Dance artist Nicaya Wiley

Events in 2001 and 17-5

Events in US in the birth year of Nicaya Wiley

• In final days of presidency, Bill Clinton issues controversial pardons, including one for Marc Rich, billionaire fugitive financier (Jan. 20).
• George W. Bush is sworn in as 43rd president (Jan. 20).
• U.S. submarine Greeneville sinks Japanese fishing boat, killing 9 (Feb. 9).
• FBI agent Robert Hanssen is charged with spying for Russia for 15 years (Feb. 20).
• Race riots in Cincinnati continue for several days following a shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer (April 7 et seq.).
• Four are declared guilty in 1998 terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania (May 29). Background: U.S. Embassy Bombings.
• Balance of the Senate shifts after Jim Jeffords of Vermont changes his party affiliation from Republican to Independent. The move strips Republicans of control of the Senate and gives Democrats the narrowest of majorities (50-49-1) (June 5).
• Bush signs new tax-cut law, the largest in 20 years (June 7). Background: Economic Downturn and a Tax Cut.
• Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh executed (June 11).
• Budget surplus dwindles. The Congressional Budget Office attributes this rapid change in the nation's fortunes to the slowing economy and the Bush tax cut (Aug. 22). Background: Economic Downturn and a Tax Cut.
• Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes 80 mi outside of Pittsburgh (Sept. 11). Toll of dead and injured in thousands. Within days, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network are identified as the parties behind the attacks.
• Anthrax scare rivets nation, as anthrax-laced letters are sent to various media and government officials. Several postal workers die after handling the letters (throughout October).

Birthday Nicaya Wiley (17-5) in history

• Day 17-5 year 1792: The New York Stock Exchange was established when a group of 24 brokers and merchants met by a tree on what is now Wall Street and signed the Buttonwood Agreement.
• Day 17-5 year 1875: The first Kentucky Derby was held at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky.
• Day 17-5 year 1938: NBC aired the Information Please quiz show on the radio for the first time.
• Day 17-5 year 1954: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously against segregation in schools in Brown v. Board of Education.
• Day 17-5 year 1973: Televised Watergate hearings opened, headed by North Carolina senator Sam Ervin.
• Day 17-5 year 1987: An Iraqi warplane attacked the U.S.S. Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 American sailors and wounding 62.
• Day 17-5 year 1997: Laurent Kabila declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Day 17-5 year 2004: In Massachusetts, same-sex couples exchanged marriage vows for the first time in the United States.