On this day in history - February 16

What Happened On This Day – February 16

• 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 dubbed “Ivan the Terrible”; in a separate trial in 2011, he was convicted by a German criminal court as an accessory to the murder of 27,900 people.

• 1985 Hezbollah is founded

  The Lebanese political party and militant group is classified as a terrorist organization by several western countries.

• 1959 Fidel Castro becomes Cuba's Prime Minister

  Castro's rise to power came shortly after his “26th of July Movement” had overthrown 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 archeology's best known, especially due to the myth of the “Curse of Tutankhamun” that was sparked by the death of Lord Carnarvon who was one of the first to enter the chamber.