Today in History for January 2002

Months in 2002: February March April May June July August September October November December

Historical Events

Events 1 - 17 of 17

1st - The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.
1st - Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.
1st - Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
2nd - Eduardo Duhalde is appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly.
6th - Daniel Bedingfield returns to No.1 on the UK singles chart for the second time with Gotta Get Thru This
8th - President George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act.
9th - Michael Jackson receives the Artist of the Century award at the American music awards
16th - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
17th - Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
18th - Sierra Leone Civil War was finally declared over.
21st - The Canadian Dollar sets all-time low against the US Dollar (US$0.6179).
22nd - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
23rd - Reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan. He was subsequently murdered .
23rd - "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States in Federal Bureau of Investigation custody.
25th - Wikipedia switches to the new version of its software ("Phase II") aka Magnus Manske Day.
28th - TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.
29th - In his State of the Union Address, United States President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.

Famous Weddings

Weddings 1 - 2 of 2

1st - Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton (56) weds Melia McEnery (25) at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Surrey, London
5th - 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

Famous Deaths

Deaths 1 - 37 of 37

1st - Julia Phillips, American film producer (b. 1944)
2nd - Armi Aavikko, Finnish singer (b. 1958)
3rd - Juan García Esquivel, Mexican band leader (b. 1918)
3rd - Freddy Heineken, Dutch beer executive (b. 1923)
7th - Avery Schreiber, American actor (b. 1935)
7th - Jon Lee, Welsh musician (Feeder) (b. 1968)
8th - Alexander Prochorow, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1916)
8th - Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1932)
10th - W.A. Criswell, American (Baptist) preacher (b. 1909)
11th - Henri Verneuil, French playwright and film director (b. 1920)
11th - Struan Sutherland, Australian medical researcher (b. 1936)
12th - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
12th - Cyrus Vance, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
13th - Ted Demme, American film director (b. 1963)
13th - Gregorio Fuentes, Cuban fisherman, reputed model for Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea (b. 1897)
13th - Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian (b. 1916)
15th - Steve Gromek, American baseball player (b. 1920)
16th - Robert Hanbury Brown, British-Australian astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
16th - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
16th - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
16th - Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
16th - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
17th - Bishop Karas, Sudanese-born American religious leader (b. 1955)
17th - Camilo Jose Cela, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
17th - Queenie Leonard, American actress (b. 1905)
20th - Carrie Hamilton, actress and singer (b. 1963)
21st - Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
22nd - Stanley Marcus, American business executive (b. 1905)
23rd - Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b. 1930)
23rd - Paul Aars, American racecar driver (b. 1934)
23rd - Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b. 1938)
24th - Elie Hobeika, Lebanese Forces militia commander (b. 1956)
24th - Peter Gzowski, Canadian broadcaster, writer and reporter (b. 1934)
28th - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (b. 1907)
29th - Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b. 1928)
29th - Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b. 1914)
31st - Francis Gabreski, American fighter pilot (b. 1919)