2001

• The International Year of the Volunteer
• The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations

• 2001 in architecture
• 2001 in art
• 2001 in aviation
• 2001 in film
• 2001 in literature
• 2001 in music
• 2001 in science
• 2001 in sports
• 2001 in television
• 2001 in memoriam
• 2001 in Canada
• 2001 in India
• 2001 in the Netherlands

• January 1 - A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall appears in Seattle's Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• January 6 - The United States Congress, presided over by Vice President Al Gore as President of the Senate, certifies George W. Bush's Electoral College victory and thus as the winner of 2000 presidential election.
• January 13 - Major earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hits all El Salvador.
• January 15 - Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online (Wikipedia Day).
• January 20 - George W. Bush succeeds Bill Clinton as President of the United States after prevailing over Al Gore in the disputed U.S. presidential election, 2000.
• January 22 - Four of the "Texas 7" are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado and a fifth killed himself inside a motor home.
• January 24 - The last two of the "Texas 7" are taken into custody in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
• January 26 - A 50-year-old DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24.
• Friday, January 26, 2001 - An earthquake hits Gujarat, India. More than 20,000 deaths.
• January 29 - Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
• January 31 - In the Netherlands a Scottish court convicts a Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which crash into Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
• February - Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network.
• February 5 - Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced that they had separated.
• February 6 - Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon wins election as Prime Minister of Israel.
• February 9 - American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks Japanese fishing vessel Ehime-Maru.
• February 12 - NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
• February 13 - An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 400.
• February 16 - Baghdad suburb bombed by US and UK war planes, 3 people killed
• February 18 - During the Daytona 500 race, NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, known as "The Intimidator" for his aggressive driving style, is killed in a crash.
• February 19 - A Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial Center.
• February 19 - Priscilla Davis dies of breast cancer.
• February 20 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 15 years.
• February 26 - Treaty of Nice
• February 28 - An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Northwest area of the United States. There were no reports of any deaths.
• March 24 - Apple Computer's Mac OS X version 10.0 is released.
• April 1 - An American EP-3E spyplane collides with a Chinese F-8 fighter jet and is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew was detained for 10 days and the Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, went missing and presumed dead.
• April 1 - Former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.
• April 16 - The US Constitutional right of access to DNA testing is established, granting convicted felons the right to have their DNA re-tested in an attempt to exonerate themselves.
• May 1 - The Japanese cities of Urawa, Omiya, and Yono merge to form the city of Saitama.
• May 10 - In Ghana, a stampede at a soccer game kills over 120.
• May 11 - Comedy sci-fi author Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) dies from a heart attack, aged 49.
• May 19 - One child policy: Zhonghua Sun is put to death by the People's Republic of China government officials because she refused to be sterilized.
• May 25 - Mountain climbing: 32-year old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
• May 25 - Mountain climbing: 64-year old Sherman Bull, of New Canaan, Connecticut, becomes the oldest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
• June 5-June 9 - Houston, Texas is devastated by flooding when Tropical Storm Allison dumps 36 inches of rain on the city. Particularly hard hit are the downtown area and the Texas Medical Center, which lost years of research and data and thousands of lab animals. Twenty-two people die; damage exceeds five billion American dollars.
• June 7 - Tony Blair's Labour Party elected for second term in UK General Election
• June 19 - 23 people killed and 11 wounded by an American missile hitting a soccer field in northern Iraq, county of Tel Afr
• June 20 - Andrea Yates drowns her children in a bathtub and confesses to her crime. She would get life in prison for it.
• June 21 - Total solar eclipse
• July 2 - World's first self-contained artificial heart implanted in Robert Tools.
• July 16 - The FBI arrests Dmitry Sklyarov at a convention in Las Vegas for violating a provision of the DMCA.
• July 18 - In Baltimore, Maryland, a 60-car train derailment occurs in a tunnel sparking a fire that will last days and virtually shut down downtown Baltimore.
• July 19 - UK politician and novelist Jeffrey Archer, Lord Archer of Weston-Super-Mare, sentenced to four 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.
• August 9 - US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
• September 5 - Peru's attorney general files homicide charges against ex-President Alberto Fujimori.
• September 6 - Microsoft antitrust case: 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 penalty.
• September 9 - Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the Northern Alliance, is assassinated in Afghanistan
• September 11 - Around 3,000 killed in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and rural Pennsylvania.
• September 17 - The Late Show with David Letterman is the first TV talk show to return to the airwaves six days after terrorists attack the United States in New York City and Washington D.C.
• October 4 - First case of anthrax in the US (attack) is announced by federal officials.
• October 7 - 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan begins
• October 8 - American radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh announces to his listeners that he is completely deaf in his left ear and only has partial hearing in his right ear.
• October 10 - War on Terrorism: US President George W. Bush presents a list of 22 most wanted terrorists.
• October 12 - War on Terrorism: Prompted by a request by US President George W. Bush, an episode of America's Most Wanted aired featuring 22 most wanted terrorists.
• October 15 - NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io.
• November - The Doha Declaration relaxes the grip of international intellectual property law by a bit.
• November 4 - Hurricane Michelle hits Cuba destroying crops and thousands of homes.
• November 4 - Establishment of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
• November 7 - The super-sonic commercial aircraft Concorde resumes flying after a 15-month break.
• November 12 - In New York City, an Airbus A300 carrying American Airlines Flight 587 crashes minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on-board.
• November 12 - 2001 Attack on Afghanistan: Taliban forces abandon Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, ahead of advancing Northern Alliance troops (Northern Alliance fighters took Kabul on November 14).
• November 13 - Doha Round: The World Trade Organization ends a four-day ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar.
• November 13 - Symbionese Liberation Army member Kathleen Soliah (Sara Jane Olsen) withdraws her previous guilty plea.
• November 13 - War on Terrorism: In the first such act since World War II, US President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts on the United States.
• November 16 - The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, is released, grossing US $975.8 million, becoming the second highest grossing film around the world of all time, behind Titanic.
• November 20 - In Washington, DC, US President George W. Bush dedicates the United States Department of Justice headquarters building as the Robert F. Kennedy Justice Building, honoring the late Robert F. Kennedy on what would have been his 76th birthday.
• December 2 - Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after Dynegy canceled a US$8.4 billion buyout bid (as of 2003 this was the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States).
• December 4 - Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj, Sultan of Selangor and 11th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia dies in office.
• December 13 - Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Raja of Perlis becomes the 12th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
• December 14 - Annular solar eclipse
• December 27 - The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade status with the United States.

• 2001 in art
• 2001 in film
  • The annual Academy Awards served out honors for Best Actor in Gladiator to Russell Crowe.
  • Ridley Scott's Gladiator took the Academy Award for Best Picture.
  • Best Supporting Actress and Actor were won by Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock and Benicio del Toro for their roles in Traffic which also won its director, Steven Soderbergh, the Directing statue.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, directed by Peter Jackson.
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in the USA.)
• 2001 in literature
• 2001 in music
• 2001 in sports
  • July 14 - The International Olympic Committee votes for Beijing to be the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics. This is the first time that China had been bestowed this honor.
• 2001 in television
  • Concert For New York: A Tribute To Heroes airs on VH1, with performances by Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy Joel and others.

• January 12 - William Hewlett, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard
• January 16 - Laurent-Desire Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (assassinated; death officially confirmed on January 18)
• January 23 - Moy Yat, Chinese Sealmaker, Martial Artist
• January 30 - Jean-Pierre Aumont, actor
• January 31 - Gordon R. Dickson, science fiction writer
• February 4 - Iannis Xenakis, 78, Greek/French composer
• February 7 - Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author, aviator
• February 7 - Dale Evans, actress, singer
• February 18 - Balthus, 92, French painter
• February 18 - Dale Earnhardt - NASCAR race car driver
• February 18 - Eddie Mathews, Major League Baseball player
• February 19 - Stanley Kramer, 87, American movie director
• February 19 - Priscilla Davis, former Fort Worth, Texas socialite
• February 19 - Charles Trenet, popular French singer
• February 22 - Claude Elwood Shannon, mathematician (according to K. Devlin)
• February 25 - Sir Donald Bradman, cricketer
• March 4 - Glenn Hughes -- leather dude Popular Music group The Village People
• March 4 - Harold Stassen, politician
• March 12 - Morton Downey, Jr. - television personality
• March 12 - Robert Ludlum, author of spy novels
• March 15 - Ann Sothern - actress
• March 18 - John Phillips, cofounder of Popular Music group The Mamas and the Papas
• March 21 - Norma Macmillan, cartoon voice actress
• March 22 - William Hanna, cofounder (with Joseph Barbera) of famous Hanna-Barbera animation studio
• April 10 - Willie Stargell - baseball player, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• April 11 - Harry Secombe, 79, actor, comedian, member of The Goon Show
• April 15 - Joey Ramone, lead singer for The Ramones
• May 5 - Cliff Hillegass, 83, creator of Cliff Notes (stroke)
• May 11 - Douglas Adams, 49 (heart attack), author, works included Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dirk Gently, Doctor Who
• May 12 - Perry Como, 87, singer
• May 28 - Francisco Varela, 54, biologist and philosopher
• June 1 - Hank Ketcham, 81, cartoonist, creator of Dennis the Menace
• June 1 - King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya of Nepal
• June 3 - Anthony Quinn, 86, actor
• June 10 - Princess Leila of Iran
• June 11 - Timothy McVeigh, 33, terrorist (executed by U.S. government)
• June 21 - John Lee Hooker, 83, Blues musician
• June 21 - Carroll O'Connor, 76, actor
• June 27 - Jack Lemmon, 76, actor and film director
• June 28 - Joan Sims, 71, actress
• June 30 - Chet Atkins, 77, country musician
• July 5 - Hannelore Kohl, 68, wife of ex-chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl (suicide)
• July 11 - Herman Brood, 54, Dutch rock musician, painter and publicity freak (suicide)
• July 18 - Fabio Taglioni, automotive engineer
• July 27 - Leon Wilkeson, 49, Bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd
• July 29 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician
• July 29 - Wau Holland, 49, German hacker, founder of the CCC (heart attack)
• August 1 - Poul Anderson - fantasy / sci-fi author
• August 1 - Korey Stringer, 26, American football player
• August 6 - Jorge Amado, 88, Brazilian writer
• August 20 - Fred Hoyle, Astronomer and science fiction writer
• August 25 - Aaliyah, 22, American singer and actress
• September 2 - Christiaan Barnard, 78, South African heart surgeon, first to perform a human-to-human heart transplant
• September 3 - Pauline Kael, 82, US movie critic
• September 7 - Spede Pasanen, Finnish television star
• September 9 - Ahmed Shah Massoud, Afghani Northern Alliance military commander.
• September 11 - Barbara K. Olson, 45, US conservative television commentator, died in terrorist attack on The Pentagon
• September 13 - Victor Wong, aged 74 -- US Movie Actor/Artist
• September 22 - Isaac Stern, 81, violinist
• October 12 - Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone, British politician
• October 18 - Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and musician
• November 10 - Ken Kesey, 66, author
• November 12 - Tony Miles, chess player
• November 29 - George Harrison, 58, musician and former member of The Beatles
• November 30 - Robert Tools, first recipient of a self-contained artificial heart, at age 59 after 151 days without a living heart.
• December 5 - Franco Rasetti, physicist
• December 10 - Ashok Kumar, actor, India

• Physics - Eric A Cornell, Wolfgang Ketterle, Carl E Wieman
• Chemistry - William S. Knowles, Ryoji Noyori, K. Barry Sharpless
• Medicine Leland H. Hartwell, R. Timothy Hunt, Paul M. Nurse
• Literature - V.S. Naipaul
• Peace - United Nations, Kofi Annan
• Economics- George A. Akerlof, A. Michael Spence, Joseph E. Stiglitz

• Arthur C. Clarke set the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey in this year, the first year of the 21st century.

• 2001 Year-End Google Zeitgeist - Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2001
• Nisqually Earthquake Clearinghouse - Information on the February 28th earthquake from the University of Washington