TV actor Griffin Kunitz

Events in 2005 and 22-4

Events in US in the birth year of Griffin Kunitz

• George W. Bush is officially sworn in for his second term as president (Jan. 20).
• In his State of the Union address, President Bush announces his plan to reform Social Security (Feb. 2). Despite months of campaigning, his plan receives only a lukewarm reception.
• The Terry Schiavo case becomes the focus of an emotionally charged battle in Congress (March 20).
• Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement (July 1).
• President Bush signs the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which will remove trade barriers between the U.S. and Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (Aug. 2).
• Hurricane Katrina wreaks catastrophic damage on the Gulf coast; more than 1,000 die and millions are left homeless. Americans are shaken not simply by the magnitude of the disaster but by how ill-prepared all levels of government are in its aftermath. (Aug. 25-30). See also Hurricane Katrina Timeline.
• Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, dies (Sept. 3).
• John Roberts becomes 17th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (Sept 22).
• Another major hurricane, Rita, ravages the Gulf coast (Sept. 23).
• House majority leader Tom Delay is accused of conspiring to violate Texas's election laws. He steps aside from his House leadership position (Sept. 28).
• Number of deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq reaches 2,000 (Oct. 25).
• President Bush selects Harriet Miers, White House counsel, to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Oct 3). Miers withdraws her nomination after strong criticism from the president's conservative base (Oct. 27).
• A federal grand jury indicts I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, with obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with a White House leak investigation. (Oct. 28).
• President Bush nominates conservative judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court (Oct. 31).
• California Republican congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigns after pleading guilty to taking at least $2.4 million in bribes (Nov. 28).
• The Sept. 11 Public Discourse Project reports that the country is still "alarmingly vulnerable to terrorist strikes." (Dec. 5).
• The press reveals that in 2002, Bush signed a presidential order to allow the National Security Agency to spy on Americans suspected of being connected to terrorist activity without warrants. (Dec. 15).
• See also People in the News, 2005 and 2005 News Quizzes.

Birthday Griffin Kunitz (22-4) in history

• Day 22-4 year 1500: Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered the land of Brazil and claimed it for Portugal.
• Day 22-4 year 1509: Lord Henry VIII becomes king of England.
• Day 22-4 year 1616: The great Spanish poet and playwright Cervantes passed away in Madrid. (Some other sources put the date of death as April 23.)
• Day 22-4 year 1864: Congress authorized the inscription "In God We Trust" on coins minted as U.S. currency.
• Day 22-4 year 1889: The land rush in Oklahoma began when it was opened to settlers.
• Day 22-4 year 1970: The first Earth Day was observed.
• Day 22-4 year 1994: Richard M. Nixon died of a stroke at the age of 81.
• Day 22-4 year 2000: Armed immigration agents took Elian Gonzalez from the Miami home of his relatives to reunite him with his father.