TV actor Diego Velazquez

Events in 2001 and 5-12

Events in US in the birth year of Diego Velazquez

• 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 Diego Velazquez (5-12) in history

• Day 5-12 year 1776: The oldest academic honour society in the United States, Phi Beta Kappa, was founded at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
• Day 5-12 year 1791: The great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart pass away in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.
• Day 5-12 year 1848: President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of 1848 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.
• Day 5-12 year 1872: Having left New York on Nov. 5, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift off Portugal with everyone aboard mysteriously missing.
• Day 5-12 year 1933: The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing prohibition, was ratified.
• Day 5-12 year 1955: The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.
• Day 5-12 year 2002: At Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid. Lott subsequently resigned his leadership position.