What Happened in 2001

Major Events

  • Jan 15 Wikipedia a free Wiki or content encyclopedia is launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger
  • Feb 12 NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lands in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid
  • Feb 15 First draft of the complete human genome is published in the journal "Nature"
  • Apr 1 Netherlands becomes the first country in the world to make same-sex marriage legal
  • Sep 11 Attempt by passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 to retake control of their hijacked plane from terrorists causes plane to crash in Pennsylvania field killing all 64 people on board
  • Sep 11 Terrorists hijack a passenger plane and crash it into the Pentagon causing the deaths of 125 people
  • Sep 11 Two passenger planes hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists crash into New York's World Trade Towers causing the collapse of both and deaths of 2,606 people
  • Sep 20 In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, US President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror"
  • Oct 7 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan starts with an air assault and covert operations on the ground
  • Oct 8 US President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security
  • Oct 23 The Provisional Irish Republican Army of Northern Ireland commences disarmament after peace talks
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2001 in Film & TV

2001 in Music

  • Aug 21 "How You Remind Me" single released by Nickelback (Billboard Song of the Year 2002)
  • Sep 8 Kylie Minogue releases her single "I Just Can't Get You Out of My Head", the biggest of her career

2001 in Sport

  • Jan 4 Washington Wizards forward Michael Jordan becomes 4th player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points; hits a free throw in 2nd quarter of an 89-83 win against his old team, the Chicago Bulls
  • May 9 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster: 129 Ghanaian football fans die in a stampede caused by the firing of teargas by police following a decision by the referee in a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko
  • Aug 4 Australian cricket spinner Shane Warne skittles England (162) with 6/33 to guide tourists to a 7 wicket 3rd Test victory at Trent Bridge; Aussies regain Ashes with record 7th straight Test win v England

Did You Know?

Michael Brunet discovers the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis in the Djurab Desert, Chad. One of the oldest known species in the human family tree, 6-7 million years ago years old

July 19, 2001


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Fun Fact About 2001

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the last Tsar of Bulgaria when he was a child, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Bulgaria, becoming the first monarch in history to regain political power through democratic election to a different office.

July 24, 2001


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Famous Weddings in 2001

  • Jan 20 American "Fast Lane" actor Peter Facinelli (27) weds American actress and director Jennie Garth (28) at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Montecito, California; divorce in 2013
  • Feb 2 Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg (54) weds media tycoon Barry Diller
  • Feb 8 MLB outfielder David Justice (34) weds model Rebecca Villalobos

Famous Divorces in 2001

  • Jan 15 Tennis star Boris Becker (34) divorces designer Barbara Feltus (35) after 8 years of marriage
  • May 22 Actress and former fitness guru Jane Fonda (63) divorces CNN founder Ted Turner (62) due to irretrievably broken marriage 10 years after getting married
  • Jul 16 American "Kate & Leopold" actress Meg Ryan (38) divorces American "Great Balls of Fire!" actor Dennis Quaid (46) after 10 years of marriage

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