2001 - What happened in 2001 ?

January 2001

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.

Thursday 11:

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

Saturday 13:

An earthquake hits El Salvador. More than 5,000 deaths.

Monday 29:

Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.

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 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.

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.

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.

Sunday 15:

Easter day (not again until 2063).

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.

Monday 23:

Intel introduces the Pentium 4 Processor.

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.

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.

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.

Monday 16:

The FBI arrests Dmitry Sklyarov at a convention in Las Vegas, Nevada for violating a provision of the DMCA.

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

Wednesday 05:

Young Left formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Saturday 08:

Durban, South Africa hosts the World Conference against Racism.

Friday 14:

Historic National Prayer Service held at Washington National Cathedral for victims of the September 11 attacks. While the rest of the world sees the service at the National Cathedral, Canada sees the service on Parliament Hill, described as "the largest single vigil" ever in the nation's capital.

Saturday 15:

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

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.

October 2001

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.

Thursday 11:

Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.

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.

Thursday 25:

Microsoft releases Windows XP

Friday 26:

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

November 2001

Friday 02:

Monsters, Inc. debuts with the best ticket sales ever for an animated film.

Tuesday 06:

David Trimble is re-elected prime minister of Northern Ireland

Tuesday 13:

War on Terrorism: In the first such act since World War II, US President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts on the United States.

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

Sunday 02:

Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Tuesday 11:

The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization

Wednesday 19:

The Argentine economic crisis burst into street riots after the announcement by the economy minister of the measures of holding back the bank deposits.

Friday 21:

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

Thursday 27:

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