February 16
Events
- 1659 – The first dated cheque was drawn on Messrs Morris and Clayton. It is the earliest one known, at the time they were referred to as drawn notes.
- 1923 – Howard Carter discovers the sarcophagus of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. His first glimpse is seen as he opened the sealed doorway that lead to a burial chamber.
- 1956 – The death penalty was abolished in Great Britain. Home secretary James Callaghan proposed the motion to make the abolition permanent and it was carried in the House of Commons.
Birthdays
- 1822 – Francis Galton was born in Birmingham, England. He became an anthropologist and geneticist. He was a pioneer in Eugenics, and coined the phrase ‘nature versus nurture’.
- 1957 – Levardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. Professionally known as LeVar Burton was born in Landstuhl, Germany. He became an actor and is famed for playing Geordi La Forge in Star Trek Next Generation.
- 1959 – John P McEnroe was born in Wiesbaden in West Germany, he later became a resident of the USA. He gained significance on the tennis court by becoming a Champion tennis player and ranked No 1 in the world in 1980.
