Family member Priscilla Robertson

Events in 2006 and 4-8

Events in US in the birth year of Priscilla Robertson

• President Bush signs a law renewing the Patriot Act, including a signing statement stating that he does not consider himself bound by its requirement to tell Congress how the law is being used (Mar. 9).
• House releases a report on the response to Hurricane Katrina, assigning blame on all levels of government (Feb. 15).
• Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist with ties to several members of Congress, is sentenced to six years in prison by a Florida judge on fraud charges (Mar. 29).
• George Bush and Tony Blair express regret for the abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison, for removing all Baathists from positions of power in Iraq, and for other missteps (May 25).
• The Supreme Court rules that military tribunals cannot be set up to try prisoners in the absence of Congressional authorization and that prisoners are entitled to fair trials under the Geneva Conventions (June 29).
• President Bush uses his veto power for the first time, striking down legislation that would have expanded the number of stem cell lines available for embryonic research using federal financing. (July 19).
• Democrats gain control of both houses of Congress in the midterm elections (Nov. 7).
• John Bolton steps down as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations when it becomes clear that he does not have enough votes in the Senate to win confirmation (Dec. 4).

Birthday Priscilla Robertson (4-8) in history

• Day 4-8 year 1735: Journalist John Peter Zenger, defended by former Pennsylvania House Speaker Andrew Hamilton, was acquitted of defamation in a case that helped promote press freedom.
• Day 4-8 year 1884: Thomas Stevens became the first person to bicycle across the United States. He later bicycled around the world.
• Day 4-8 year 1892: Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother were killed with an axe in Fall River, Mass.
• Day 4-8 year 1914: Germany invaded Belgium and, in response, Britain declared war on Germany.
• Day 4-8 year 1916: Denmark ceded the Danish West Indies, including the Danish Virgin Islands, to the United States for $25 million.
• Day 4-8 year 1944: Anne Frank and her family were found hiding in Amsterdam by Nazis.
• Day 4-8 year 1964: The bodies of three civil-rights workers were found in an earthen dam, six weeks into a federal investigation backed by President Johnson
• Day 4-8 year 1977: President Carter signed a congressional act that established the Department of Energy.