Pop - Singer Blake Sparkles

Events in 2001 and 14-9

Events in US in the birth year of Blake Sparkles

• 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 Blake Sparkles (14-9) in history

• Day 14-9 year 1814: Attorney Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics for the US national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."
• Day 14-9 year 1901: President McKinley died of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him.
• Day 14-9 year 1927: Modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan died in Nice, France.
• Day 14-9 year 1940: Congress passed the Selective Service Act, providing for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history.
• Day 14-9 year 1959: The Soviet space probe Luna 2 became the first man-made object to reach the Moon when it crashed onto the lunar surface.
• Day 14-9 year 1982: Princess Grace of Monaco died from injuries sustained in a car crash the previous day.
• Day 14-9 year 1994: Acting commissioner Bud Selig announced the cancellation of the 1994 baseball season on the 34th day of a strike by players.