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 13:

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood.

Thursday 14:

The Tullaghmurray Lass sinks off the coast of Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland killing three members of the same family on board.

Friday 15:

At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find that bodies that were supposed to have been cremated were in fact disposed of in the woods and buildings on the crematorium's property. The discovery reveals one of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.

Tuesday 19:

NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.

Wednesday 20:

In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370.

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.

Thursday 28:

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