Family member Matt Di Blasio

Events in 2001 and 31-7

Events in US in the birth year of Matt Di Blasio

• 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 Matt Di Blasio (31-7) in history

• Day 31-7 year 1498: The explorer Columbus arrived on the island of Trinidad.
• Day 31-7 year 1777: The Marquis de Lafayette became a major-general in the American Continental Army.
• Day 31-7 year 1790: The first U.S. patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for a process of making fertilizer.
• Day 31-7 year 1875: Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, died in Tennessee.
• Day 31-7 year 1954: Mount Godwin-Austen (K2), the world's second-highest peak, was climbed for the first time, by an Italian team led by Ardito Desio.
• Day 31-7 year 1964: The U.S. space probe Ranger 7 transmitted pictures of the Moon’s surface.