2002 in the United States

Incumbents

Federal government

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

  Governors

Lieutenant governors

Events

January

• January 5 - Charles Bishop, a 15-year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a Tampa, Florida building, evoking fear of a copycat 9/11 terrorist attack.
• 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.
• 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 23 - 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 Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is murdered in Karachi, Pakistan.
• February 3 - Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in New Orleans.
• February 8-February 24 - The Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The U.S. 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 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.
• * 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 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 Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
• March 24 - The 74th Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, are held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California with the film A Beautiful Mind winning Best Picture.

  April

• April 1 - 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 27 - The Laughlin, Nevada River Run Riot kills three.

  May

• 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 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 - Antonio Meucci is recognized as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
• June 14 - In Karachi, Pakistan, a car bomb in front of the U.S. Consulate kills 12 Pakistanis and injures 50.
• June 29 - Vice President Dick Cheney serves as acting president for a few hours while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy.

  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 21 - Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the largest such filing in United States history.

  August

• August 12 - In Arlington, Virginia, US Airways declares bankruptcy.

  September

• September 5 - The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burned 499,570 acres, is contained.
• 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.

  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 - Iraq War Resolution is authorized by a majority of the U.S. Congress.
• October 24 - The Beltway sniper attacks, having killed 10 and wounded 3 others, end with the arrest of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo.
• 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 defeat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series to win the 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 shook 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.
• 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 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 25 - U.S. President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security, in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947.

  December

• December 9 - United Airlines, the second largest airline in the world, files for bankruptcy.

  Ongoing

• Iraqi no-fly zones
• War in Afghanistan

  Births

January

• January 20 - Michael Barbieri, actor
• January 25 - Lil Mosey, rapper

  February

• February 5 - Davis Cleveland, actor
• February 18 - Jack Lambert, actor
• February 26 - Kendra and Maliyah Herrin, conjoined twins

  March

• March 4 - Jacob Hopkins, actor
• March 7 - Christian Phipps, singer

  April

• April 8 - Skai Jackson, actress
• April 18 - Reece Logan, loves Jenny Lawless

  May

• May 6 - Emily Alyn Lind, actress
• May 8 - Cree Cicchino actress

  June

• June 25 -, actor
• June 25 - Juliette Bosco, dancer

  July

August

• August 1 - Oona Laurence, actress

  September

• September 6 - Asher Angel, actor
• September 8 - Gaten Matarazzo, actor
• September 10 - Chloe Noelle, actress
• September 12 - Maggie Elizabeth Jones, actor
• September 15 - Rhema Marvanne, singer
• September 27 - Jenna Ortega, actress
• September 30 - Maddie Ziegler, dancer

  October

• October 2 - Jacob Sartorius, singer
• October 6 - Rio Mangini, actor
• October 16 - Madison Wolfe, actress
• October 25 - Johnny Sequoyah, actress
• October 26 - Emma Tiger Schweiger, actress

  November

• November 13 - Nikki Hahn, actress
• November 14 - Ben Bowen, notable victim
• November 20 - Madisyn Shipman, actress

  December

Full date unknown

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
• 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 22
• *Peggy Lee, singer and actress
• *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
• 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
• * Billy Wilder, Austrian-born director

  April

• April 5 – Layne Staley, singer and songwriter
• 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
• April 28 – Ruth Handler, businesswoman

  May

• May 9 - Dan Devine, American football player and coach
• May 11 - Joseph Bonanno, mafioso
• May 17 - Dave Berg, cartoonist
• May 20 - Stephen Jay Gould, paleontologist and writer
• May 23 - Sam Snead, golfer
• May 24 - Wallace Markfield, writer

  June

• June 5 - Dee Dee Ramone, songwriter and musician
• June 10 - John Gotti, murderer and leader of organized crime
• June 11 - Robbin Crosby, musician
• 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 29 - Rosemary Clooney, singer and actress, and wife of José Ferrer and mother of Miguel Ferrer

  July

• July 4 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr., general
• 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 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
• 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

  October

• 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 23
• * Adolph Green, American lyricist and playwright
• * Richard Helms, American CIA director
• October 24 – Harry Hay, British-born American activist
• 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, American actor
• November 9 – Merlin Santana, American actor
• November 14 – Eddie Bracken, American actor
• November 15 – Roberta Leighton, American drag racer
• November 18 – James Coburn, American actor
• November 21 – Hadda Brooks, American jazz singer, pianist, and composer
• November 24 – John Rawls, American philosopher
• November 26 – Verne Winchell, American businessman

  December

• 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