Vine star Sarah Eaken

Events in 1999 and 17-4

Events in the world in the birth year of Sarah Eaken

• Russian president Boris Yeltsin survives impeachment hearings (May), reshuffles his cabinet twice (May, Aug.), and takes military action against Islamic separatists in Dagestan and Chechnya. Background: 1999 in Review.
• Nelson Mandela, first black president of South Africa, steps down (June 16), and Thabo Mbeki takes over.
• War erupts in Kosovo after Yugoslavia's president Slobodan Milosevic clamps down on the province, massacring and deporting ethnic Albanians. NATO begins Operation Allied Force on March 24, 1999, launching air strikes against Belgrade for 78 consecutive days until Milosevic relents. Background: Timeline: The Splintering of Kosovo and Timeline: NATO in Kosovo.
• Magnitude 7.4 earthquake kills more than 15,600 and leaves 600,000 homeless in Turkey (Aug. 17).
• East Timor population votes for independence from Indonesia (Aug. 30, 1999), which causes pro-Indonesian forces to massacre and uproot thousands of East Timorese.
• Pakistani government is overthrown in the midst of economic strife and intensified fighting with India over Kashmir (Oct. 12). Background: 1999 in Review.
• The world awaits the consequences of the Y2K bug, with more drastic millennial theorists warning of Armageddon.
• See also: 1999 Year in Review: News of the World

Birthday Sarah Eaken (17-4) in history

• Day 17-4 year 1790: Benjamin Franklin, American patriot, diplomat, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, has died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Day 17-4 year 1895: The Sino-Japanese War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
• Day 17-4 year 1937: Daffy Duck made his debut in Porky's Duck Hunt.
• Day 17-4 year 1961: Supported by the U.S. government, 1,500 exiles made the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.
• Day 17-4 year 1964: Geraldine Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world.
• Day 17-4 year 1969: Sirhan Sirhan was convicted for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy.
• Day 17-4 year 1970: The Apollo 13 astronauts safely splashed down after their near-disastrous flight.
• Day 17-4 year 1975: Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, ending the five year Cambodian war.