The year 2002 (MMII) of the Gregorian Calendar began and ended on a Tuesday. During the year, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into U.S. law, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal investigation of Enron and the U.S. Secretary of Energy decided that Yucca Mountain was suitable for the U.S. nuclear repository. The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, while the FIFA World Cup was co-hosted by Japan and South Korea. NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe began mapping the surface of Mars, and the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.

Two thousand atheists, freethinkers, and humanists came together for a mile-long parade (called the Godless Americans March) on Washington DC, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was established after the signing of the Homeland Security Act. Globally, an asteroid "2002 MN" missed the planet by about 1/3 the distance to the moon.

• January 28: TAME Flight 120 crashed into the Andes in southern Colombia killing all 100 on board.
• January 29: President George W. Bush warned of the "Axis of Evil" during his first State of the Union Address, it includes Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

• February 12: The war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic begins at The Hague
• February 15: Yucca Mountain in Nevada was approved by President George W. Bush as the site for long-term disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

• March 3: Switzerland ends 200 years of neutrality to join the United Nations.
• March 10: Israeli helicopters destroyed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's office in Gaza City.

• April 13: The interim president of Venezuela, Pedro Carmona is ousted by supporters of Hugo Chavez.

• April 4: An EAS Airline plane crashes into the densely populated town of Kano, Nigeria, killing 148 people

• June 11: Former Beatles member Paul McCartney married Heather Mills. They divorced in 2008.

• July 21: Telecommunication company WorldCom Inc declared bankruptcy after admitting inflated profits.

• September 10: Switzerland generally known for being neutral; became the 190th member of the United Nations.
• September 23: The first public version of Mozilla Firefox was released under the name "Phoenix."
• September 24: Tony Blair tells the United Kingdom Parliament that Saddam Hussein is building an arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction and that Hussein is planning on using them.

• October 2: The first victims are of the Beltway Sniper Attacks are killed in a grocery store parking lot in Wheaton, Maryland.
• October 3: As authorities begun searching for the Beltway Sniper, five more people were killed on this day in the Washington DC area.
• October 10: The U.S. House of Representatives vote 296-133 to give George W. Bush authority to use Military force again Iraq.
• October 11: The Beltway Sniper strikes again killing an eighth victim, this time in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
• October 11: Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."
• October 11: The U.S. Senate joins the House of Representatives by voting to give George W. Bush authorization to use Military force against Iraq.
• October 12: Terrorist organization Al Qaeda is blamed for a bomb blast that kills over 200 people in Bali, Indonesia.
• October 16: President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution authorizing the Iraq War.
• October 22: A bus driver in Maryland becomes the 13th and Final victim of the Beltway Sniper.

• November 15: Hu Jintao replaced Jiang Zemin as China's Communist Party leader.
• November 18: United Nations weapons inspectors enter Iraq in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction, Saddam Hussein insists he has none.
• November 23: The Miss World beauty contest was moved from Abuja, Nigeria to London, England after Muslim's who opposed to the contest rioted in the streets, leaving 100 people dead and 500 injured.
• November 25: President George W. Bush signed legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge was named the first 1st Secretary of the new department.

• December 5: U.S. Senate Republican leader Trent Lott is forced to resign after he praised Strom Thurmond's pro-segregation 1948 presidential campaign.
• December 7: Iraq submits a 12,000 page declaration of intelligence to the United Nations, in which they claimed they had no Weapons of Mass Destruction, the report was rejected by the United States.
• December 9: After losing $4 Billion in 2 years, United Airlines files for bankruptcy, the largest ever in aviation history.
• December 13: George W. Bush pulled the United States out of the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile Treaty that was signed with Russia 30 years before.
• December 20: Trent Lott officially resigned as the Senate Republican leader.
• December 27: North Korea announces that it will restart producing Plutonium for Nuclear Weapons.

• Jul. 31: Kori Federline
• Sep. 01: Romeo James Beckham

• Mar. 27: Milton Berle
• Apr. 25: Lisa Lopes - Musician
• Apr. 19: Layne Staley - Alice in Chains
• Jun. 27: John Entwistle - The Who
• Jul. 05: Ted Williams - Baseball Player
• Sep. 11: Johnny Unitas - Football Player
• Dec. 22: Joe Strummer - The Clash
• c. Dec. 24: Laci Peterson

• Jan. 05: Nickelback - How You Remind Me
• Jan. 19: Usher - U Got It Bad
• Feb. 23: Ja Rule - Always on Time
• Mar. 19: Jennifer Lopez - Ain't it Funny
• Apr. 20: Ashanti - Foolish
• Jun. 29: Nelly - Hot in Herre
• Aug. 17: Nelly / Kelly Rowland - Dilemma
• Oct. 05: Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This
• Oct. 26: Nelly / Kelly Rowland - Dilemma
• Nov. 09: Eminem - Lose Yourself Billboard: Historical Billboard Charts

1. Spider-Man
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
3. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
6. Signs
7. Austin Powers in Goldmember
8. Men In Black II
9. Ice Age
10. Chicago Box Office Mojo: Top Grossing Films of 2002

• Presented: March 23, 2003
• Best Picture: Chicago
• Lead Actor: Adrien Brody in The Pianist
• Lead Actress: Nicole Kidman in The Hours
• Best Director: Chris Cooper - Adaptation
• Best Documentary: Bowling for Columbine

• Stanley Cup - NHL: Detroit Red Wings
• World Series - MLB: Anaheim Angels
• Super Bowl - NFL: New England Patriots
• NBA Finals - NBA: Los Angeles Lakers

• NHL MVP - Jose Theodore, MTL
• NFL MVP - Rich Gannon, OAK
• NBA MVP - Tim Duncan, SA
• MLB AL MVP - Miguel Tejada, OAK
• MLB NL MVP - Barry Bonds, SF

• Peace: Jimmy Carter
• Physics: Davis Jr., Koshiba, Giacconi
• Chemistry: Fenn, Tanaka, Wuthrich
• Medicine: Brenner, Horvitz, Sulston
• Literature:Imre Kertesz
• Economics:Kahneman, Smith NobelPrize.org: 2002 Nobel Winners