1. In 1801, the District of Columbia officially became the capital of the United States. The decision to make it the capital was made in 1790, but the move wasn't completed until 11 years later.

2. On February 16, 1862, during the Civil War, Union General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Donelson, Tennessee, which helped secure control of the Cumberland River.

3. In 1923, the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. opened. It became known as the "Theater of the People" and hosted many famous African American entertainers, such as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.

4. On February 16, 1962, the National Gallery of Art's East Building was dedicated by President John F. Kennedy. The building houses modern and contemporary art collections, including works by Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.

5. The first African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction, Edward Brooke, was born on February 16, 1919, in Washington, D.C. He served as a senator for Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979.