2001

Years: 1998 1999 2000 - 2001 - 2002 2003 2004

Decades: 1970s 1980s 1990s - 2000s - 2010s 2020s 2030s

Events of 2001

January 2001

• January 1 - The Third Millennium and the 21st Century of the Common Era begin.
• January 1 - Habbo Hotel UK opens to the general public.
• January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately 9 feet tall appears in Seattle, Washington's Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• January 3 - The 107th United States Congress is sworn in.
• January 8 - Noah, a gaur, is born, the first individual of an endangered species to be cloned.
• January 11 - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.
• January 13 - A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits all of El Salvador, killing at least 800 people and leaving thousands homeless. (See also February 13.)
• January 15 - Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online.
• January 16 - US President Bill Clinton awards former US President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish-American War. Eleven of Roosevelt's descendants accept on his behalf.
• January 17 - Impeachment proceedings against Philippine President Joseph Estrada, accused of committing plunder, end prematurely and trigger the second EDSA People Power Revolution or People Power II.
• January 20 - Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn in as the 14th President of the Philippines after the Armed Forces of the Philippines and several cabinet members withdraw support for Joseph Estrada.
• January 20 - George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States.
• January 22 - Four of the "Texas 7" are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado, and a fifth kills himself inside a motor home.Template:NoMention
• January 23-January 25 - United Nations war crimes prosecutor Del Ponte demands that Serbia hand over Slobodan Milošević.Template:NoMention
• January 23 - Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
• January 24 - The last 2 of the "Texas 7" are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Template:NoMention
• January 24 - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson resigns from the British cabinet for the second time.
• January 25 - A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, killing 24.
• January 26 - An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 12,000 deaths.
• January 28 - The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV. It is the Ravens' first Super Bowl title.

February

• February 6 - Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon wins election as Prime Minister of Israel.
• February 8 - Disney's California Adventure theme park opens to the public.
• February 9 - The submarine USS Greeneville strikes and sinks the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime-Maru near Hawaii.
• February 11 - Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh is imploded.
• February 12 - The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
• February 13 - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 400.
• February 16 - Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network.
• February 16 - US and UK war planes bomb a Baghdad suburb; 3 people are killed.
• February 18 - NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt is killed instantly in a crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 while his DEI cars driven by his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Michael Waltrip, finish second and first, respectively.
• February 18 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 15 years.
• February 19 - An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
• February 20 - The 2001 UK foot and mouth crisis begins.
• February 23 - The Isla Vista massacre: Four students are killed and one critically injured by a University of California, Santa Barbara freshman.
• February 28 - The Selby rail crash near Selby, North Yorkshire, England, kills 10 people.
• February 28 - The Nisqually Earthquake strikes Seattle, Washington.

March

• March 4 - Hintze Ribeiro disaster: A bridge collapses in northern Portugal, killing up to 70 people.
• March 23 - The Russian space station Mir re-enters the atmosphere near Nadi, Fiji, and falls into the Pacific Ocean.
• March 24 - Apple Computer's Mac OS X v10.0 is released.
• March 25 - The 73rd Academy Awards, hosted by Steve Martin are held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Gladiator winning Best Picture.
• March 31 - Universal Studios Japan theme park opened water front erea of Osaka, Japan.

April

• April 1 - U.S.-China Spy Plane Incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.
• April 1 - Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.
• April 1 - In the Netherlands, the Act on the Opening up of Marriage goes into effect. The Act allows same-sex couples to marry legally for the first time in the world since the reign of Nero.
• April 7 - Timothy Thomas, a 19-year-old African-American, is shot by a police officer in Cincinnati, sparking riots in downtown Cincinnati from April 10 to April 12.
• April 9 - The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 in the first game at PNC Park, the first two-deck stadium built in the U.S. since Milwaukee County Stadium opened in 1953.
• April 26 - Junichiro Koizumi becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
• April 27 - Impostor Christopher Rocancourt is arrested in Oak Bay, British Columbia.
• April 28 - Soyuz TM-32 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the first space tourist, American Dennis Tito.
• April 29 - The UK Census is conducted in the United Kingdom.
• April 30 - Blanche Barton, High Priestess of the Church of Satan, steps down and gives her position to Peter H. Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia.

May

• May 1 - The Japanese cities of Urawa, Omiya, and Yono merge to form the city of Saitama.
• May 1 - Washington, DC police declare Chandra Levy missing (her remains are discovered a year later).
• May 6 - Space tourist Dennis Tito returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-31. (Soyuz TM-32 is left docked at the International Space Station as a new lifeboat.)
• May 7 - In Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, an attempt is made to reconstruct the Ferhadija mosque. However, the ceremony results in mass riots by Serb nationalists that beat and stone 300 elderly Bosnian Muslims.
• May 10 - A soccer game stampede in Ghana kills over 120.
• May 13 - Silvio Berlusconi and the Italian House of the Liberties coalition win general elections.
• May 20 - Arianna, Queen of Persia announces her engagement
• May 22 - A large trans-Neptunian object (28978 Ixion) is found during the Deep Ecliptic Survey.
• May 22-May 23 - The Bahá'í Terraces officially open on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel (site of the Shrine of the Báb and the Bahá'í World Centre).
• May 23 - Bayern München wins the UEFA Champions League.
• May 24 - Sherpa Temba Tsheri, 16, becomes the youngest person to conquer Mount Everest.

June

• June 1 - Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal kills his father, the king, his mother and other members of the royal family with an assault rifle and then shoots himself in the Nepalese royal massacre. He dies June 4. King Gyanendra accedes to the throne.
• June 1 - A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21, mostly teenagers, in the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv, Israel.
• June 5-June 9 - Tropical Storm Allison produces 36 inches (900 mm) of rain in Houston, Texas, killing 22, damaging the Texas Medical Center, and causing more than 5 billion American dollars of damage overall.
• June 5 - U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords leaves the Republican party, an act which changes control of the United States Senate from the Republican party to the Democratic party.
• June 7 - Tony Blair's Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election.
• June 8 - The popular editorial site suck.com, one of the first original content websites, publishes its final article, "Gone Fishin'."
• June 8 - Mamoru Takuma murdered 8 first and second grade students and wounded 15 others in Osaka, Japan.
• June 11 - In Terre Haute, Indiana, Timothy McVeigh is executed for the Oklahoma City Bombing.
• June 19 - An American missile hits a soccer field in northern Iraq (Tel Afr County), killing 23 and wounding 11.
• June 20 - Pervez Musharraf becomes President of Pakistan after the resignation of Muhammad Rafiq Tarar.
• June 20 - Andrea Yates drowns her children in a bathtub and confesses to her crime. She is sentenced to life in prison.
• June 21 - A total solar eclipse occurs.
• June 23 - An earthquake with 7.9 on the Richter scale, hits the south of Peru.

July

• July 2 - The world's first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in Robert Tools.
• July 3 - A Vladivostokavia Tupolev Tu-154 jetliner crashes on approach to landing at Irkutsk, Russia, killing 145.
• July 13 - Beijing wins the bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics
• July 16 - The People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation sign the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.
• July 16 - The FBI arrests Dmitry Sklyarov at a convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, for violating a provision of the DMCA.
• July 17 - Inauguration of the Altamira caves's replica created by Manuel Franquelo and Sven Nebel.
• July 18 - In Baltimore, Maryland, a 60-car train derailment occurs in a tunnel, sparking a fire that lasts days and virtually shuts down downtown Baltimore.
• July 19 - UK politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer is sentenced to 4 years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
• July 20 - Vanessa Legget is found in contempt by a Federal Court for refusing to release notes made for her book on the Doris Angleton murder.
• July 20-July 22 - The 27th G8 summit takes place in Genoa, Italy. Massive demonstrations are held against the meeting by anti-globalisation groups. One demonstrator, Carlo Giuliani, is shot dead by a carabiniere. Several others are badly injured during a police attack on a school used by the protesters as their headquarters.
• July 24 - Tamil Tigers attack Bandaranaika International Airport in Sri Lanka, causing an estimated $500 million of damages.
• July 28 - Alejandro Toledo is sworn in as the new president of Peru, 8 months after a vote of no-confidence in former President Alberto Fujimori.

August

• August 1 - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a 2½ ton monument of the Ten Commandments installed in the Rotunda of the Judiciary Building. He is later sued to have it removed, and eventually removed from office.
• August 2 - Robert Mueller is confirmed as the new FBI director.
• August 9 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
• August 9 - In the Comoros, the "Military Committee" of Major Mohamad Bacar seizes power in the island of Anjouan, which had declared independence. They plan to rejoin the Comoros.
• August 10 - The Hudson River Way is opened to traffic.
• August 24 - The Heino murders in Finland: four teenagers assassinate businessman Martti Heino and his wife Elise Heino.
• August 25 - A Cessna 402 aircraft carrying 9 people, including R&B singer Aaliyah, crashes in the Bahamas, killing all aboard.

September

• September 1 - The libertarian Free State Project is founded at Yale University.
• September 4 - Google is awarded a patent, number 6,285,999, for the PageRank search algorithm used in the Google search engine.
• September 5 - Peru's attorney general files homicide charges against ex-President Alberto Fujimori.
• September 6 - United States v. Microsoft: The United States Justice Department announces that it no longer seeks to break up software maker Microsoft, and will instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty.
• September 9 - 68 people die in Estonia after drinking bootleg alcohol that contained methanol.
• September 9 - A suicide bomber kills Ahmed Shah Massoud, military commander of the Afghan Northern Alliance.
• September 10 - Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001: Kjell Magne Bondevik returns to power as head of a conservative coalition.
• September 11 - Almost 3,000 people are killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
• September 11 - Ansett Australia, one of the oldest airlines in the world and the second-largest in Australia goes under administration with KordaMentha due to major financial struggles.
• September 15 - U. S. President George W. Bush says that the United States of America is at war against terror.
• September 15 - The Queen Isabella Causeway in Texas collapses after being hit by a tugboat, killing 8.
• September 17 - The New York Stock Exchange reopens following the terrorist attacks in New York.
• September 18 - The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as anthrax letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer.
• September 21 - Sports return to New York for the first time since the terrorist attacks with the New York Mets/Atlanta Braves game at Shea Stadium. The two teams shook hands before the game.
• September 21 - America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert for victims of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks and their families, airs uninterrupted and commercial-free.

October

• October 2 - Swissair goes bankrupt.
• October 4 - The first case of anthrax in the U.S. is announced by federal officials.
• October 4 - Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashes over the Black Sea en route from Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia; 78 are killed.
• October 5 - Tom Ridge resigns as Governor of Pennsylvania to become the first director of the newly created United States Office of Homeland Security.
• October 5 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks the single season home run record with his 71st and 72nd home runs of the year. Both are off Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
• October 5 - The Seattle Mariners break the AL record for wins in a season set by the 1998 New York Yankees, winning their 115th game, defeating the Texas Rangers at Safeco Field. The Mariners finish the season 116-46.
• October 7 - The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from other nations participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.
• October 8 - Flight SK686 of SAS collides first with a private plane and then a building in Milano Airport; 100 are killed.
• October 8 - The first Tsunami Channel comic goes online. It later becomes the #1 comic of Keenspace (in terms of page views) until moving to its own server.
• October 9 - The 2001 anthrax attacks continue as anthrax letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, to U.S. Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
• October 10 - War on Terrorism: U.S. President George W. Bush presents a list of 22 most wanted terrorists.
• October 12 - War on Terrorism: Prompted by a request from U.S. President George W. Bush, an episode of America's Most Wanted features the 22 most wanted terrorists.
• October 14 - Michael Schumacher wins the 52nd FIA Formula One World championship, with a record margin of 58 points.
• October 15 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.
• October 19 - SIEV-X sinks en route to Christmas Island.
• October 20 - The Concert for New York City, "a celebration of the strength, resilience, and pride of New York and America" is held, featuring performances by The Who, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Backstreet Boys, Billy Joel, Destiny's Child, Eric Clapton, Adam Sandler, Bon Jovi, Elton John and many more.
• October 21 - United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert held in Washington D.C., featuring performances by Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Mariah Carey, James Brown, Al Green, Carole King, the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, P!nk, and others.
• October 23 - Apple Computer releases the iPod.
• October 23 - Principal Financial Group files its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
• October 25 - Microsoft releases Windows XP.
• October 26 - The USA PATRIOT Act becomes law.

November

• November - The Doha Declaration relaxes the grip of international intellectual property law.
• November 1 - Derek Jeter hits the MLB's first November home run at the World Series.
• November 2 - The Glocal Forum, leading international organization in the field of city-to-city cooperation, is established by Ambassador Uri Savir.

• November 4 - Hurricane Michelle hits Cuba, destroying crops and thousands of homes.
• November 4 - The Police Service of Northern Ireland is established, replacing the controversial Royal Ulster Constabulary.
• November 4 - The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the 3 time defending World Series Champions New York Yankees in 7 games to win their first ever World Series Championship.
• November 7 - Belgium's SABENA Airlines goes bankrupt.
• November 7 - The super-sonic commercial aircraft Concorde resumes flying after a 15-month break.
• November 10 - The People's Republic of China is admitted to the World Trade Organization after 15 years of negotiations.
• November 10 - Australian Prime Minister John Howard is elected to a third term.
• November 10 - Heavy rains and mudslides in Algeria kill more than 900 people.
• November 12 - In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587 headed to the Dominican Republic crashes in Queens, New York minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board.
• November 12 - 2001 Attack on Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Afghan Northern Alliance troops, which take the city on November 14.
• November 13 - Doha Round: The World Trade Organization ends a 4-day ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar.
• November 13 - Symbionese Liberation Army member Kathleen Soliah (Sara Jane Olsen) withdraws her previous guilty plea.
• November 13 - War on Terrorism: In the first such act since World War II, U.S. President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts against the United States.
• November 15 - Microsoft releases the Xbox in North America.
• November 18 - Nintendo releases the Gamecube in North America.
• November 22 - Pope John Paul II sends the first papal e-mail from a laptop in his office.
• November 25 - The Calgary Stampeders win the CFL Championship for the first time since 1998, defeating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-19 in the 89th Grey Cup at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec.
• November 29 - Beatle George Harrison dies of cancer.

December

• December 2 - Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection 5 days after Dynegy cancels a US$8.4 billion buyout bid. At the time this is the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
• December 3 - Officials announce that one of the Taliban prisoners captured after the prison uprising at Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan is John Walker Lindh, an American citizen.
• December 11 - The United States government indicts Zacarias Moussaoui for involvement in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• December 11 - Law enforcement raided members of DrinkOrDie in Operation Buccaneer.
• December 11 - Decision to build a new Ocean City High School is approved.
• December 12 - Roy Whiting is found guilty of murdering Sarah Payne at Lewes Crown Court. The trial judge recommends that Whiting, 42 and already a convicted child abuser, should never be released. Sarah's murder was the catalyst for the News of the World's campaign to allow parents to know whether a convicted paedophile is living in their area.
• December 13 - The Parliament of India is attacked by terrorists, killing 14 people. This brings India and Pakistan to the brink of war.
• December 13 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces the United States' withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
• December 14 - An annular solar eclipse occurs.
• December 19 - A new world-record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded in Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
• December 22 - Hamid Karzai is sworn in as head of the interim government in Afghanistan.
• December 22 - A Paris-Miami, Florida flight is diverted to Boston, Massachusetts after passenger Richard Reid attempts to set his shoe, filled with explosives, on fire.
• December 27 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade status with the United States.
• December 27 - Typhoon Vamei forms within 1.5 degrees of the equator. No other tropical cyclone in recorded history has come as close to the equator.

Deaths

• January 21 - Byron de la Beckwith, Ku Klux Klan assassin, (b. 1920)
• May 28 - Dale H. Maple, US private accused of treason (b. 1920)