2002 in the United States

Events from the year 2002 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal government

President: George W. Bush
President of the United States|Vice President]: Dick Cheney
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert
Senate Majority Leader: Tom Daschle
Congress: 107th

Events

January

January 5 - Charles Bishop, a 15-year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a building in Tampa, Florida, evoking fear of a copycat 9/11 terrorist attack.
January 6 - The Boston Globe publishes a story detailing the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston sex abuse scandal.
January 8 - The No Child Left Behind Act is signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush.
January 9 - The United States Department of Justice announces it will pursue a criminal investigation of Enron.
January 11 - The first detainees arrive at Camp X-Ray (Guantanamo).
January 13 – President Bush chokes on a pretzel and faints briefly.
January 14 - The asylum case of Adelaide Abankwah is heard in New York.
January 16
* The United Nations Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda and the remaining members of the Taliban.
* A student shoots six at the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia, killing 3.
January 18 - A Canadian Pacific Railway train carrying anhydrous ammonia derails outside of Minot, North Dakota, killing one.
January 20 - The World Wrestling Federation holds its Royal Rumble pay-per-view event from the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
January 21 - Cyberchase premieres on PBS Kids.
January 23 - The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Pakistan, accused of being a CIA agent by his captors.
January 29 - In his State of the Union Address, President Bush describes North Korea, Iran and Iraq as an "axis of evil".
January 31 - U.S. special forces are deployed in the Philippines in Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines, part of the war on terror.

February

February 1 - Kidnapped reporter Daniel Pearl of The Wall Street Journal is murdered in Karachi, Pakistan.
February 3 - Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots season|New England Patriots] beat the St. Louis Rams 20-17 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans to win their first Super Bowl title.
February 8-24 - The Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The United States wins 10 gold, 13 silver and 11 bronze medals.
February 12 - The U.S. Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear repository.
February 13 - Queen Elizabeth II gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood.
February 17 - The World Wrestling Federation holds its No Way Out pay-per-view event from the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
February 19 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.

March

March 1
* STS-109: Space Shuttle Columbia flies the Hubble Space Telescope service mission, its last before the disastrous STS-107.
* War in [Afghanistan (2001–present)|U.S. invasion of Afghanistan]: In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.
March 12 - In Houston, Texas, Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her five children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison.
March 14 - 125 vehicles are involved in a massive pile up on Interstate 75 in Ringgold, Georgia.
March 15 - Ice Age is released in theaters.
March 19 - US war in Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 allied troop fatalities.
March 21 - In Pakistan, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and three others are charged with the kidnapping and killing of The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
March 24 - The 74th Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, are held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, with Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind winning four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film ties with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in award wins, while the latter leads the nominations with 13. The telecast garners over 41.8 million viewers.
March - Layalina Productions, Inc. non-profit public diplomacy initiative is inaugurated.

April

April 1 - Maryland, College Park|Maryland] defeats Indiana 64–52 to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
April 17 - Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two US F-16s.
April 19 - The Senate defeats President Bush's plan to authorize oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
April 21 - The World Wrestling Federation holds its Backlash pay-per-view event from the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.
April 27 - The Laughlin, Nevada River Run Riot kills three.

May

May 1 - Nicktoons TV launches in the United States.
May 3 - Spider-Man is released in theaters as the first film in the Spider-Man trilogy.
May 10 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling American secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
May 12 - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro, becoming the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
May 16 - Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is released in theaters.
May 19 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Judgment Day (2002)|Judgment Day] pay-per-view event from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
May 21 - The State Department releases a report naming seven state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Iraq, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.
May 22
* 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama convicts Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls.
* Police in Washington, D.C. announce that the skeletal remains of Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy, who has been missing for a year, have been found in Rock Creek Park.
May 26 - I-40 bridge disaster: A barge collides with the Interstate 40 bridge across the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, killing 14.

June

June 5 - 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart is kidnapped from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is rescued nine months later.
June 11
* The first episode of American Idol airs.
* Antonio Meucci is recognized as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
June 12 - The Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles Lakers] sweep the New Jersey Nets season|New Jersey Nets] in the 2002 NBA Finals to win their third consecutive NBA championship.
June 14 - In Karachi, Pakistan, a car bomb in front of the U.S. Consulate kills 12 Pakistanis and injures 50.
June 21 - Walt Disney Pictures' 42nd feature film, Lilo & Stitch, is released to positive reviews and box-office success.
June 23 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its King of the Ring pay-per-view event from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
June 29 - Vice President Dick Cheney serves as acting president for a few hours while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure under sedation.

July

July 4 - 2002 [Los Angeles International Airport shooting]: Egyptian immigrant Hesham Mohamed Hadayet kills two and injures six before being killed by a security officer. The incident is called an act of terrorism.
July 13 - A lightning strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burns 499,570 acres.
July 15 - In Washington, D.C., "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to aiding the enemy and possession of explosives during the commission of a felony; Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each charge.
July 20 – The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius debuts on Nickelodeon.
July 21
* Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the largest such filing in United States history.
* World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Vengeance pay-per-view event from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
July 24 - Congressman James Traficant of Ohio is expelled from the House of Representatives by a vote of 420–1 following his ten felony convictions.

August

August 12 - In Arlington, Virginia, US Airways declares bankruptcy.
August 25 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its SummerSlam pay-per-view event from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

September

September 2 - Liberty's Kids premieres on PBS Kids.
September 4 - Kelly Clarkson wins the first American Idol competition.
September 5 - The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burned 499,570 acres, is contained.
September 7 - The Fox Network's Fox Kids block airs for the final time. It was replaced the following week by the 4Kids-programmed FoxBox.
September 11 - Thousands of people in New York City and across the nation attend ceremonies as the United States commemorates the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
September 12 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush addresses the U.N., and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq, or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.
September 14 - Major upheavals take place on Saturday mornings, as the four major networks change their programming on this day. Fox, having sold Fox Kids Worldwide to The Walt Disney Company the previous year, ends Fox Kids and sells its airtime to 4Kids Entertainment, who begin programming a new children's programming block as the Fox Box. Disney, meanwhile, having acquired the Fox Kids brand, ends Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC and renamed ABC Kids. CBS, whose then-corporate sibling Nickelodeon programs its lineup, rebrands its Nick Jr. on CBS block as Nick on CBS and refocuses it on children 2–11 years old, while NBC signs a contract with Discovery Networks to air a programming strand called Discovery Kids on NBC, which replaces the teen-oriented block TNBC.
September 22 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Unforgiven pay-per-view event from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

October

October 2
* The Beltway sniper attacks begin with five shootings taking place in Montgomery County, Maryland.
* The Congress of the United States passes a joint resolution, which authorizes the President to use the United States Armed Forces as he deems necessary and appropriate, against Iraq.
October 9 - The Dot-com bubble bear market reaches bottom, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average slips below 7,200.
October 9-10 - Congress passes the Iraq Resolution authorizing the Iraq War.
October 16 - The Iraq War Resolution is authorized by a majority of the U.S. Congress.
October 20 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its No Mercy pay-per-view event from the Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
October 24 - The Beltway sniper attacks end with the arrest of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. The pair killed 10 people and wounded three others in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area in this series of attacks; they had killed seven other people in prior attacks.
October 25 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, his family, and his staff are killed in a plane accident at Eveleth, Minnesota.
October 27 - The Anaheim Angels season|Anaheim Angels] defeat the San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants] in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series to win their first World Series title.

November

November 2 - The Godless Americans March on Washington brings together 2,000 atheists, freethinkers, agnostics, and humanists in a mile-long parade down the National Mall.
November 3 – The 7.9 Denali earthquake shakes the Alaska Interior with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, causing one injury and $20–56 million in losses.
November 5 - Republicans gain a majority in the Senate and a larger majority in the House of Representatives following congressional elections, 2002|congressional elections].
November 6 - The U.S. Federal Reserve System drops its primary discount rate by 25 basis points to 0.75%, putting the real interest rate solidly below the inflation rate.
November 7 - Iran bans the advertising of United States products.
November 8 - The United Nations passes Resolution 1441 giving Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a final opportunity to cooperate with international weapons inspectors.
November 12 - Toxicologist Kristin Rossum is convicted of the 2000 murder of her husband Gregory de Viller in San Diego. Rossum had poisoned her victim using fentanyl, passing off the crime as a suicide.
November 16 - A Campaign against Climate Change march takes place in London from Lincoln's Inn Fields, past Esso offices to the United States Embassy.
November 17 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Survivor Series pay-per-view event from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
November 25 - U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security. It was the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947.
November 27 - Walt Disney Pictures' 43rd feature film, Treasure Planet, is released to positive reception, but turns outs to be a rare box office bomb from the studio.

December

December 9 - United Airlines, the second largest airline in the world, files for bankruptcy.
December 13 - President George W. Bush announces a smallpox vaccination program for military personnel, as well as for civilian healthcare and emergency workers to protect against bioterrorism risks. He announces that the public will not be called up for shots until 2004 at the earliest.
December 15 - World Wrestling Entertainment holds its Armageddon pay-per-view event from the Office Depot Center in Sunrise, Florida.
December 21 - President Bush receives his smallpox vaccine.

Ongoing

Births

January

January 10 - Laken Riley, murder victim
January 11 - Dro Kenji, musician
January 12 - Balin Miller, climber
January 15 - Levon Hawke, actor
January 20
* Michael Barbieri, actor
* Joshua Colley, actor and singer
January 21 - Noah Adnan, Indonesian soccer player
January 22 - Caitlin Clark, basketball player
January 25 - Lil Mosey, rapper
January 30 - Tyla, singer

February

February 5 - Davis Cleveland, actor
February 13 - Sophia Lillis, actress
February 21 - Duwap Kaine, rapper
February 26 - Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, conjoined twins

March

April

April 2 - Emma Myers, actress
April 6 - Andrea Botez, chess player
April 8
* Skai Jackson, actress
* Ken San Jose, Filipino-American dancer
April 10 - Ava Michelle, actress, dancer, and model
April 16 - Sadie Sink, actress
April 18 - Noah Thompson, singer
April 19 - Loren Gray, social media personality
April 24 - Skylar Stecker, singer and actress
April 25 - Eitan Bernath, social media personality

May

May 6
* Emily Alyn Lind, actress
* Angel Reese, basketball player
May 7
* Jake Bongiovi, actor
* Andrew Barth Feldman, actor
May 9 - Cree Cicchino, actress
May 15 - Chase Hudson, social media influencer
May 20 - Trinity Rodman, soccer player
May 28 - Malik Tillman, soccer player

June

June 2 - Madison Hu, actress
June 3 - Eva Bella, voice of young Elsa in the Disney movie Frozen
June 25
* Tamir Rice, African-American boy killed by police
* Benson Boone, American singer
June 26 - Chandler Smith, race car driver
June 29 - Marlhy Murphy, musician, actress and media personality

December

December 12 - Allegra Acosta, actress
December 30 - Bugha, esports athlete
December 31 - Sophia Laforteza, singer and dancer

Deaths

January

January 1
* Carol Ohmart, actress
* Julia Phillips, movie producer
January 3 - Miki Dora, surfer
January 4 - Nathan Chapman, soldier
January 6 - John W. Reynolds Jr., politician and jurist
January 7
* Mighty Igor, wrestler
* Avery Schreiber, actor and comedian
January 8 - Dave Thomas, businessman
January 9 - K. William Stinson, politician
January 10 - John Buscema, comic book artist
January 12
* Ernest Pintoff, animator
* Cyrus Vance, lawyer and Secretary of State
January 13 - Ted Demme, film and television director and producer
January 14 - Edith Bouvier Beale, socialite
January 15 - Michael Bilandic, politician, Mayor of Chicago
January 16
* Bobo Olson, boxer
* Ron Taylor, actor
January 18 - Marilyn Harris, writer
January 20 - Carrie Hamilton, actress and daughter of Carol Burnett
January 21 – Peggy Lee, singer, songwriter, and actress
January 22 –Stanley Marcus, businessman and author
January 23 - Robert Nozick, philosopher
January 25 - Rudolph B. Davila, Army officer
January 28 - Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player

February

February 1
* Irish McCalla, actress
* Daniel Pearl, journalist and murder victim, died in Karachi, Pakistan
February 2 - Paul Baloff, singer
February 4 - Helen Dodson Prince, astronomer
February 6 - Guy Stockwell, actor
February 7
* Elisa Bridges, actress and model
* Ellen Demming, actress
February 8 - Nick Brignola, jazz musician
February 9 - Fred Gehrke, football player
February 10
* Jim Spencer, baseball player
* Dave Van Ronk, folk musician
* Vernon A. Walters, Army officer and a diplomat
February 11 - George Kasem, politician
February 13 - Waylon Jennings, American country singer
February 15 - Howard K. Smith, television journalist
February 18 - Jack Lambert, actor
February 19 - Virginia Hamilton, writer
February 20 - Willie Thrower, American football player
February 22 - Chuck Jones, animator
February 24
* Leo Ornstein, Russian-born American composer and pianist
* Mel Stewart, actor, director, and musician
February 26 - Lawrence Tierney, actor
February 27 - Mary Stuart, actress

March

March 1 - C. Farris Bryant, politician
March 3 - Al Pollard, football player
March 5 - Howard Cannon, politician
March 7 - Mickey Haslin, baseball player
March 9 - Irene Worth, actress
March 11 - James Tobin, Nobel economist
March 15 - Sylvester Weaver, television executive
March 17 - Rosetta LeNoire, actress
March 23 - Eileen Farrell, soprano
March 26 - Randy Castillo, musician
March 27
* Milton Berle, comedian and actor
* Dudley Moore, actor, comedian, and musician
* Billy Wilder, Austrian-born director

April

April 5 – Layne Staley, singer and songwriter
April 7 – John Agar, actor
April 14 – Arthur W. Coats Jr., California politician
April 15 – Byron White, athlete and Supreme Court Justice
April 16 – Robert Urich, actor
April 18 – Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler
April 22 – Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress
April 25 – Lisa Lopes, rapper, died in La Ceiba, Atlántida, Honduras
April 27
* George Alec Effinger, writer
* Ruth Handler, businesswoman

May

May 9 - Dan Devine, American football player and coach
May 6 – Otis Blackwell, songwriter
May 11 - Joseph Bonanno, mafioso
May 16 – Big Dick Dudley, professional wrestler
May 17 - Dave Berg, cartoonist
May 20 - Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist and writer
May 23 - Sam Snead, golfer
May 24
* Susie Garrett, actress
* Wallace Markfield, writer
May 28 – David Parker Ray, kidnapper and serial killer

June

June 5 - Dee Dee Ramone, songwriter and musician
June 6 – Robbin Crosby, guitarist
June 10
* Maury Travis, serial killer
* John Gotti, murderer and leader of organized crime
June 12 - Bill Blass, fashion designer
June 17 - Willie Davenport, track and field athlete
June 22
* Darryl Kile, baseball player
* Eppie Lederer, journalist and radio host
June 23 - Logan Tucker, murder victim
June 26 - Jay Berwanger, American football player
June 27
* John Entwistle, English musician
* Ralph Erickson, baseball pitcher
June 29 - Rosemary Clooney, singer and actress, and wife of José Ferrer and mother of Miguel Ferrer

July

July 2 - Ray Brown, American bassist
July 4 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr., general
July 5 - Ted Williams, baseball player
July 6 - John Frankenheimer, film director
July 8 - Ward Kimball, animator
July 9 - Rod Steiger, actor and husband of Claire Bloom
July 10 - Laurence Janifer, writer
July 16 - John Cocke, computer scientist
July 19 - Alan Lomax, folklorist and musicologist
July 23 - Chaim Potok, writer and rabbi

August

August 5
* Josh Ryan Evans, American actor
* Chick Hearn, American basketball announcer
August 11 – Galen Rowell, American photographer, writer, and climber
August 14 – Dave Williams, American musician
August 15 – Kyle Rote, American football player
August 16 – Jeff Corey, American actor
August 23 – Hoyt Wilhem, baseball player
August 31
* Lionel Hampton, American musician
* Martin Kamen, American chemist

September

September 3 – Ted Ross, American actor
September 4 – Jerome Biffle, American athlete
September 5 – David Todd Wilkinson, American cosmologist
September 7 – Erma Franklin, American singer
September 11
* Kim Hunter, American actress
* Johnny Unitas, American football player
September 14
* LaWanda Page, comedian and actress
* Paul Williams, saxophonist
September 18 – Bob Hayes, American football player and track and field athlete
September 21 – Robert L. Forward, writer, inventor, and physicist
September 22 – Mickey Newbury, American singer-songwriter
September 24 – Mike Webster, football player
September 28 – Whitney Blake, actress and director

October

October 3 – Bruce Paltrow, television and film director and producer
– R. Smith">Republican Party (United States)">R. Smith, American actor and comedian
October 9 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer
October 10 – Teresa Graves, American actress and comedian
October 12 – Ray Conniff, musician and bandleader
October 13 – Stephen Ambrose, American historian and biographer
October 17 – Aileen Riggin, American swimmer and diver
October 18 – Kam Fong Chun, American actor
October 23
* Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright
* Richard Helms, American CIA director
October 24
* Harry Hay, British-born American activist
* Peggy Moran, actress
October 25 – Paul Wellstone, American politician
October 28 – Margaret Booth, American film editor
October 30 – Jam Master Jay, American Hip-Hop DJ

November

November 3 – Jonathan Harris, actor
November 9 – Merlin Santana, actor
November 14 – Eddie Bracken, actor
November 15 – Roberta Leighton, drag racer
November 18 – James Coburn, actor
November 21 – Hadda Brooks, jazz singer, pianist, and composer
November 24 – John Rawls, philosopher
November 27 – Billie Bird, actress and comedian
November 26 – Verne Winchell, businessman

December

December 1 – Dave McNally, baseball player
December 2 - Mal Waldron, jazz pianist, composer, and arranger
December 3 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor
December 5 – Roone Arledge, sports and news broadcasting executive
December 6
* Father Philip Berrigan, priest, member of the Plowshares Movement and political activist
* Charles Rosen, pioneer in artificial intelligence
December 9 - Stan Rice, painter and poet
December 26 - Herb Ritts, photographer
December 27 – George Roy Hill, film director
December 30 - Mary Brian, actress

Full date unknown

Galen Schlosser, American architect