2001 in the United States

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2001 in the United States
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Events from the year 2001 in the United States.

Incumbents

President: Bill Clinton (Democratic) (until January 20), George W. Bush (Republican) (starting January 20)
Vice President: Al Gore (Democratic) (until January 20), Dick Cheney (Republican) (starting January 20)
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois)
Senate Majority Leader:
- until January 3: Trent Lott (R-Mississippi)
- January 3–January 20: Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota)
- January 20–June 6: Trent Lott (R-Mississippi)
- starting June 6: Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota)
Congress: 106th (until January 3), 107th (starting January 3)

Events

January

January 20: George W. Bush begins the first of two terms as President

January 1 – A black monolith measuring 270 cm (8.9 ft) tall appears in Seattle's Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the monolith from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
January 2 – Sila Calderón becomes the first female governor of US territory Puerto Rico.
January 11 – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.
January 16 – U.S. President Bill Clinton awards former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service during the Spanish-American War; 11 of Roosevelt's descendants accept on his behalf.
January 16 – A man drives a semi-trailer truck into the side of the California State Capitol building, killing the driver and damaging the building's interior.^[1]
January 20 – George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States.
January 22–24 – The "Texas 7", a group of convicts who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit in Texas, are found in Colorado.
January 28 – Super Bowl XXXV: The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants 34–7, winning their first Super Bowl title.

February

February 9 – The submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime-Maru near Hawaii.
February 16 – Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network.
February 18 – NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt dies in a last lap crash in the 43rd annual Daytona 500.
February 18 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 15 years.
February 19 – An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
February 23 – Isla Vista massacre: In Isla Vista, California, David Attias drives a car into five pedestrians, killing four and critically injuring one. He is later convicted of murder and declared legally insane.
February 28 – The Nisqually Earthquake strikes Seattle, Washington.

March

March 25 – The 73rd Academy Awards, hosted by Steve Martin, are held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, with Gladiator winning Best Picture.
March 28 – The Bush administration withdraws U.S. support for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on the reduction of greenhouse gases.^[2]

April

April 1 – A Chinese fighter jet collides with a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot goes missing and is presumed dead.
April 7 – Timothy Thomas, a 19-year-old African-American, is shot by a police officer in Cincinnati, sparking riots in downtown Cincinnati from April 10 to April 12.
April 21 – The small Kansas town of Hoisington is hit by an F4 tornado destroying one-third of the city and killing one.
April 28 – Soyuz TM-32 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the first space tourist, American Dennis Tito.

May

May 6 – Space tourist Dennis Tito returns to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-31. (Soyuz TM-32 is left docked at the International Space Station as a new lifeboat.)

June

Flooding in Houston from Tropical Storm Allison

June 5 – U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords leaves the Republican Party, an act which changes control of the United States Senate from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.
June 5–9 – Tropical Storm Allison produces 36 inches (900 mm) of rain in Houston, Texas, killing 22, damaging the Texas Medical Center, and causing more than US$5 billion of damage.
June 7 – The Bush tax cuts are signed into law by U.S. president George W. Bush.
June 9 – The Colorado Avalanche wins their second Stanley Cup, and Ray Bourque wins his first Cup after a lengthy career.
June 11 – In Terre Haute, Indiana, Timothy McVeigh is executed for the Oklahoma City bombing.
June 19 – A missile hits a soccer field in Tal Afar, Iraq, killing 23 and wounding 11. The Iraqi government claims it was an American-British airstrike; U.S. officials say it was actually an Iraqi missile that malfunctioned.^[3]

July

July 9 – The Thirty Mile Fire ignites in Okanogan County, Washington. Four firefighters die while battling the blaze.
July 16 – The FBI arrests Dmitry Sklyarov at a convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, for violating a provision of the DMCA.
July 18 – In Baltimore, Maryland, a 60-car train derailment occurs in a tunnel, sparking a fire that lasts days and virtually shuts down downtown Baltimore.

August

August 1 – Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a 2.5-short-ton (2,300 kg) monument of the Ten Commandments installed in the Rotunda of the Judiciary Building. He is later sued to have it removed, and eventually removed from office.
August 2 – The House of Representatives approves oil exploration in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.^[2]
August 9 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces his limited support for federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells.
August 28 – The US Governors of New England agree with the Quebec and Atlantic Canadian premiers to the Climate Change Action Plan 2001.

September

September 11 attacks

September 1 – The libertarian Free State Project is founded at Yale University.
September 6 – United States v. Microsoft: The United States Justice Department announces that it no longer seeks to break up software maker Microsoft, and will instead seek a lesser antitrust penalty.
September 11 – 9/11 attacks: Almost 3,000 people are killed in suicide attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania.^[2]
September 15 – The Queen Isabella Causeway in Texas collapses after being hit by a tugboat, killing eight.
September 18 – A series of anthrax attacks commence as anthrax letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer.

October

October 7: War in Afghanistan begins

October 5 – Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants breaks the single season home run record, with his 71st and 72nd home runs of the year.
October 7 – The United States invades Afghanistan, accompanied by other nations participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.^[2]
October 9 – The 2001 anthrax attacks continue as contaminated letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, to U.S. Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
October 15 – NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles (180 km) of Jupiter's moon Io.
October 26 – U.S. President George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act into law.

November

November 12 – In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, headed to the Dominican Republic, crashes in Queens minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board.
November 13 – In the first such act since World War II, U.S. President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts against the United States.

December

December 2 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after Dynegy cancels a US$8.4 billion buyout bid. Enron's bankruptcy becomes the largest in U.S. history.^[2]
December 3 – Officials announce that one of the Taliban prisoners captured after the prison uprising at Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan is John Walker Lindh, an American citizen.
December 11 – The United States government indicts Zacarias Moussaoui for involvement in the September 11 attacks.
December 13 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces the United States' withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
December 22 – A Paris–Miami, Florida flight is diverted to Boston, Massachusetts after passenger Richard Reid attempts to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes.
December 27 – The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade status with the United States.

Ongoing

Iraqi no-fly zones (1991–2003)
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)