Historical Events
- Jan 1 31st Fiesta Bowl: #2 Oregon beats #3 Colorado, 38-16
- Jan 1 68th Sugar Bowl: #12 LSU beats #7 Illinois, 47-34
- Jan 1 Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.
- Jan 1 Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
- Jan 1 The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.
- Jan 2 68th Orange Bowl: #5 Florida beats #6 Maryland, 56-23
- Jan 2 Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.
- Jan 3 College Football, 4th BCS National Championship, Rose Bowl, Pasadena: #1 Miami beats #2 Nebraska, 37-14, at 88th Rose Bowl
- Jan 3 The Palestinian freighter Karine A is seized by Israeli forces in the Red Sea
Spain Second Title
Jan 5 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Spain wins 2nd title; Arantxa Sánchez Vicario & Tommy Robredo beat American pair Monica Seles & Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-2 for a 2-1 victory
- Jan 6 Daniel Bedingfield returns to No.1 on the UK singles chart for the second time with Gotta Get Thru This
"No Child Left Behind Act"
Jan 8 US President George W. Bush signs into law the "No Child Left Behind Act", providing financial assistance to schools exhibiting academic improvement
Jackson Artist of the Century
Jan 9 29th American Music Awards: Janet Jackson and Lenny Kravitz win. Michael Jackson receives Artist of the Century award.
7th Critics' Choice Movie Awards
Jan 11 7th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: A Beautiful Mind wins Best Film
28th People's Choice Awards
Jan 13 28th People's Choice Awards: Tom Hanks & Julia Roberts win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Kelsey Grammer, Ray Romano & Jennifer Aniston win (TV)
Schottenheimer Fired
Jan 13 In a controversial move, Marty Schottenheimer is fired as head coach of the Washington Redskins after just one season
- Jan 14 UK declared free of foot-and-mouth cattle disease
Osama bin Laden, Taliban Embargo
Jan 16 UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and freezes assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the members of the Taliban
- Jan 17 Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
- Jan 18 Sierra Leone Civil War finally declared over.
- Jan 19 "Tuck Rule Game" AFC Divisional Playoff Game; with under 2 minutes to play New England Patriots trail Oakland Raiders, 13-10 in a driving snowstorm, when a Tom Brady fumble ruled an incomplete pass. Patriots win 16-13 in overtime
- Jan 20 18th Sundance Film Festival: "Personal Velocity: Three Portraits", directed by Rebecca Miller, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
59th Golden Globes
Jan 20 59th Golden Globes: "A Beautiful Mind", Russell Crowe, & Sissy Spacek win
- Jan 20 Photographs showing al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects shackled and masked are published by the United States military
- Jan 21 The Canadian Dollar sets all-time low against the US Dollar (US$0.6179).
- Jan 22 Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
- Jan 23 "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States in Federal Bureau of Investigation custody.
- Jan 23 Reporter Daniel Pearl kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, and subsequently murdered.
- Jan 25 Wikipedia switches to the new version of its software ("Phase II") aka Magnus Manske Day.
Capriati Defeats Hingis
Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: American Jennifer Capriati wins her 2nd consecutive Australian title; beats Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-6, 6-2
- Jan 27 AFC Championship, Heinz Field, Pittsburgh: New England Patriots beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 24-17
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Jan 27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Thomas Johansson of Sweden wins his only Grand Slam title; beats Russian star Marat Safin 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6
- Jan 27 NFC Championship, Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis: St. Louis Rams beat Philadelphia Eagles, 29-24
- Jan 28 TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92
- Jan 29 "Foolish" single released by Ashanti (Billboard Song of the Year 2002)
- Jan 29 The San Diego Chargers hire Marty Schottenheimer as their 13th head coach
- 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
Malone 2nd to 34,000 Points
Jan 30 Utah's Karl Malone becomes 2nd player in NBA history to register 34,000 career points by scoring 18 in a 90-78 win over Chicago at the Delta Center; trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points)
Famous Birthdays
Caitlin Clark (22 years old)
Jan 22 American college basketball player, born in Des Moines, Iowa, United States
- Jan 23 Josko Gvardiol, Croatian football player (Manchester City), born in Zagreb, Croatia
Lil Mosey (22 years old)
Jan 25 American rapper (Blueberry Faygo), born in Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Famous Weddings
Eric Clapton
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
Conan O'Brien
Jan 12 TV Host Conan O'Brien (38) weds Liza Powel (31) at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington
Famous Deaths
- Jan 1 Julia Phillips, American film producer, dies at 57
- Jan 2 Armi Aavikko, Finnish beauty queen (Miss Finland, 1977), and pop singer, dies at 43
- Jan 2 Margaret "Bibi" Osterwald, American actress (As Good as It Gets, Bridget Loves Bernie), dies of lung disease at 83
- Jan 2 Zac Foley, English rock bassist (EMF "Unbelievable"), dies at 31
- Jan 3 Al Smith, American baseball outfielder and third baseman (3-time MLB All Star; Cleveland Indians), dies at 73
- Jan 3 Esquivel! [Juan García Esquivel], Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader known as the "King of Space-Age Pop", dies at 83
- Jan 3 Freddy Heineken, Dutch beer brewer (Heineken), dies at 78
- Jan 6 Fred Taylor, American Basketball Hall of Fame coach and broadcaster (Ohio State University 1959-76; MLB Washington Senators 1950-52), dies at 77
- Jan 7 Avery Schreiber, American comedian (Burns and Schreiber), and character actor (My Mother the Car; Doritos commercials), dies of a heart attack at 66
- Jan 7 Jon Lee, Welsh drummer (Feeder) takes his own life at 33
- Jan 7 René Étiemble, French scholar, novelist and translator (work on Rimbaud), dies at 93
- Jan 8 Alexander Prochorow, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1916)
- Jan 8 Dave Thomas, American businessman who founded Wendy's Restaurants, dies at 69
- Jan 10 John Buscema, American comics artist (Conan the Barbarian), dies at 74
- Jan 10 W.A. Criswell, American (Baptist) preacher (b. 1909)
- Jan 11 (Charles) Gene Dinwiddie, American blues saxophonist (Paul Butterfield Blues Band), dies at 65
- Jan 11 George Jinda, Hungarian-American smooth jazz and world music percussionist (Special EFX), dies from multiple medical condition complications at 41
- Jan 11 Henri Verneuil, French-Armenian playwright and film director (Mélodie en sous-sol), dies at 81
- Jan 11 Struan Sutherland, Australian medical researcher (b. 1936)
- Jan 12 Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (1977-80), dies at 84
- Jan 12 Edward Staempfli, Swiss pianist, conductor, and composer, dies at 93
- Jan 12 Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- Jan 13 Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian (Wayne and Shuster), dies at 85
- Jan 13 Gregorio Fuentes, Cuban fisherman, reputed model for Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (b. 1897)
- Jan 13 Kurt Brüggemann, German composer, conductor, and music educator, dies at 93
- Jan 13 Ted Demme, American film director, dies at 38
- Jan 15 Michael Bilandic, American lawyer, politician (Mayor of Chicago, 1976-79), and jurist (Illinois Supreme Court, 1990-2000), dies of heart failure at 78
- Jan 15 Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- Jan 16 (Carl) "Bobo" Olson, American boxer World Middleweight Champion, 1953-55), dies at 73
- Jan 16 Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
- Jan 16 Robert Hanbury Brown, British-Australian astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
- Jan 16 Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
- Jan 17 Bishop Karas, Sudanese-born American religious leader (b. 1955)
- Jan 17 Camilo Jose Cela, Spanish writer, (Nobel Prize laureate 1989), dies at 85
- Jan 17 Héctor Tosar, Uruguayan pianist and composer, dies at 78
- Jan 17 Queenie Leonard, American actress (b. 1905)
- Jan 18 Alex Hannum, American Basketball HOF coach (1st ABA, NBA winning coach; ABA C'ship 1969 Oakland Oaks; NBA C'ship 1958 St. Louis Hawks, 1967 Philadelphia 76ers), dies at 78
- Jan 20 Carrie Hamilton, American actress (Fame), dies at 38
- Jan 20 Henry Cosby, American songwriter, musician and producer for Motown ("Tears of a Clown"), dies at 73
- Jan 20 Ivan Karabits, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and educator, dies at 57
Peggy Lee (1920-2002)
Jan 21 American singer ("Fever"; "Is That All There Is?"), songwriter ("Mañana"), and actress (Pete Kelly's Blues; Lady and the Tramp), dies of a heart attack at 81
- Jan 22 John Shea, American 500m/1500m speed skater (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 91
- Jan 22 Kenneth Armitage, English sculptor, dies at 85
- Jan 22 Peter Bardens, English musician (Camel), dies of cancer at 56
- Jan 22 Sheldon Allman, American-Canadian actor, singer, and songwriter (Nevada Smith, Harris Against the World), dies at 77
- Jan 22 Stanley Marcus, American business executive (b. 1905)
- Jan 23 Igor Kipnis, American harpsichordist, pianist, conductor, and educatordies of renal cancer at 71
- Jan 23 Paul Aars, American racecar driver (b. 1934)
- Jan 23 Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist and anthropologist, dies at 71
- Jan 23 Robert Nozick, American philosopher (Anarchy, State, and Utopia), dies at 63
- Jan 24 Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)
- Jan 24 Kurt Schaffenberger, American comics artist (Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane), dies at 81
- Jan 24 Peter Gzowski 'Mr Canada', Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter, dies of emphysema at 67
- Jan 25 Winston Place, English cricket batsman (3 Tests, 1 x 100; Lancashire CCC, MCC), dies at 87
- Jan 28 Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children book author (Pippi Longstocking), dies at 94
- Jan 29 Dick 'Night Train' Lane, American Pro Football HOF cornerback (7 x Pro Bowl; 7 x First-team All-Pro; LA Rams, Chicago Cardinals, Detroit Lions), dies at 74
- Jan 29 Harold Russell, Canadian actor (Best Years of Our Life, Dogtown), dies from a heart attack at 88
- Jan 29 James Marjoribanks, British ambassador to the European Economic Community, dies at 90
- Jan 30 Carlo Karges, German guitarist and songwriter (Nena - "99 Luftballons"), dies of liver failure at 50
- Jan 30 Ellis Larkins, American classically trained (1st Black student at Peabody Institute) jazz pianist (Ruby Braff), and accompanist (Ella Fitzgerald; Eartha Kitt, Mildred Bailey), dies at 79
- Jan 30 Herbert Maxwell Strong, American physicist and inventor (1st to synthesize diamonds as part of Project Superpressure), dies at 93 [1]
- Jan 30 Ingeborg "Inge" Morath, Austrian-born Magnum photographer and wife of Arthur Miller, dies at 78
- Jan 30 Louis Salica, American boxer (NBA World Bantamweight title 1935, 40; Olympic bronze flyweight 1932), dies at 89
- Jan 31 Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (b. 1919)
- Jan 31 Henry Kloss, American audio engineer (acoustic loudspeaker), dies at 73
