On this day

February 16, 1942

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Notable Births

Yang Jen-fu

1942Yang Jen-fu, Taiwanese politician (died 2024)[†]

Yang Jen-fu was a Taiwanese Amis politician.

Historical Events

Athens

1942World War II: In Athens, the Greek People's Liberation Army is established[†]

Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica region and is the southernmost capital on the European mainland. With its urban area's population numbering over 3.6 million, it is the eighth-largest urban area in the European Union (EU). The Municipality of Athens, which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 in 2021, within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi).

Attack on Aruba

1942World War II: Attack on Aruba, first World War II German shots fired on a land based object in the Americas.[†]

The attack on Aruba was an attack on oil installations and tankers by Axis submarines during World War II. On 16 February 1942, a German U-boat attacked the small Dutch island of Aruba. Other submarines patrolled the area for shipping and they sank or damaged tankers. Aruba was home to two of the largest oil refineries in the world during the war against the Axis powers, the Arend Petroleum Company, situated near the Oranjestad harbor, and the Lago Oil and Transport Company at the San Nicolas harbor. The attack resulted in the disruption of vital Allied fuel production.