View source for 2001

{{Year nav|2001}}
{{C18 year in topic}}
'''2001''' ([[Roman numerals|MMI]]) was a [[common year starting on Monday]] in the [[Gregorian calendar]], the 2001st year of the [[Common Era]] (CE) and ''[[Anno Domini]]'' (AD) designations, {{Year article header/year number|2001}}

== Events ==
=== January ===
* [[January 1]] –  Strictly speaking, it was the first day of the 3rd millennium and 21st century in the Gregorian calendar, but according to Popular Culture, the first day of these two distinctions was January 1, 2000. A nine foot tall rock was placed by an artist in [[Seattle]]'s Magnuson Park, like the one in ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (movie)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]''.
* [[January 13]] – A strong earthquake hits [[El Salvador]], killing at least 800 (See also February 13).
* [[January 15]] – [[Wikipedia]], a free [[encyclopedia]], goes online.
* [[January 20]] – [[Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo]] becomes the 14th [[President of the Philippines]], replacing [[Joseph Estrada]].
* [[January 20]] – [[George W. Bush]] replaces [[Bill Clinton]] and becomes the 43rd [[President of the United States]].
* [[January 22]] – Four of the "[[Texas 7]]" are caught at a store in [[Woodland Park, Colorado]] and a fifth kills himself.
* [[January 24]] – The last two of the "[[Texas 7]]" are caught by police in [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]].
* [[January 26]] – A 50-year-old [[Douglas DC-3|DC-3]] crashes near [[Ciudad Bolívar]], [[Venezuela]] and kills 24 people.
* [[January 26]] – An [[earthquake]] happens in [[Gujarat]], [[India]]; more than 20,000 die.
* [[January 29]] – Thousands of students in [[Indonesia]] tell President [[Abdurrahman Wahid]] that he should give up his job because he was caught doing something bad.
* [[January 31]] – A [[court]] finds one [[Libya]]n guilty and another innocent in the bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] which crashed in [[Lockerbie]], [[Scotland]] in [[1988]].

=== February ===
* [[February 5]] – [[Tom Cruise]] and [[Nicole Kidman]] announced that they are not together anymore.
* [[February 6]] – [[Likud Party]] leader [[Ariel Sharon]] wins election as [[Prime Minister of Israel]].
* [[February 9]] – American submarine [[USS Greeneville (SSN-772)|USS ''Greeneville'']] accidentally hits and sinks Japanese fishing ship ''Ehime-Maru''.
* [[February 12]] – [[NEAR Shoemaker]] spacecraft lands on [[433 Eros]] becoming the first spacecraft to land on an [[asteroid]].
* [[February 13]] – An [[earthquake]] hits [[El Salvador]], killing at least 400.
* [[February 16]] – [[Iraq disarmament crisis]]: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids attempting to destroy [[Iraq]]'s air defense network.
* [[February 16]] – [[Baghdad]] suburb bombed by US and UK war planes, killing 3 people.
* [[February 18]] – During the [[Daytona 500]] race, [[NASCAR]] driver [[Dale Earnhardt]] is killed in a car crash.
* [[February 18]] – [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent [[Robert Hanssen]] is arrested for being a [[espionage|spy]].
* [[February 19]] – An [[Oklahoma City bombing]] museum is dedicated at the [[Oklahoma City National Memorial]].
* [[February 26]] – [[Treaty of Nice]] was signed.
=== March ===
* [[March 24]] – [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]]'s [[MacOS#Version 10.0: "Cheetah"|Mac OS X version 10.0]] is released.
=== April ===
* [[April 1]] – An American [[EP-3E]] spyplane collides with a Chinese [[Shenyang J-8|F-8]] fighter jet and is forced to make an emergency landing in [[Hainan]], [[People's Republic of China|China]]. The U.S. crew was jailed for 10 days and the Chinese pilot, [[Wang Wei (pilot)|Wang Wei]], went missing and thought to be dead.
* [[April 1]] – Former president of the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] [[Slobodan Milošević]] surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of [[war crime]]s.
* [[April 16]] — [[Bangladesh]] launches a short [[2001 Bangladesh–India border clashes|invasion]] of Pyrdiwah, [[India]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Joyce |first1=Elijah |title=The Invasion of Pyrdiwah (2001) — Modern History Summarized |url=https://medium.com/stories/063b91dd1aef |publisher=Medium |accessdate=26 February 2024 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226165938/https://medium.com/@elijahjoyceweather21/the-invasion-of-pyrdiwah-2001-modern-history-summarized-063b91dd1aef |archivedate=26 February 2024 |format=[[History|Historical]] analysis |date=2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[April 26]] – [[Junichiro Koizumi]] becomes [[Prime Minister of Japan]].
* [[April 28]] – American [[Dennis Tito]] becomes the first [[Space tourism|space tourist]].

=== May ===
* [[May 1]] – The [[Japan]]ese cities of [[Urawa, Saitama|Urawa]], Omiya, and Yono become one to form the city of [[Saitama (city)|Saitama]].
* [[May 10]] – In [[Ghana]], a sudden rush at a [[Association football|soccer]] game kills over 120.
* [[May 24]] – [[Mountain climbing]]: Sherpa [[Temba Tsheri]], 16, becomes the youngest person to reach the top of [[Mount Everest]].
* [[May 25]] – Mountain climbing: [[Erik Weihenmayer]], of [[Boulder, Colorado]], becomes the first [[blindness|blind]] person to reach the top of [[Mount Everest]]. A 64-year old [[Sherman Bull]], of [[New Canaan, Connecticut]], becomes the oldest person to reach the top.
=== June ===
* [[June 5]]-[[June 9|9]] – [[Houston]], [[Texas]] is devastated by flooding when [[Tropical Storm Allison]] hits the city. [[Texas Medical Center]] lost years of research and data and thousands of lab animals. Twenty-two people die; damage exceeds five billion [[United States dollar|American dollars]].
* [[June 7]] – [[Tony Blair]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] were selected for second term in UK [[2001 UK general election|General Election]]
* [[June 11]] – [[Timothy McVeigh]] is executed for the [[Oklahoma City bombing]].
* [[June 19]] – An [[United States|American]] [[missile]] hits a [[soccer]] field in northern [[Iraq]], killing 23 people and wounding 11.
* [[June 20]] – [[Andrea Yates]] drowns her children in a [[bath]]tub and confesses to her crime. She would get life in prison for it.
* [[June 21]] – Total [[solar eclipse]].
* [[June 23]] – An [[earthquake]] measuring 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 16]] – The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] arrests [[Dmitry Sklyarov]] at a meeting in [[Las Vegas]] for violating a condition of the [[DMCA]].
* [[July 18]] – In [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]] a 60-car train derails in a tunnel, causing a fire that last for days and virtually shuts down downtown Baltimore.
* [[July 19]] – [[United Kingdom|UK]] politician and novelist [[Jeffrey Archer]] is sentenced to four years in prison for [[perjury]] and perverting the course of justice.
* [[July 23]] – [[Megawati Sukarnoputri]] becomes the new [[President of Indonesia]], replacing [[Abdurrahman Wahid]].
=== August ===
* [[August 9]] – [[President of the United States|US President]] [[George W. Bush]] announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic [[stem cell]]s.
* [[August 9]] – In the [[Comoros]], the military seizes power in the island of [[Anjouan]] that had declared independence. They plan to rejoin the Comoros.
* [[August 31]] – [[PBS]] airs the final episode of ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood]]'' with host [[Fred Rogers]] retiring 
=== September ===
[[File:September_11_Photo_Montage.jpg|thumb|200px|[[September 11 attacks]]]]
* [[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 was no longer seeking to break-up [[software]] maker [[Microsoft]] and will instead seek a lesser [[Antitrust law|antitrust]] penalty.
* [[September 9]] – [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]], leader of the [[Northern Alliance]], is assassinated in [[Afghanistan]].
* [[September 11]] – Almost 3,000 people are killed in the [[September 11 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]], [[The Pentagon]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]], and rural [[Pennsylvania]].
* [[September 14]] – The [[Nintendo]] [[GameCube]] is released in [[Japan]].
* [[September 15]] – President [[George W. Bush]] says that the [[United States]] is at [[War on Terrorism|war against terror]].

=== October ===
* [[October 4]] – The first [[2001 anthrax attacks|case]] of [[anthrax]] in the U.S. is announced by federal officials.
* [[October 7]] – The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins.
* [[October 10]] – [[War on Terrorism]]: [[President of the United States|US President]] [[George W. Bush]] presents a list of 22 most wanted [[terrorist]]s.
* [[October 15]] – [[NASA]]'s [[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo spacecraft]] passes within 112 miles of [[Jupiter]]'s moon [[Io (moon)|Io]].
* [[October 23]] – [[Apple Inc.]] releases the [[iPod]].
* [[October 25]] – [[Microsoft]] releases [[Windows XP]].
=== November ===
* [[November]] – [[The Doha Declaration]] relaxes the international [[intellectual property]] law by a bit.
* [[November 4]] –
** [[Hurricane Michelle]] hits [[Cuba]], destroying crops and thousands of homes.
** The [[Arizona Diamondbacks]] defeat the [[New York Yankees]] in seven games to win the 2001 World Series.
* [[November 7]] – The [[supersonic]] commercial aircraft [[Concorde]] starts flying again after a 15-month break.
* [[November 10]] – The [[People's Republic of China]] became a member of the [[World Trade Organization]].
* [[November 12]] – In [[New York City]], an [[Airbus A300]] crashes minutes after takeoff from [[John F. Kennedy International Airport]], killing all 260 on board.
* [[November 12]] – U.S. Attack on Afghanistan: [[Taliban]] forces leave [[Kabul]], the capital of [[Afghanistan]], as the [[Northern Alliance]] troops are coming (Northern Alliance fighters took Kabul on [[November 14]]).
* [[November 13]] – [[Doha Round]]: The [[World Trade Organization]] ends a four-day conference in [[Doha]], [[Qatar]].
* [[November 13]] – [[War on Terrorism]]: In the first such act since [[World War II]], [[President of the United States|US President]] [[George W. Bush]] signs an executive order allowing [[military tribunal]]s against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts on the [[United States]].
* [[November 16]] – The first [[Harry Potter (movie series)|Harry Potter movie]], ''[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (movie)|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]'', is released, earning [[United States dollar|US]] $975.8 million, becoming the second highest earning movie around the world of all time, behind [[Titanic (1997 movie)|Titanic]].
*  [[November 24]] - Melanie Thornton, the German-American Pop singer, also the former member of La Bouche, dies in a plane crash going to [[Zürich]], Switzerland, along with Maria Serreno-Serreno and Nathaly Van Het Ende of the German dance band Passion Fruit.
* [[November 29]] - [[George Harrison]], former lead guitarist of [[The Beatles]], dies of lung cancer at the age of 58.
=== December ===
* [[December 2]] – [[Enron scandal]]: [[Enron]] files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after [[Dynegy]] canceled a US$8.4 billion buyout bid (At the time this was the largest [[bankruptcy]] in the history of the [[United States]]).
* [[December 13]] – The [[United States]] withdraw from the 1972 [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]].
* [[December 13]] – [[Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin]], [[Raja]] of [[Perlis]] becomes the 12th [[King of Malaysia]].
* [[December 14]] – Annular [[solar eclipse]].
* [[December 22]] – [[2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan]]: [[Hamid Karzai]] became head of the interim government in [[Afghanistan]].
* [[December 27]] – The [[People's Republic of China]] is granted permanent normal trade status with the [[United States]].

== Births ==
{{See also cat|2001 births}}

* [[January 2]] – [[Murder of Christopher Barrios Jr.|Christopher Barrios Jr.]], American murder victim (d. [[2007]])
* [[April 10]] – [[Angelina Mango]], Italian singer-songwriter


== Deaths ==
{{See also cat|2001 deaths}}

=== January ===
[[File:Marie-Jose of Belgium, Queen of Italy.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Marie-José of Belgium]]]]
* [[January 27]] – [[Marie-José of Belgium]], [[Queen of Italy]] (b. [[1906]])

=== February ===
[[File:Don Bradman 1930.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Donald Bradman|Sir Donald Bradman]]]]
* [[February 18]] – [[Dale Earnhardt]], American racing driver (b. [[1951]])
* [[February 25]] – [[Don Bradman|Sir Donald Bradman]], Australian cricketer (b. [[1908]])

=== March ===
[[File:Ann Sothern 1960.JPG|thumb|110px|[[Ann Sothern]]]]
[[File:William Hanna 1977.jpg|thumb|110px|[[William Hanna]]]]
* [[March 12]] – [[Robert Ludlum]], American writer (b. [[1927]])
* [[March 15]] – [[Ann Sothern]], American actress (b. [[1909]])
* [[March 22]] – [[William Hanna]], American animator and studio founder (b. [[1910]])

=== April ===
[[File:Joeyramone.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Joey Ramone]]]]
* [[April 15]] – [[Joey Ramone]], American musician and singer-songwriter (b. [[1951]])

=== May ===
[[File:Douglas adams portrait cropped.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Douglas Adams]]]]
* [[May 11]] – [[Douglas Adams]], English writer (b. [[1952]])

=== June ===
[[File:Birendra Bir Bikram Shah c. 1967 (restoration).jpg|thumb|110px|[[Birendra of Nepal]]]]
[[File:Anthony Quinn signed.JPG|thumb|110px|[[Anthony Quinn]]]]
[[File:Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1964) - CROPPED.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Víctor Paz Estenssoro]]]]
[[File:Jack Lemmon - 1968.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Jack Lemmon]]]]
* [[June 1]] – King [[Birendra of Nepal]] (b. [[1945]])
* [[June 2]] – [[Imogene Coca]], American comic actress (b. [[1908]])
* [[June 3]] – [[Anthony Quinn]], Mexican-American actor (b. [[1915]])
* [[June 4]] – King [[Dipendra of Nepal]] (b. [[1971]])
* [[June 7]] – [[Víctor Paz Estenssoro]], 45th [[President of Bolivia]] (b. [[1907]])
* [[June 11]] – [[Timothy McVeigh]], American terrorist (b. [[1968]])
* [[June 21]] - [[John Lee Hooker]], American blues musician (b. [[1916]])
* [[June 21]] – [[Carroll O'Connor]], American actor (b. [[1924]])
* [[June 27]] – [[Jack Lemmon]], American actor and movie director (b. [[1925]])
* [[June 27]] – [[Tove Jansson]], Finnish writer of the Moomin books (b. [[1914]])

=== July ===
[[File:Edward Gierek 1980.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Edward Gierek]]]]
[[File:Poul anderson.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Poul Anderson]]]]
* [[July 5]] – [[Hannelore Kohl]], wife of [[Chancellor of Germany]] [[Helmut Kohl]] (b. [[1933]])
* [[July 10]] – [[Álvaro Magaña]], [[President of El Salvador]] (b. [[1925]])
* [[July 29]] – [[Edward Gierek]], 4th [[First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party]] (b. [[1913]])
* [[July 31]] – [[Poul Anderson]], American science fiction writer (b. [[1926]])

=== August ===
[[File:Jorge Amado - 1997.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Jorge Amado]]]]
[[File:Aaliyah-02.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Aaliyah]]]]
* [[August 6]] – [[Jorge Amado]], Brazilian writer (b. [[1912]])
* [[August 24]] – [[Jane Greer]], American actress (b. [[1924]])
* [[August 25]] – [[Aaliyah]], American singer (b. [[1979]])

=== September ===
[[File:Christiaan Barnard 1968.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Christiaan Barnard]]]]
[[File:Mohamed Atta.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Mohamed Atta]]]]
[[File:Nguyễn Văn Thiệu.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu]]]]
* [[September 2]] – [[Christiaan Barnard]], South African cardiac surgeon (b. [[1922]])
* [[September 11]] – People killed in the [[September 11 attacks]], including:
** [[David Angell]], American sitcom creator (b. [[1946]])
** [[Berry Berenson]], widow of the actor [[Anthony Perkins]] (b. [[1948]])
** [[Daniel M. Lewin]], American technician (b. [[1970]])
** [[Mychal Judge]], American priest (b. [[1933]])
** [[Garnet Bailey]], Canadian ice hockey player (b. [[1948]])
** [[Carolyn Beug]], American movie maker (b. [[1953]])
** [[Charles Burlingame]], American [[pilot]] (b. [[1949]])
** [[William M. Feeham]], American firefighter (b. [[1929]])
** [[Peter J. Ganci]], American firefighter (b. [[1946]])
** [[Timothy Maude]], American [[military]] officer (b. [[1947]])
** [[Barbara Olson]], American political commentator (b. [[1955]])
** [[Mohamed Atta]], Egyptian terrorist (b. [[1968]])
** [[Wail al-Shehri]], Saudi terrorist (b. [[1973]])
** [[Nawaf al-Hazmi]], Saudi terrorist (b. [[1973]])
** [[Majed Moqed]], Saudi terrorist (b. [[1977]])
** [[Abdulaziz al-Omari]], Saudi terrorist (b. [[1979]])
* [[September 29]] – [[Nguyễn Văn Thiệu]], 2nd [[President of South Vietnam]] (b. [[1923]])

=== October ===
[[File:Chang Shueliang.jpg|thumb|110px|[[Chang Hsueh-liang]]]]
* [[October 13]] – [[Olga Oleinik]], Russian mathematician of Ukrainian origin (b. [[1925]])
* [[October 15]] – [[Chang Hsueh-liang]], [[Ruler of Manchuria]] (b. [[1901]])

=== November ===
[[File:George Harrison 1974 (cropped).jpg|thumb|110px|[[George Harrison]]]]
* [[November 21]] – King [[Salahuddin of Selangor]], [[Yang di-Pertuan Agong]] (b. [[1926]])
* [[November 29]] – [[George Harrison]], English musician ([[The Beatles]]) (b. [[1943]])

=== December ===
[[File:Léopold Senghor, Pic, 5 (cropped).jpg|thumb|110px|[[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]]]
* [[December 10]] – [[Ashok Kumar]], Indian actor (b. [[1911]])
* [[December 20]] – [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]], 1st [[President of Senegal]] (b. [[1906]])

== Nobel prize winners ==
* [[Chemistry]] – William S. Knowles, Ryoji Noyori, K. Barry Sharpless
* [[Economics]] – George A. Akerlof, [[A. Michael Spence]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Members of the Economic Advisory Panel - New Climate Economy - Commission on the Economy and Climate|url=http://newclimateeconomy.net/content/A-Michael-Spence|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150620121633/http://newclimateeconomy.net/content/A-Michael-Spence|archive-date=2015-06-20|access-date=2015-06-22|website=newclimateeconomy.net}}</ref> Joseph E. Stiglitz
* [[Literature]] – V. S. Naipaul
* [[Medicine]] – Leland H. Hartwell, Tim Hunt, Sir Paul Nurse
* [[Peace]] – United Nations, Kofi Annan
* [[Physics]] – Eric A. Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, Carl E. Wieman

== Fictional references to the year ==
* [[Arthur C. Clarke]] set the [[1968]] movie ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' in this year, the first year of the 21st century.

== Other websites ==
* [http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2001.html 2001 Year-End Google Zeitgeist] – Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2001
* [http://maximus.ce.washington.edu/~nisqually/ Nisqually Earthquake Clearinghouse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040428163950/http://maximus.ce.washington.edu/~nisqually/ |date=2004-04-28 }} – Information on the February 28th earthquake from the University of Washington

==References==
{{Commonscat|2001}}
{{reflist}}

[[Category:2001| ]]