Vine star Toby Randall

Events in 2001 and 6-8

Events in the world in the birth year of Toby Randall

• Congo president Laurent Kabila assassinated by bodyguard (Jan. 16). Son Joseph Kabila takes over amid continuing civil war.
• Ariel Sharon wins election in Israel (Feb. 6). Right-wing leader chosen overwhelmingly as nation's fifth prime minister in just over five years during worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in years. Background: Middle East.
• The long-simmering resentment of Macedonia's ethnic Albanians erupts into violence in March. The rebels seek greater autonomy within Macedonia. After six months of fighting, a peace agreement is signed (Aug. 13). British-led NATO forces enter the country and disarm the guerrillas. Background: Macedonia and the Balkans.
• U.S. spy plane and Chinese jet collide (April 2); Sino-American relations deteriorate during a standoff. The 24 crew members of the U.S. plane were detained for 11 days and released after the U.S. issued a formal statement of regret.
• Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is delivered to UN tribunal in The Hague to await war-crime trial (June 29).
• Without U.S., 178 nations reach agreement on climate accord, which rescues, though dilutes, 1997 Kyoto Protocol (July 23).
• In response to Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, U.S. and British forces launch bombing campaign on Taliban government and al-Qaeda terrorist camps in Afghanistan (Oct. 7). Bombings continue on a daily basis. Background: Afghanistan.
• Irish Republican Army announces that it has begun to dismantle its weapons arsenal, marking a dramatic leap forward in Northern Ireland peace process (Oct. 23). Background: Northern Ireland Primer.
• At a UN-sponsored summit in Bonn, Germany, Afghani factions meet to create a post-Taliban government (Nov. 27). Hamid Karzai is selected as head of the transitional government (Dec. 5). Background: Who's Who in Afghanistan.
• Taliban regime in Afghanistan collapses after two months of bombing by American warplanes and fighting by Northern Alliance ground troops (Dec. 9).
• Israel condemns the Palestinian Authority as a "terror-supporting entity" and severs ties with leader Yasir Arafat following mounting violence against Israelis (Dec. 3). The Israeli Army begins bombing Palestinian areas. Background: Middle East.

Birthday Toby Randall (6-8) in history

• Day 6-8 year 1806: Emperor Francis II abdicated, marking the end of the Roman Empire.
• Day 6-8 year 1825: Bolivia declared its independence from Peru.
• Day 6-8 year 1926: Gertrude Ederle became the first U.S. woman to swim across the English Channel.
• Day 6-8 year 1945: The first atomic bomb used in warfare was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
• Day 6-8 year 1962: Jamaica gained its independence within the Britain Commonwealth.
• Day 6-8 year 1965: President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed the poll taxes and literacy tests that had restricted black voter registration in the South.
• Day 6-8 year 1997: British prime minister Tony Blair and Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams meet—the first time in 76 years that a British leader and an IRA ally meet.
• Day 6-8 year 2003: Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy to replace Gray Davis as governor of California to Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.
• Day 6-8 year 2012: Curiosity, a SUV-size rover, successfully landed on Mars. The rover's research has been planned for the next two years, but since Curiosity's electricity is powered by plutonium, it could be operational and provide insight into Mars for decades to come