El Salvador earthquake
The first of two large earthquakes in the span of a month struck El Salvador, killing at least 944 people and destroying over 100,000 homes.
Explore 248 historical moments from 2001 — 44 events, 204 birthdays, and 0 notable deaths.
The first of two large earthquakes in the span of a month struck El Salvador, killing at least 944 people and destroying over 100,000 homes.
Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launch Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
The first edit to the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia was made.
Five people attempted to set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, an act claimed to have been staged by the Chinese Communist Party to escalate persecution of Falun Gong.
An earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat killed at least 20,000 people, injured 167,000 others and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.
The American submarine USS Greeneville collided with the Japanese training vessel Ehime Maru. The collision resulted in the sinking of the Ehime Maru and the deaths of nine people.
The computer worm Anna Kournikova, which would affect millions of users worldwide, was released by a 20-year-old Dutch student.
The NASA space probe NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
Inter-ethnic violence between the Dayak and the Madurese broke out in Sampit, Indonesia. This caused more than 500 deaths and the displacement of 100,000 Madurese.
A high-speed train crash occurred near Selby in North Yorkshire, England, killing 10 and injuring 82.
A series of bomb blasts in Shijiazhuang, China, on March 16, 2001, resulted in the deaths of 108 people.
The Russian space agency deorbited the Mir space station. It reentered Earth's atmosphere and broke up over the Pacific Ocean.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in the Netherlands, making it the first country in the world to do so.
An American EP-3 reconnaissance aircraft and a Chinese fighter jet collided off the coast of Hainan Island, leading to an international dispute.
NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey, the longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth, launched from Cape Canaveral.
In a FIFA World Cup qualifying match, Australia defeated American Samoa 31–0, the largest margin of victory recorded in international football.
India and Bangladesh engaged in a six-day conflict over their disputed border, which concluded in a stalemate.
Police fired tear gas to quell unrest at a football match in Accra, Ghana, causing a stampede that killed 126 people. The incident occurred at the Ohene Djan Stadium.
Twenty tourists were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf militants in Palawan, Philippines. This triggered a hostage crisis that lasted for over a year.
Tropical Storm Allison made landfall in Texas, causing approximately $8.5 billion in damage. It was the costliest Atlantic tropical cyclone that never reached hurricane strength.
Timothy McVeigh, who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Oklahoma federal building, was executed by lethal injection for using a weapon of mass destruction, among other charges.
Leaders of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Carlo Giuliani, a 23-year-old Italian anti-globalist, was shot dead by a police officer during protests at the G8 summit in Genoa, Italy.
Megawati Sukarnoputri was sworn in as the first female president of Indonesia following her predecessor's impeachment.
Phoolan Devi, a serving Member of Parliament, was assassinated by shooting in New Delhi, India.
At the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Australian Ian Thorpe became the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single FINA world championship.
A suicide bomber attacked a pizza restaurant in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada, killing 15 people and wounding 130 others.
On August 25, 2001, American singer Aaliyah and several members of her record company were killed when their overloaded aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in The Bahamas.
Ulster loyalists resumed a picket outside a Catholic girls' primary school in the Protestant portion of Ardoyne, Belfast. This event is part of The Troubles.
Two al-Qaeda attackers assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, a pivotal Afghan resistance leader. This occurred two days before the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Terrorists hijack four commercial airplanes, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon.
American president George W. Bush delivered remarks at the Islamic Center of Washington condemning Islamophobia in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
On September 18, 2001, five letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to various media outlets in the United States. This marked the beginning of a series of bioterrorism attacks.
Several British Muslim youths in Peterborough, England, murdered 17-year-old Ross Parker. This led to debate over whether the British media failed to cover racially motivated crimes with white victims.
Scandinavian Airlines Flight SK686 collided on take-off with a Cessna Citation II business jet at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, killing 118 people.
Rehavam Ze'evi, the Israeli minister of tourism, was assassinated in revenge for the killing of PFLP leader Abu Ali Mustafa.
Grand Theft Auto III was released, helping to popularize open-world and mature-content video games.
Windows XP, one of the most popular and widely used versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, was released for retail sale.
President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act into law on October 26, 2001. This act significantly expanded the authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies.
American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into residential buildings near New York City, killing all 265 people on board and on the ground.
Astronomers announced the detection of sodium in the atmosphere of the extrasolar planet HD 209458 b. This marked the first time an exoplanet atmosphere was measured.
The Texas-based energy firm Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, less than two months after disclosing accounting violations. This evaporated nearly $11 billion in shareholder wealth.
On December 22, 2001, Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.
On December 22, 2001, Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb hidden in his shoe on a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami.
Australian rugby league player Peter Mamouzelos was born.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto is an Italian tennis player.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a Georgian footballer, was born on February 12, 2001.
Tanguy Coulibaly, a French footballer, was born on February 18, 2001.
Jaime Jaquez Jr., an American basketball player, was born on February 18, 2001.
Nico Mannion, an Italian-American basketball player, was born.
Kyle Hamilton, an American football player, was born on March 16, 2001.
Trevor Zegras, an American ice hockey player, was born on March 20, 2001.
Artūrs Šilovs, a Latvian ice hockey player, was born on this day.
Anzor Alem, a Congolese actor and singer, was born.
Johnny Beecher, an American ice hockey player, was born on April 5, 2001.
Violette Dorange is a French professional round-the-world sailor.
Julien Alfred is a Saint Lucian sprinter who won a medal in the 100m at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Anthony Edwards is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born on August 5, 2001.
Dixie D'Amelio, an American social media personality and singer, was born on August 12, 2001.
Avishag Semberg, Israeli Olympic taekwondo bronze medalist, was born.
Paige Bueckers, an American basketball player, was born on this date.
Alofiana Khan-Pereira, an Australian rugby league player, was born.
TyTy Washington Jr. is an American professional basketball player.
Jalen McMillan, an American football player, was born on December 7, 2001.
Facundo Pellistri, a Uruguayan footballer, was born on December 20, 2001.
No deaths recorded for 2001.
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