Major Events
- Jan 29 US President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address describes "regimes that sponsor terror" an "Axis of Evil", which includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea
- Mar 2 US invasion of Afghanistan: US conventional forces first deployed as part of Operation Anaconda
- May 12 Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
- Jul 9 The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.
- Nov 8 Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council under Resolution 1441 unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences"
- Dec 13 The European Union announces that Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia will become members from May 1, 2004
- More 2002 Events
2002 in Film & TV
- Jan 9 29th American Music Awards: Janet Jackson and Lenny Kravitz win. Michael Jackson receives Artist of the Century award.
- Mar 5 American reality TV program "The Osbournes" featuring family of Ozzy Osbourne premieres on MTV
- May 15 "Bowling for Columbine", a documentary directed by Michael Moore has its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival
- Jun 2 Crime drama "The Wire" created by David Simon and starring Idris Elba and Dominic West debuts on HBO
- Jun 11 "American Idol" created by Simon Fuller with judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson premieres on Fox-TV
- Jun 14 "The Bourne Identity" directed by Doug Liman and starring Matt Damon is released in the US
- Dec 6 "Adaptation" directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep premieres
2002 in Music
- Nov 13 Eminem releases single 'Lose Yourself' from soundtrack of "8 Mile", 1st rap song to win Academy Award Best Original Song
2002 in Sport
- Apr 14 66th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Tiger Woods becomes the 3rd player to claim back-to-back Masters, 3 strokes ahead of Retief Goosen of South Africa
- Jun 30 FIFA World Cup Final, International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan: Ronaldo scores twice as Brazil beats Germany, 2-0 to win record 5th title; first World Cup held in Asia
- Jul 6 Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Serena Williams beats older sister Venus 7-6, 6-3 for her first Wimbledon singles title
- Jul 21 With a record 6 races remaining, German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher clinches his 5th F1 World Drivers Championship with victory in the French Grand Prix at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours; 3rd straight title win
Did You Know?
The first public version of the web browser Mozilla Firefox ("Phoenix 0.1") is released
Caitlin Clark
Sophia Lillis
Jenna Ortega
Maddie Ziegler
Finn Wolfhard
Lil Mosey
Jacob SartoriusMore People Born in 2002
Fun Fact About 2002
A MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and a modern unmanned drone had engaged in combat
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Thor Heyerdahl
James Chichester-Clark
John Gotti
Archer John Porter Martin
Ne Win
Kevin Smith
Spike Milligan
Dudley Moore
Lou Thesz
Rod Steiger
Richard Harris
Peggy Lee
Waylon Jennings
Lisa Lopes
Adolph Green
Seattle Slew
Sam Snead
Ted Williams
Hoyt Wilhelm
Johnny UnitasMore 2002 Deaths
Famous Weddings in 2002
- Jan 1 British guitar legend Eric Clapton (56) weds Melia McEnery (25) at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Surrey, London
- Jan 5 Former Atomic Kitten member Kerry Katona (21) weds "Westlife" member Brian McFadden (21) at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Rathfeigh, County Meath, Republic of Ireland
- Jan 12 TV Host Conan O'Brien (38) weds Liza Powel (31) at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington
Famous Divorces in 2002
- Mar 1 "12 Angry Men" actor Edward James Olmos (55) divorces "Sopranos" actress Lorraine Bracco (47) after 8 years of marriage
- Oct 15 Comedian Tom Green (30) divorces actress Drew Barrymore (26) due to irreconcilable differences after less than a year of marriage
- Nov 25 Academy Award-winning actor Nicolas Cage (38) files for divorce from the "Princess of Rock and Roll" Lisa Marie Presley (34) due to irreconcilable differences after 3 months of marriage
More 2002 Weddings
Adrien Brody
Lance Armstrong
Michael Schumacher
Nicole Kidman
George W. Bush
Jiang Zemin
Tony Blair
Vladimir Putin