Important Events From This day in History – 16th February

Today in History

• 2005 The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect

  The global warming pact was ratified by 191 countries to date – excluding the United States.

• 1987 The first trial against John Demjanjuk begins in Jerusalem

  Demjanjuk was falsely accused of being a particularly brutal Nazi guard known as “Ivan the Terrible”; in a separate trial in 2011, he was convicted as an accessory to the murder of 27,900 people by a German criminal court.

• 1985 Hezbollah is founded

  Several Western countries have designated the Lebanese political party and the militant group as terrorist organizations.

• 1959 Fidel Castro becomes Cuba’s Prime Minister

  Castro rose to power soon after his “26th of July Movement” deposed dictator Fulgencio Batista in what became known as the Cuban Revolution.

• 1923 The burial chamber of Pharoh Tutankhamun is opened

  Howard Carter’s discovery is one of the most well-known in archeology, thanks to the legend of the “Curse of Tutankhamun,” which was sparked by the death of Lord Carnarvon, who was among the first to enter the chamber.