2002
2002 (
MMII) was a
common year starting on Tuesday of the
Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
International Year of Ecotourism and MountainsYear of the Outback in
AustraliaNational Science Year in the
United KingdomAutism Awareness Year in the
United KingdomSee also
Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.
*
January 1 - The
Open Skies mutual
surveillance treaty, initially signed in
1992, officially enters in to force.
*
January 5 - 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.
*
January 9 - The
United States Department of Justice announces it is going to pursue a criminal investigation of
Enron.
*
January 10 -
Enrique Bolaños begins his five-year term as President of the Republic of
Nicaragua.
*
January 13 -
President George W. Bush faints after choking on a
pretzel.
*
January 14 - The case of
Adelaide Abankwah comes into trial in New York
*
January 16 - A student shoots 6 people at the
Appalachian School of Law, killing three.
*
January 16 -
John Ashcroft announces that American
Taliban member
John Walker Lindh will be tried in the
United States.
*
January 16 - The
UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of
Osama bin Laden,
Al-Qaida, and the
Taliban.
*
January 17 - Eruption of
Mount Nyiragongo in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo displaces an estimated 400,000 people.
*
January 18 - A
Canadian Pacific Railway train carrying anhydrous
ammonia derails outside of
Minot, North Dakota, killing one.
*
January 22 -
AOL Time Warner brings a federal suit against
Microsoft seeking damages. The suit alleges that the market for AOL's
Netscape Navigator Internet browser was harmed when Microsoft started to give away a competing browser.
*
January 22 -
Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
*
January 22 - Clyde Hood sentenced for 14 years in prison for
Omega Trust fraud*
January 24 - Terrorist suspect
John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
*
January 27 - Several explosions at a military dump in
Lagos,
Nigeria kill more than 1,000.
*
January 31 - A large section of the
Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating, eventually consuming about 3,250 km² (1,254 miles²) over a 35-day period.
*
February 2 - Crown
Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands marries
Máxima, Princess of Orange in
Amsterdam.
*
February 3 -
Costa Rica: elections for President and Congress
*
February 3 - The New England Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Superbowl XXXVI in New Orleans, LA.
*
February 8 -
February 24 -
2002 Winter Olympics in
Salt Lake City,
Utah*
February 12 - The trial of former President of the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the
United Nations war crimes tribunal in
The Hague*
February 12 -
Nuclear waste: US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that
Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the
United States' nuclear repository.
*
February 13 -
Queen Elizabeth II gives former
New York City mayor
Rudolph Giuliani an honorary
knighthood.
*
February 16 - Rachel Thaler, aged 16, blown up at a pizzena in an Israeli shopping mall following a
suicide bombing attack on a crowd of teenagers.
|
Artists concept of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft |
*
February 19 -
NASA's
Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of
Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
*
February 20 - In Reqa Al-Gharbiya,
Egypt, a fire on a
train injures over 65 and kills at least 370
*
February 20 - In most of the world, at 20:02 (8:02 PM) local time, date (written as day/month), time, and year are all 2002, making each of them alone, any two together, and the combination of all three, all palindromes.
*
February 22 - Norwegian-facilitated
ceasefire begins in
Sri Lanka*
February 23 -
FARC kidnaps
Ingrid Betancourt in
Colombia when she campaigns for presidency
*
February 27 - 59
Hindu pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a
Muslim mob in
Godhra,
India, sparking a series of
riots, leaving hundreds dead
*
February 28 - The ex-currencies of all euro members officially (at
EU-level) cease to be legal tender.
|
Hubble Space Telescope after servicing by the crew of STS-109 |
*
March 1 -
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern
Afghanistan,
Operation Anaconda begins.
*
March 1 - 28 people die in continuing violence in
Ahmedabad. Police shoot and kill five while attempting to control rioters.
*
March 1 - The
Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 km above the Earth using an
Ariane 5 on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest
payload to date at 8500kg.
*
March 1 -
Space Shuttle Columbia flies
Hubble Space Telescope service mission (
STS-109). It would be its last mission before
STS-107.
*
March 1 -
Peseta discontinued as official
currency of
Spain and is replaced with the
euro (€)
*
March 2 - The 24th
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held in
Australia.
*
March 3 -
São Tomé and PrÃncipe: elections for the legislature
*
March 3 -
Stephen Colbert fills in for
Jon Stewart in
The Daily Show during the entire week of the 3rd
*
March 6 -
France agrees to return the remains of
Saartjie Baartman to
South Africa*
March 10 -
Colombia: elections for the legislature;
Togo: elections for the Parliament
*
March 11 -
BBC 6 Music, the first new
BBC music radio station in decades, is launched
*
March 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
*
March 17 -
Portugal: elections for the Parliament
*
March 17 -
Islamabad,
Pakistan:
International Protestant Church attack*
March 19 -
US Attack on Afghanistan:
Operation Anaconda ends (started on
March 1) after killing 500
Taliban and
al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities
*
March 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.
*
March 27 -
Netanya suicide attack: A
suicide bomber kills 28 people in
Netanya,
Israel.
*
March 29 -
Philippino actor
Rico Yan was found dead inside his cottage in a resort in
Palawan. Premiere of
Janez Lapajne's first feature film
Rustling Landscapes (
Å elestenje).
*
March 30 -
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother dies.
*
March 31 -
Ukraine: elections for the Parliament
*
April 2 -
Israeli forces surround the
Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem, when militants take shelter there. A siege ensues.
*
April 9- Funeral of
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother takes place in
Westminster Abbey,
London.
*
April 10 -
Janez Lapajne's first feature film
Rustling Landscapes (
Å elestenje) is released in theatres.
*
April 15 - An
Air China Boeing 767-200 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near
Pusan,
South Korea, killing 128.
*
April 15 - The
Alameda Corridor transportation project in
Los Angeles, California opens to rail traffic, ceasing operations of through freight trains on the 120-year-old
BNSF Harbor Subdivision.
*
April 16 - Dr.
Bernd Pischetsrieder becomes the seventh CEO of the
Volkswagen automobile company, succeeding Dr.
Ferdinand Piech.
*
April 17 - Four
Canadian infantrymen are killed in
Afghanistan by
friendly fire from two
U.S. F-16s.
*
April 18 - New order of
insects,
Mantophasmatodea, announced.
*
April 21 - First round election in the
French presidential election, 2002. Runoff between
Jacques Chirac and the leader of the main French far-right party,
Jean-Marie Le Pen*
April 22 - A special session at the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons fires the Director-General
Jose Bustani*
April 25 -
South African
Mark Shuttleworth blasts off from the
Baikonur cosmodrome; he had paid £15 million for the trip.
*
April 26 -
Robert Steinhäuser opens fire on his former teachers and other students in
Erfurt,
Germany and then kills himself: 16 dead.
*
April 27 - Three people killed in
Laughlin, Nevada River Run Riot.
*
April 30 -
Pakistan: Pakistani voters approve a
referendum granting a five-year term for
Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.
*
May 4 - In
Germany,
BV Borussia Dortmund wins the
Bundesliga title after a 2-1 victory over
SV Werder Bremen.
*
May 5 - Second round election in the
French presidential election, 2002.
Jacques Chirac is reelected.
*
May 3-
5 -
Spider-Man (film) was the first film to open $100+ million on the first weekend in theatres.
*
May 6 - In the
Netherlands, politician
Pim Fortuyn is killed by
Volkert van der Graaf.
*
May 7 - Gay
Canadian teenager
Marc Hall is granted a court injunction ordering that he be allowed to attend his
high school prom with his boyfriend.
*
May 9 - The 38-day stand-off in the
Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehemia comes to an end when the
Palestinians inside agreed to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries. The standoff started
April 2.
*
May 9 - In Kaspiysk,
Russia, a remote-control
bomb explodes during a holiday parade, killing 43 and injuring at least 130.
*
May 10 -
FBI agent
Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life without the possibility of
parole for selling American secrets to
Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
*
May 12 - Former President
Jimmy Carter arrives in
Cuba for a five-day visit with
Fidel Castro becoming the first
President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's
1959 revolution.
*
May 15 -
The Netherlandia: elections for the Lower House.
*
May 16 -
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is released in theaters.
*
May 20 - Restoration of
East Timoria independence
*
May 21 -
US State Department releases report citing seven State-Sponsors of
Terrorism;
Iran,
Iraq,
Cuba,
Libya,
North Korea,
Sudan,and
Syria.
*
May 22 - In
Washington, DC,
Chandra Levy's remains are found in
Rock Creek Park.
*
May 22 -
American civil rights movement:
16th Street Baptist Church bombing: A jury in
Birmingham, Alabama convicts former
Ku Klux Klan member
Bobby Frank Cherry of the
1963 murders of four girls.
*
May 23 - Irish Football Captain,
Roy Keane, Is sent home from the Training Camp in
Saipan, by Manager
Mick McCarthy after an Argument over Training arrangements. This cause a huge Media sensation in
Ireland and
Britain. Many people were split over two sides and some called it the Second
Irish Civil War.
*
May 23 - First
Eurovision Song Contest in a former
Soviet country:
Estonia*
May 25 - The
Boston Celtics come back from twenty-six points down to defeat the
New Jersey Nets in Game 3 of the
National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference Finals.
*
May 25 -
China Airlines Flight 611 broke up near the
Penghu Islands at
Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.
*
May 26 - The
Mars Odyssey finds signs of huge water ice deposits on the planet
Mars.
*
May 28 -
Washington DC's medical examiner declares that
Chandra Levy's death was the result of
homicide.
*
May 28 - Official release date of
The Eminem Show.
Eminem's third Solo Album.
*
June 1 - The
Los Angeles Lakers defeat the
Sacramento Kings 112-106, to win Game 7 of the
National Basketball Association's 2002 Western Conference Finals.
*
June 3 - The "Party in the Palace" takes place at
Buckingham Palace,
London for
Queen Elizabeth II's
Golden Jubilee celebrations.
*
June 4 -
Quaoar is discovered.
*
June 4 -
Queen Elizabeth II and
the Duke of Edinburgh ride in the gold state coach from
Buckingham Palace to
St Paul's Cathedral for a special service marking the Queen's
50 years on the throne. In
New York, the
Empire State Building is lit in
purple for her honour.
*
June 5 -
Mozilla 1.0, the first 'official' version, is released.
*
June 6 - An object with an estimated diameter of 10 metres collided with Earth. The collision occurred over the Mediterranean Sea, at approximately 34°N 21°E and the object detonated in mid-air.
*
June 8 -
Serena Williams defeats her sister
Venus Williams in straight sets to win the 2002
French Open.
*
June 10 - Annular
solar eclipse.
*
June 11 -
Antonio Meucci was recognised as the first inventor of the telephone by the
United States Congress.
*
June 12 - The
Los Angeles Lakers def the
New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0 to win the 2002
NBA Finals.
*
June 13 - The
Detroit Red Wings def the
Carolina Hurricanes 4 games to 1 in the
2002 Stanley Cup Finals.
*
June 14 - In
Karachi,
Pakistan, a
car bomb in front of the U.S. consulate kills twelve Pakistanis and injures fifty.
*
June 18 -
Arizona experiences its worst forest fire, burning 462,606 acres (1,872 km²) near the
Mogollon Rim.
*
June 24 - The
Igandu train disaster in
Dodoma Region,
Tanzania, kills 281 people in the worst rail accident in
African history.
*
June 30 -
Brazil defeats
Germany 2-0 to win the
2002 World Cup.
*
July 1 - Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane collide over the town of Uberlingen in Southern
Germany - 72 dead
*
July 1 -
Wendy J. Hamilton became president of
Mothers Against Drunk Driving.\
*
July 3 -
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is released, the third game set in the
Warcraft Universe.
*
July 5 -
Iraq disarmament crisis:
Iraq once again rejects new U.N. weapons inspections proposals
*
July 9 - The
Organization of African Unity is officially disbanded and replaced by the
African Union.
*
July 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 Thomson
*
July 13 - A lighting strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in
Oregon and northern
California, which is left to burn 499,570 acres (2,022 km²) when finally contained on
September 5.
*
July 14 - During
Bastille Day celebrations,
Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
*
July 15 - "American
Taliban"
John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and for the possession of explosives during the commission of a
felony. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each of the charges
*
July 19 -
K-19: The Widowmaker starring
Harrison Ford is released.
*
July 21 -
Telecommunications giant
WorldCom files for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest such filing in
United States history
*
July 27 -
Helen Clark leader of the
Labour Party is historically re-elected in a landslide victory over the Right Wing in the
New Zealand general election of 2002.
*
July 27 - A
Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes at an
air show in
Ukraine killing 78 and injuring more than 100 others, the largest air show disaster in history.
* The Last
Toyota Supra is made at the Tahara plant in Japan.
*
Central Europe is ravaged by
floods.
*
10 August -
Turkmenistan adopts a law to rename all the months and most of the days of week according to
Ruhnama, a book written by Turkmen president
Saparmurat Niyazov.
*
September 1 - Tau Upsilon chapter of
Alpha Kappa Psi calls its first working meeting to order as an established chapter at
Truman State University in
Kirksville, Missouri
*
September 2 - The opening of the
United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, successor of the
1972 Conference on the Human Environment,
1983 World Commission on Environment and Development, and the
1992 Conference on Environment and Development.
*
September 2 - WWE crowns its first
World Heavyweight Champion when
Eric Bischoff awarded the belt to
Triple H, who was the original Number One Contender for the
WWE Championship but his opponent
Brock Lesnar refused to defend the belt of the
Raw brand.
*
September 3 -
Consolidated Freightways, the third largest U.S. trucking firm, files for bankruptcy.
*
September 5 - A
car bomb kills at least 30 people in
Afghanistan, and an apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President
Hamid Karzai fails the same day.
*
September 5 - The Sour Biscuit Fire in
Oregon and northern
California, which burned 499,570 acres (2,022 km²), is finally contained.
*
September 8 -
Typhoon Sinlaku causes huge waves on the
Qiantangjiang River in
Sheijang Province,
China.
*
September 10 -
Switzerland, known for its neutrality, finally joins the
United Nations.
*
September 11 - The
World Summit on Sustainable Development comes to a close.
*
September 12 -
Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President
George W. Bush addresses the U.N., and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of
Iraq, or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.
*
September 19 -
Ivorian Civil War starts in
Côte d'Ivoire.
*
September 15 - The
Swedish parliamentary election leaves
Prime Minister Göran Persson and the
Social Democrats in power.
*
September 20 -
Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide occurred.
*
September 22 - The
German federal election leaves
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, his and
the Greens in power.
* September 22 - The last game is played at
Cinergy Field, where the
Philadelphia Phillies outlast the
Cincinnati Reds, 4-3.
*
October 2 - Ai no uta by
Psycho le cemu*
October 2 -
Iraq disarmament crisis: The
U.S. Congress passes a joint resolution, which explicitly authorizes the
President to use the
Armed Forces of the United States as he deems to be necessary and appropriate, against
Iraq.
*
October 7 - Discovery of
Quaoar is announced.
*
October 11 - A lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of
Helsinki,
Finland - casualties include himself. See
Myyrmanni bombing.
*
October 12 -
Bali bombing: Terrorists detonate massive bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta,
Bali, killing 202 and injuring over 300.
*
October 16 -
Iraq disarmament:
George W. Bush signs the
Iraq war resolution.
*
October 24 - The
Beltway snipers are arrested.
*
October 25 - U.S. Senator
Paul Wellstone, his family and staff, are killed by a plane accident at
Eveleth, Minnesota.
*
October 27 - The
Anaheim Angels defeat the
San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the
2002 World Series.
*
October 29 - American Rock band
Nirvana release their self-titled greatest hits album including "
You Know You're Right" the unreleased studio song which brought on much legal wrangling with wife of former frontman
Kurt Cobain.
Courtney Love,
Dave Grohl and
Krist Novoselic took over a year trying to reach an agreement over the valuable song. Since this
Nirvana has had two releases....a box set entitled
With the Lights Out and Sliver: Best of the Box.
*
November 5 - U.S.
Elections: The
Republican Party maintains control of the
House of Representatives and regains control of the
Senate.
*
November 6 - The U.S.
Federal Reserve System drops its primary discount rate by 50
basis points to 0.75%, putting the real
interest rate solidly below the
inflation rate.
*
November 7 -
Iran bans
advertising of
US products.
*
November 8 -
Iraq disarmament crisis:
UN Security Council Resolution 1441 – The
United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on
Iraq, forcing
Saddam Hussein to
disarm or face
"serious consequences".
*
November 9 - In
Los Angeles, California,
television and
film actor
Merlin Santana is shot to death while sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's car parked on the 3800 block of Victoria Avenue.
*
November 13 -
Iraq disarmament:
Iraq agrees to the terms of the
UN Security Council Resolution 1441.
*
November 13 - The oil tanker
Prestige sinks off the
Galician coast and causes a huge
oil spill.
*
November 14 -
Argentina defaults on a US$805 million
World Bank loan payment.
*
November 15 -
Hu Jintao becomes general secretary of the
Communist Party of China.
*
November 16 - A
Campaign against Climate Change march takes place in
London from
Lincoln's Inn Fields, past
Esso offices to the
United States Embassy.
*
November 18 -
Iraq disarmament crisis:
United Nations weapons inspectors led by
Hans Blix arrive in
Iraq.
*
November 21 -
NATO Summit in
Prague -
Bulgaria,
Estonia,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Romania,
Slovakia and
Slovenia invited to become NATO members.
*
November 22 - In
Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the
Miss World contest.
*
November 25 - US President
George W. Bush signs the
Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the
Department of Homeland Security in the largest
US government reorganization since the creation of the
Department of Defense in
1947 (the
Senate passed the bill 90-9 on
November 19).
*
December 4 - Total
solar eclipse.
*
December 7 -
Iraq disarmament crisis: As required by the recently passed
U.N. resolution,
Iraq files a 12,000 page weapons declaration with the U.N. Security Council. Although it is supposed to be a complete declaration, it is seen as incomplete by the Security Council and weapons inspectors.
*
December 10 -
High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the
Internet defamation dispute in the case of
Gutnick v Dow Jones.
*
December 12 -
Wiktionary, a
free content Wiki dictionary, goes online.
*
December 18 -
Peter Jackson's
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was released into theaters.
*
December 24 - In
Modesto, California,
Scott Peterson, an agricultural chemical salesman, reports that his pregnant wife,
Laci Peterson, is missing. (He will later be convicted of her death.)
*
December 27 - A suicide truck-bomb attack destroys the headquarters of
Chechnya's
Moscow-backed government, killing 72 people.
*
December 29 â€" The Communist
New People's Army blows up a bust of
Ferdinand Marcos in
Benguet,
Philippines.
*
December 29 - Cincinnati's
Cinergy Field is demolished.
Unknown Date
*
Naruto (anime) is created by
Studio Pierrot.
*
American Prohibition Foundation incorported.
* The
Soviet Shuttle Buran is destroyed when the roof of the
hangar collapses. Eight workers are killed in this incident.
August
*
August 2 -
Kara and Shelby Hoffman, American actresses
December
*
December 6 - Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, daughter of
Benjamin Bratt and
Talisa Soto*
December 31 - Deric Lee, daughter of
Donald Lee and his young newborn
Darren LeeFor more deaths see: Deaths in 2002January
*
January 3 -
Freddy Heineken, Dutch-born beer magnate (b.
1923)
*
January 8 -
Alexander Prochorow, Russian physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1916)
*
January 8 -
Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (b.
1932)
*
January 12 -
Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b.
1911)
*
January 12 -
Cyrus Vance,
United States Secretary of State (b.
1917)
*
January 13 -
Frank Shuster of the Canadian comic duo
Wayne and Shuster (b.1916)
*
January 13 -
Ted Demme, American film and television director (b.
1963)
*
January 16 -
Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b.
1923)
*
January 16 -
Bobo Olson, American boxer (b.
1928)
*
January 16 -
Ron Taylor, American actor (b.
1952)
*
January 17 -
Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer (b.
1916)
*
January 20 -
Carrie Hamilton, American actress (b.
1963)
*
January 22 -
Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (b.
1920)
*
January 23 -
Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b.
1930)
*
January 23 -
Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b.
1938)
*
January 28 -
Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b.
1928)
*
January 28 -
Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's book author (b.
1907)
*
January 29 -
Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b.
1914)
February
*
February 6 -
Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b.
1914)
*
February 8 -
Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b.
1930)
*
February 9 -
Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (b.
1930)
*
February 13 -
Waylon Jennings, Country music singer (b.
1937)
*
February 14 -
Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (b.
1922)
*
February 15 -
Howard K. Smith, American television journalist (b.
1914)
*
February 15 -
Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b.
1963)
*
February 16 -
Walter Winterbottom, English football manager (b.
1913)
*
February 19 -
Virginia Hamilton, American writer (b.
1936)
*
February 20 -
Willie Thrower, American football player (b.
1930)
*
February 21 -
John Thaw, British actor (b.
1942)
*
February 22 -
Chuck Jones, American animator (b.
1912)
*
February 22 -
Jonas Savimbi, Angolan rebel leader (b.
1934)
*
February 24 -
Leo Ornstein, American composer and pianist (b.
1892)
*
February 26 -
Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b.
1919)
*
February 27 -
Spike Milligan, British comedian, writer, and poet (b.
1918)
*
February 27 -
Mary Stuart, American actress (b.
1926)
*
February 28 -
Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (b.
1920)
March
*
March 4 -
Elyne Mitchell, Australian author of children's novels (b.
1913)
*
March 4 -
Claire Davenport, British actress (b.
1933)
*
March 4 -
Eric Flynn, British actor and singer (b.
1939)
*
March 11 -
James Tobin, American economist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1918)
*
March 14 -
Cherry Wilder, New Zealand author (b.
1930)
*
March 24 -
César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1927)
*
March 25 -
Kenneth Wolstenholme, British football commentator (b.
1920)
*
March 27 -
Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b.
1908)
*
March 27 -
Dudley Moore, British pianist, comedian, and actor (b.
1935)
*
March 27 -
Billy Wilder, Austrian-born film screenwriter and director (b.
1906)
*
March 30 -
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen consort of
George VI of the United Kingdom (b.
1900)
April
*
April 5 -
Layne Staley, American singer (
Alice in Chains) (b.
1967)
*
April 8 -
Maria Felix, Mexican actress (b.
1914)
*
April 9 -
Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b.
1891)
*
April 13 -
Desmond Titterington, Northern Irish racecar driver (b.
1928)
*
April 15 -
Byron White, American athlete and Supreme Court Justice (b.
1917)
*
April 16 -
Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater (b.
1929)
*
April 16 -
Robert Urich, American actor (cancer) (b.
1946)
*
April 18 -
Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (b.
1914)
*
April 18 -
Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (b.
1938)
*
April 25 -
Indra Devi, yoga teacher (b.
1899)
*
April 25 -
Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, American rapper (
TLC) (b.
1971)
*
April 27 -
George Alec Effinger, American author (b.
1947)
*
April 27 -
Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Swiss industrialist and art collector (b.
1921)
*
April 28 -
Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (b.
1916)
May
*
May 5 -
Hugo Bánzer Suarez,
President of Bolivia (b.
1926)
*
May 6 -
Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (assassinated) (b.
1948)
*
May 7 -
Seattle Slew, American racehorse (b.
1974)
*
May 11 -
Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (b.
1905)
*
May 13 -
Ruth Cracknell, Australian theatre and television actor (b.
1925)
*
May 13 -
Valeri Lobanovsky, Ukrainian football manager (b.
1939)
*
May 18 -
Davey Boy Smith, "The British Bulldog", professional wrestler (b.
1962)
*
May 19 -
John Gorton, nineteenth
Prime Minister of Australia (b.
1911)
*
May 20 -
Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist and author (b.
1941)
*
May 21 -
Niki de Saint Phalle, French artist (b.
1930)
*
May 23 -
Sam Snead, American golfer (b.
1912)
*
May 26 -
Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b.
1932)
*
May 28 -
Jean Berger, German-born composer (b.
1909)
June
*
June 1 -
Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b.
1969)
*
June 4 -
Fernando Belaúnde Terry,
President of Peru (b.
1912)
*
June 5 -
Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist (
The Ramones) (b.
1952)
*
June 6 -
Hans Janmaat, Dutch politician (b.
1934)
*
June 7 -
Mary Lilian Baels, Belgian princess (b.
1916)
*
June 10 -
John Gotti, American gangster (b.
1940)
*
June 11 -
Robbin Crosby, American guitarist (
Ratt) (AIDS) (b.
1959)
*
June 12 -
Bill Blass, American fashion designer (b.
1922)
*
June 17 -
Willie Davenport, American athlete (b.
1943)
*
June 17 -
Fritz Walter, German footballer (b.
1920)
*
June 18 -
Jack Buck, baseball announcer (b.
1924)
*
June 22 -
Darryl Kile, baseball player (b.
1968)
*
June 23 -
Pedro 'El Rockero' Alcazar, Panamian boxer (b.
1975)
*
June 24 -
Pierre Werner,
Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b.
1913)
*
June 26 -
Arnold Brown, the 11th General of
The Salvation Army (b.
1913)
*
June 26 -
Jay Berwanger, American football player (b.
1914)
*
June 27 -
John Entwistle, English bassist (
The Who) (b.
1944)
*
June 29 -
Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (b.
1928)
July
*
July 4 -
Benjamin O. Davis Jr., U.S. general (b.
1912)
*
July 5 -
Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b.
1924)
*
July 5 -
Ted Williams, baseball player (b.
1918)
*
July 6 -
Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (b.
1932)
*
July 6 -
John Frankenheimer, American film director (b.
1930)
*
July 8 -
Ward Kimball, American animator (b.
1913)
*
July 9 -
Laurence Janifer, American writer (b.
1933)
*
July 9 -
Rod Steiger, American actor (b.
1925)
*
July 13 -
Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born photographer (b.
1908)
*
July 14 -
JoaquÃn Balaguer,
President of the Dominican Republic (b.
1906)
*
July 16 -
John Cocke, American computer scientist (b.
1925)
*
July 19 -
Alan Lomax, American folklorist and musicologist (b.
1915)
*
July 23 -
Leo McKern, Australian actor (b.
1920)
*
July 23 -
Chaim Potok, American author and rabbi (b.
1929)
*
July 28 -
Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1910)
August
*
August 4 -
Carmen Silvera, British actress (b.
1922)
*
August 5 -
Josh Ryan Evans, actor (b.
1982)
*
August 5 -
Darrell Porter, baseball player (b.
1952)
*
August 5 -
Chick Hearn, American basketball announcer (b.
1916)
*
August 6 -
Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b.
1930)
*
August 11 -
Galen Rowell, American photographer, writer, and climber (plane crash) (b.
1940)
*
August 12 -
Enos Slaughter, baseball player (b.
1916)
*
August 14 -
Dave Williams, American singer (
Drowning Pool) (b.
1972)
*
August 15 -
Kyle Rote, American football player and coach (b.
1928)
*
August 16 -
Abu Nidal, Palestinian terrorist (b.
1937)
*
August 23 -
Hoyt Wilhelm, baseball player (b.
1922)
*
August 25 -
Dorothy Hewett, Australian writer (b.
1923)
*
August 29 -
Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish actor (b.
1920)
*
August 31 -
Lionel Hampton, American musician (b.
1908)
*
August 31 -
George Porter, English chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1920)
September
*
September 11 -
Johnny Unitas, American football player (b.
1933)
*
September 18 -
Bob Hayes, American athlete (b.
1942)
*
September 19 -
Sergei Bodrov Jr., Russian actor (b.
1971)
*
September 19 -
Robert Guéï, military ruler of the Côte d'Ivoire (b.
1941)
*
September 21 -
Robert Lull Forward, American author and physicist (b.
1932)
*
September 23 -
Vernon Corea, British broadcaster (b.
1927)
October
*
October 6 -
Claus von Amsberg, husband of
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (b.
1926)
*
October 10 -
Teresa Graves, American actress (b.
1948)
*
October 12 -
Ray Conniff, American musician and bandleader (b.
1916)
*
October 13 -
Stephen Ambrose, American historian and biographer (b.
1936)
*
October 17 -
Derek Bell, Northern Ireland musician (b.
1935)
*
October 18 -
Nikolai Rukavishnikov, cosmonaut (b.
1932)
*
October 24 -
Harry Hay, American activist (b.
1912)
*
October 25 -
Richard Harris, Irish actor (b.
1930)
*
October 25 -
Paul Wellstone, U.S. Senator from Minnesota (b.
1944)
*
October 30 -
Jam Master Jay, musician (
Run DMC) (b.
1965)
November
*
November 2 -
Charles Sheffield, English author and physicist (b.
1935)
*
November 3 -
Lonnie Donegan, Scottish musician (
King of Skiffle) (b.
1931)
*
November 7 -
Peg Phillips, Actress (
Northern Exposure)
*
November 15 -
Myra Hindley, English murderer (b.
1942)
*
November 17 -
Abba Eban, Israeli foreign affair minister (b.
1915)
*
November 21 -
Hadda Brooks, American jazz singer, pianist, and composer (b.
1916)
*
November 24 -
John Rawls, American political theorist (b.
1921)
*
November 26 -
Verne Winchell, American doughnut entrepreneur (b.
1915)
*
November 28 -
Norm McDonald,
Australian rules footballer (b.
1925)
December
*
December 3 -
Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (b.
1970)
*
December 5 -
Ne Win, Burmese dictator
*
December 6 - Father
Philip Berrigan, American priest and political activist (b.
1923)
*
December 6 -
Charles Rosen, American pianist and pioneer in artificial intelligence (b.
1927)
*
December 9 -
Stan Rice, American painter and poet (b.
1942)
*
December 18 -
Ray Hnatyshyn,
Governor General of Canada (b.
1934)
*
December 22 -
Desmond Hoyte,
Prime Minister and
President of Guyana (b.
1929)
*
December 22 -
Joe Strummer, British musician and singer (
The Clash) (b.
1952)
*
Peace -
Jimmy Carter*
Literature -
Imre Kertész*
Chemistry -
John B. Fenn and
Koichi Tanaka,
Kurt Wüthrich*
Physics -
Raymond Davis Jr. and
Masatoshi Koshiba,
Riccardo Giacconi*
Physiology or Medicine -
Sydney Brenner,
H. Robert Horvitz, and
John E. Sulston*
Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel -
Daniel Kahneman and
Vernon L. Smith*
Laurent Lafforgue,
Vladimir Voevodsky*According to the
Star Trek episode:
"The Changeling", the year in which the first interstellar probe,
Nomad, was launched.
*
November 5:
Democratic President Josiah Bartlet of
New Hampshire defeats
Republican Governor Robert Ritchie of
Florida in his reelection bid following the
2002 US presidential election within
The West Wing universe.
*The
professional wrestling tag team of
The New Breed take a time machine back from this year to wrestle for the
National Wrestling Alliance in
1986.
* Related to the above fictional event,
"The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes had become the
President of the United States during this time.
*
2002 Year-End Google Zeitgeist - Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2002
zh-yue:2002å¹´
