Title: 2002 Content: 2002 (MMII) was . == Events == * January 1 – The Treaty on Open Skies, initially signed in 1992, officially enters into force. * January 1 – Euro notes and coins started to be used in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, the Republic of Ireland, and the Netherlands. * January 5 – A light aircraft crashes into a Tampa, Florida building, bringing fear of a repeat September 11, 2001 attacks. * January 10 – Enrique Bolaños became the President of the Republic of Nicaragua. * January 16 – The UN Security Council agreed to forbid selling arms to Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the Taliban and freezes their assets. * January 17 – Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo erupts, leaving about 400,000 people without a home. * January 23 – Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Pakistan, accused of being a CIA agent. * January 31 – A large section of the Antarctic Larsen Ice Shelf begins breaking up, eventually consuming about 3,250 km² (1,254 miles²) after 35 days. * February 8-24 – The 19th Olympic Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City, Utah. * March 1 – The US military and coalition forces launched Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. * April 1 – The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia. * April 28 – Green Party of Pakistan is formed * May 20 – Independence of East Timor from Indonesia. * May 31 – June 30 – The 2002 FIFA World Cup is held in South Korea and Japan. * June 16 - Padre Pio is canonized In Vatican City. * July 9 – The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. * September 10 – The Switzerland joins the United Nations. * November – Outbreak of SARS epidemic in the Chinese province of Guangdong. == Nobel prize winners == * Chemistry – John B. Fenn * Chemistry – Koichi Tanaka * Chemistry – Kurt Wüthrich * Economics – Daniel Kahneman * Economics – Vernon L. Smith * Literature – Imre Kertész * Medicine – Sydney Brenner * Medicine – H. Robert Horvitz * Medicine – John E. Sulston * Peace – Jimmy Carter * Physics – Raymond Davis Jr. * Physics – Riccardo Giacconi * Physics – Masatoshi Koshiba == Births == * March 2 - Alyssa Raghu, American singer * April 5 - Golden Cañedo, Philippine singer * April 29 - Karina Bautista, Philippine actress * May 16 - Shayne Sava, Philippine actress * September 9 - Kyron Horman, Missing person and Rylee Goodrich, American murder victim (d. 2021) * November 3 - ** Bugoy Cariño, Philippine actor ** Kyline Alcantara, Philippine actress == Deaths == === January === * January 6 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1907) * January 8 – Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's fast food chain (b. 1932) * January 12 – Cyrus Vance, 57th United States Secretary of State (b. 1917) * January 19 – Vavá, Brazilian association football player (b. 1934) * January 21 – Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (b. 1920) * January 22 – Kenneth Armitage, British sculptor (b. 1916) * January 28 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish writer (b. 1907) === February === * February 4 – Agatha Barbara, 3rd President of Malta (b. 1923) * February 8 – Zizinho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1921) * February 8 – Ong Teng Cheong, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936) * February 9 – Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (b. 1930) * February 13 – Waylon Jennings, American country music singer (b. 1937) * February 22 – Chuck Jones, American cartoonist (b. 1912) * February 22 – Jonas Savimbi, Angolan politician and rebel leader (b. 1934) === March === * March 10 – Elguja Amashukeli, Georgian sculptor and painter (b. 1928) * March 11 – James Tobin, American economist (b. 1918) * March 12 – Spyros Kyprianou, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932) * March 27 – Milton Berle, American actor, entertainer and comedian (b. 1908) * March 27 – Dudley Moore, British actor (b. 1935) * March 27 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born director (b. 1906) * March 29 - Rico Yan, Philippine actor (b. 1975) * March 30 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, queen of George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1900) === April === * April 5 – Layne Staley, American singer (Alice in Chains) (b. 1967) * April 8 - María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914) * April 16 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946) * April 16 – Ramiro de León Carpio, 31st President of Guatemala (b. 1942) * April 22 – Albrecht Becker, German actor and artist (b. 1906) === May === * May 3 – Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1928) * May 5 – Hugo Banzer, President of Bolivia (b. 1926) * May 6 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (b. 1948) * May 17 – László Kubala, Hungarian footballer (b. 1927) * May 18 – Davey Boy Smith, British professional wrestler (b. 1962) * May 19 – John Gorton, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911) * May 24 – Xi Zhongxun, Chinese politician (b. 1913) === June === * June 4 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, 49th and 52nd President of Peru (b. 1912) * June 7 – B. D. Jatti, President of India (b. 1913) * June 24 – Pierre Werner, 18th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913) * June 27 – John Entwistle, English bass guitarist (The Who) (b. 1944) * June 29 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (b. 1928) === July === * July 5 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924) * July 14 – Joaquín Balaguer, 41st, 45th & 49th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1906) === August === * August 6 - Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930) * August 16 – Abu Nidal, Palestinian militant (b. 1937) * August 19 – Eduardo Chillida, Spanish Basque sculptor (b. 1924) * August 21 – Adelina Domingues, American supercentenarian (b. 1888) === September === * September 17 – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1934) * September 18 – Mauro Ramos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930) * September 18 – Bob Hayes, Athletics sprinter and American Football wide receiver (b. 1942) * September 23 – Eduard Gufeld, Soviet chess player (b. 1936) * September 24 – Mike Webster, American football player (b. 1952) === October === * October 6 – Prince Claus of the Netherlands, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (b. 1926) * October 13 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and biographer (b. 1936) * October 19 – Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Mexican photographer (b. 1902) * October 25 – Richard Harris, Irish actor (b. 1930) * October 31 – Michail Stasinopoulos, 1st President of Greece (b. 1903) === November === * November 3 – Jonathan Harris, American character actor (b. 1914) * November 18 – James Coburn, American actor (b. 1928) * November 20 – Kakhi Asatiani, Russian footballer (b. 1947) === December === * December 5 - Ne Win, President of Myanmar (b. 1911) * December 12 – Nikolai Amosov, Ukrainian surgeon (b. 1913) * December 22 – Joe Strummer, British musician (The Clash) (b. 1952)