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 75 historical moments from 2001 — 15 events, 60 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.
Terrorists hijack four commercial airplanes, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon.
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.
No deaths recorded for 2001.
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