2002 - What happened in 2002 ?

January 2002

Saturday 05:

Charles Bishop, a 15-year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a Tampa, Florida building, evoking fear of a copycat 9/11 terrorist attack.

Thursday 17:

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

Sunday 20:

Inauguration of Churches Uniting in Christ.

Tuesday 22:

Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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.

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.

Friday 22:

A MH-47E Chinook helicopter crashes into the ocean near the Philippines, killing all 10 aboard.

Sunday 24:

2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah ends.

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.

March 2002

Friday 01:

The Peseta is discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced with the euro (€).

Tuesday 05:

MTV begins airing The Osbournes.

Thursday 07:

The Network Against Prohibition forms in Darwin, Australia.

Tuesday 19:

U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.

Wednesday 27:

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

April 2002

Monday 01:

The Netherlands legalizes euthanasia, becoming the only nation in the world to do so.

Monday 08:

Ed McMahon files a US$20 million lawsuit against his insurance company and others regarding a toxic mold infecting McMahon's Beverly Hills, California home.

Tuesday 09:

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

Saturday 20:

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

Monday 29:

The United States is re-elected to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, one year after losing the seat it had held for 50 years.

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.

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.

Monday 20:

East Timor becomes independent from Indonesian rule.

Thursday 23:

The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.

Friday 31:

The 17th Football World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, begins with a 1-0 upset of France by Senegal. The tournament ends on June 30, with Brazil winning a record fifth World Cup title.

June 2002

Monday 03:

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

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.

Sunday 30:

Brazil defeats Germany 2-0 in Yokohama, Japan, to earn a record fifth title in the 17th Football World Cup.

July 2002

Wednesday 10:

At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" is sold for £49.5million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Kenneth Thomson.

Saturday 13:

A lighting strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which had burned 499,570 acres (2,020 km²) when finally contained on September 5.

Sunday 14:

During Bastille Day celebrations, Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.

Wednesday 24:

Alfred Moisiu becomes President of Albania.

Sunday 28:

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

August 2002

Tuesday 06:

Manindra Agrawal et al prove the long standing number theory conjecture in the article entitled "Primes in P".

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.

September 2002

Tuesday 10:

2002 - The U.S. Homeland Security Advisory System is set to Orange, or High Condition, for the first time.

Saturday 21:

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

Monday 23:

Mozilla Firefox (Phoenix) web browser is born: version 0.1.

Thursday 26:

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Friday 27:

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

October 2002

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.

Friday 11:

Bomb attack in a shopping mall in Vantaa, Finland. See Myyrmanni bombing.

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.

Sunday 27:

Running back Emmitt Smith becomes the current leader in career rushing yards in the National Football League, breaking the record then held by Walter Payton.

November 2002

Wednesday 06:

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

Thursday 07:

Iran bans advertising of United States products.

Friday 08:

Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 &ndash; The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences".

Wednesday 13:

The oil tanker Prestige sinks off the Galician coast and causes a huge oil spill.

Friday 22:

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

December 2002

Tuesday 10:

High Court of Australia handed down its judgement in the Internet defamation dispute in the case of Gutnick v Dow Jones.

Friday 13:

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

Sunday 15:

BBC 7, digital radio station is launched in UK

Tuesday 17:

A peace accord is signed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Thursday 26:

French Raelian scientist Brigitte Boisselier says Clonaid has delivered the first of a supposed five clone babies through cesarean section