghost ship” had drifted unmanned across the Atlantic for over 18 months after its 10-member crew was rescued southeast of Bermuda in September 2018.
2024 – The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are legally considered “children” or “unborn children” under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. This landmark 7-2 decision, stemming from the accidental destruction of embryos at a fertility clinic, concluded that embryos located outside a uterus are protected, allowing lawsuits for their loss.
Today in music
1964 – The Beatles made their second live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, exactly one week after the first. Before an audience of 3,500 at the Deauville Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. The Beatles performed ‘She Loves You’, ‘This Boy’, ‘All My Loving’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘From Me to You’, and I Want to Hold Your Hand.
1967 – Petula Clark was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Charlie Chaplin penned ‘This Is My Song’, the singers second and last UK No.1.

1972 – American guitar legend Chuck Berry and former Beatle John Lennon perform together, with Yoko Ono, on ‘The Mike Douglas Show’ TV program. The show’s sound engineer cut off the mic of Yoko Ono who had been interrupting with incomprehensible wailing during a rendition of ‘Memphis Tennessee’.

1974 – During a tour of America the members of Emerson, Lake & Palmer were arrested in Salt Lake City after swimming naked in the hotel pool. They were each fined around £44.
1974 – Winners in the UK music weekly Disc Readers Awards Poll; Top UK group went to Slade, Top musician, Roy Wood, David Bowie won UK and World male singer, Top single with ‘Jean Genie’ and album with ‘Aladdin Sane’, Top female singer was Lynsey De Paul and Brightest hope was won by David Essex.
1982 – The Jam were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘A Town Called Malice’, & ‘Precious’, their third No.1 spent three weeks at the top of the chart.
1985 – Bruce Springsteen went to No.1 on the UK album chart with ‘Born In The USA’, his first UK No.1 album. The singers seventh studio album, was the best-selling album of 1985 in the United States (and also Springsteen’s most successful album ever). The album produced a record-tying string of seven Top 10 singles.
1991 – The Simpsons were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘Do The Bartman’. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Bryan Lorenand, The Simpsons became the first cartoon characters to make No.1 since the Archies hit ‘Sugar Sugar’ in 1969. Jackson was a massive fan of The Simpsons and had called the producers one night offering to write Bart a number one single and do a guest spot on the show.
1999 – Robbie Williams won three awards at this year’s Brit’s. The singer won Best British solo artist, Best Single for ‘Angels’ and Best Video for ‘Millennium.’ Manic Street Preachers won Best British Group, Natalie Imbruglia won Best International Female artist and Best Newcomer, Best International Group went to The Corrs.
2002 – Thieves break into George Michael’s London home and steal over £100,000 worth of paintings, jewellery and designer clothes, causing £200,000 worth of damage and driving off in his £80,000 Aston Martin DB7.
2005 – Yusuf Islam, the former Cat Stevens was awarded substantial damages from The Sunday Times and The Sun, after they had printed articles alleging he was involved in terrorism. Both newspapers apologized to the 56 year old musician for the “false and highly defamatory allegations.” The papers also paid his legal bills and pledged not to repeat the allegations. The money awarded was given to Tsunami relief projects.
2007 – After staying in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day Britney Spears shaved her head at a hair salon giving herself a buzzcut in front of approximately 70 photographers. This was the beginning of a public meltdown for Spears, who filed for divorce from husband Kevin Federline months earlier and was negotiating custody arrangements for their two children.

2015 – American singer, songwriter, actress and activist, Lesley Gore, died of lung cancer aged 68. She is best known for the 1963 US No.1 & UK No.9 single ‘It’s My Party’ which was produced by Quincy Jones. Gore composed songs for the soundtrack of the 1980 film Fame, for which she received an Academy Award nomination for ‘Out Here on My Own’, written with her brother Michael.

2021 – Lauryn Hill’s 1998 album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill was certified Diamond for 10 million sales in America, making her the first female hip-hop artist to earn that certification. When first released the album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard chart, selling over 422,000 copies in its first week, which broke a record for first-week sales by a female artist. Worldwide, the album has sold over 20 million copies.

Today in history
600 BC – During the Roman plague, Pope Gregory I (the Great) ordered that the phrase “God bless you” be used as an immediate response to sneezing, which was considered an early symptom of the disease. This papal decree aimed to invoke divine protection against the plague, though it also related to ancient superstitions that sneezing could expel the soul or allow evil to enter the body.

1495 – The execution of Sir William Stanley, best known for taking sides against Richard III, at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, which helped to secure Henry VII’s victory. The new king bestowed many favours on Sir William, including the post of Lord Chamberlain and Chamberlain of the Exchequer. However, in 1495 Sir William was convicted of treason, on circumstantial evidence, and was executed for his support of the pretender Perkin Warbeck.

1641 – English king Charles I accepts the Triennial Act requiring that Parliament meet for at least a fifty-day session once every three years.
1646 – The Battle of Torrington, in Devon. It was the last major battle of the first English Civil War and marked the end of the Royalist resistance in the west country.
1659 – The first known British cheque was written for the amount of £400 by merchant Nicholas Vanacker, payable to a Mr Delboe. In today’s money, that’s equivalent to roughly £76,000. The cheque is currently on display at Westminster Abbey. Some sources, however, note that this same merchant, Nicholas Vanacker, wrote a smaller cheque for £10 on April 22, 1659, or that the earliest in certain collections was for £200.
1801 – Pitt (the Younger) resigned as British Prime Minister when George III rejected his plans for the emancipation of Irish Catholics.
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