2002
2002 was designated as the International Year of Ecotourism and the International Year of Mountains.
Events
January
- January 1
- * The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force.
- * The Euro is officially introduced in the Eurozone countries. The former currencies of all the countries that use the Euro ceased to be legal tender on February 28.
- January 17 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
- January 18 – The Sierra Leone Civil War comes to a conclusion with the defeat of the Revolutionary United Front by government forces.
February
- February 2 - Wedding of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
- February 6 – Queen Elizabeth II of the Commonwealth Realms celebrates her Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years since her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- February 8–24 – The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah.
- February 12 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former president of Yugoslavia, begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
- February 13 - 111-year-old Theresa Bernstein died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, 17 days before her 112th birthday and several years after suffering a stroke.
- February 19 – NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
- February 22 – UNITA guerilla leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in clashes against government troops led by Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos in Moxico Province, Angola. His death leads to the end of the Angolan Civil War on April 4.
March
- March 1 – The Envisat environmental satellite is launched, with its purpose being the recording of information on environmental change.
- March 27 – A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 30 people and injures 140 others at a hotel in Netanya, Israel, triggering Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank, two days later.
April
- April 2 – Israeli forces besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, when militants took shelter there. The siege would last for 38 days.
- April 9 – The Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother takes place at Westminster Abbey, London.
- April 15 – Air China Flight 129 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Busan, South Korea, killing 129 people.
- April 25 – South African Mark Shuttleworth blasts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on the Soyuz TM-34, becoming the first African space tourist.
May
- May 12 - Buran, the Russian equivalent to the Space Shuttle, is destroyed in a storm at Baikonur.
- May 20 - East Timor regains its independence after 2-and-a-half years of United Nations administration and 26 years of occupation by Indonesia since 1975.
- May 24 - In Moscow, United States President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty to replace the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 and the START II Treaty of 1993.
- May 25 - A Boeing 747 operating as China Airlines Flight 611 breaks up and crashes in the Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 passengers and crew on board.
- May 26 - A penumbral lunar eclipse was visible in eastern Asia, Australia, Pacific, western Americas. The penumbral lunar eclipse had a penumbral magnitude of 0.68933, umbral magnitude of -0.28877, was the 66th lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 111.
- May 31 - June 30 - The 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan; which is ultimately won by Brazil.
June
- June 6 – An object with an estimated diameter of 10 meters collides with Earth over the Mediterranean and detonates in mid-air.
- June 10
- * A large annular solar eclipse covered over 99% of the Sun, creating a dramatic spectacle for observers in a narrow path at most 13 km wide; it lasted just 23 seconds at the point of maximum eclipse. It was seen from Australasia, across the Pacific and the Mexico coast, and was the 35th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 137.
- * The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.
- June 13 – Afghanistan changes its official longform name to the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan.
- June 24 – A passenger train collides with a freight train in Dodoma Region, Tanzania, killing 281 people, making it the worst rail accident in African history.
July
- July 1
- * The Rome Statute comes into force, thereby establishing the International Criminal Court.
- * A Russian passenger jet and cargo plane collide over the town of Überlingen, Germany, killing 71 people.
- July 9 – The Organisation of African Unity is disbanded and replaced by the African Union.
- July 27 - Sknyliv air show disaster: 77 people are killed and 543 injured when a fighter jet crashes into spectators during an aerobatics presentation at Sknyliv airfield near Lviv, Ukraine. It is the deadliest air show accident in history.
August
- August 26 – Earth Summit 2002 begins in Johannesburg, South Africa, aimed at discussing sustainable development by the United Nations.
- August 27 - Educational children's website Starfall is founded.
September
- September 10 – Switzerland joins the United Nations as the 190th member state after rejecting a place in 1986.
- September 19 – General Robert Guéï leads an army mutiny in an attempt to overthrow Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, resulting in civil war.
- September 25 – The Vitim event, a possible bolide impact, occurs in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.
- September 26 – The Senegalese passenger ferry MV Le Joola capsizes in a storm off the coast of the Gambia, killing 1,863 people.
- September 27 – East Timor is admitted to the United Nations as the 191st member state; it also changes its official longform name from "Democratic Republic of East Timor" to "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste".
October
- October 12 – Jemaah Islamiyah militants detonate multiple bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, Indonesia, killing 202 people and injuring over 300 in the worst terrorist act in Indonesia's history.
- October 23–25 – Chechen rebels take control of the Nord-Ost theatre in Moscow and hold the audience hostage. At least 170 people are killed following a Russian attempt to subdue the militants.
November
- November – Severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic begins in Guangdong Province of China.
- November 7 – A sovereignty referendum is held in Gibraltar. The people reject Spanish sovereignty.
- November 8 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1441, forcing Iraq to either disarm or face "serious consequences". Iraq agrees to the terms of the resolution on November 13.
- November 19 – Prestige oil spill: Greek oil tanker splits in half off the coast of Galicia after spilling an estimated 17.8M US gallons in the worst environmental disaster in the history of the Iberian Peninsula.
- 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. Following a several month-long transitional period, it commences operations the following year.
- November 28 – 2002 Mombasa attacks: Suicide bombers blow up an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, but their colleagues failed in their attempt to bring down an Arkia Israel Airlines charter flight with surface-to-air-missiles.
December
- December 23 – A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.
Births
January–April
- January 17 - Samuel, American-South Korean singer
- January 25 - Lil Mosey, American rapper
- February 4 - Graham Verchere, Canadian actor
- February 9 - Jalen Green, American basketball player
- February 5 - Davis Cleveland, American actor
- February 5 – Kang Taehyun, member of South Korean boy group, TXT
- February 13 - Sophia Lillis, American actress
- March 16 - Isabelle Allen, English actress
- April 8 - Skai Jackson, American actress
- April 16 - Sadie Sink, American actress
- April 19 - Loren Gray, American singer-songwriter and social media personality
May–August
- May 11 - Kai Sotto, Filipino basketball player
- May 18 - Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater
- June 2 - Madison Hu, American actress
- July 21 - Rika Kihira, Japanese figure skater
- July 22 - Prince Felix of Denmark
- July 24 - Benjamin Flores Jr., American actor and rapper
- August 1 - Oona Laurence, American actress
- August 14 – Huening Kai, member of South Korean boy group, TXT
- August 19 - Brighton Sharbino, American actress
- August 26 - Lil Tecca, American rapper
September–December
- September 6 - Asher Angel, American actor
- September 8 - Gaten Matarazzo, American actor
- September 17 - Zinaida Kupriyanovich, Belarusian singer and presenter
- September 27 - Jenna Ortega, American actress
- September 30
- * Levi Miller, Australian actor
- * Maddie Ziegler, American dancer
- October 2 - Jacob Sartorius, American singer
- October 6 - Cleopatra Stratan, Moldovan singer
- October 12 - Iris Apatow, American actress
- October 15 - Malu Trevejo, Cuban-American social media personality
- October 16 - Madison Wolfe, American actress
- October 26 - Julian Dennison, New Zealand actor
- October 29 - Ruel, Australian singer-songwriter
- October 31 - Ansu Fati, Spanish footballer
- November 1 - NLE Choppa, American rapper
- November 6 - Mya-Lecia Naylor, English actress and model
- November 20 - Madisyn Shipman, American actress
- November 25 - Emilio Osorio, Mexican actor and singer
- December 15 - Caden Moore, Gamer and owner of garfield gaming
- December 17 - Stefania Liberakakis, Greek-Dutch singer and actress
- December 23 - Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor and musician
Deaths
January
- January 6 – Sanya Dharmasakti, 12th Prime Minister of Thailand
- January 8 – Alexander Prokhorov, Russian Nobel physicist
- January 10 – John Buscema, American comic book artist
- January 11 – Henri Verneuil, French filmmaker and playwright
- January 12 – Cyrus Vance, American politician, 59th United States Secretary of State
- January 13
- * Ted Demme, American director and producer
- * Gregorio Fuentes, Cuban fisherman
- January 16 – Ron Taylor, American actor
- January 17 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer
- January 18 – Celso Daniel, Brazilian politician
- January 19
- * Martti Miettunen, 2-Time Prime Minister of Finland
- * Vavá, Brazilian footballer
- January 21 – Peggy Lee, American singer and actress
- January 22 – Jack Shea, American speed skater
- January 23
- * Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist
- * Robert Nozick, American philosopher
- January 28 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's book author
- January 30 – Inge Morath, Austrian-born American photographer
- January 31 – Gabby Gabreski, Polish-American fighter ace
February
- February 1
- * Hildegard Knef, German actress
- * Daniel Pearl, American journalist
- February 4
- * Agatha Barbara, 3rd President of Malta
- * Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg
- * George Nader, American actor
- February 6 – Max Perutz, Austrian-born Nobel molecular biologist
- February 8
- * Ong Teng Cheong, 5th President of Singapore
- * Esther Afua Ocloo, Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending
- * Zizinho, Brazilian football player
- February 9 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
- February 10 – Traudl Junge, German private secretary of Adolf Hitler
- February 12 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer
- February 13 – Waylon Jennings, American country music singer
- February 14 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer
- February 15 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor
- February 19 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender activist
- February 22
- * Chuck Jones, American animator
- * Jonas Savimbi, Angolan rebel and political leader
- February 25 – Claire Davenport, English actress
- February 26 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor
- February 27 – Spike Milligan, British-Irish comedian
March
- March 9 – Irene Worth, American actress
- March 11 – James Tobin, American Nobel economist
- March 12 – Spyros Kyprianou, 2nd President of Cyprus
- March 13 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher
- March 20 – Ibn al-Khattab, Saudi guerrilla
- March 24 – César Milstein, Argentine Nobel biochemist
- March 27
- * Milton Berle, American comedian
- * Dudley Moore, English pianist, comedian, and actor
- * Billy Wilder, Polish-American film screenwriter and director
- March 30 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
April
- April 1 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish sniper
- April 2 – Jack Kruschen, Canadian actor
- April 5 – Layne Staley, American singer
- April 7 – John Agar, American actor
- April 8 – María Félix, Mexican actress
- April 15 – Byron White, American athlete and Supreme Court Justice
- April 16
- * Ramiro de León Carpio, 31st President of Guatemala
- * Robert Urich, American actor
- April 18 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer
- April 22 – Linda Lovelace, American pornographic actress
- April 25 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper
- April 27 – George Alec Effinger, American author
- April 28
- * Ruth Handler, American businesswoman
- * Lou Thesz, American professional wrestler
May
- May 3 – Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, 2-Time Prime Minister of Somalia
- May 5 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian politician, 62nd and 75th President of Bolivia
- May 6 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician, author and professor
- May 11 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster
- May 13 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian football manager
- May 17 – László Kubala, Hungarian footballer
- May 18 – Davey Boy Smith, British professional wrestler
- May 19 – John Gorton, 19th Prime Minister of Australia
- May 20 – Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist and author
- May 21 – Niki de Saint Phalle, French artist
- May 23 – Sam Snead, American professional golfer
- May 24 – Susie Garrett, American actress
- May 26 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner
- May 28 – Napoleon Beazley, juvenile convicted murderer
June
- June 3 – Sam Whipple, American actor
- June 4 – Fernando Belaúnde, Peruvian politician, 2-Time President of Peru
- June 5 – Dee Dee Ramone, American bassist
- June 6 – Robbin Crosby, American rock guitarist
- June 7 – Lilian, Princess of Réthy, Belgian princess
- June 10 – John Gotti, American gangster
- June 15 – Choi Hong Hi, Korean martial artist
- June 17 – Willie Davenport, American track and field athlete
- June 24 – Pierre Werner, Luxembourgian politician, 19th and 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg
- June 25 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician
- June 27 – John Entwistle, English bassist
- June 29 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress
July
- July 2 – Ray Brown, American bassist
- July 5
- * Katy Jurado, Mexican actress
- * Ted Williams, American baseball player
- July 6
- * Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman
- * John Frankenheimer, American film director
- July 8 – Ward Kimball, American cartoonist
- July 9 – Rod Steiger, American actor
- July 13 – Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born photographer
- July 14 – Joaquín Balaguer, Dominican politician, 41st, 45th and 49th President of the Dominican Republic
- July 16 – John Cocke, American computer scientist
- July 17 – Joseph Luns, Dutch politician and diplomat, 5th Secretary General of NATO
- July 19
- * Alan Lomax, American folklorist and musicologist
- * Vladimir Vasyutin, Soviet cosmonaut
- July 21 – Antti Koivumäki, Finnish poet and musician
- July 22 – Chuck Traynor, American pornographer
- July 23 – Chaim Potok, American author and rabbi
- July 28 – Archer Martin, English Nobel chemist
August
- August 3 – Carmen Silvera, English actress
- August 5 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor
- August 6 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist
- August 10
- * Kristen Nygaard, Norwegian computer scientist
- * Eugene Odum, American biologist
- August 14
- * Peter R. Hunt, English film director
- * Dave Williams, American musician
- August 16
- * Jeff Corey, American actor
- * Abu Nidal, Palestinian militant
- August 19 – Eduardo Chillida, Spanish Basque sculptor
- August 24 – Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Dutch astronomer
- August 30
- * Zaid ibn Shaker, 3-Time Prime Minister of Jordan
- * J. Lee Thompson, English film director
- August 31
- * Lionel Hampton, American musician
- * George Porter, English Nobel chemist
September
- 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 16 – Nguyễn Văn Thuận, Vietnamese cardinal
- September 18 – Bob Hayes, American athlete
- September 19 – Robert Guéï, Ivorian military ruler
- September 20 – Sergei Bodrov Jr., Russian actor
- September 22 – Mickey Newbury, American singer-songwriter
October
- October 4 – André Delvaux, Belgian film director
- October 6 – Prince Claus of the Netherlands, prince consort of the Netherlands
- October 9 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer
- October 10 – Teresa Graves, American actress and comedian
- October 12
- * Ray Conniff, American musician and bandleader
- * Audrey Mestre, French freediver
- * Nozomi Momoi, Japanese AV idol
- October 13 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and biographer
- October 17 – Aileen Riggin, American swimmer and diver
- October 18 – Nikolay Rukavishnikov, Russian cosmonaut
- October 19 – Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Mexican photographer
- October 20 – Bernard Fresson, French actor
- October 22 – Geraldine of Albania, Queen consort of Albania
- October 23 – Richard Helms, American academic and author
- October 24 – Harry Hay, American gay rights activist, communist and labor advocate
- October 25
- * Richard Harris, Irish actor
- * René Thom, French mathematician
- * Paul Wellstone, American academic, author and politician
- October 28 – Margaret Booth, American film editor
- October 30 – Jam Master Jay, American Hip-Hop DJ
- October 31 – Michail Stasinopoulos, 1st President of Greece
November
- November 2
- * Lo Lieh, Hong Kong actor
- * Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician
- November 3
- * Lonnie Donegan, British skiffle musician
- * Jonathan Harris, American actor
- November 4 – Antonio Margheriti, Italian filmmaker
- November 9
- * Merlin Santana, American actor
- * Eusebio Tejera, Uruguayan footballer
- November 12 – Károly Doncsecz, Slovenian potter
- November 13 – Juan Alberto Schiaffino, Italian-Uruguayan footballer
- November 14 – Eddie Bracken, American actor
- November 15 – Sohn Kee-Chung, Korean Olympic athlete
- November 17 – Abba Eban, Israeli politician and diplomat, 3rd Foreign Minister of Israel
- November 18 – James Coburn, American actor
- November 21 – Norihito, Prince Takamado
- November 23 – Roberto Matta, Chilean artist
- November 24 – John Rawls, American political theorist
- November 25 – Karel Reisz, Czech-born British filmmaker
December
- December 2
- * Ivan Illich, Austrian philosopher and Catholic priest
- * Mal Waldron, American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger
- December 3 – Glenn Quinn, Irish actor
- December 5 – Ne Win, Burmese military commander, 4th President of Burma
- December 12
- * Dee Brown, American novelist, and historian
- * Brad Dexter, American actor and film producer
- December 17 – Mahmoud Fayad, Egyptian weightlifter
- December 18 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian statesman, 24th Governor General of Canada
- December 20 – Grote Reber, American astronomer
- December 21 – José Hierro, Spanish poet
- December 22
- * Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese politician, 3rd Prime Minister and 4th President of Guyana
- * Joe Strummer, English musician
- December 24 – Tita Merello, Argentinian actress and singer
- December 25 – Gabriel Almond, American political scientist
- December 26 – Herb Ritts, American photographer
- December 27 – George Roy Hill, American film director
- December 30 – Mary Brian, American actress
Nobel Prizes
- Chemistry – John B. Fenn and Koichi Tanaka, Kurt Wüthrich
- Economics – Daniel Kahneman and Vernon L. Smith
- Literature – Imre Kertész
- Peace – Jimmy Carter
- Physics – Raymond Davis Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba, Riccardo Giacconi
- Physiology or Medicine – Sydney Brenner, H. Robert Horvitz, and John E. Sulston