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{{Year nav|2002}}
{{C21YearInTopic}}
{{otheruses-number}}
Year '''2002''' ('''[[Roman numerals|MMII]]''') was a [[common year starting on Tuesday]] of the [[Gregorian calendar]].
{{C20YearTOC|2002}}
The year 2002 was designated the:
*''International Year of [[Ecotourism]] and [[Mountain]]s''
*''Year of the [[Outback]]'' in [[Australia]]
*''National Science Year'' in the [[United Kingdom]]
*''Autism Awareness Year'' in the [[United Kingdom]]
See also: [[Current events#Past events by month|the almanac]] of events for this year.
The year number was a [[palindrome]] (next palindrome year will be 2112).
==Events of 2002==
===January===
* [[January 1]] - The [[Treaty on Open Skies|Open Skies]] mutual [[surveillance]] treaty, initially signed in [[1992]], officially enters into force.
* [[January 1]] - [[Euro]] notes and coins issued in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and in the Netherlands.
* [[January 3]] - The [[University of Miami]] defeats [[University of Nebraska|Nebraska]] 37-14 in the [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]] in [[Pasadena, California]] to win [[NCAA Division I-A national football championship|college football's national championship]].
* [[January 5]] - [[Charles Bishop (pilot)|Charles Bishop]], a 15 year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a [[Tampa, Florida]] building, evoking fear of a [[copycat]] [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack|9/11 terrorist attack]].
* [[January 9]] - The [[United States Department of Justice]] announces it will pursue a criminal investigation of [[Enron]].
* [[January 10]] - [[Enrique Bolaños]] begins his 5-year term as President of the Republic of [[Nicaragua]].
* [[January 12]] - The [[X (roller coaster)]] opened at [[Six Flags Magic Mountain]] in [[Valencia, Santa Clarita, California]]
* [[January 19]] - In the AFC Divisional Playoffs the [[New England Patriots]] defeated the [[Oakland Raiders]] 16-13 in overtime playoff game played in a driving snow storm. The game was remembered as The [[Snow Bowl (New England)|Snow Bowl]] when Raiders cornerback [[Charles Woodson]] stripped the ball from Patriots quarterback [[Tom Brady]].
* [[January 14]] - The asylum case of [[Adelaide Abankwah]] is heard in [[New York]].
* [[January 16]] - [[Appalachian School of Law shooting]]: A student shoots 6 people at the [[Appalachian School of Law]] in [[Grundy, Virginia]], killing 3.
* [[January 16]] - U.S. Attorney General [[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 freezes the assets of [[Osama bin Laden]], [[Al-Qaida]], and the [[Taliban]].
* [[January 17]] - The 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 1.
* [[January 23]] - ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]] is kidnapped in [[Pakistan]], accused of being a [[CIA]] agent by his captors.
* [[January 24]] - Terrorist suspect [[John Walker Lindh]]'s hearing begins.{{noMention}}
* [[January 25]] - Thomas Junta kills junior coach Michael Costin during a fight at a junior hockey game in Massachusetts
* [[January 27]] - Several explosions at a military dump in [[Lagos]], [[Nigeria]] kill more than 1,000.{{noMention}}
* [[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===
{{Month3|2|4|0}}
* [[February 1]] - Kidnapped ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]] is murdered in [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]].
* [[February 2]] - Crown [[Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands]] marries [[Máxima, Princess of Orange]] in [[Amsterdam]].
* [[February 3]] - [[Costa Rica]] holds presidential and congressional elections.
* [[February 3]] - The [[New England Patriots]] beat the [[St. Louis Rams]] 20-17, in [[Super Bowl XXXVI]] in [[New Orleans]].
* [[February 8]]–[[February 24]] - The [[2002 Winter Olympics]] are held in [[Salt Lake City, Utah]].
* [[February 9]] - [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon]], the Queen's sister dies in hospital after suffering a stroke.
* [[February 10]] - In the 52nd NBA All Star Game the West defeated the East in [[Philadelphia]] at the [[Wachovia Center]].
* [[February 12]] - The trial of former Yugoslav President [[Slobodan Milosevic]] begins at the [[United Nations]] [[war crime]]s tribunal in [[The Hague]].
* [[February 12]] - [[Nuclear waste]]: The U.S. Secretary of Energy makes the decision that [[Yucca Mountain]] is suitable to be the [[United States]]' nuclear repository.
* [[February 13]] - [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom]] gives former [[New York City]] mayor [[Rudolph Giuliani]] an honorary [[knighthood]].
* [[February 16]] - Nehemia Amar and Keren Satsky, both 15,are blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall following a [[suicide bombing]] attack on a crowd of teens.
[[Image:2001 mars odyssey wizja.jpg|thumb|Artists concept of the ''2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft'']]
* [[February 19]] - [[NASA]]'s [[Mars Odyssey]] [[space probe]] begins to map the surface of [[Mars (planet)|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) the local time, date (written as day/month), time, and year are all 2002, making each of them alone, any 2 together, and the combination of all 3, all [[palindromes]].
* [[February 22]] - [[Angola]]n political and rebel leader [[Jonas Savimbi]] is killed in a military ambush.
* [[February 22]] - A Norwegian-facilitated [[ceasefire]] begins in [[Sri Lanka]].
* [[February 23]] - [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]] kidnaps [[Ingrid Betancourt]] in [[Colombia]] while she campaigns for the presidency.
* [[February 27]] - A series of riots leaves hundreds dead, after 59 [[Hindu]] pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a [[Muslim]] mob in [[Godhra]], [[India]].
* [[February 27]] - Rachel Thaler, 16, of Ginot Shomron died of wounds suffered in February 16 suicide bomb attack.
* [[February 28]] - The ex-currencies of all euro members officially (at [[EU]]-level) cease to be legal tender.
===March===
{{Month3|3|4|0}}
[[Image:STS-109-HST-s109e5700.jpg|thumb|Hubble Space Telescope after servicing by the crew of STS-109]]
* [[March 1]] - [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|U.S. invasion of Afghanistan]]: In eastern [[Afghanistan]], [[Operation Anaconda]] begins.
* [[March 1]] - Continuing violence in [[Ahmedabad]] kills 28; police shoot and kill 5 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 [[Maximum Take-Off Weight|payload]] to date at 8500kg.
* [[March 1]] - ''[[STS-109]]'': [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] flies the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] service mission, its last before ''[[STS-107]]''.
* [[March 1]] - The [[Peseta]] is discontinued as the official [[currency]] of [[Spain]] and is replaced with the [[euro]] (€).
* [[March 3]] - [[São Tomé and Príncipe]] hold legislative elections.
* [[March 4]] - [[Ansett Australia]], One of the oldest airlines in the world and the second largest in [[Australia]] ceases operation after collapsing Financially. This day and event also marked the largest job loss in Australian history.
* [[March 6]] - [[France]] agrees to return the remains of [[Saartjie Baartman]] to [[South Africa]].
* [[March 10]] - [[Colombia]] holds legislative elections.
* [[March 10]] - [[Togo]] holds parliamentary elections.
* [[March 11]] - [[BBC 6 Music]], the first new [[BBC]] [[music radio]] station in decades, is launched.
* [[March 12]] - In [[Houston]], [[Texas]], [[Andrea Yates]] is found guilty of [[drowning]] her 5 children on [[June 20]], [[2001]]. She is later sentenced to life in prison.
* [[March 14]] - 125 vehicles are involved in a massive pile up on [[Interstate 75]] in [[Ringgold, Georgia]]
* [[March 17]] - [[Portugal]] holds parliamentary elections.
* [[March 17]] - In [[Islamabad]], [[Pakistan]], the [[March 2002 Islamabad church bombing|International Protestant Church attack]] occurs.
* [[March 19]] - [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|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 22]] - [[Ameer Khattab]] or Ibn al Khattab the Saudi rebel who fought in Chechnya and Afghanistan was poinoned and killed by a traitor paid by Russia.
* [[March 21]] - In [[Pakistan]], [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh]] along with 3 other suspects are charged with murder in the kidnapping and killing of ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]].
* [[March 24]] - The [[74th Academy Awards]], hosted by [[Whoopi Goldberg]], are held at the [[Kodak Theatre]] in [[Hollywood, California]] with the film ''[[A Beautiful Mind]]'' winning [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. Two [[African American]] actors [[Halle Berry]] and [[Denzel Washington]] win honors for their leading roles.
* [[March 27]] - [[Netanya suicide attack]]: A [[suicide bomber]] kills 28 people in [[Netanya]], [[Israel]].
* [[March 30]] - [[Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother]] dies in her sleep at the Royal lodge, aged 101
* [[March 31]] - [[Ukraine]] holds parliamentary elections.
* [[March 31]] - [[Earthquake]] in [[Taiwan]].
===April===
{{Month3|4|0|0}}
* [[April 1]] - [[University of Maryland, College Park|Maryland]] defeats [[Indiana University (Bloomington)|Indiana]] 64-52 to win the [[2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA Men's Basketball Championship]] at the [[Georgia Dome]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].
* [[April 2]] - [[Israel]]i forces besiege the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]], when militants take shelter there.
* [[April 9]] - The funeral of [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]] takes place in [[Westminster Abbey]], [[London]].
* [[April 11]] - [[April 14]] - [[2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt|Failed military coup d'état]] against the leftist [[Venezuela]]n [[President of Venezuela|President]] [[Hugo Chávez]].
* [[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 [[Canada|Canadian]] infantrymen are killed in [[Afghanistan]] by [[friendly fire]] from 2 [[United States|US]] [[F-16]]s.
* [[April 18]] - A new [[insect]] order, [[Mantophasmatodea]], is announced.
* [[April 21]] - [[French presidential election, 2002]]: The first round results in a runoff between [[Jacques Chirac]] and the leader of the main French far-right party, [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]].
* [[April 22]] - At a special session of the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]], Director-General [[Jose Bustani]] is fired.
* [[April 25]] - ''[[Soyuz TM-34]]'': [[South Africa]]n [[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 are dead.
* [[April 27]] - The [[Laughlin, Nevada]] [[River Run Riot]] leaves 3 dead.
* [[April 30]] - [[Pakistan]]: Pakistani voters approve a [[referendum]] granting a 5-year term for [[President of Pakistan|Pakistani president]] [[Pervez Musharraf]].
===May===
{{Month3|5|2|0}}
[[Image:Flag of East Timor.svg|thumb|180px| [[May 20]]: [[Flag of East Timor]]]]
* [[May 4]] - In [[Germany]], [[BV Borussia Dortmund]] wins the [[Bundesliga (football)|Bundesliga]] title after a 2-1 victory over [[SV Werder Bremen]].
* [[May 5]] - In the second round of the French presidential election, [[Jacques Chirac]] is reelected.
* [[May 6]] - In the [[Netherlands]], politician [[Pim Fortuyn]] is killed by [[Volkert van der Graaf]].
* [[May 7]] - [[China Northern Airlines Flight 6136]] crashed into the bay near [[Dalian]], killing all 103 passengers and 9 crew members.
* [[May 7]] - Gay [[Canada|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 [[Bethlehem]] comes to an end when the [[Palestinians]] inside agree to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries.
* [[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 11]] - [[Ray Charles]] takes part - with other musicians - in a [[peace]] concert in [[Rome]], which was the first event to take place inside the city’s ancient [[Colosseum]] since 404 A.D. The event was organized in partnership with the [[Glocal Forum]] and the [[Quincy Jones]] Listen Up Foundation.
* [[May 12]] - Former President [[Jimmy Carter]] arrives in [[Cuba]] for a 5-day visit with [[Fidel Castro]], becoming the first U.S. President, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's [[1959]] revolution.
* [[May 12]] - The Russian [[Shuttle Buran|Shuttle ''Buran'']] is destroyed when the roof of the [[hangar]] collapses, killing 8 workers.
* [[May 15]] - [[The Netherlands]] holds elections for the Lower House.
* [[May 20]] - [[East Timor]] regains its independence.
* [[May 21]] - The [[US State Department]] releases a report naming 7 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 4 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.
* [[May 23]] - [[Estonia]] hosts the first [[Eurovision Song Contest]] in a former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] republic.
* [[May 25]] - The [[Boston Celtics]] come back from 26 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]] breaks 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 (planet)|Mars]].
* [[May 26]] - A barge collides with the [[Interstate 40]] bridge across the [[Arkansas River]] in eastern Oklahoma, leaving 14 dead
* [[May 27]] - The French-Canadian national television network [[TVA (TV network)|TVA]] announces the nomination of [[Sophie Thibault]] as their solo news anchor, a North American first.
* [[May 28]] - [[Washington DC]]'s medical examiner declares that [[Chandra Levy]]'s death was the result of [[homicide]].
* [[May 30]] - The final piece of debris from [[The World Trade Center]] is removed from Ground Zero.
* [[May 31]] - The [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] begins, co-hosted by [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]].
===June===
{{Month3|6|5|0}}
[[Image:Concorde Jubilee.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Concorde]] leads the [[Red Arrows]] over [[London]] in a fly past for [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] on her Golden Jubilee]]
* [[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 [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]'s [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Golden Jubilee]] celebrations.
* [[June 4]] - The [[planetoid]] [[50000 Quaoar|Quaoar]] is discovered orbiting the [[Sun]] in the [[Kuiper belt]].
* [[June 4]] - [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip|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 [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II|50 years on the throne]]. In [[New York]], the [[Empire State Building]] is lit in [[purple]] for her honor.
* [[June 6]] - [[Eastern Mediterranean Event]]: An object with an estimated diameter of 10 metres collides with [[Earth]]. The collision occurs over the [[Mediterranean Sea]], and the object detonates in mid-air.
* [[June 8]] - [[Serena Williams]] defeats her sister [[Venus Williams]] in straight sets to win the 2002 [[French Open]].
* [[June 10]] - An annular [[solar eclipse]] occurs.
* [[June 10]] - First direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans carried out by [[Kevin Warwick]] in the [[United Kingdom]].
* [[June 11]] - [[Antonio Meucci]] is recognized as the first inventor of the telephone by the [[United States Congress]].
* [[June 12]] - The [[Los Angeles Lakers]] defeat the [[New Jersey Nets]] 4 games to 0 to win the 2002 [[NBA Finals]].
* [[June 13]] - The [[Detroit Red Wings]] defeat 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 12 Pakistanis and injures 50.
* [[June 15]] - Near Earth Asteroid [[2002 MN]] misses our planet by 75,000 miles (120,000 km) about one third the distance to the moon.
* [[June 18]] - [[Arizona]] experiences its worst forest fire, burning 462,606 acres (1,872 km²) near the [[Mogollon Rim]].
* [[June 19]] - [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] makes its debut on [[Pay-Per-View]] (the first weekly wrestling show on [[PPV]]).
* [[June 22]] - [[St. Louis Cardinals]] pitcher [[Darryl Kile]] is found dead of a heart attack in his [[Chicago]] hotel room.
* [[June 24]] - The [[Igandu train disaster]] in [[Dodoma Region]], [[Tanzania]], kills 281 people in the worst rail accident in [[Africa]]n history.
* [[June 29]] - U.S. Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], serves as [[Acting President of the United States|Acting President]] for two and a half hours, while President [[George W. Bush]] undergoes a colonoscopy procedure.
* [[June 30]] - [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] defeats [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]].
===July===
{{Month3|7|0|0}}
* [[July 1]] - The [[International Criminal Court]] is established to prosecute individuals for [[genocide]], [[crimes against humanity]], [[war crimes]], and the [[crime of aggression]]. Crimes committed on or after this date may be prosecuted by the court.
* [[July 1]] - A Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane collide over the town of Uberlingen in Southern [[Germany]]; 72 are dead (see [[Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937]]).
* [[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).
* [[July 14]] - During [[Bastille Day]] celebrations, [[Jacques Chirac]] escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
* [[July 15]] - In [[Washington, DC]], "American [[Taliban]]" [[John Walker Lindh]] pleads guilty to aiding the enemy and possession of explosives during the commission of a [[felony]]. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each charge.
* [[July 19]] - [[Henan Province]], the [[People's Republic of China]], 25 dead and hundreds injured due to [[hail]].
* [[July 21]] - [[Telecommunication]]s giant [[WorldCom]] files for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection]] (the largest such filing in [[United States]] history).
* [[July 25]] - [[Queen Elizabeth II]] opens the XVII [[Commonwealth Games]] in [[Manchester]], [[England]]. The Games run until [[August 4]].
* [[July 27]] - [[New Zealand general election 2002]]: [[Helen Clark]], leader of the [[New Zealand Labour Party]], is re-elected in a historic landslide victory over the Right Wing.
* [[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).
===August===
{{Month3|8|3|0}}
* The [[2002 European floods]] ravage [[Central Europe]].
* [[August 6]] - [[Cambridgeshire Police]] make an appeal for the safe return of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who vanished in [[Soham]] 2 days ago.
* [[August 7]] - [[Tama-chan]], a [[bearded seal]] native to the Arctic, is first spotted in [[Tama River]] in [[Tokyo]]. The seal subsequently became a national celebrity with TV stations tracking its every move.
* [[August 10]] - [[Turkmenistan]] adopts a law to rename all the months and most of the days of the week according to [[Ruhnama]], a book written by Turkmen president [[Saparmurat Niyazov]].
* [[August 12]] - In [[Arlington]], [[Virginia]], [[US Airways]] declares bankruptcy.
* [[August 17]] - [[Cambridgeshire Police]] believe that 2 bodies found today in a ditch near [[Thetford]] are those of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
* [[August 18]] - [[MTR]] [[Tseung Kwan O Line (MTR)|Tseung Kwan O Line]] officially opened.
* [[August 19]] - In [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]], international terrorist [[Abu Nidal]] is found dead of several gunshot wounds.
* [[August 21]] - Forensic experts confirm that the bodies found 4 days ago are those of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Soham School caretaker [[Ian Huntley]] is charged with their murders and is detained under the [[Mental Health Act 1983|Mental Health Act]], while his girlfriend [[Maxine Carr]] is charged with perverting the course of justice.
===September===
{{Month3|9|6|0}}
[[Image:Gerhardschroeder01c.jpg|thumb|Gerhard Schröder]]
*[[September 2]] - 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, officially opens.
* [[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 5]]-[[September 7|7]] - Girl students at [[Sponne School]] in [[Towcester]] no longer have to wear a tie.
* [[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 15]] - The [[Swedish parliamentary election, 2002]] leaves [[Prime Minister]] [[Göran Persson]] and the [[Socialdemokratiska arbetarpartiet|Social Democrats]] in power.
* [[September 18]] - The body of missing school girl [[Amanda Dowler]] is found in [[Hampshire]].
* [[September 19]] - Civil war starts in [[Côte d'Ivoire]].
* [[September 20]] - The [[Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide]] occurs.
* [[September 22]] - The [[German federal election, 2002|German federal election]] leaves Chancellor [[Gerhard Schröder]], his [[SPD|Social Democrats]] and [[Alliance '90/The Greens|the Greens]] in power.
* [[September 22]] - The last game is played at [[Cinergy Field]], where the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] beat the [[Cincinnati Reds]], 4-3.
* [[September 25]] - The [[Vitim event]], a possible [[bolide]] impact in [[Siberia]], [[Russia]].
===October===
{{Month3|10|1|0}}
* [[October 2]] - [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: The [[Congress of the United States]] passes a joint resolution, which explicitly authorizes the [[President]] to use the [[United States Armed Forces]] as he deems necessary and appropriate, against [[Iraq]].
* [[October 2]] - The [[Beltway sniper attacks]] begin with 5 shootings in [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]], [[Maryland]].
* [[October 7]] - The discovery of [[50000 Quaoar|Quaoar]] is announced.
* [[October 8]] - A judge decides that [[Ian Huntley]] is fit to stand trial for the [[Soham Murders]], and he is set to be transferred from [[Rampton Hospital]] to a mainstream prison later this week.
* [[October 11]] - [[Myyrmanni bombing]]: A lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]; the casualties include himself.
* [[October 12]] - [[2002 Bali terrorist bombing]]: Terrorists detonate massive bombs in 2 nightclubs in Kuta, [[Bali]], killing 202 and injuring over 300.
* [[October 13]] - Kenny Pile and [[family]] imigrate to [[New Zealand]]
* [[October 16]] - [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: [[George W. Bush]] signs the [[Iraq]] War Resolution.
* [[October 23]] - [[Kanye West]] is involved in a [[car crash]] after falling asleep behind the wheel leaving the [[recording studio]].
* [[October 24]] - The [[Beltway sniper attacks|Beltway snipers]], [[John Allen Muhammad]] and [[Lee Boyd Malvo]], 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 [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|Anaheim Angels]] defeat the [[San Francisco Giants]] in Game 7 of the [[2002 World Series]] to win the title.
* [[October 27]] - * [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]], popularly known as Lula was elected the President of Brazil. As a founding member of the Workers' Party ("Partido dos Trabalhadores"), Lula was elected to the post in October 27, 2002 with 61% of the votes (run-off).
===November===
{{Month3|11|4|0}}
[[Image:US-DeptOfHomelandSecurity-Seal.png|thumb|175px|The [[Department of Homeland Security]] is formed in response to terrorist concerns in the United States.]]
* [[November 5]] - [[United States midterm elections, 2002|U.S. elections]]: the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] maintains control of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and regains control of the [[United States Senate]].
* [[November 6]] - The U.S. [[Federal Reserve System]] drops its primary discount rate by 50 [[basis point]]s to 0.75%, putting the real [[interest rate]] solidly below the [[inflation rate]].
* [[November 7]] - [[Iran]] bans the [[advertising]] of [[United States]] products.
* [[November 8]] - [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: – The [[United Nations Security Council]] unanimously approves [[UN Security Council Resolution 1441]], forcing [[Saddam Hussein]] to [[disarmament|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 crisis]]: [[Iraq]] agrees to the terms of [[UN Security Council Resolution 1441]].
* [[November 13]] - The oil tanker [[Prestige (ship)|''Prestige'']] sinks off the [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]n coast, causing 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 15]] - [[Myra Hindley]], who was involved in the [[Moors Murders|murders of 5 children]] between [[1963]] and [[1965]], dies in hospital at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack in prison. Hindley, 60, had been in prison for 36 years and had spent more than a decade campaigning to be released from prison. She had been told by successive [[Home Secretary|Home Secretaries]] that she must remain in prison for the rest of her life, but had appeared to be on the verge of freedom after continued reports that politicians would soon lose their powers to set minimum terms for convicted murderers.
* [[November 16]] - A [[Campaign against Climate Change]] march takes place in [[London]] from [[Lincoln's Inn Fields]], past [[Exxon Mobil|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]] - [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] Summit in [[Prague]]: [[Bulgaria]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]] and [[Slovenia]] are invited to join NATO.
* [[November 22]] - In [[Nigeria]], more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the [[Miss World]] contestants.
* [[November 24]] - [[Home Secretary]] [[David Blunkett]] announces that four convicted child sex murderers will serve a minimum of 50 years in prison before they can be considered for parole. The ruling means that [[Roy Whiting]], [[Howard Hughes (murderer)|Howard Hughes]], [[Timothy Morss]] and [[Brett Tyler]] are set to remain in prison until they are at least 92, 80, 82 and 79 respectively.
* [[November 24]] - The [[Montreal Alouettes]] win the CFL Championship for the first time since relocating from [[Baltimore]], defeating the host [[Edmonton Eskimos]] 25-16 in the [[90th Grey Cup]] at [[Commonwealth Stadium]] in [[Edmonton, Alberta]].
* [[November 25]] - U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] signs the [[Homeland Security Act]] into law, establishing the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] in [[1947]] (the [[United States Senate|Senate]] passed the bill 90-9 on [[November 19]]).
* [[November 26]] - Legislation by the [[European Court of Human Rights]] and [[Law Lords]], ruling in favour of convicted murderer [[Anthony Anderson (murderer)|Anthony Anderson]], officially ends the right of the [[Home Secretary]] to set minimum terms for convicted murderers. This gives hope of a quicker release for more than 200 convicted murderers whose minimum terms were increased by politicians, including an estimated 70 who have already served longer than their original recommended minimum term.
===December===
{{Month3|12|6|0}}<!-- Removing copyrighted image with no applicable fair use rationale [[Image:Two Towers-Gollum.jpg|thumb|scene from "The two Towers"]] -->
* [[December 4]] - A total [[solar eclipse]] occurs.
* [[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 9]] - [[United Airlines]], the second largest airline in the world, files under the United States Bankruptcy Code Chapter 11.
* [[December 10]] - The [[High Court of Australia]] hands down its judgement in the [[Internet]] [[defamation]] dispute in the case of [[Gutnick v Dow Jones]].
* [[December 12]] - [[Hans Enoksen]] was elected [[prime minister]] of [[Greenland]]
* [[December 27]] - A suicide truck-bomb attack destroys the headquarters of [[Chechnya]]'s [[Moscow]]-backed government, killing 72 people.
* [[December 29]] - The Communist [[New People's Army]] blows up a bust of [[Ferdinand Marcos]] in [[Benguet]], [[Philippines]].
* [[December 29]] - Cincinnati's [[Cinergy Field]] is demolished.
* [[December 30]] - An eruption on the [[volcanic island]] [[Stromboli]] off the coast of [[Sicily]] causes a flank failure and [[tsunami]]. The island is later evacuated.
===Undated===
===Ongoing===
* Rebuilding of the [[NYC]] [[World Trade Center]] continues.
===Fictional===
The following are references to year 2002 in fiction:
* Literature:
:*the events of ''[[First Among Sequels]]'' by [[Jasper Fforde]] take place in an alternate-reality 2002
* Television:
:* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' ("[[The Changeling (TOS episode)|The Changeling]]," 1967): The first interstellar probe, ''[[Nomad (Star Trek)|Nomad]]'', is launched.
:* ''[[The West Wing]]'': On [[November 5]], [[Democratic]] [[President of the United States|President]] [[Josiah Bartlet]] of [[New Hampshire]] defeats [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[Robert Ritchie]] of [[Florida]] in his reelection bid following the [[The West Wing presidential election, 2002|2002 US presidential election]].
* Film:
:* The events of ''[[Resident Evil (film)|Resident Evil]]'' and ''[[Resident Evil: Apocalypse]]'' take place between [[September 28]] and [[September 30]], with the [[T-Virus]] outbreak occurring in The Hive, and then infiltrating [[Raccoon City]] just thirteen hours later.
{{Events by month}}
{{Year in other calendars}}
==Births==
* [[April 21]] - [[Carl and Clarence Aguirre]], combined twins from Philadelphia, PA
* [[April 30]] - [[Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón]], grandson of [[Juan Carlos I]] of [[Spain]].
* [[May 14]] - [[Margarita Armstrong-Jones]], daughter of [[Viscount Linley]] and his wife, [[Serena Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley|Viscountess Linley]]
* [[June 8]] - [[Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg]]
* [[July 22]] - [[Prince Felix of Denmark]], Prince of Denmark
* [[July 30]] - [[Prince Hridayendra of Nepal|Young Crown Prince Hridayendra of Nepal]], second in line to the Nepalese throne
* [[August 2]] - [[Kara and Shelby Hoffman]], American actresses
==Deaths==
: ''For more, see: [[Deaths in 2002]].''
===January===
* [[January 3]] - [[Freddy Heineken]], Dutch-born beer magnate (b. [[1923]])
* [[January 8]] - [[Alexander Prochorow]], Russian physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1916]])
* [[January 8]] - [[Dave Thomas (American businessman)|Dave Thomas]], American fast food entrepreneur (b. [[1932]])
* [[January 12]] - [[Stanley Unwin (comedian)|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 Anthony Bilandic|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===
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:IrishMcCalla.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Irish McCalla]], American actress]] -->
* [[February 1]] - [[Irish McCalla]], American actress (b. [[1928]])
* [[February 2]] - [[Danielle Van Dam]], American murder victim (b. [[1994]])
* [[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 10]] - [[Traudl Junge]], German private secretary of Adolf Hitler (b. [[1920]])
* [[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 (actor)|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 (actress)|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 4]] - [[Ansett Australia]], One of the oldest airlines in the world and the second largest in [[Australia]] ceases operation after collapsing Financially. This day and event also marked the largest job loss in Australian history.
* [[March 11]] - [[James Tobin]], American economist, [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1918]])
* [[March 14]] - [[Cherry Wilder]], New Zealand author (b. [[1930]])
* [[March 21]] - [[Amanda Dowler]], murdered British schoolgirl (b. [[1988]])
* [[March 23]] - [[Ben Hollioake]], cricketer (b. [[1977]])
* [[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 29]] - [[Rico Yan]], Philippine Young TV/Movie Actor (b. [[1975]])
* [[March 30]] - [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]], queen consort of [[George VI of the United Kingdom]] (b. [[1900]])
* [[March 30]] - [[Søren Nystrøm Rasted]] (b. [[1969]])
===April===
* [[April 1]] - [[Meryem Altun]], Turkish [[hunger strike]]r
* [[April 4]] - [[John Kaufman]], Sculptor
* [[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 22]] - [[Linda Boreman]], also known as actress Linda Lovelace in Deep Throat (b. [[1949]])
* [[April 25]] - [[Indra Devi]], yoga teacher (b. [[1899]])
* [[April 25]] - [[Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes]], American rapper ([[TLC (music)|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]], Famous 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 24]] - [[Wallace Markfield]], American writer (b. [[1926]])
* [[May 26]] - [[Mamo Wolde]], Ethiopian runner (b. [[1932]])
* [[May 28]] - [[Jean Berger]], German-born composer (b. [[1909]])
===June===
[[Image:Lilian , Princesse de Réthy.jpg|thumb|right|170px|[[Lilian Baels]], Belgian princess]]
* [[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 (footballer, 1920)|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 (General of The Salvation Army)|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 5]] - [[Benjamin O. Davis Jr.]], U.S. general (b. [[1993]])
* [[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]] - [[Joaquín Balaguer]], [[President of the Dominican Republic]] (b. [[1906]])
* [[July 15]] - [[Samantha Runnion]], juvenile victim of kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder (b. [[1996]])
* [[July 16]] - [[John Cocke]], American computer scientist (b. [[1925]])
* [[July 19]] - [[Alan Lomax]], American folklorist and musicologist (b. [[1970]])
* [[July 23]] - [[Leo McKern]], Australian actor (b. [[1920]])
* [[July 23]] - [[William Luther Pierce]], Professor of Physics and Neo-Nazi leader (b. [[1933]])
* [[July 23]] - [[Chaim Potok]], American author and rabbi (b. [[1929]])
* [[July 25]] - [[Abdur Rahman Badawi]], Egyptian [[existentialist]] philosopher (b. [[1917]])
* [[July 31]] - John Porter Martin]], English chemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|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 5]] - [[Franco Lucentini]], Italian writer (b. [[1920]])
* [[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 (musician)|Dave Williams]], American singer ([[Drowning Pool]]) (b. [[1972]])
* [[August 15]] - [[Kyle Rote]], American football player and coach (b. [[1928]])
* [[August 16]] - [[Abu Nidal]], Palestinian militant (b. [[1937]])
* [[August 18]] - [[Dean Riesner]], film and television screenwriter (b. [[1918]])
* [[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 in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1920]])
* [[August 31]] - [[Farhad Mehrad]] [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] legendary Musician
===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 [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands]] (b. [[1926]])
* [[October 9]] - [[Aileen Wournos]], American serial killer (b. [[1956]])
* [[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 (musician)|Derek Bell]], Northern Ireland musician (b. [[1935]])
* [[October 18]] - [[Nikolai Rukavishnikov]], cosmonaut (b. [[1932]])
* [[October 18]] - [[Roman Tam]], [[Hong Kong]] pop singer (b. [[1950]])
* [[October 24]] - [[Harry Hay]], American activist (b. [[1912]])
* [[October 25]] - [[Richard Harris (actor)|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]]) (b. [[1918]])
* [[November 12]] - [[Károly Doncsecz]], Slovenian potter, ''Master of folk art'' (b. [[1918]])
* [[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 (footballer)|Norm McDonald]], [[Australian rules football]]er (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 12]] - [[Nikolai Amosov]], Ukrainian heart surgeon, inventor, best-selling author, and exercise enthusiast (b. [[1913]])
* [[December 18]] - [[Ray Hnatyshyn]], [[Governor General of Canada]] (b. [[1934]])
* [[December 19]] - [[Arthur Rowley]], English Footballer (b. [[1926]])
* [[December 22]] - [[Desmond Hoyte]], [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Prime Minister]] and [[President of Guyana]] (b. [[1929]])
* [[December 22]] - [[Joe Strummer]], British musician and singer ([[The Clash]]) (b. [[1952]])
* [[December 24]] - [[Laci Peterson]], American murder victim (b. [[1975]])
==Nobel prizes==
*[[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace]] - [[Jimmy Carter]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature]] - [[Imre Kertész]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]] - [[John B. Fenn]] and [[Koichi Tanaka]], [[Kurt Wüthrich]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] - [[Raymond Davis Jr.]] and [[Masatoshi Koshiba]], [[Riccardo Giacconi]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine]] - [[Sydney Brenner]], [[H. Robert Horvitz]], and [[John E. Sulston]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Economics|Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel]] - [[Daniel Kahneman]] and [[Vernon L. Smith]]
==Fields Medalists==
*[[Laurent Lafforgue]], [[Vladimir Voevodsky]]
==See also==
* [[21st century]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commonscat|2002}}
*[http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2002.html 2002 Year-End Google Zeitgeist] - Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2002
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Year '''2002''' ('''[[Roman numerals|MMII]]''') was a [[common year starting on Tuesday]] of the [[Gregorian calendar]].
{{C20YearTOC|2002}}
The year 2002 was designated the:
*''International Year of [[Ecotourism]] and [[Mountain]]s''
*''Year of the [[Outback]]'' in [[Australia]]
*''National Science Year'' in the [[United Kingdom]]
*''Autism Awareness Year'' in the [[United Kingdom]]
See also: [[Current events#Past events by month|the almanac]] of events for this year.
The year number was a [[palindrome]] (next palindrome year will be 2112).
==Events of 2002==
===January===
* [[January 1]] - The [[Treaty on Open Skies|Open Skies]] mutual [[surveillance]] treaty, initially signed in [[1992]], officially enters into force.
* [[January 1]] - [[Euro]] notes and coins issued in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and in the Netherlands.
* [[January 3]] - The [[University of Miami]] defeats [[University of Nebraska|Nebraska]] 37-14 in the [[Rose Bowl Game|Rose Bowl]] in [[Pasadena, California]] to win [[NCAA Division I-A national football championship|college football's national championship]].
* [[January 5]] - [[Charles Bishop (pilot)|Charles Bishop]], a 15 year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a [[Tampa, Florida]] building, evoking fear of a [[copycat]] [[September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack|9/11 terrorist attack]].
* [[January 9]] - The [[United States Department of Justice]] announces it will pursue a criminal investigation of [[Enron]].
* [[January 10]] - [[Enrique Bolaños]] begins his 5-year term as President of the Republic of [[Nicaragua]].
* [[January 12]] - The [[X (roller coaster)]] opened at [[Six Flags Magic Mountain]] in [[Valencia, Santa Clarita, California]]
* [[January 19]] - In the AFC Divisional Playoffs the [[New England Patriots]] defeated the [[Oakland Raiders]] 16-13 in overtime playoff game played in a driving snow storm. The game was remembered as The [[Snow Bowl (New England)|Snow Bowl]] when Raiders cornerback [[Charles Woodson]] stripped the ball from Patriots quarterback [[Tom Brady]].
* [[January 14]] - The asylum case of [[Adelaide Abankwah]] is heard in [[New York]].
* [[January 16]] - [[Appalachian School of Law shooting]]: A student shoots 6 people at the [[Appalachian School of Law]] in [[Grundy, Virginia]], killing 3.
* [[January 16]] - U.S. Attorney General [[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 freezes the assets of [[Osama bin Laden]], [[Al-Qaida]], and the [[Taliban]].
* [[January 17]] - The 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 1.
* [[January 23]] - ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]] is kidnapped in [[Pakistan]], accused of being a [[CIA]] agent by his captors.
* [[January 24]] - Terrorist suspect [[John Walker Lindh]]'s hearing begins.{{noMention}}
* [[January 25]] - Thomas Junta kills junior coach Michael Costin during a fight at a junior hockey game in Massachusetts
* [[January 27]] - Several explosions at a military dump in [[Lagos]], [[Nigeria]] kill more than 1,000.{{noMention}}
* [[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===
{{Month3|2|4|0}}
* [[February 1]] - Kidnapped ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]] is murdered in [[Karachi]], [[Pakistan]].
* [[February 2]] - Crown [[Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands]] marries [[Máxima, Princess of Orange]] in [[Amsterdam]].
* [[February 3]] - [[Costa Rica]] holds presidential and congressional elections.
* [[February 3]] - The [[New England Patriots]] beat the [[St. Louis Rams]] 20-17, in [[Super Bowl XXXVI]] in [[New Orleans]].
* [[February 8]]–[[February 24]] - The [[2002 Winter Olympics]] are held in [[Salt Lake City, Utah]].
* [[February 9]] - [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon]], the Queen's sister dies in hospital after suffering a stroke.
* [[February 10]] - In the 52nd NBA All Star Game the West defeated the East in [[Philadelphia]] at the [[Wachovia Center]].
* [[February 12]] - The trial of former Yugoslav President [[Slobodan Milosevic]] begins at the [[United Nations]] [[war crime]]s tribunal in [[The Hague]].
* [[February 12]] - [[Nuclear waste]]: The U.S. Secretary of Energy makes the decision that [[Yucca Mountain]] is suitable to be the [[United States]]' nuclear repository.
* [[February 13]] - [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom]] gives former [[New York City]] mayor [[Rudolph Giuliani]] an honorary [[knighthood]].
* [[February 16]] - Nehemia Amar and Keren Satsky, both 15,are blown up at a pizzeria in an Israeli shopping mall following a [[suicide bombing]] attack on a crowd of teens.
[[Image:2001 mars odyssey wizja.jpg|thumb|Artists concept of the ''2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft'']]
* [[February 19]] - [[NASA]]'s [[Mars Odyssey]] [[space probe]] begins to map the surface of [[Mars (planet)|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) the local time, date (written as day/month), time, and year are all 2002, making each of them alone, any 2 together, and the combination of all 3, all [[palindromes]].
* [[February 22]] - [[Angola]]n political and rebel leader [[Jonas Savimbi]] is killed in a military ambush.
* [[February 22]] - A Norwegian-facilitated [[ceasefire]] begins in [[Sri Lanka]].
* [[February 23]] - [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC]] kidnaps [[Ingrid Betancourt]] in [[Colombia]] while she campaigns for the presidency.
* [[February 27]] - A series of riots leaves hundreds dead, after 59 [[Hindu]] pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a [[Muslim]] mob in [[Godhra]], [[India]].
* [[February 27]] - Rachel Thaler, 16, of Ginot Shomron died of wounds suffered in February 16 suicide bomb attack.
* [[February 28]] - The ex-currencies of all euro members officially (at [[EU]]-level) cease to be legal tender.
===March===
{{Month3|3|4|0}}
[[Image:STS-109-HST-s109e5700.jpg|thumb|Hubble Space Telescope after servicing by the crew of STS-109]]
* [[March 1]] - [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|U.S. invasion of Afghanistan]]: In eastern [[Afghanistan]], [[Operation Anaconda]] begins.
* [[March 1]] - Continuing violence in [[Ahmedabad]] kills 28; police shoot and kill 5 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 [[Maximum Take-Off Weight|payload]] to date at 8500kg.
* [[March 1]] - ''[[STS-109]]'': [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] flies the [[Hubble Space Telescope]] service mission, its last before ''[[STS-107]]''.
* [[March 1]] - The [[Peseta]] is discontinued as the official [[currency]] of [[Spain]] and is replaced with the [[euro]] (€).
* [[March 3]] - [[São Tomé and Príncipe]] hold legislative elections.
* [[March 4]] - [[Ansett Australia]], One of the oldest airlines in the world and the second largest in [[Australia]] ceases operation after collapsing Financially. This day and event also marked the largest job loss in Australian history.
* [[March 6]] - [[France]] agrees to return the remains of [[Saartjie Baartman]] to [[South Africa]].
* [[March 10]] - [[Colombia]] holds legislative elections.
* [[March 10]] - [[Togo]] holds parliamentary elections.
* [[March 11]] - [[BBC 6 Music]], the first new [[BBC]] [[music radio]] station in decades, is launched.
* [[March 12]] - In [[Houston]], [[Texas]], [[Andrea Yates]] is found guilty of [[drowning]] her 5 children on [[June 20]], [[2001]]. She is later sentenced to life in prison.
* [[March 14]] - 125 vehicles are involved in a massive pile up on [[Interstate 75]] in [[Ringgold, Georgia]]
* [[March 17]] - [[Portugal]] holds parliamentary elections.
* [[March 17]] - In [[Islamabad]], [[Pakistan]], the [[March 2002 Islamabad church bombing|International Protestant Church attack]] occurs.
* [[March 19]] - [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|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 22]] - [[Ameer Khattab]] or Ibn al Khattab the Saudi rebel who fought in Chechnya and Afghanistan was poinoned and killed by a traitor paid by Russia.
* [[March 21]] - In [[Pakistan]], [[Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh]] along with 3 other suspects are charged with murder in the kidnapping and killing of ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' reporter [[Daniel Pearl]].
* [[March 24]] - The [[74th Academy Awards]], hosted by [[Whoopi Goldberg]], are held at the [[Kodak Theatre]] in [[Hollywood, California]] with the film ''[[A Beautiful Mind]]'' winning [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. Two [[African American]] actors [[Halle Berry]] and [[Denzel Washington]] win honors for their leading roles.
* [[March 27]] - [[Netanya suicide attack]]: A [[suicide bomber]] kills 28 people in [[Netanya]], [[Israel]].
* [[March 30]] - [[Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother]] dies in her sleep at the Royal lodge, aged 101
* [[March 31]] - [[Ukraine]] holds parliamentary elections.
* [[March 31]] - [[Earthquake]] in [[Taiwan]].
===April===
{{Month3|4|0|0}}
* [[April 1]] - [[University of Maryland, College Park|Maryland]] defeats [[Indiana University (Bloomington)|Indiana]] 64-52 to win the [[2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament|NCAA Men's Basketball Championship]] at the [[Georgia Dome]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].
* [[April 2]] - [[Israel]]i forces besiege the [[Church of the Nativity]] in [[Bethlehem]], when militants take shelter there.
* [[April 9]] - The funeral of [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon|Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother]] takes place in [[Westminster Abbey]], [[London]].
* [[April 11]] - [[April 14]] - [[2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt|Failed military coup d'état]] against the leftist [[Venezuela]]n [[President of Venezuela|President]] [[Hugo Chávez]].
* [[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 [[Canada|Canadian]] infantrymen are killed in [[Afghanistan]] by [[friendly fire]] from 2 [[United States|US]] [[F-16]]s.
* [[April 18]] - A new [[insect]] order, [[Mantophasmatodea]], is announced.
* [[April 21]] - [[French presidential election, 2002]]: The first round results in a runoff between [[Jacques Chirac]] and the leader of the main French far-right party, [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]].
* [[April 22]] - At a special session of the [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]], Director-General [[Jose Bustani]] is fired.
* [[April 25]] - ''[[Soyuz TM-34]]'': [[South Africa]]n [[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 are dead.
* [[April 27]] - The [[Laughlin, Nevada]] [[River Run Riot]] leaves 3 dead.
* [[April 30]] - [[Pakistan]]: Pakistani voters approve a [[referendum]] granting a 5-year term for [[President of Pakistan|Pakistani president]] [[Pervez Musharraf]].
===May===
{{Month3|5|2|0}}
[[Image:Flag of East Timor.svg|thumb|180px| [[May 20]]: [[Flag of East Timor]]]]
* [[May 4]] - In [[Germany]], [[BV Borussia Dortmund]] wins the [[Bundesliga (football)|Bundesliga]] title after a 2-1 victory over [[SV Werder Bremen]].
* [[May 5]] - In the second round of the French presidential election, [[Jacques Chirac]] is reelected.
* [[May 6]] - In the [[Netherlands]], politician [[Pim Fortuyn]] is killed by [[Volkert van der Graaf]].
* [[May 7]] - [[China Northern Airlines Flight 6136]] crashed into the bay near [[Dalian]], killing all 103 passengers and 9 crew members.
* [[May 7]] - Gay [[Canada|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 [[Bethlehem]] comes to an end when the [[Palestinians]] inside agree to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries.
* [[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 11]] - [[Ray Charles]] takes part - with other musicians - in a [[peace]] concert in [[Rome]], which was the first event to take place inside the city’s ancient [[Colosseum]] since 404 A.D. The event was organized in partnership with the [[Glocal Forum]] and the [[Quincy Jones]] Listen Up Foundation.
* [[May 12]] - Former President [[Jimmy Carter]] arrives in [[Cuba]] for a 5-day visit with [[Fidel Castro]], becoming the first U.S. President, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's [[1959]] revolution.
* [[May 12]] - The Russian [[Shuttle Buran|Shuttle ''Buran'']] is destroyed when the roof of the [[hangar]] collapses, killing 8 workers.
* [[May 15]] - [[The Netherlands]] holds elections for the Lower House.
* [[May 20]] - [[East Timor]] regains its independence.
* [[May 21]] - The [[US State Department]] releases a report naming 7 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 4 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.
* [[May 23]] - [[Estonia]] hosts the first [[Eurovision Song Contest]] in a former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] republic.
* [[May 25]] - The [[Boston Celtics]] come back from 26 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]] breaks 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 (planet)|Mars]].
* [[May 26]] - A barge collides with the [[Interstate 40]] bridge across the [[Arkansas River]] in eastern Oklahoma, leaving 14 dead
* [[May 27]] - The French-Canadian national television network [[TVA (TV network)|TVA]] announces the nomination of [[Sophie Thibault]] as their solo news anchor, a North American first.
* [[May 28]] - [[Washington DC]]'s medical examiner declares that [[Chandra Levy]]'s death was the result of [[homicide]].
* [[May 30]] - The final piece of debris from [[The World Trade Center]] is removed from Ground Zero.
* [[May 31]] - The [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] begins, co-hosted by [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]].
===June===
{{Month3|6|5|0}}
[[Image:Concorde Jubilee.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Concorde]] leads the [[Red Arrows]] over [[London]] in a fly past for [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] on her Golden Jubilee]]
* [[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 [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]]'s [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Golden Jubilee]] celebrations.
* [[June 4]] - The [[planetoid]] [[50000 Quaoar|Quaoar]] is discovered orbiting the [[Sun]] in the [[Kuiper belt]].
* [[June 4]] - [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip|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 [[Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II|50 years on the throne]]. In [[New York]], the [[Empire State Building]] is lit in [[purple]] for her honor.
* [[June 6]] - [[Eastern Mediterranean Event]]: An object with an estimated diameter of 10 metres collides with [[Earth]]. The collision occurs over the [[Mediterranean Sea]], and the object detonates in mid-air.
* [[June 8]] - [[Serena Williams]] defeats her sister [[Venus Williams]] in straight sets to win the 2002 [[French Open]].
* [[June 10]] - An annular [[solar eclipse]] occurs.
* [[June 10]] - First direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans carried out by [[Kevin Warwick]] in the [[United Kingdom]].
* [[June 11]] - [[Antonio Meucci]] is recognized as the first inventor of the telephone by the [[United States Congress]].
* [[June 12]] - The [[Los Angeles Lakers]] defeat the [[New Jersey Nets]] 4 games to 0 to win the 2002 [[NBA Finals]].
* [[June 13]] - The [[Detroit Red Wings]] defeat 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 12 Pakistanis and injures 50.
* [[June 15]] - Near Earth Asteroid [[2002 MN]] misses our planet by 75,000 miles (120,000 km) about one third the distance to the moon.
* [[June 18]] - [[Arizona]] experiences its worst forest fire, burning 462,606 acres (1,872 km²) near the [[Mogollon Rim]].
* [[June 19]] - [[Total Nonstop Action Wrestling]] makes its debut on [[Pay-Per-View]] (the first weekly wrestling show on [[PPV]]).
* [[June 22]] - [[St. Louis Cardinals]] pitcher [[Darryl Kile]] is found dead of a heart attack in his [[Chicago]] hotel room.
* [[June 24]] - The [[Igandu train disaster]] in [[Dodoma Region]], [[Tanzania]], kills 281 people in the worst rail accident in [[Africa]]n history.
* [[June 29]] - U.S. Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], serves as [[Acting President of the United States|Acting President]] for two and a half hours, while President [[George W. Bush]] undergoes a colonoscopy procedure.
* [[June 30]] - [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]] defeats [[Germany national football team|Germany]] in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]].
===July===
{{Month3|7|0|0}}
* [[July 1]] - The [[International Criminal Court]] is established to prosecute individuals for [[genocide]], [[crimes against humanity]], [[war crimes]], and the [[crime of aggression]]. Crimes committed on or after this date may be prosecuted by the court.
* [[July 1]] - A Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane collide over the town of Uberlingen in Southern [[Germany]]; 72 are dead (see [[Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937]]).
* [[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).
* [[July 14]] - During [[Bastille Day]] celebrations, [[Jacques Chirac]] escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
* [[July 15]] - In [[Washington, DC]], "American [[Taliban]]" [[John Walker Lindh]] pleads guilty to aiding the enemy and possession of explosives during the commission of a [[felony]]. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each charge.
* [[July 19]] - [[Henan Province]], the [[People's Republic of China]], 25 dead and hundreds injured due to [[hail]].
* [[July 21]] - [[Telecommunication]]s giant [[WorldCom]] files for [[Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection]] (the largest such filing in [[United States]] history).
* [[July 25]] - [[Queen Elizabeth II]] opens the XVII [[Commonwealth Games]] in [[Manchester]], [[England]]. The Games run until [[August 4]].
* [[July 27]] - [[New Zealand general election 2002]]: [[Helen Clark]], leader of the [[New Zealand Labour Party]], is re-elected in a historic landslide victory over the Right Wing.
* [[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).
===August===
{{Month3|8|3|0}}
* The [[2002 European floods]] ravage [[Central Europe]].
* [[August 6]] - [[Cambridgeshire Police]] make an appeal for the safe return of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who vanished in [[Soham]] 2 days ago.
* [[August 7]] - [[Tama-chan]], a [[bearded seal]] native to the Arctic, is first spotted in [[Tama River]] in [[Tokyo]]. The seal subsequently became a national celebrity with TV stations tracking its every move.
* [[August 10]] - [[Turkmenistan]] adopts a law to rename all the months and most of the days of the week according to [[Ruhnama]], a book written by Turkmen president [[Saparmurat Niyazov]].
* [[August 12]] - In [[Arlington]], [[Virginia]], [[US Airways]] declares bankruptcy.
* [[August 17]] - [[Cambridgeshire Police]] believe that 2 bodies found today in a ditch near [[Thetford]] are those of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
* [[August 18]] - [[MTR]] [[Tseung Kwan O Line (MTR)|Tseung Kwan O Line]] officially opened.
* [[August 19]] - In [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]], international terrorist [[Abu Nidal]] is found dead of several gunshot wounds.
* [[August 21]] - Forensic experts confirm that the bodies found 4 days ago are those of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Soham School caretaker [[Ian Huntley]] is charged with their murders and is detained under the [[Mental Health Act 1983|Mental Health Act]], while his girlfriend [[Maxine Carr]] is charged with perverting the course of justice.
===September===
{{Month3|9|6|0}}
[[Image:Gerhardschroeder01c.jpg|thumb|Gerhard Schröder]]
*[[September 2]] - 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, officially opens.
* [[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 5]]-[[September 7|7]] - Girl students at [[Sponne School]] in [[Towcester]] no longer have to wear a tie.
* [[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 15]] - The [[Swedish parliamentary election, 2002]] leaves [[Prime Minister]] [[Göran Persson]] and the [[Socialdemokratiska arbetarpartiet|Social Democrats]] in power.
* [[September 18]] - The body of missing school girl [[Amanda Dowler]] is found in [[Hampshire]].
* [[September 19]] - Civil war starts in [[Côte d'Ivoire]].
* [[September 20]] - The [[Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide]] occurs.
* [[September 22]] - The [[German federal election, 2002|German federal election]] leaves Chancellor [[Gerhard Schröder]], his [[SPD|Social Democrats]] and [[Alliance '90/The Greens|the Greens]] in power.
* [[September 22]] - The last game is played at [[Cinergy Field]], where the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] beat the [[Cincinnati Reds]], 4-3.
* [[September 25]] - The [[Vitim event]], a possible [[bolide]] impact in [[Siberia]], [[Russia]].
===October===
{{Month3|10|1|0}}
* [[October 2]] - [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: The [[Congress of the United States]] passes a joint resolution, which explicitly authorizes the [[President]] to use the [[United States Armed Forces]] as he deems necessary and appropriate, against [[Iraq]].
* [[October 2]] - The [[Beltway sniper attacks]] begin with 5 shootings in [[Montgomery County, Maryland|Montgomery County]], [[Maryland]].
* [[October 7]] - The discovery of [[50000 Quaoar|Quaoar]] is announced.
* [[October 8]] - A judge decides that [[Ian Huntley]] is fit to stand trial for the [[Soham Murders]], and he is set to be transferred from [[Rampton Hospital]] to a mainstream prison later this week.
* [[October 11]] - [[Myyrmanni bombing]]: A lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]; the casualties include himself.
* [[October 12]] - [[2002 Bali terrorist bombing]]: Terrorists detonate massive bombs in 2 nightclubs in Kuta, [[Bali]], killing 202 and injuring over 300.
* [[October 13]] - Kenny Pile and [[family]] imigrate to [[New Zealand]]
* [[October 16]] - [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: [[George W. Bush]] signs the [[Iraq]] War Resolution.
* [[October 23]] - [[Kanye West]] is involved in a [[car crash]] after falling asleep behind the wheel leaving the [[recording studio]].
* [[October 24]] - The [[Beltway sniper attacks|Beltway snipers]], [[John Allen Muhammad]] and [[Lee Boyd Malvo]], 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 [[Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim|Anaheim Angels]] defeat the [[San Francisco Giants]] in Game 7 of the [[2002 World Series]] to win the title.
* [[October 27]] - * [[Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva]], popularly known as Lula was elected the President of Brazil. As a founding member of the Workers' Party ("Partido dos Trabalhadores"), Lula was elected to the post in October 27, 2002 with 61% of the votes (run-off).
===November===
{{Month3|11|4|0}}
[[Image:US-DeptOfHomelandSecurity-Seal.png|thumb|175px|The [[Department of Homeland Security]] is formed in response to terrorist concerns in the United States.]]
* [[November 5]] - [[United States midterm elections, 2002|U.S. elections]]: the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] maintains control of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and regains control of the [[United States Senate]].
* [[November 6]] - The U.S. [[Federal Reserve System]] drops its primary discount rate by 50 [[basis point]]s to 0.75%, putting the real [[interest rate]] solidly below the [[inflation rate]].
* [[November 7]] - [[Iran]] bans the [[advertising]] of [[United States]] products.
* [[November 8]] - [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: – The [[United Nations Security Council]] unanimously approves [[UN Security Council Resolution 1441]], forcing [[Saddam Hussein]] to [[disarmament|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 crisis]]: [[Iraq]] agrees to the terms of [[UN Security Council Resolution 1441]].
* [[November 13]] - The oil tanker [[Prestige (ship)|''Prestige'']] sinks off the [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]]n coast, causing 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 15]] - [[Myra Hindley]], who was involved in the [[Moors Murders|murders of 5 children]] between [[1963]] and [[1965]], dies in hospital at the age of 60 after suffering a heart attack in prison. Hindley, 60, had been in prison for 36 years and had spent more than a decade campaigning to be released from prison. She had been told by successive [[Home Secretary|Home Secretaries]] that she must remain in prison for the rest of her life, but had appeared to be on the verge of freedom after continued reports that politicians would soon lose their powers to set minimum terms for convicted murderers.
* [[November 16]] - A [[Campaign against Climate Change]] march takes place in [[London]] from [[Lincoln's Inn Fields]], past [[Exxon Mobil|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]] - [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] Summit in [[Prague]]: [[Bulgaria]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]] and [[Slovenia]] are invited to join NATO.
* [[November 22]] - In [[Nigeria]], more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the [[Miss World]] contestants.
* [[November 24]] - [[Home Secretary]] [[David Blunkett]] announces that four convicted child sex murderers will serve a minimum of 50 years in prison before they can be considered for parole. The ruling means that [[Roy Whiting]], [[Howard Hughes (murderer)|Howard Hughes]], [[Timothy Morss]] and [[Brett Tyler]] are set to remain in prison until they are at least 92, 80, 82 and 79 respectively.
* [[November 24]] - The [[Montreal Alouettes]] win the CFL Championship for the first time since relocating from [[Baltimore]], defeating the host [[Edmonton Eskimos]] 25-16 in the [[90th Grey Cup]] at [[Commonwealth Stadium]] in [[Edmonton, Alberta]].
* [[November 25]] - U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] signs the [[Homeland Security Act]] into law, establishing the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]], in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] in [[1947]] (the [[United States Senate|Senate]] passed the bill 90-9 on [[November 19]]).
* [[November 26]] - Legislation by the [[European Court of Human Rights]] and [[Law Lords]], ruling in favour of convicted murderer [[Anthony Anderson (murderer)|Anthony Anderson]], officially ends the right of the [[Home Secretary]] to set minimum terms for convicted murderers. This gives hope of a quicker release for more than 200 convicted murderers whose minimum terms were increased by politicians, including an estimated 70 who have already served longer than their original recommended minimum term.
===December===
{{Month3|12|6|0}}<!-- Removing copyrighted image with no applicable fair use rationale [[Image:Two Towers-Gollum.jpg|thumb|scene from "The two Towers"]] -->
* [[December 4]] - A total [[solar eclipse]] occurs.
* [[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 9]] - [[United Airlines]], the second largest airline in the world, files under the United States Bankruptcy Code Chapter 11.
* [[December 10]] - The [[High Court of Australia]] hands down its judgement in the [[Internet]] [[defamation]] dispute in the case of [[Gutnick v Dow Jones]].
* [[December 12]] - [[Hans Enoksen]] was elected [[prime minister]] of [[Greenland]]
* [[December 27]] - A suicide truck-bomb attack destroys the headquarters of [[Chechnya]]'s [[Moscow]]-backed government, killing 72 people.
* [[December 29]] - The Communist [[New People's Army]] blows up a bust of [[Ferdinand Marcos]] in [[Benguet]], [[Philippines]].
* [[December 29]] - Cincinnati's [[Cinergy Field]] is demolished.
* [[December 30]] - An eruption on the [[volcanic island]] [[Stromboli]] off the coast of [[Sicily]] causes a flank failure and [[tsunami]]. The island is later evacuated.
===Undated===
===Ongoing===
* Rebuilding of the [[NYC]] [[World Trade Center]] continues.
===Fictional===
The following are references to year 2002 in fiction:
* Literature:
:*the events of ''[[First Among Sequels]]'' by [[Jasper Fforde]] take place in an alternate-reality 2002
* Television:
:* ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' ("[[The Changeling (TOS episode)|The Changeling]]," 1967): The first interstellar probe, ''[[Nomad (Star Trek)|Nomad]]'', is launched.
:* ''[[The West Wing]]'': On [[November 5]], [[Democratic]] [[President of the United States|President]] [[Josiah Bartlet]] of [[New Hampshire]] defeats [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[Robert Ritchie]] of [[Florida]] in his reelection bid following the [[The West Wing presidential election, 2002|2002 US presidential election]].
* Film:
:* The events of ''[[Resident Evil (film)|Resident Evil]]'' and ''[[Resident Evil: Apocalypse]]'' take place between [[September 28]] and [[September 30]], with the [[T-Virus]] outbreak occurring in The Hive, and then infiltrating [[Raccoon City]] just thirteen hours later.
{{Events by month}}
{{Year in other calendars}}
==Births==
* [[April 21]] - [[Carl and Clarence Aguirre]], combined twins from Philadelphia, PA
* [[April 30]] - [[Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón]], grandson of [[Juan Carlos I]] of [[Spain]].
* [[May 14]] - [[Margarita Armstrong-Jones]], daughter of [[Viscount Linley]] and his wife, [[Serena Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley|Viscountess Linley]]
* [[June 8]] - [[Countess Eloise of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg]]
* [[July 22]] - [[Prince Felix of Denmark]], Prince of Denmark
* [[July 30]] - [[Prince Hridayendra of Nepal|Young Crown Prince Hridayendra of Nepal]], second in line to the Nepalese throne
* [[August 2]] - [[Kara and Shelby Hoffman]], American actresses
==Deaths==
: ''For more, see: [[Deaths in 2002]].''
===January===
* [[January 3]] - [[Freddy Heineken]], Dutch-born beer magnate (b. [[1923]])
* [[January 8]] - [[Alexander Prochorow]], Russian physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1916]])
* [[January 8]] - [[Dave Thomas (American businessman)|Dave Thomas]], American fast food entrepreneur (b. [[1932]])
* [[January 12]] - [[Stanley Unwin (comedian)|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 Anthony Bilandic|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===
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:IrishMcCalla.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Irish McCalla]], American actress]] -->
* [[February 1]] - [[Irish McCalla]], American actress (b. [[1928]])
* [[February 2]] - [[Danielle Van Dam]], American murder victim (b. [[1994]])
* [[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 10]] - [[Traudl Junge]], German private secretary of Adolf Hitler (b. [[1920]])
* [[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 (actor)|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 (actress)|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 4]] - [[Ansett Australia]], One of the oldest airlines in the world and the second largest in [[Australia]] ceases operation after collapsing Financially. This day and event also marked the largest job loss in Australian history.
* [[March 11]] - [[James Tobin]], American economist, [[Nobel Prize in Economics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1918]])
* [[March 14]] - [[Cherry Wilder]], New Zealand author (b. [[1930]])
* [[March 21]] - [[Amanda Dowler]], murdered British schoolgirl (b. [[1988]])
* [[March 23]] - [[Ben Hollioake]], cricketer (b. [[1977]])
* [[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 29]] - [[Rico Yan]], Philippine Young TV/Movie Actor (b. [[1975]])
* [[March 30]] - [[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]], queen consort of [[George VI of the United Kingdom]] (b. [[1900]])
* [[March 30]] - [[Søren Nystrøm Rasted]] (b. [[1969]])
===April===
* [[April 1]] - [[Meryem Altun]], Turkish [[hunger strike]]r
* [[April 4]] - [[John Kaufman]], Sculptor
* [[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 22]] - [[Linda Boreman]], also known as actress Linda Lovelace in Deep Throat (b. [[1949]])
* [[April 25]] - [[Indra Devi]], yoga teacher (b. [[1899]])
* [[April 25]] - [[Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes]], American rapper ([[TLC (music)|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]], Famous 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 24]] - [[Wallace Markfield]], American writer (b. [[1926]])
* [[May 26]] - [[Mamo Wolde]], Ethiopian runner (b. [[1932]])
* [[May 28]] - [[Jean Berger]], German-born composer (b. [[1909]])
===June===
[[Image:Lilian , Princesse de Réthy.jpg|thumb|right|170px|[[Lilian Baels]], Belgian princess]]
* [[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 (footballer, 1920)|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 (General of The Salvation Army)|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 5]] - [[Benjamin O. Davis Jr.]], U.S. general (b. [[1993]])
* [[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]] - [[Joaquín Balaguer]], [[President of the Dominican Republic]] (b. [[1906]])
* [[July 15]] - [[Samantha Runnion]], juvenile victim of kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder (b. [[1996]])
* [[July 16]] - [[John Cocke]], American computer scientist (b. [[1925]])
* [[July 19]] - [[Alan Lomax]], American folklorist and musicologist (b. [[1970]])
* [[July 23]] - [[Leo McKern]], Australian actor (b. [[1920]])
* [[July 23]] - [[William Luther Pierce]], Professor of Physics and Neo-Nazi leader (b. [[1933]])
* [[July 23]] - [[Chaim Potok]], American author and rabbi (b. [[1929]])
* [[July 25]] - [[Abdur Rahman Badawi]], Egyptian [[existentialist]] philosopher (b. [[1917]])
* [[July 31]] - John Porter Martin]], English chemist, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|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 5]] - [[Franco Lucentini]], Italian writer (b. [[1920]])
* [[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 (musician)|Dave Williams]], American singer ([[Drowning Pool]]) (b. [[1972]])
* [[August 15]] - [[Kyle Rote]], American football player and coach (b. [[1928]])
* [[August 16]] - [[Abu Nidal]], Palestinian militant (b. [[1937]])
* [[August 18]] - [[Dean Riesner]], film and television screenwriter (b. [[1918]])
* [[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 in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1920]])
* [[August 31]] - [[Farhad Mehrad]] [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] legendary Musician
===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 [[Beatrix of the Netherlands|Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands]] (b. [[1926]])
* [[October 9]] - [[Aileen Wournos]], American serial killer (b. [[1956]])
* [[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 (musician)|Derek Bell]], Northern Ireland musician (b. [[1935]])
* [[October 18]] - [[Nikolai Rukavishnikov]], cosmonaut (b. [[1932]])
* [[October 18]] - [[Roman Tam]], [[Hong Kong]] pop singer (b. [[1950]])
* [[October 24]] - [[Harry Hay]], American activist (b. [[1912]])
* [[October 25]] - [[Richard Harris (actor)|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]]) (b. [[1918]])
* [[November 12]] - [[Károly Doncsecz]], Slovenian potter, ''Master of folk art'' (b. [[1918]])
* [[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 (footballer)|Norm McDonald]], [[Australian rules football]]er (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 12]] - [[Nikolai Amosov]], Ukrainian heart surgeon, inventor, best-selling author, and exercise enthusiast (b. [[1913]])
* [[December 18]] - [[Ray Hnatyshyn]], [[Governor General of Canada]] (b. [[1934]])
* [[December 19]] - [[Arthur Rowley]], English Footballer (b. [[1926]])
* [[December 22]] - [[Desmond Hoyte]], [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Prime Minister]] and [[President of Guyana]] (b. [[1929]])
* [[December 22]] - [[Joe Strummer]], British musician and singer ([[The Clash]]) (b. [[1952]])
* [[December 24]] - [[Laci Peterson]], American murder victim (b. [[1975]])
==Nobel prizes==
*[[Nobel Peace Prize|Peace]] - [[Jimmy Carter]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Literature|Literature]] - [[Imre Kertész]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]] - [[John B. Fenn]] and [[Koichi Tanaka]], [[Kurt Wüthrich]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] - [[Raymond Davis Jr.]] and [[Masatoshi Koshiba]], [[Riccardo Giacconi]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Physiology or Medicine]] - [[Sydney Brenner]], [[H. Robert Horvitz]], and [[John E. Sulston]]
*[[Nobel Prize in Economics|Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel]] - [[Daniel Kahneman]] and [[Vernon L. Smith]]
==Fields Medalists==
*[[Laurent Lafforgue]], [[Vladimir Voevodsky]]
==See also==
* [[21st century]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{commonscat|2002}}
*[http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2002.html 2002 Year-End Google Zeitgeist] - Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2002
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