Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. It was the year of the snake in the Chinese Zodiac.
By traditional interpretation of the Gregorian Calendar, 2001 is also the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium. Popular culture, however, views the year 2000 as holding this distinction.
Also see: Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.
Events
January
- 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 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 16 - US President Bill Clinton awards former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish-American War; 11 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 succeeds Bill Clinton, becoming 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.Confirmation needed
- January 23–25 - United Nations war crimes prosecutor Del Ponte demands that Serbia hand over Slobodan Milošević.Confirmation needed
- January 23 - The Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident occurs.
- January 24 - The last 2 of the 'Texas 7' are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Confirmation needed
- 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.[1]
- January 26 - An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, killing more than 12,000.
- January 28 - Super Bowl XXXV: The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants 34-7, winning their first Super Bowl title.
February
March
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 21 - The small Kansas town of Hoisington is hit by a F-4 tornado destroying 1/3 of the city and killing 1.
- April 26 - Junichiro Koizumi becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
- 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 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 and Herzegovina, an attempt is made to reconstruct the Ferhadija mosque. However, the ceremony results in mass riots by Serb nationalists, who 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 the general elections.
- May 22 - A large trans-Neptunian object (28978 Ixion) is found during the Deep Ecliptic Survey.
- May 22–23 - 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.
- May 24 - The Versailles wedding hall disaster kills 23 in Jerusalem, Israel.
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. Dipendra dies June 4, as King of Nepal. His uncle Gyanendra accedes to the throne.
- June 1 - A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21, mostly teenagers, in the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv, Israel.
- June 5–9 - 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 - The Bush tax cuts are signed into law by U.S. president George W. Bush.
- June 7 - Tony Blair's Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election.
- June 8 - Mamoru Takuma murders 8 first and second grade students and wounds 15 others in Osaka, Japan.
- June 9 - The Colorado Avalanche wins their second Stanley Cup, and Ray Bourque wins his first Cup after a lengthy career.
- 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 - The world's longest train is set up by BHP Iron Ore and is recorded going between Newman and Port Headland in Western Australia (a distance of 275km, or 170 miles) and the train consists of 682 loaded iron ore wagons and 8 GE AC6000CW locomotives, giving a gross weight of almost 100,000 tonnes and moves 82,262 tonnes of ore; the train is 7.353 km (4.568 miles) long.
- June 23 - An earthquake (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 - The Altamira caves's replica (created by Manuel Franquelo and Sven Nebel) is inaugurated.
- 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 20–22 - 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
September
September 11, 2001 attacks
- September 11 - Almost 3,000 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 after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City, American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into a grassland in Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to regain control of the aircraft from the hijackers.
- September 12 - Israel sends tanks into Jericho, West Bank, starting a new military operation.
- 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 attacks in New York.
- September 18 - The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as letters containing anthrax spores 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 attacks with the New York Mets/Atlanta Braves game at Shea Stadium. Mike Piazza hits an 8th inning home run for a 3-2 Mets victory.
- September 21 - The America: A Tribute to Heroes benefit concert, for victims of the September 11th attacks and their families, is held.
- September 21 - The AZote Fertilisant chemical factory in Toulouse, France explodes, killing 29 and seriously wounding over 2,500.
October
- October 4 - Federal officials announce the first anthrax attack in the U.S.
- 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.
- October 7 - Operation Enduring Freedom: The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from other nations.
- October 8 - Flight SK686 of SAS collides first with a private plane and then a building in Milano Airport; 100 are killed.
- October 9 - The 2001 anthrax attacks continue as contaminated letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, to U.S. Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
- October 10 - U.S. President George W. Bush presents a list of 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.
- October 21 - The United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert is held in Washington, D.C..
- October 23 - Principal Financial Group files its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
- October 26 - U.S. President George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act into law.
November
Soldiers board a Chinook helicopter.
