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On February 16, 1923, archaeologist Howard Carter opened the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, discovering the most spectacular treasure in Egyptian archaeology. The tomb, intact for 3,200 years, contained more than 5,000 objects of gold, ebony and lapis lazuli. The "curse of the pharaoh" attracted global attention when several team members died prematurely.

On February 16, 1948, Kim Il-sung proclaimed the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the northern half of the Korean peninsula, with himself as first leader. The division of Korea between north and south, established after the Japanese defeat in 1945, was thus permanently formalised. The regime Kim founded continues to govern North Korea under the Kim family dynasty, more than 75 years later.

On February 16, 1959, Fidel Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba, weeks after his guerrilla forces had toppled dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro would govern Cuba for nearly 50 years, making it the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere. His long confrontation with the US included the Bay of Pigs invasion (1961) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).