Today is Monday, February 16, the 47th day of 2009. There are 318 days left in the year.
600 _ Pope Gregory the Great decrees saying ``God bless You" is the correct response to a sneeze
1741 _ Benjamin Franklin's ``General Magazine" (second U.S. magazine) begins publishing
1854 _ Franz Liszts symphony ``Orpheus" premieres
1878 _ Silver dollar became U.S. legal tender
1887 _ First newspaper convention (Rochester, N.Y.)
1950 _ Writers fail to elect anyone to Baseball's Hall of Fame
1956 _ Britain abolishes the death penalty
1959 _ Fidel Castro named himself Cuba's premier after overthrowing Batista
1963 _ Beatles top British rock charts with ``Please, Please Me"
1980 _ Continuous traffic jam extends 176 km north of Lyons, France