TV actor Drew Justice

Events in 2001 and 17-8

Events in US in the birth year of Drew Justice

• 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 Drew Justice (17-8) in history

• Day 17-8 year 1807: Robert Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, began its trip up the Hudson River to Albany.
• Day 17-8 year 1863: Fort Sumter, S.C. was bombarded by Union ships during the Civil War.
• Day 17-8 year 1896: Prospectors found gold in Alaska, a discovery that set off the Klondike gold rush.
• Day 17-8 year 1945: Indonesian nationalists proclaimed independence from the Netherlands.
• Day 17-8 year 1962: 18-year-old Peter Fechter was shot and killed by guards at the Berlin Wall, spurring riots.
• Day 17-8 year 1969: Hurricane Camille devastated the Gulf Coast, killing 248 people.
• Day 17-8 year 1978: The first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight landed outside of Paris.
• Day 17-8 year 1987: Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's second in command, committed suicide.
• Day 17-8 year 2008: U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal, breaking the record set by Mark Spitz in the 1972 Games. Phelps also set the record for the most golds in a single Olympics.