2002 - What happened in 2002 ?

January 2002

Thursday 17:

Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.

Thursday 24:

The United States Department of Justice indicts Robert Nicholas Angleton for conspiring to murder his wife, Doris Angleton, along with his brother Roger.

Monday 28:

An Ecuadoran airline Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.

Tuesday 29:

In his State of the Union Address, United States President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil.

Wednesday 30:

Slobodan Milo?evi? accuses the United Nations war crimes tribunal of an "evil and hostile attack" against him.

February 2002

Sunday 03:

Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots defeat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to win their first Super Bowl championship.

Friday 08:

Opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.

Tuesday 12:

An Iran Air Tupolev Tu-154 crashes prior to landing in Khorramabad, Iran, killing 119

Wednesday 27:

2002 Gujarat violence: a train catches fire a few minutes after it leaves the Godhra railway station, killing an estimated 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya and triggering riots that lead to the death of 1000 people, mostly Muslims.

Thursday 28:

Ethnic conflict in India: At least 55 are killed in Ahmadabad, India when Hindus burn Muslim homes.

March 2002

Tuesday 05:

MTV begins airing The Osbournes.

Tuesday 12:

In Texas, Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her five children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison.

Saturday 16:

Closing ceremonies of the Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Thursday 21:

In Pakistan, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh along with three other suspects are charged with murder for their part in the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Wednesday 27:

Passover Massacre: A suicide bomber kills 28 people in Netanya, Israel.

April 2002

Tuesday 09:

The funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother of the United Kingdom is held at Westminster Abbey.

Wednesday 17:

Four Canadian Forces soldiers are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two U.S. Air Force F-16s, the first deaths in a combat zone for Canada since the Korean War.

Thursday 18:

A new order of insects, Mantophasmatodea, is announced.

Saturday 20:

The Darwin-based Network Against Prohibition holds its first Community Smoke-In for Human Rights in Darwin, Australia. Police arrest five activists.

Friday 26:

19-year-old Robert Steinhäuser shoots and kills 17 people at his school in Erfurt, Germany.

May 2002

Monday 06:

The World Wrestling Federation announces that they have changed their name to World Wrestling Entertainment after losing a court battle with the World Wildlife Fund.

Thursday 09:

In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-controlled bomb explodes during a holiday parade killing 43 and injuring at least 130.

Sunday 12:

Former President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.

Thursday 16:

2002 - ' opens in cinemas.

Sunday 26:

Álvaro Uribe becomes President of Colombia.

June 2002

Monday 03:

The peak day of Golden Jubilee celebrations occurs in the United Kingdom.

Wednesday 05:

2002 - Mozilla 1.0, the first 'official' version, is released.

Thursday 06:

A near-Earth asteroid estimated at 10 metres diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea. The resulting explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.

Tuesday 11:

Antonio Meucci was recognised as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.

Friday 14:

Twelve are killed and 50 injured by a car bomb explosion in front of the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

July 2002

Tuesday 02:

Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.

Thursday 04:

A Prestige Airlines cargo Boeing 707 crashes just short of the runway in Bangui, Central African Republic killing 25

Friday 12:

Gay rights: The Superior Court of Ontario orders Ontario to recognize same-sex marriages.

Sunday 28:

2002 - nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pennsylvania, were rescued after 77 hours underground.

Tuesday 30:

Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie is the first woman to dunk in a basketball game.

August 2002

Saturday 17:

In Santa Rosa, California, the Charles M. Schulz Museum opens to the public.

Monday 19:

A Russian Mi-26 helicopter carrying troops is hit by a Chechen missile outside of Grozny, killing 118 soldiers.

Wednesday 21:

Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, announces that he will not seek re-election and would resign within eighteen months.

Monday 26:

Earth Summit 2002 begins in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Friday 30:

The Tandy Center Subway in Fort Worth, Texas, ceases to operate.

September 2002

Thursday 05:

The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, United States, which burned 499,570 acres (2,020 km²), is finally contained.

Saturday 21:

International Day of Peace recognized by the United Nations as a full day of ceasefire and nonviolence.

Wednesday 25:

The Vitim event, a possible bolide impact in Siberia, Russia.

Thursday 26:

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Friday 27:

Timor-Leste (East Timor) joins the United Nations.

October 2002

Sunday 06:

Opus Dei founder Josemaría Escrivá is canonized.

Wednesday 09:

After losing a massive amount of ground during the summer of 2002, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 7,286.27, its lowest level in five years. The NASDAQ also hit a six-year low of 1,114.11.

Saturday 12:

Bali bombing: In Bali, terrorists detonate bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, killing 202 and wounding over 300

Thursday 24:

Police arrest spree killers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, ending the Beltway sniper attacks in the area around Washington, DC.

Wednesday 30:

British Digital terrestrial television (DTT) Service Freeview starts transmitting throughout parts of the United Kingdom

November 2002

Wednesday 06:

Winona Ryder is found guilty of shoplifting after stealing items worth $5,500 from a New York boutique.

Tuesday 12:

Special Extended DVD Edition of ' is released.

Thursday 14:

The US House of Representatives votes to not create an independent commission to investigate the September 11 attacks.

Friday 22:

In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest.

Monday 25:

Reported assassination attempt on Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov

December 2002

Friday 13:

The European Union announces the addition of ten new members, effective May 1, 2004.

Wednesday 18:

California Governor Gray Davis announces that the state would face a record budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier; the budget issue was used to support his 2003 recall from office.

Friday 20:

US Senator Trent Lott resigns as majority leader.

Wednesday 25:

The New Delhi Metro opens.

Friday 27:

Two truck bombs kill 72 and wound 200 at the pro-Moscow headquarters of the Chechen government in Grozny, Chechnya.