This article is about the year 2002. For other uses see 2002 (disambiguation). Millennium: 3rd millennium Centuries: 20th century 21st century 22nd century Decades: 1970s  1980s  1990s  2000s  2010s  2020s  2030s Years: 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2002 by topic: News by month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Arts Architecture Art Comics Film Home video Literature (Poetry) Music (Country Metal UK) Radio Television Video gaming Politics Elections Int'l leaders Politics State leaders Sovereign states Science and technology Archaeology Aviation Birding/Ornithology Meteorology Palaeontology Rail transport Science Spaceflight Sports Sport Athletics (Track and Field) Australian Football League Baseball Football (soccer) Cricket Ice Hockey Motorsport Tennis Rugby league By place Algeria Argentina Australia Brazil Canada People's Republic of China Denmark El Salvador Egypt European Union France Germany Ghana India Iraq Iran Ireland Israel Italy Japan Kenya Lithuania Luxembourg Malaysia Mexico New Zealand Norway Pakistan Palestinian territories Philippines Russia Singapore South Africa South Korea Spain Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Zimbabwe Other topics Awards Games Law Religious leaders Video gaming Birth and death categories Births Deaths Establishments and disestablishments categories Establishments Disestablishments Works and introductions categories Works Introductions v d e 2002 in other calendars Gregorian calendar 2002 MMII Ab urbe condita 2755 Armenian calendar 1451 Bah' calendar 158 159 Bengali calendar 1409 Berber calendar 2952 British Regnal year 50 Eliz. 2  51 Eliz. 2 Buddhist calendar 2546 Burmese calendar 1364 Byzantine calendar 7510 7511 Chinese calendar (4638/4698-11-18) to (4639/4699-11-28) Coptic calendar 1718 1719 Ethiopian calendar 1994 1995 Hebrew calendar 5762 5763 Hindu calendars  - Bikram Samwat 2058 2059  - Shaka Samvat 1924 1925  - Kali Yuga 5103 5104 Holocene calendar 12002 Iranian calendar 1380 1381 Islamic calendar 1422 1423 Japanese calendar Heisei 14 (14) Korean calendar 4335 Thai solar calendar 2545 Unix time 1009843200 1041379199 v d e Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 2002

2002 (MMII) was a common year that started on a Tuesday. In the Gregorian calendar it was the 2002nd year of the Common Era or of Anno Domini; the 2nd year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 3rd of the 2000s decade.

The year 2002 was designated the: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains Year of the Outback in Australia National Science Year in the United Kingdom Autism Awareness Year in the United Kingdom

For the first time since 1991 the year number was a palindrome (next palindrome year will be 2112). Events January January 1 The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty initially signed in 1992 officially enters into force. Euro notes and coins are issued in France Spain Germany Italy Portugal Greece Finland Luxembourg Belgium Austria Ireland and the Netherlands. 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 10 Enrique Bolaos begins his 5-year term as President of the Republic of Nicaragua. January 14 The asylum case of Adelaide Abankwah is heard in New York. January 16 The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and freezes the assets of Osama bin Laden Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. January 17 The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo displaces an estimated 400000 people. January 23 Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Pakistan accused of being a CIA agent by his captors. January 27 Several explosions at a military dump in Lagos Nigeria kill more than 1000.Confirmation needed January 31 A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins disintegrating consuming about 3250 km (1254 miles) over 35 days. February February 1 Kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is murdered in Karachi Pakistan. February 3 Costa Rica holds presidential and congressional elections. February 8February 24 The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City Utah. February 12 The trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. 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 gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood. Artists concept of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft February 19 NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system. February 20 In Reqa Al-Gharbiya Egypt a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370. February 22 Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush. A Spanish-facilitated ceasefire begins in Sri Lanka. February 23 FARC kidnaps Ingrid Betancourt in Colombia while she campaigns for the presidency. February 27 A series of riots leaves hundreds dead after 59 Hindu pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a Muslim mob in Godhra India. February 28 The ex-currencies of all euro-using nations cease to be legal tender in the European Union. Gujarat communal riots begin wherein the Gulbarg Society massacre takes place in Ahmedabad in which 69 people were burnt alive or killed. March Hubble Space Telescope after servicing by the crew of STS-109 March 1 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern Afghanistan Operation Anaconda begins. Continuing violence in Ahmedabad India kills 28; police shoot and kill 5 rioters. The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800 km above the Earth using an Ariane 5 on its 11th launch carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500 kg. STS-109: Space Shuttle Columbia flies the Hubble Space Telescope service mission its last before STS-107. March 3 So Tom and Prncipe hold legislative elections. March 4 Ansett Australia one of the oldest airlines in the world and the second largest in Australia ceases operation after collapsing financially. This event also marks the largest job loss in Australian history. March 6 France agrees to return the remains of Saartjie Baartman to South Africa. March 12 In Houston Texas Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her 5 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. ECOWAS Parliament established. March 17 Portugal holds parliamentary elections. In Islamabad Pakistan the International Protestant Church attack occurs. March 19 US war in Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 1) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities. March 21 In Pakistan Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and 3 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. March 27 A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 30 Israeli civilians and injures 140 others at the Park Hotel in Netanya triggering Operation Defensive Shield a large-scale counter-terrorist Israeli military incursion into the West Bank two days later. April April 2 Israeli forces besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem when militants take shelter there. April 9 The funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother takes place in Westminster Abbey London. April 11 April 14 A military coup d'tat against the leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez fails. April 15 An Air China Boeing 767-200 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Pusan South Korea killing 128. April 17 Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from 2 US F-16s. April 18 The discovery of a new insect order Mantophasmatodea is announced. April 21 French presidential election 2002: The first round results in a runoff between Jacques Chirac and the leader of the main French far-right party Jean-Marie Le Pen. April 22 At a special session of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Director-General Jose Bustani is fired. April 25 Soyuz TM-34: South African Mark Shuttleworth blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome; he had paid 15 million for the trip. April 27 The Laughlin Nevada River Run Riot kills 3. May May 20: Flag of East Timor May 6 In the Netherlands politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated. May 9 A 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem ends when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries. In Kaspiysk Russia a remote-control bomb explodes during a holiday parade killing 43 and injuring at least 130. 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 5-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. The Russian Shuttle Buran is destroyed in the Buran hangar collapse killing 8 workers. May 20 East Timor regains its independence. May 21 The US State Department releases a report naming 7 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 former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of 4 girls. May 25 Estonia hosts the first Eurovision Song Contest in a former Soviet republic. China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates near the Penghu Islands at Taiwan Strait killing all 225 people on board. May 26 The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large water ice deposits on the planet Mars. A barge collides with the Interstate 40 bridge across the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma killing 14. May 31 June 30 the 2002 FIFA world cup is held in South Korea and Japan June June 3 The Party in the Palace takes place at Buckingham Palace London for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations. June 4 The planetoid Quaoar is discovered orbiting the Sun in the Kuiper belt. June 6 Eastern Mediterranean Event: An object with an estimated diameter of 10 meters collides with Earth over the Mediterranean Sea and detonates in mid-air. June 8 Serena Williams defeats her sister Venus Williams in straight sets to win the 2002 French Open. June 10 An annular solar eclipse occurs. The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of 2 humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom. 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 15 Near Earth Asteroid 2002 MN misses the planet by 75000 miles (120000 km) about 1/3 the distance to the moon. June 24 The Igandu train disaster in Dodoma Region Tanzania kills 281 people in the worst rail accident in African history. June 30 Brazil wins its fifth World Cup defeating Germany in the final. July July 1 The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide crimes against humanity war crimes and the crime of aggression. Crimes committed on or after this date may be prosecuted by the court. A Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane collide over the town of berlingen Germany; 72 are killed (see Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937). July 9 The Organization of African Unity is disbanded and replaced by the African Union. July 10 At a Sotheby's auction Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" (first version) is sold for 49.5million (US$76.2 million) to Kenneth Thomson 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet. July 14 During Bastille Day celebrations Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt. 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 19 Hail kills 25 and injures hundreds in the Chinese province of Henan. July 21 Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (the largest such filing in United States history). July 27 A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes at an air show in Ukraine killing 85 and injuring more than 100 making it the worst air show disaster in history (see Sknyliv airshow disaster). August August The 2002 European floods ravage Central Europe. August 10 Turkmenistan adopts a law to rename all the months and most of the days of the week according to Ruhnama a book written by Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov. August 12 In Arlington Virginia US Airways declares bankruptcy. September Gerhard Schrder September 2 The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development successor of the 1972 Conference on the Human Environment 1983 World Commission on Environment and Development and the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development opens. September 5 A car bomb kills at least 30 people in Afghanistan and an apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai fails the same day. September 10 Switzerland joins the United Nations. September 11 The World Summit on Sustainable Development comes to a close. September 15 The Swedish parliamentary election 2002 leaves Prime Minister Gran Persson and the Social Democrats in power. September 19 Civil war starts in Cte d'Ivoire. September 20 The Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide occurs. September 22 The German federal election leaves Chancellor Gerhard Schrder his Social Democrats and the Greens in power. September 25 The Vitim event a possible bolide impact occurs in Siberia Russia. September 26 The Senegalese passenger ferry Joola capsizes in a storm off the coast of Gambia; 1863 are killed. October October 2 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. The Beltway sniper attacks begin with 5 shootings in Montgomery County Maryland. October 7 The discovery of Quaoar is announced. October 9 The Dot-com bubble bear market reaches bottom when the Dow Jones Industrial Average slips below 7200. October 11 Myyrmanni bombing: A lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of Helsinki Finland; the casualties include himself. October 12 Terrorists detonate bombs in 2 nightclubs in Kuta Bali killing 202 and injuring over 300. October 16 Iraq War Resolution is authorized by a majority of the U.S. Congress. October 21 9 of 13 DNS root servers are disabled in a DDoS attack. October 22 25 Chechen rebels take control of the theatre Nord-Ost in Moscow and hold the audience hostage. October 24 The Beltway snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo are arrested. October 25 U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone his family and his staff are killed in a plane accident at Eveleth Minnesota. November The Department of Homeland Security is formed in response to terrorist concerns in the United States. November 2 The Godless Americans March on Washington brings together 2000 atheists freethinkers and humanists in a mile-long parade down the National Mall. November 5 The U.S. Republican Party maintains control of the House of Representatives and gains control of the United States Senate. November 6 The U.S. Federal Reserve System drops its primary discount rate by 50 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 Iraq disarmament crisis: The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves UN Security Council Resolution 1441 forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences". November 13 Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq agrees to the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1441. The oil tanker Prestige sinks off the Galician coast causing a huge oil spill. November 14 Argentina defaults on a US $805 million World Bank loan payment. November 15 Hu Jintao becomes General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. 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 18 Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq. November 21 At the NATO Summit in Prague Bulgaria Estonia Latvia Lithuania Romania Slovakia and Slovenia are invited to join the organization. November 22 In Nigeria more than 100 are killed at an attack aimed at the Miss World contestants. 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. November 26 Legislation by the European Court of Human Rights and Law Lords ruling in favour of convicted murderer Anthony Anderson ends the right of the Home Secretary to set minimum terms for convicted murderers. December December 7 As required by the recently passed U.N. resolution Iraq files a 12000 page weapons declaration with the U.N. Security Council. December 9 United Airlines the second largest airline in the world files for bankruptcy. December 10 The High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the Internet defamation dispute in the case of Gutnick v Dow Jones. December 27 A suicide truck-bomb attack destroys the headquarters of Chechnya's Moscow-backed government killing 72. December 29 The Communist New People's Army blows up a bust of Ferdinand Marcos in Benguet Philippines. December 30 An eruption on the volcanic island Stromboli off the coast of Sicily causes a flank failure and tsunami. The island is later evacuated. Date unknown Population Division of the United Nations calculate that 40 million people around the world are infected with HIV. Births July 22 Prince Felix of Denmark Prince of Denmark October 6 Cleopatra Stratan Moldovan child singer Deaths Main article: Deaths in 2002 January Cyrus Vance January 3 Freddy Heineken Dutch-born beer magnate (b. 1923) January 8 Alexander Prokhorov Russian physicist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916) Dave Thomas American fast food entrepreneur (Wendy's) (b. 1932) January 12 Stanley Unwin South African comedian (b. 1911) Cyrus Vance American politician 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1917) January 16 Michael Anthony Bilandic Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923) Bobo Olson American boxer (b. 1928) January 17 Queenie Leonard British singer and actress (b. 1905) Camilo Jos Cela Spanish writer (b. 1916) January 22 Jack Shea American double-Gold medalist in speed skating (b. 1910) Peggy Lee American singer and actress (b. 1920) January 23 Pierre Bourdieu French sociologist (b. 1930) Robert Nozick American philosopher (b. 1938) January 28 Astrid Lindgren Swedish children's book author (b. 1907) February Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon Howard K. Smith February 6 Max Perutz Austrian-born molecular biologist recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1914) February 8 Joachim Hoffmann German historian (b. 1930) Thomaz Soares da Silva Brazilian football player (b. 1921) February 9 Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930) February 10 Traudl Junge German private secretary of Adolf Hitler (b. 1920) February 13 Waylon Jennings American country music singer (b. 1937) February 14 Nndor Hidegkuti Hungarian footballer (b. 1922) February 15 Howard K. Smith American television journalist (ABC News) (b. 1914) Kevin Smith New Zealand actor (b. 1963) February 16 Walter Winterbottom English football manager (b. 1913) February 19 Virginia Hamilton American writer (b. 1936) February 22 Chuck Jones American animator (b. 1912) Jonas Savimbi Angolan rebel and political leader (b. 1934) February 24 Leo Ornstein American composer and pianist (b. 1892) February 27 Spike Milligan British comedian writer and poet (b. 1918) February 28 Helmut Zacharias German violinist (b. 1920) March Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon March 11 James Tobin American economist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918) March 12 Spyros Kyprianou former President of Cyprus (b. 1932) March 20 Ibn Al-Khattab Saudi guerilla (b. 1969) March 24 Csar Milstein Argentine scientist recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1927) March 27 Milton Berle American comedian and actor (b. 1908) Dudley Moore British pianist comedian and actor (b. 1935) Billy Wilder Polish-American film screenwriter and director (b. 1906) March 30 Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon queen consort of George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1900) April Byron White April 5 Layne Staley American singer (b. 1967) April 8 Maria Felix Mexican actress (b. 1914) April 9 Leopold Vietoris Austrian mathematician (b. 1891) April 15 Byron White American athlete and Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917) April 16 Franz Krienbhl Swiss speed skater (b. 1929) Robert Urich American actor (b. 1946) April 18 Thor Heyerdahl Norwegian explorer (b. 1914) April 22 Linda Lovelace American pornographic actress (b. 1949) April 25 Lisa Lopes American rapper; one-third of the multi-platinum girl group TLC (b. 1971) April 27 George Alec Effinger American author (b. 1947) Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza Swiss industrialist and art collector (b. 1921) April 28 Ruth Handler American toy manufacturer (b. 1916) May Pim Fortuyn May 5 Hugo Banzer Bolivian politician 62nd and 75th President of Bolivia (b. 1926) May 6 Pim Fortuyn Dutch politician and professor (b. 1948) May 11 Joseph Bonanno Italian-born gangster (b. 1905) May 13 Valeri Lobanovsky Ukrainian football manager (b. 1939) May 18 Davey Boy Smith British professional wrestler (b. 1962) May 19 John Gorton Australian politician 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911) May 20 Stephen Jay Gould American paleontologist and author (b. 1941) May 21 Niki de Saint Phalle French artist (b. 1930) May 23 Sam Snead American golfer (b. 1912) May 26 Mamo Wolde Ethiopian runner (b. 1932) May 28 Jean Berger German-American composer (b. 1909) June June 4 Fernando Belande Terry Peruvian politician 85th and 88th President of Peru (b. 1912) June 5 Dee Dee Ramone American bassist (b. 1951) June 6 Hans Janmaat Dutch politician (b. 1934) June 7 Lilian Princess of Rthy Belgian princess (b. 1916) June 10 John Gotti American gangster (b. 1940) June 17 Fritz Walter German footballer (b. 1920) June 24 Pierre Werner Luxembourgian politician 19th and 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913) June 26 Arnold Brown English General of The Salvation Army (b. 1913) June 27 John Entwistle English bassist (b. 1944) June 29 Rosemary Clooney American singer and actress (b. 1928) July Joaqun Balaguer Joseph Luns July 5 Benjamin O. Davis Jr. American general (b. 1912) Katy Jurado Mexican actress (b. 1924) Ted Williams American baseball player (b. 1918) July 6 Dhirubhai Ambani Indian businessman (b. 1932) John Frankenheimer American film director (b. 1930) July 9 Rod Steiger American actor (b. 1925) July 13 Yousuf Karsh Turkish-born photographer (b. 1908) July 14 Joaqun Balaguer Dominican politician 41st 45th and 49th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906) July 16 John Cocke American computer scientist (b. 1925) July 17 Joseph Luns Dutch politician and diplomat 5th Secretary General of NATO (b. 1911) July 19 Alan Lomax American folklorist and musicologist (b. 1915) July 23 Chaim Potok American author and rabbi (b. 1929) July 25 Abdur Rahman Badawi Egyptian philosopher (b. 1917) July 28 Archer John Porter Martin English chemist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910) August Edsger W. Dijkstra August 4 Carmen Silvera British actress (b. 1922) August 5 Franco Lucentini Italian writer (b. 1920) August 6 Edsger W. Dijkstra Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930) August 11 Galen Rowell American photographer writer and climber (b. 1940) August 14 Dave Williams American singer (b. 1972) August 16 Abu Nidal Palestinian militant (b. 1937) August 31 Lionel Hampton American musician (b. 1908) George Porter English chemist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920) September September 11 Kim Hunter American actress (b. 1922) September 18 Bob Hayes American athlete (b. 1942) September 19 Robert Gu Ivorian military ruler (b. 1941) Duncan Hallas prominent member of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain (b. 1925) September 21 Robert Lull Forward American author and physicist (b. 1932) October Claus van Amsberg October 6 Claus van Amsberg German born Prince Consort of the Netherlands (b. 1926) October 9 Sopubek Begaliev Soviet-era economist and politician (b. 1931) Aileen Wuornos American serial killer (b. 1956) October 12 Ray Conniff American musician and bandleader (b. 1916) October 13 Stephen Ambrose American historian and biographer (b. 1936) October 18 Nikolai Rukavishnikov Russian cosmonaut (b. 1932) October 25 Richard Harris Irish actor (b. 1930) October 30 Jam-Master Jay American Hip-Hop DJ (b. 1965) November Abba Eban November 2 Charles Sheffield English author and physicist (b. 1935) November 12 Kroly Doncsecz Slovenian potter (b. 1918) November 15 Myra Hindley English murderer (b. 1942) November 17 Abba Eban Israeli politician and diplomat 3rd Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1915) November 18 James Coburn American actor (b. 1928) November 19 Max Reinhardt British publisher (b. 1915) November 24 John Rawls American political theorist (b. 1921) December Joe Strummer December 3 Glenn Quinn Irish actor (b. 1970) December 5 Ne Win Burmese military commander (b. 1911) December 18 Ray Hnatyshyn Governor General of Canada (b. 1934) December 22 Desmond Hoyte Guyanese politician 3rd Prime Minister of Guyana and 4th President of Guyana (b. 1929) Joe Strummer British musician (b. 1952) Nobel Prizes Peace Jimmy Carter Literature Imre Kertsz Chemistry John B. Fenn and Koichi Tanaka Kurt Wthrich Physics Raymond Davis Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba Riccardo Giacconi Physiology or Medicine Sydney Brenner H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Daniel Kahneman and Vernon L. Smith Fields Medalists Laurent Lafforgue Vladimir Voevodsky In fiction Main article: Works of fiction set in 2002 References 2002 Year-End Google Zeitgeist Google's Yearly List of Major Events and Top Searches for 2002 Top Stories of 2002 - CNN Year in Review - Netscape v d eList of events by month 2009: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2008: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2007: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2006: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2005: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2004: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2003: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2002: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2001: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December 2000: January  February  March  April  May  June  July  August  September  October  November  December