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Today is Saturday, Feb. 16, the 47th day of 2002. There are 318 days left in the year. 

Today’s Highlight in History: 

On Feb. 16, 1862, during the Civil War, some 14,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered at Fort Donelson, Tenn. (Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s victory earned him the nickname “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”) 

On this date: 

In 1804, Lt. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli Harbor to burn the U.S. Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had fallen into the hands of pirates. 

In 1868, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City. 

In 1918, Lithuania proclaimed its independence. 

In 1923, the burial chamber of King Tutankhamen’s recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt. 

In 1945, American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II. 

In 1948, NBC TV began airing its first nightly newscast, “The Camel Newsreel Theatre,” which consisted of Fox Movietone newsreels. 

In 1959, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. 

In 1961, the United States launched the Explorer 9 satellite. 

In 1968, the nation’s first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated, in Haleyville, Ala. 

In 1977, Janani Luwum, the Anglican archbishop of Uganda, and two other men were killed in what Ugandan authorities said was an automobile accident. 

Ten years ago: Two days before the New Hampshire primary, five Democratic presidential candidates debated on CNN, directing most of their criticism at President George H.W. Bush. Israeli helicopters attacked a convoy in Sidon, Lebanon, killing Sheik Abbas Musawi, leader of the pro-Iranian group Hezbollah. 

Five years ago: U.S. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., the chairman of the House committee investigating campaign fund-raising activities, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that his probe would be far broader than originally anticipated. 

One year ago: The United States and Britain staged air strikes against radar stations and air defense command centers in Iraq. President George W. Bush met with Mexican President Vicente Fox on the first foreign trip of Bush’s presidency. Dr. William H. Masters, who with his partner and future wife Virginia Johnson, pioneered research in the field of human sexuality, died in Tucson, Ariz., at age 85. 

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Patty Andrews is 82. Movie director John Schlesinger is 76. Actor Jeremy Bulloch is 56. Actor Pete Postlethwaite is 56. Actor William Katt is 51. Actor James Ingram is 46. Actor LeVar Burton is 45. Actor-rapper Ice-T is 44. Actress Lisa Loring is 44. Tennis Hall of Fame player John McEnroe is 43. Rock musician Andy Taylor (Duran Duran) is 41. Singer Sam Salter is 24.