2001 - What happened in 2001 ?

January 2001

Monday 01:

First Day of the Third Millennium.

Wednesday 10:

Wikipedia starts as part of Nupedia. It becomes a separate site five days later.

Thursday 11:

The Federal Trade Commission approved the merger of AOL and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.

Monday 15:

Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online.

Wednesday 24:

The last two of the Texas 7 are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

February 2001

Monday 05:

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announce that they have separated.

Monday 12:

Google obtains Usenet, creating Google Groups ([http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/pressrelease48.html press release)

Monday 19:

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

Tuesday 20:

FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 15 years.

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

Friday 06:

Miller Park opens in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Saturday 07:

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

Wednesday 11:

The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, People's Republic of China after a collision with an F-8 fighter is released.

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.

Saturday 28:

Millionnaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist.

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.

Friday 08:

Popular editorial site suck.com, one of the first original content sites on the internet, publishes its final article, "Gone Fishin'."

Monday 11:

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

Monday 18:

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

Wednesday 27:

International Court of Justice finds against the United States in its judgement in the LaGrand Case.

July 2001

Tuesday 03:

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

Saturday 14:

The International Olympic Committee votes for Beijing to be the host of the 2008 Olympics. This is the first time that China had been bestowed this honor.

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.

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.

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.

Friday 24:

Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean (en route to Lisbon from New York) and makes an emergency landing in the Azores.

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

Tuesday 11:

The September 11 attacks destroy the World Trade Center in New York City, part of The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and down a passenger airliner in Pennsylvania. In total, almost 3,000 are killed.

Wednesday 12:

NATO Article V of the NATO agreement is invoked for the first time in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States of America.

Monday 17:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opens for the first time after the September 11 attacks. The stocks plummet throughout the trading session and posts its biggest point drop in its history closing down 684.81 points to 8920.70.

Wednesday 26:

2001 - ' begins airing in the US.

Saturday 29:

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

October 2001

Thursday 04:

A Sibir Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. 78 people are killed.

Saturday 06:

The then most-attended ice hockey game in history, between Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, before a crowd of 74,554. In 2004, that record was shattered in a historic outdoor regular season match in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between the Edmonton Oilers and Montreal Canadiens.

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.

Tuesday 30:

Michael Jordan returns to the National Basketball Association with the Washington Wizards after 3 1/2 years (the Wizards lose 93-91 to the New York Knicks).

November 2001

Wednesday 07:

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

Monday 12:

2001 Attack on Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Afghan Northern Alliance troops.

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.

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.

Tuesday 27:

A hydrogen atmosphere was discovered on the extrasolar planet Osiris by the Hubble Space Telescope, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet.

December 2001

Saturday 01:

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

Sunday 02:

Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Sunday 09:

Chris Jericho unifies the WWE Championship and WCW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time ever at the WWE Vengeance pay-per-view.

Thursday 13:

Parliament of India attacked by armed militants. Attempt foiled.

Thursday 27:

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