Vine star Matthew Paquette

Events in 1996 and 5-8

Events in the world in the birth year of Matthew Paquette

• Chechens capture 2,000 Russians (Jan. 9). Chechnya peace treaty signed (May 27).
• France agrees to end nuclear testing (Jan. 29). Background: nuclear disarmament
• Britain alarmed by an outbreak of "mad cow" disease (March 20 et seq.).
• UN tribunal charges war crimes by Bosnian Muslims and Croats (March 22). Nations pledge $1.23 billion in aid to rebuild Bosnia (April 22).
• South Africa gets new constitution (May 8).
• Israel elects Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister (May 31).
• Iraqis strike at Kurdish enclave (Aug. 31); after warning, US attacks Iraq's southern air defenses (Sept. 2–3).
• Militant Taliban leaders seize Afghan capital of Kabul (Sept. 27).
• Ethnic violence breaks out in Zairian refugee camps (Oct. 13); Clinton approves plan for UN-backed relief mission for 1.2 million Hutu refugees starving in eastern Zaire (Nov. 13). Hundreds of thousands return to Rwanda (Nov. 15–18).

Birthday Matthew Paquette (5-8) in history

• Day 5-8 year 1861: For the first time, the U.S. government levied an income tax.
• Day 5-8 year 1884: The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island.
• Day 5-8 year 1914: The first electric traffic lights were installed in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Day 5-8 year 1962: Marilyn Monroe died.
• Day 5-8 year 1963: The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union signed the limited Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.
• Day 5-8 year 1969: The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 transmitted pictures of Mars.
• Day 5-8 year 1984: Joan Benoit won the first Olympic women's marathon.
• Day 5-8 year 2002: The gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was raised from the ocean floor.
• Day 5-8 year 2003: The Rev. Gene Robinson was approved as the first openly gay bishop by the U.S. Episcopal Church.
• Day 5-8 year 2012: The plutonium-powered rover Curiosity successfully lands on Mars. Larger than earlier rovers, Curiosity will spend two years examining the land, looking for evidence that conditions on Mars are fit for life.