TV actor Parker Bolek

Events in 2001 and 11-8

Events in US in the birth year of Parker Bolek

• 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 Parker Bolek (11-8) in history

• Day 11-8 year 1909: Arapahoe became the first American ship to use the S.O.S. distress signal.
• Day 11-8 year 1934: The first inmates arrived at the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
• Day 11-8 year 1952: King Hussein of Jordan ascended the throne after his father had been declared mentally unfit.
• Day 11-8 year 1954: More than seven years of fighting in Indochina formerly ended with the cessation of French control.
• Day 11-8 year 1956: Abstract artist Jackson Pollock died in an automobile accident.
• Day 11-8 year 1960: Chad gained its independence from France.
• Day 11-8 year 1965: Following the arrest of a young black motorist, the predominately black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles erupted in riots that lasted six days and left 34 dead.
• Day 11-8 year 2003: Charles Taylor, president of Liberia, formally relinquished his office to Moses Blah and left for Nigeria.