Holidays Calendar for February 16, 2024
Day of Restoration of the State of Lithuania is a Lithuanian public holiday celebrated on February 16 each year. It can be considered the country's Independence Day.
The birthday of Kim Jon-il, late Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a public holiday in North Korea. It is also referred to as the Day of Shining Star. The holiday falls on February 16.
Archbishop Janani Luwum Memorial Day, also known as simply Luwum Day, is a public holiday in Uganda celebrated on February 16. It was officially established by President Yoweri Museveni in 2015.
International Syrah Day, also known as World Syrah Day, is celebrated annually on February 16. This holiday was created to honor one of the world’s most popular red wine grape varieties that is grown in wine regions around the globe.
War Correspondent Day, also known as War Correspondents Remembrance Day, is observed in Ukraine annually on February 16. It was established in 2018 to raise awareness of the most dangerous form of journalism and honor the memory of Ukrainian war correspondents who died in the line of duty.
National Caregivers Day is observed annually on the third Friday of February. It was created to honor healthcare professionals who specialize in providing long-term and hospice care.
In 1988, the Alaska Legislature declared February 16 Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. It honors a famous civil rights activist whose advocacy is considered to be instrumental to the passing of the first state/territorial anti-discrimination law in the United States.
Do a Grouch a Favor Day is one of those weird informal holidays of unknown origin that are actually not so silly as they might seem at first sight. This day occurs every year on February 16.
February 16 is National Almond Day. Celebrate this holiday with homemade almond cookies or cake. You can also fry almonds to make your own nut snack.
Festivals on February 16, 2024
- Inter Varsity Folk Dance Festival in York, United Kingdom
- Adelaide Fringe in Adelaide, Australia
- Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto, Canada
- Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Capas, Philippines
- Festival du Voyageur in Winnipeg, Canada
- New Zealand Fringe Festival in Wellington, New Zealand
- Carnival of Bern in Bern, Switzerland
- Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Berlin, Germany
- Havana International Book Fair in Havana, Cuba
- Great British Beer Festival Winter (ex. National Winter Ales Festival) in Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom
- Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Singha Park Chiangrai International Balloon Fiesta in Chiang Rai, Thailand
- Carnival of Sciacca in Sciacca, Italy
- Carnival of Tarazona de la Mancha in Tarazona de la Mancha, Spain
- Chicago Auto Show in Chicago, USA
This Day in History
- 2024 Died: Alexei Navalny, Russian opposition leader, lawyer, anti-corruption activist, and political prisoner. At the time of his death, he was imprisoned in a high security corrective colony in Yamalo-Nenets.
- 2013 A bomb exploded at market in Hazara Town on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan. At least 110 people were killed and 200 injured, most of them were Shia Hazaras.
- 2013 Died: Tony Sheridan, English rock and roll guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his early collaboration with The Beatles.
- 2012 Died: Anthony Shadid, American reporter, foreign correspondent for The New York Times based in Baghdad and Beirut, Pulitzer Prize winner.
- 2006 The last MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) was decommissioned by the U.S. Army. The successor to the MASH is the Combat Support Hospital (CSH).
- 2005 The Kyoto Protocol entered into force. It is an international treaty that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.
- 2000 Died: Lila Kedrova, Russian-born French actress who is best kown for her role as Madame Hortense in the 1964 film Zorba the Greek.
- 1998 Born: Lizzie Broadway, American actress best known for her role as Emma Meyer in the Prime Video series Gen V, a spin-off of The Boys.
- 1998 China Airlines Flight 676 crashed into a road and residential area in Tayuan, Taiwan. The crash was caused by bad weather and pilot error. 203 people were killed.
- 1994 Born: Ava Max (stage name of Amanda Ava Koci), American singer and songwriter whose breakthrough single, "Sweet but Psycho", was released in August 2018.
- 1992 Died: Angela Carter, English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works.
- 1989 Born: Elizabeth Olsen, American actress who gained worldwide recognition for her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise.
- 1983 The Ash Wednesday bushfires occurred in south-eastern Australia, killing 75 people and injuring more than 2,000 in Victoria and South Australia.
- 1978 The first bulletin board system (BBS) went online in Chicago, Illinois. It was developed by Randy Suess and Ward Christensen.
- 1974 Born: Mahershala Ali, American actor. He has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
- 1968 The first ever 9-1-1 call was made in Haleyville, Alabama. The phone used to answer this call, a bright red model, is now in a museum in Haleyville.
- 1964 Born: Christopher Eccleston, English actor known for his numerous television roles. He played the Ninth Doctor in the BBC television series Doctor Who.
- 1961 Born: Andy Taylor, English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is a former member of the bands Duran Duran and The Power Station.
- 1959 Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
- 1959 Born: John McEnroe, American professional tennis player. During his career, McEnroe won 77 ATP-listed singles titles and 71 in doubles.
- 1958 Born: Ice-T (stage name of Tracy Lauren Marrow), American rapper and actor. His film credits include Breakin' and its sequels, New Jack City, and Surviving the Game.
- 1957 Born: LeVar Burton, American actor, director, producer, presenter, and author. He is known for his role as Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek television series and films.
- 1944 Died: Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who is considered to be the father of Indian cinema. He filmed India's first full-length feature.
- 1944 Born: Richard Ford, American novelist and short story writer whose best known works are The Sportswriter, Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land.
- 1932 Died: Ferdinand Buisson, French educator, philosopher, pacifist, and politician. He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Ludwig Quidde.
- 1923 English archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter opened the sealed burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and got his first glimpse of the sarcophagus.
- 1919 Died: Vera Kholodnaya, Russian actress who the first star of Russian silent cinema. She died at age 25, presumably of the Spanish flu.
- 1909 Born: Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer, who co-founded the first McDonald's restaurant with his elder brother Maurice McDonald.
- 1907 Died: Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator who was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy.
- 1906 Born: Vera Menchik, British-Czech chess player, the world's first women's chess champion. She defeated many of the leading male chess masters.
- 1899 Died: Félix Faure, French politician, the 7th President of France. The latter days of his presidency were infamous for the Dreyfus affair.
- 1838 Born: Henry Adams, American historian who is best known for his works The Education of Henry Adams and The History of the United States of America 1801–1817.
- 1834 Born: Ernst Haeckel, German naturalist, biologist, physician, philosopher, artist, and professor who discovered and described thousands of new species and coined many scientific terms.
- 1812 Born: Henry Wilson, the 18th Vice President of the United States. Wilson was a Radical Republican and a strong opponent of slavery.
- 1754 Died: Richard Mead, English physician who is known for having made a significant contribution to the understanding of transmissible diseases.
- 1646 The last major battle of the first English Civil War occurred. It was the Battle of Torrington that marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country.