Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.

Wallace Hume Carothers was an American chemist, inventor, and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, who was credited with the invention of nylon.

A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention. In most countries, patent rights fall under private law and the patent holder must sue someone infringing the patent in order to enforce their rights.

Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or semi-aromatic groups.

February 16 is the 47th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 318 days remain until the end of the year.