On this day: February 16

February 16: Family Day in various regions of Canada (2015); Statehood Day in Lithuania (1918)

Sikorsky S-51

• 1270 – Livonian Crusade: In the Battle of Karuse, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania achieved a decisive victory over the Livonian Order on the frozen surface of the Baltic Sea.
• 1804 – United States Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decatur led a raid to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli, denying her use to the Barbary States in the First Barbary War.
• 1918 – The Council of Lithuania signed the Act of Independence of Lithuania, proclaiming the restoration of an independent Lithuania governed by democratic principles, despite the presence of German troops in the country during World War I.
• 1946 – The Sikorsky S-51 (pictured), the first helicopter to be built for civilian instead of military use, made its first flight.
• 1983 – The Ash Wednesday bushfires burned 513,979 acres (2,080 km²) in South Australia and 518,921 acres (2,100 km²) in Victoria, killing 75 people and injuring 2,676 others.

• More anniversaries:
  • February 15
  • February 16
  • February 17

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