February 16

1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire. 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse. 1630 – Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil. 1646 – Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the First English Civil War. 1699 – First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing the Greek Catholic clergy enjoyed the same privileges as Roman Catholic priests in the Principality of Transylvania. 1742 – Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister. 1796 – Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon. 1804 – First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate . 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee. 1866 – Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War. 1881 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1). 1899 – Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded. 1900 – The Southern Cross expedition led by Carsten Borchgrevink achieved a new Farthest South of 78° 50'S, making the first landing at the Great Ice Barrier. 1918 – The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state. 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. 1930 – The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA. 1934 – The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund. 1936 – The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election. 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon. 1940 – World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer . A total of 299 British prisoners are freed.