Current events/July 2002
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
are held in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die;
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
gains
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and is admitted to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
; an
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
depicts the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
, which was held in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
and Japan; the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
is created in the wake of 9/11 to counter further
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
threats against the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
; the
2002 Überlingen mid-air collision On the night of 1 July 2002, BAL Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet, and DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611, a Boeing 757 cargo jet, collided in midair over Überlingen, a southern German town on Lake Const ...
kills 71 people;
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
agents investigate a
crime scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcemen ...
related to the D.C. sniper attacks; the
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
becomes the official currency of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
rect 200 0 400 200
Death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother On 30 March 2002, at 15:15 GMT, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (née Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), widow to King George VI and mother to Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 101 at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The death of the Queen Mother set in motion ...
rect 400 0 600 200 East Timor independence rect 0 200 300 400
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
rect 300 200 600 400
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
rect 200 400 400 600
2002 Überlingen mid-air collision On the night of 1 July 2002, BAL Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet, and DHL International Aviation ME Flight 611, a Boeing 757 cargo jet, collided in midair over Überlingen, a southern German town on Lake Const ...
rect 400 400 600 600
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
2002 was designated as the International Year of
Ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...
and the International Year of Mountains.


Events


January

*
January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
** The
Open Skies The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disagreements over the extent of aviation liberali ...
mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force. ** The
Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
is officially introduced in the
Eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...
countries. The former currencies of all the countries that use the Euro ceased to be legal tender on February 28. *
January 17 Events Pre-1600 *38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...
Mount Nyiragongo Mount Nyiragongo ( ) is an active stratovolcano with an elevation of in the Virunga Mountains associated with the Albertine Rift. It is located inside Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, about north of the town of ...
erupts in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, displacing an estimated 400,000 people. *
January 18 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail. * 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chi ...
– The
Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...
comes to a conclusion with the defeat of the
Revolutionary United Front The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) was a rebel group that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, beginning in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later transformed into a political party, which still exists today. The three most senior surv ...
by government forces.


February

* February 6Queen Elizabeth II of the
Commonwealth realms A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonweal ...
celebrates her Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years since her accession to the thrones of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, Australia and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. *
February 8 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. *1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. * 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
24 – The
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...
are held in
Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
. *
February 12 Events Pre-1600 *1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna. *1429 – English forces under ...
– The
trial of Slobodan Milošević The war crimes trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) lasted for just over four years from 2002 until his death in 20 ...
, the former president of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
. * February 19
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's ''
2001 Mars Odyssey ''2001 Mars Odyssey'' is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use ...
''
space probe A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or ...
begins to map the surface of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
using its thermal emission imaging system. *
February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferd ...
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...
guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in clashes against government troops led by
Angolan President The president of Angola () is both head of state and head of government in Angola. According to the constitution adopted in 2010, the post of prime minister is abolished; executive authority belongs to the president who has also a degree of leg ...
José Eduardo dos Santos José Eduardo dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was the president of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was also the commander-in-chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for ...
in Moxico Province, Angola. His death leads to the end of the Angolan Civil War on April 4.


March

* March 1 – The Envisat environmental satellite is launched, with its purpose being the recording of information on environmental change. * March 27 – A Palestinian Passover massacre, suicide bomber kills 30 people and injures 140 others at a hotel in Netanya, Israel, triggering Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank, two days later.


April

* April 2 – Siege of the Church of the Nativity, Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: Israeli forces besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem when militants take shelter there. The siege will last for 38 days. * April 11 – Llaguno Overpass events: a shootout takes place between the and pro-government Bolivarian Circles in central Caracas, Venezuela, near the presidential Miraflores Palace, causing 19 deaths and injuring 127 people.Jones (2008:327–8) The military high command refuse Chávez's order to implement the ''Plan Ávila'' as a response to the protests and demands his resignation. President Chávez is subsequently arrested by the military.Rey, J. C. (2002)
"Consideraciones políticas sobre un insólito golpe de Estado"
, pp. 1–16; cited in Cannon (2004:296); "In 2002, Venezuela's military and some of its business leaders ousted President Chavez from power and held him hostage." (N. Scott Cole (2007), "Hugo Chavez and President Bush's credibility gap: The struggle against US democracy promotion", ''International Political Science Review'', 28(4), p498)
Chávez's request for asylum in Cuba is denied, and he is ordered to be tried in a Venezuelan court. * April 15 – Air China Flight 129 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Busan,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, killing 129 people. * April 25 – South African Mark Shuttleworth blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Soyuz TM-34, becoming the first African space tourist.


May

*May 12 – Buran (spacecraft), Buran, the Russian equivalent to the Space Shuttle, is destroyed in a storm at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Baikonur. *May 20 –
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
regains its
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
after 2-and-a-half years of United Nations administration and 26 years of Indonesian occupation of East Timor, occupation by
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
since 1975. * May 24 – In Moscow, United States President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty to replace the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 and the START II, START II Treaty of 1993. * May 25 – A Boeing 747 operating as China Airlines Flight 611 breaks up and crashes in the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 passengers and crew on board. * May 31–June 30 – The
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
takes place in South Korea and Japan; which is ultimately won by Brazil.


June

* June 4 –
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
: The South Koreans achieve their first ever FIFA World Cup match victory (not the whole tournament). South Korea has never won a World Cup match before. * June 6 – An object with an estimated diameter of 10 meters 2002 Eastern Mediterranean event, enters the Earth's atmosphere over the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and detonates in mid-air. * June 10 ** Solar eclipse of June 10, 2002: A large annular solar eclipse covers over 99% of the Sun, creating a dramatic spectacle for observers in a narrow path at most 13 km wide; it lasts just 23 seconds at the point of maximum eclipse. It is seen from Australasia, across the Pacific and the Mexico coast, and is the 35th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 137. ** The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. * June 13 – Afghanistan changes its official longform name to the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan. * June 24 – A passenger train Igandu train collision, collides with a freight train in Dodoma Region, Tanzania, killing 281 people, making it the worst rail accident in African history. * June 29 – Battle of Yeongpyeong (2002), Second Battle of Yeonpyeong: During the
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
and Japan, two North Korean patrol boats cross a contested border in between the two Koreas and attack two South Korean Chamsuri-class patrol boats. * June 30 –
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...
: Brazil beats Germany 2–0 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final with Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer), Ronaldo scoring the two goals; Brazil's captain Cafu, who becomes the first player to appear in three successive World Cup finals, accepts the trophy on behalf of the team.


July

* July 1 ** The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Rome Statute comes into force, thereby establishing the International Criminal Court. ** A Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 passenger jet and a DHL Boeing 757, Boeing 757-200F cargo plane 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision, collide over the town of Überlingen, Germany, killing 71 people. * July 9 – The Organisation of African Unity is disbanded and replaced by the African Union. * July 14 – The only captive baiji dolphin dies as the species approaches extinction. * July 27 – Sknyliv air show disaster: 77 people are killed and 543 injured when a Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27, Su-27 fighter jet crashes into spectators during an aerobatics presentation at Sknyliv airfield near Lviv, Ukraine. It is the deadliest air show accident in history.


August

* August 26 – Earth Summit 2002 begins in Johannesburg, South Africa, aimed at discussing sustainable development by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
. * August 22–September 4 – Typhoon Rusa, the most powerful typhoon to hit South Korea in 43 years, made landfall, killing at least 236 people.


September

* September 10 – Switzerland joins the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
as the 190th member state after rejecting a place in 1986. * September 19 – General Robert Guéï leads an army mutiny in an attempt to overthrow Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, resulting in First Ivorian Civil War, civil war. * September 20 – The Kolka–Karmadon rock ice slide in Northern Ossetia, Russia kills at least 125 people. * September 25 – The 2002 Vitim event, Vitim event, a possible bolide impact, occurs in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. * September 26 – The Senegalese passenger ferry MV Le Joola, MV ''Le Joola'' capsizes in a storm off the coast of the Gambia, killing 1,863 people. * September 27 –
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
is admitted to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
as the 191st member state; it also changes its official longform name from "Democratic Republic of East Timor" to "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste".


October

* October 12 – Jemaah Islamiyah militants 2002 Bali bombings, detonate multiple bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, killing 202 people and injuring over 300 in the worst terrorist act in Indonesia's history. * October 23–October 25, 25 – Chechnya, Chechen rebels take control of the ''Nord-Ost'' theatre in Moscow and Moscow theater hostage crisis, hold the audience hostage. At least 170 people are killed following a Russian attempt to subdue the militants.


November

* November 7 – A 2002 Gibraltar sovereignty referendum, sovereignty referendum is held in Gibraltar. The people reject Spanish sovereignty. * November 8 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441, Resolution 1441, forcing Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq to either Iraq disarmament crisis, disarm or face "serious consequences". Iraq agrees to the terms of the resolution on November 13. * November 16 – 2002–2004 SARS outbreak: The first case of the SARS, Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, a zoonosis caused by a coronavirus, is recorded in Guangdong province of south China. * November 19 – Prestige oil spill, ''Prestige'' oil spill: Greek oil tanker splits in half off the coast of Galicia (Spain), Galicia after spilling an estimated 17.8M US gallons (420,000 bbl) in the worst environmental disaster in the history of the Iberian Peninsula. * November 25 – U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 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. Following a several month-long transitional period, it commences operations the following year. * November 28 – 2002 Mombasa attacks: Suicide bombers blow up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, but their colleagues fail in their attempt to bring down an Arkia, Arkia Israel Airlines charter flight with surface-to-air-missiles.


December

*December 23 – A U.S. General Atomics MQ-1 Predator#Iraq, MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25, MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.


Births

*
January 17 Events Pre-1600 *38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...
– Samuel (singer), Samuel, American-South Korean singer * February 5 – Davis Cleveland, American actor * February 9 – Jalen Green, American basketball player * February 13 – Sophia Lillis, American actress * February 23 – Emilia Jones, English actress * April 8 – Skai Jackson, American actress * April 16 – Sadie Sink, American actress * April 19 – Loren Gray, American singer-songwriter and social media personality * April 27 – Anthony Elanga, Swedish footballer * May 1 – Chet Holmgren, American basketball player * May 9 – Jerome Foster II, American climate change activist and political advisor * May 18 – Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater * June 8 – Athing Mu, American track runner * June 29 – Marlhy Murphy, American musician and media personality * July 11 – Amad Diallo, Ivorian footballer * July 21 – Rika Kihira, Japanese figure skater * July 22 – Prince Felix of Denmark * August 30 – Fábio Carvalho (footballer, born 2002), Fábio Carvalho, Portuguese footballer * September 6 ** Asher Angel, American actor ** Leylah Fernandez, Canadian tennis player * September 8 – Gaten Matarazzo, American actor * September 17 – Zinaida Kupriyanovich, Belarusian singer and presenter * September 27 – Jenna Ortega, American actress * September 30 ** Levi Miller, Australian actor ** Maddie Ziegler, American dancer and actress * October 24 – Ado (singer), Ado, Japanese singer * October 26 – Julian Dennison, New Zealand actor * October 29 – Ruel (singer), Ruel, Australian singer-songwriter * October 31 – Ansu Fati, Spanish footballer * November 1 – NLE Choppa, American rapper * November 10 – Eduardo Camavinga, French footballer * November 13 – Emma Raducanu, British tennis player * November 25 – Pedri, Spanish footballer * December 23 – Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor


Deaths


January

* January 6 – Sanya Dharmasakti, 12th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1907) * January 8 **Alexander Prokhorov, Russian Nobel physicist (b. 1916) **Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas, American businessman, founder and Chief executive officer, CEO of Wendy's (b. 1932) * January 10 – John Buscema, American comic book artist (b. 1927) * January 11 – Henri Verneuil, French filmmaker and playwright (b. 1920) * January 12 – Cyrus Vance, American politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1917) * January 13 – Ted Demme, American director and producer (b. 1963) *
January 17 Events Pre-1600 *38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey. * 1362 – Saint Marcellus' flood kills at least 25,000 people on ...
– Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer (b. 1916) * January 19 ** Martti Miettunen, 27th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1907) ** Vavá, Brazilian footballer (b. 1934) * January 20 – R. N. Kao, Indian spymaster (b. 1918) * January 21 – Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (b. 1920) * January 23 ** Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b. 1930) ** Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b. 1938) * January 28 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's book author (b. 1907) * January 30 – Inge Morath, Austrian-born American photographer (b. 1923) * January 31 – Gabby Gabreski, Polish-American fighter ace (b. 1919)


February

* February 1 ** Hildegard Knef, German actress (b. 1925) ** Daniel Pearl, American journalist (b. 1963) * February 4 ** Agatha Barbara, 3rd President of Malta (b. 1923) ** Sigvard Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (b. 1907) ** George Nader, American actor (b. 1921) * February 6 – Max Perutz, Austrian-born Nobel molecular biologist (b. 1914) *
February 8 Events Pre-1600 * 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. *1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. * 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
** Ong Teng Cheong, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936) ** Esther Afua Ocloo, Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending (b. 1919) ** Zizinho, Brazilian football player (b. 1921) * February 9 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930) * February 10 ** Ramón Arellano Félix, Mexican drug trafficker (b. 1964) ** Traudl Junge, German private secretary of Adolf Hitler (b. 1920) * February 13 – Waylon Jennings, American country music singer (b. 1937) * February 14 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (b. 1922) * February 19 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender activist (b. 1951) * February 21 – John Thaw, English actor (b. 1942) *
February 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1076 – Having received a letter during the Lenten synod of 14–20 February demanding that he abdicate, Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferd ...
** Chuck Jones, American animator (b. 1912) ** Jonas Savimbi, Angolan rebel and political leader (b. 1934) * February 26 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919) * February 27 – Spike Milligan, British-Irish comedian (b. 1918)


March

* March 10 – Irene Worth, American actress (b. 1916) * March 11 – James Tobin, American Nobel economist (b. 1918) * March 12 – Spyros Kyprianou, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932) * March 13 – ** Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher (b. 1900) ** Nasir Hussain, Indian film director (b. 1926) * March 20 – Ibn al-Khattab, Saudi guerrilla (b. 1969) * March 24 – César Milstein, Argentine Nobel biochemist (b. 1927) * March 27 ** Milton Berle, American comedian (b. 1908) ** Dudley Moore, English pianist, comedian, and actor (b. 1935) ** Billy Wilder, Polish-American film screenwriter and director (b. 1906) * March 30 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom 1936-1952 (b. 1900)


April

* April 1 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish sniper (b. 1905) * April 2 – Jack Kruschen, Canadian actor (b. 1922) * April 5 – Layne Staley, American singer (b. 1967) * April 8 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914) * April 16 ** Ramiro de León Carpio, 31st President of Guatemala (b. 1942) ** Robert Urich, Canadian-born American actor (b. 1946) * April 18 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (b. 1914) * April 22 – Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress (b. 1949) * April 25 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper (b. 1971) * April 28 – Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler (b. 1916)


May

* May 3 – Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, 2-Time Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1928) * May 5 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian politician, 51st President of Bolivia (b. 1926) * May 6 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician, author and professor (b. 1948) (see Assassination of Pim Fortuyn) * May 11 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (b. 1905) * May 13 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939) * May 17 – László Kubala, Hungarian footballer (b. 1927) * May 19 – John Gorton, Sir John Gorton, 19th 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 professional golfer (b. 1912) * May 26 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)


June

* June 1 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969) * June 4 – Fernando Belaúnde, Peruvian politician, 2-Time President of Peru (b. 1912) * June 5 – Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist (b. 1951) * June 7 – Lilian, Princess of Réthy, Belgian princess (b. 1916) * June 10 – John Gotti, American gangster (b. 1940) * June 15 – Choi Hong Hi, Korean martial artist (b. 1918) * June 24 – Pierre Werner, Luxembourgian politician, 19th and 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913) * June 27 – John Entwistle, English bassist (b. 1944) * June 29 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (b. 1928)


July

* July 5 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924) * July 6 ** Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman (b. 1932) ** John Frankenheimer, American film director (b. 1930) * July 8 – Ward Kimball, American cartoonist (b. 1914) * July 9 – Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925) * July 13 – Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born photographer (b. 1908) * July 14 – Joaquín Balaguer, Dominican politician, 41st, 45th and 49th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906) * July 17 – Joseph Luns, Dutch politician and diplomat, 5th Secretary General of NATO (b. 1911) * July 19 – Alan Lomax, American folklorist and musicologist (b. 1915) * July 23 – Chaim Potok, American author and rabbi (b. 1929) * July 28 – Archer Martin, English Nobel chemist (b. 1910)


August

* August 3 – Carmen Silvera, English actress (b. 1922) * August 5 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (b. 1982) * August 6 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930) * August 10 ** Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian computer scientist (b. 1926) ** Eugene Odum, American biologist (b. 1913) * August 14 ** Peter R. Hunt, English film director (b. 1925) ** Dave Williams (singer), Dave Williams, American musician (b. 1972) * August 16 ** Jeff Corey, American actor (b. 1914) ** Abu Nidal, Palestinian militant (b. 1937) * August 19 – Eduardo Chillida, Spanish Basque sculptor (b. 1924) * August 30 ** Zaid ibn Shaker, 3-Time Prime Minister of Jordan (b. 1934) ** J. Lee Thompson, English film director (b. 1914) * August 31 ** Lionel Hampton, American musician (b. 1908) ** George Porter, English Nobel chemist (b. 1920)


September

* September 7 – Erma Franklin, American singer (b. 1938) * September 11 ** Kim Hunter, American actress (b. 1922) ** Johnny Unitas, American football player (b. 1933) * September 14 – LaWanda Page, American comedian * September 16 – Nguyễn Văn Thuận, Vietnamese cardinal (b. 1928) * September 18 – Bob Hayes, American athlete (b. 1942) * September 19 – Robert Guéï, Ivorian military ruler (b. 1941) * September 20 – Sergei Bodrov Jr., Soviet and Russian actor (b. 1971; killed in the Kolka–Karmadon rock ice slide) * September 22 – Mickey Newbury, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)


October

* October 6 – Prince Claus of the Netherlands, prince consort of the Netherlands (b. 1926) * October 9 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (b. 1956) * October 10 – Teresa Graves, American actress and comedian (b. 1948) * October 11 – Dina Pathak, Indian actress * October 12 ** Ray Conniff, American musician and bandleader (b. 1916) ** Audrey Mestre, French freediver (b. 1974) ** Nozomi Momoi, Japanese AV idol (b. 1977) * October 13 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and biographer (b. 1936) * October 19 – Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Mexican photographer (b. 1902) * October 22 – Geraldine of Albania, Queen consort of Albania (b. 1915) * October 23 – Richard Helms, American academic and author (b. 1913) * October 24 – Harry Hay, American gay rights activist, communist and labor advocate (b. 1912) * October 25 ** Richard Harris, Irish actor (b. 1930) ** René Thom, French mathematician (b. 1923) * October 30 – Jam Master Jay, American Hip-Hop DJ (b. 1965) * October 31 – Michail Stasinopoulos, 1st President of Greece (b. 1903)


November

* November 2 – Lo Lieh, Hong Kong actor (b. 1939) * November 3 ** Lonnie Donegan, British skiffle musician (b. 1931) ** Jonathan Harris, American actor (b. 1914) * November 4 – Antonio Margheriti, Italian filmmaker (b. 1930) * November 13 – Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Italian-Uruguayan footballer (b. 1925) * November 14 – Eddie Bracken, American actor (b. 1915) * November 15 – Sohn Kee-Chung, Korean Olympic athlete (b. 1912) * November 17 – Abba Eban, Israeli politician and diplomat, 3rd Foreign Minister of Israel (b. 1915) * November 18 – James Coburn, American actor (b. 1928) * November 21 – Norihito, Prince Takamado (b. 1954) * November 23 – Roberto Matta, Chilean artist (b. 1911) * November 24 – John Rawls, American political theorist (b. 1921) * November 25 – Karel Reisz, Czech-born British filmmaker (b. 1926)


December

* December 2 –Ivan Illich, Austrian philosopher and Catholic priest (b. 1926) * December 3 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (b. 1970) * December 5 – Ne Win, Burmese military commander, 4th President of Burma (b. 1910) * December 12 ** Dee Brown (writer), Dee Brown, American novelist and historian (b. 1908) ** Brad Dexter, American actor and film producer (b. 1917) * December 18 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian statesman, 24th Governor General of Canada (b. 1934) * December 20 – Grote Reber, American astronomer (b. 1911) * December 22 ** Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese politician, 3rd Prime Minister and 4th President of Guyana (b. 1929) ** Joe Strummer, English musician (''The Clash'') (b. 1952) * December 24 – Tita Merello, Argentinian actress and singer (b. 1904) * December 25 – Gabriel Almond, American political scientist (b. 1911) * December 26 – Herb Ritts, American photographer (b. 1952) * December 27 – George Roy Hill, American film director (b. 1921) * December 30 – Mary Brian, American actress (b. 1906)


Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – John B. Fenn and Koichi Tanaka, Kurt Wüthrich * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Economics – Daniel Kahneman and Vernon L. Smith * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Imre Kertész * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Jimmy Carter * 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


References


External links


2002 Year-End Google Zeitgeist
– Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2002
Top Stories of 2002
- CNN
Year in Review
- Netscape {{DEFAULTSORT:2002 2002,