2001 - What happened in 2001 ?

January 2001

Monday 01:

First Day of the Third Millennium.

Saturday 06:

Al Gore, as President of the U.S. Senate, tallies the electoral votes and certifies George W. Bush as the winner of U.S. presidential election, 2000.

Tuesday 16:

Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.

Monday 22:

Four of the Texas 7 are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado and a fifth killed himself inside a motor home.

Wednesday 31:

In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crashed into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

February 2001

Monday 05:

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announce that they have separated.

Thursday 08:

Disney's California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort's second park in its 46-year history, opens.

Friday 09:

The American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fishery High School.

Monday 19:

A Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

Wednesday 28:

An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley area of Washington. There were no reports of any deaths.

March 2001

Saturday 03:

A bomb explodes outside BBC Television Centre in London. The attack was attributed to dissident Irish Republican terrorists.

Monday 05:

In Mecca, 35 Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Friday 23:

The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (now World Wrestling Entertainment) purchases rival organization World Championship Wrestling (WCW) for an estimated $5 million.

Saturday 24:

Apple Computer releases Mac OS X.

Thursday 29:

A chartered Gulfstream III jet crashes into a hillside during approach into Aspen, Colorado, killing 18 people.

April 2001

Sunday 01:

2001 - The first legal same-sex marriage in the Netherlands is celebrated.

Saturday 07:

An M-17 helicopter crashes into mountain in south of Hanoi, Vietnam killing 16.

Monday 16:

First 3G voice call on Vodafone UK's 3G network.

Tuesday 17:

Barry Bonds becomes the 17th member of the 500 home run club at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, California.

Friday 20:

Anti-globalization marches and a "People's Summit" are held to protest the Quebec City Summit of the Americas, a FTAA summit in Quebec City, Quebec.

May 2001

Thursday 10:

In Ghana, a stampede at a football game kills over 120 spectators.

Saturday 12:

In Copenhagen, Denmark, Tanel Padar & Dave Benton win the forty-sixth Eurovision Song Contest for Estonia singing "Everybody".

Thursday 24:

Wedding hall collapse in Jerusalem, Israel, kills 23 and injures over 200 in Israel's worst-ever civil disaster.

Friday 25:

64-year-old Sherman Bull, of New Canaan, Connecticut, becomes the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

June 2001

Tuesday 05:

Senator Jim Jeffords leaves the Republican party, an act which changes control of the United States Senate from the Republican party to the Democratic party.

Monday 11:

Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Saturday 16:

George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin meet in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia

Monday 18:

Protests occur in Manipur over the extension of the ceasefire between Naga insurgents and the government of India.

Wednesday 20:

In Texas, USA, Andrea Yates drowns her children in a bathtub and admits to the crime. She would be sentenced to life in prison.

July 2001

Tuesday 03:

A Vladivostokavia Tupolev TU-154 jetliner crashes on approach to landing at Irkutsk, Russia killing 145 people.

Wednesday 18:

In Baltimore, Maryland, a 60-car train derails in a tunnel, sparking a fire that lasts days and virtually shuts down downtown Baltimore.

Thursday 19:

UK politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer, Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare, is sentenced to four years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Monday 23:

Megawati Soekarnoputri becomes the fifth President of Indonesia, replacing Abdurrahman Wahid.

Tuesday 24:

2001 - The Taiwan Solidarity Union is established.

August 2001

Wednesday 01:

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a 2-1/2 ton Ten Commandments monument installed in the rotunda of the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office.

Thursday 09:

In Jerusalem, 15 people die and 130 wounded in the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing.

Tuesday 21:

The Red Cross announces that a famine is striking Tajikistan, and calls for international financial aid for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Wednesday 22:

the Trojan room coffee pot is switched off for the last time.

Tuesday 28:

Dutch prime minister Wim Kok announces that he will not be available for another term as PvdA party leader or prime minister after the 2002 elections.

September 2001

Sunday 09:

Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan.

Monday 10:

Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001

Saturday 15:

Alex Zanardi, driving in a CART race is injured in Germany, resulting in both legs being amputated below the knee.

Thursday 27:

Boyband 5ive announced their disbandment.

Saturday 29:

The Syracuse Herald-Journal, a U.S. newspaper dating back to 1839, ceases publication.

October 2001

Friday 12:

War on Terrorism: Prompted by a request by US President George W. Bush, an episode of America's Most Wanted aired featuring 22 most wanted terrorists

Sunday 14:

2001 - Delta Flight 458 from Atlanta to Newark, New Jersey, is diverted to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, and passengers are taken off the flight while officials investigate a report of two "Middle Eastern men" making threats in a foreign tongue. It turned out to be two Orthodox Jews who were praying peacefully.

Monday 15:

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.

Thursday 25:

Microsoft releases Windows XP

Friday 26:

The United States passes the controversial USA Patriot Act into law.

November 2001

Wednesday 07:

2001 - The supersonic commercial aircraft Concorde resumes flying after a 15-month break.

Thursday 15:

The Microsoft Xbox video game console launches in North America, along with the game .

Friday 16:

The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is released, becoming the second highest grossing film around the world of all time.

Sunday 18:

The Nintendo GameCube is released in North America

Tuesday 20:

In Washington, DC, US President George W. Bush dedicates the United States Department of Justice headquarters building as the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Building, honoring the late Robert F. Kennedy on what would have been his 76th birthday.

December 2001

Saturday 01:

Trans World Airlines flies its last flight, after being bought by American Airlines

Thursday 13:

Parliament of India attacked by armed militants. Attempt foiled.

Friday 21:

Japanese television performer Masashi Tashiro got No. 1 temporarily in the Internet vote of Time's Person of the Year.

Saturday 22:

Cc the cat, the first cloned pet, was born.

Thursday 27:

The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.