2002

Centuries: Year in Review 21st Century (20th century - 21st century - 22nd century)

Decades: 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s - 2000s - 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s 2050s

Years: 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 - 2002 - 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

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• International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains
• National Science Year in the United Kingdom

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This year, like 1991, is a palindrome. It also has the same calendar as 1991, including Easter on March 31.

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Events:

• January 1 - Introduction of Euro banknotes and coins in European Union.
• January 17 - Eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people
• January 20 - Inauguration of Churches Uniting in Christ
• January 24 - Enron hearings begin and terrorist suspect John Walker's hearing begins.
• February 3 - Costa Rica: elections for President and Congress
• February 3 - American football, Super Bowl XXXVI: New England 20, St. Louis 17
• February 8 thru February 24 - 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah
• March 3 - Sao Tome and Principe: elections for the legislature
• March 10 - Colombia: elections for the legislature; Togo: elections for the Parliament
• March 17 - Portugal: elections for the Parliament
• March 31 - Ukraine: elections for the Parliament
• April 18 - New order of insects, Mantophasmatodea, announced.
• April 30 - Pakistan: referendum on continuation of military government
• May 15 - The Netherlands: elections for the Lower House
• May 20 - restoration of East Timor independence
• May 31 thru June 30 - 17th Football World Cup in Japan and South Korea
• June 10 - Annular solar eclipse
• December 4 - Total solar eclipse

Births:

Deaths:

• January 3 - Freddy Heineken - former CEO of the beer brewery
• January 4 - Antonio Todde (112) - oldest man in the world at the time (from Thiana, Sardinia - Italy)
• January 4 - Esquivel - musician
• January 8 - Dave Thomas - founder of Wendy's International
• January 8 - Alexander Prochorow (65) - Russian physicist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics 1964
• January 13 - Cyrus Vance (84) - former US Secretary of State (1977-1980)
• January 13 - Ted Demme (37) - film and television director (Blow, Beautiful Girls)
• January 17 - Camilo Jose Cela (85) - Spanish author, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 1989
• January 21 - Peggy Lee Jazz performer, most famous for song Fever ("You give me fever...")
• January 22 - Jack Shea, American speed skating (double Olympic Champion 1932)
• January 23 - Robert Nozick - (philosopher)
• January 28 - Astrid Lindgren (94) - Swedish author of many best selling children's novels (Pippi Longstocking, Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, The Brothers Lionheart)
• February 1 - Hildegard Knef (76), actress, singer, writer
• February 10 - Princess Margaret (71), sister of Queen Elizabeth II
• February 10 - Harold Furth (72) American leader in plasma physics and nuclear fusion.
• February 22 - Chuck Jones, animator
• February 27 - Spike Milligan, comedian, writer, poet
• March 11 - James Tobin, economist
• March 27 - Milton Berle, comedian, actor
• March 27 - Dudley Moore, comedian, actor
• March 27 - Billy Wilder (96), film screenwriter and director
• March 30 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (101), Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
• April 18 - Thor Heyerdahl (87), Norwegian explorer on the Kon-Tiki expedition.
• April 23 - Linda Boreman, aka Linda Lovelace, porn star
• May 6 - Pim Fortuyn (54), politician.
• May 17 - Dave Berg (81), cartoonist for Mad Magazine
• May 20 - Stephen Jay Gould (60), paleontologist/evolutionist
• June 10 - John Gotti (61), Mafia boss