Valentin Bondarenko

Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko was a Soviet fighter pilot selected in 1960 for training as a cosmonaut. He died as the result of burns sustained in a fire during a 15-day low-pressure endurance experiment in Moscow. The Soviet government concealed the death, along with Bondarenko's membership in the cosmonaut corps, until 1980. A crater on the Moon's far side is named after him.

16 February 1937

Born on the same birth date (16 February 1937): Paul Bailey (British writer) • Yuri Manin

Born on the same birth day (16 February): António Mascarenhas Monteiro • Bill Doggett • Billy Hamilton (baseball, born 1866) • Denílson (footballer, born 1988) • Hannelore Schmatz • Jerome Bettis • Kathleen Clifford • LeVar Burton • Pete Willis • Peter Kosler • Susanna Kallur

Born in the same month (February 1937): Alar Toomre • Alexandra Strelchenko • Ali El-Makk • Angelo Mosca • Bob Schieffer • Clete Boyer • Gaston Roelants • Gregory Mcdonald • Harald V • Harry Wu • Jeff Farrell • Magic Sam • Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) • Norm O'Neill • Peter Jay (diplomat) • Phillip Walker (musician) • Remak Ramsay • Robert Huber • Ron Clarke • Stuart Damon • Tom Courtenay • Tom Smothers