2001 in the United States

Decades:	1980s ; 1990s ; 2000s ; 2010s ; 2020s ;
See also:	History of the United States (1991–2008) ; Timeline of United States history (1990–2009) ; List of years in the United States ;

Last updated February 25, 2025

Events from the year 2001 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal government

President:

Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas) (until January 20)

George W. Bush (R-Texas) (starting January 20)

Vice President:

Al Gore (D-Tennessee) (until January 20)

Dick Cheney (R-Wyoming) (starting January 20)

Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) (until January 3)

Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) (January 3–20)

Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) (January 20 – June 6)

Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) (starting June 6)

Congress: 106th (until January 3), 107th (starting January 3)

Governors and lieutenant governors
Governors Governor of Alabama: Don Siegelman (Democratic) Governor of Alaska: Tony Knowles (Democratic) Governor of Arizona: Jane Dee Hull (Republican) Governor of Arkansas: Mike Huckabee (Republican) Governor of California: Gray Davis (Democratic) Governor of Colorado: Bill Owens (Republican) Governor of Connecticut: John G. Rowland (Republican) Governor of Delaware: Thomas R. Carper (Democratic) (until January 3), Ruth Ann Minner (Democratic) (starting January 3) Governor of Florida: Jeb Bush (Republican) Governor of Georgia: Roy Barnes (Democratic) Governor of Hawaii: Ben Cayetano (Democratic) Governor of Idaho: Dirk Kempthorne (Republican) Governor of Illinois: George Ryan (Republican) Governor of Indiana: Frank O'Bannon (Democratic) Governor of Iowa: Tom Vilsack (Democratic) Governor of Kansas: Bill Graves (Republican) Governor of Kentucky: Paul E. Patton (Democratic) Governor of Louisiana: Murphy J. Foster, Jr. (Republican) Governor of Maine: Angus King (Independent) Governor of Maryland: Parris N. Glendening (Democratic) Governor of Massachusetts: Paul Cellucci (Republican) (until April 10), Jane Swift (Republican) (starting April 10) Governor of Michigan: John Engler (Republican) Governor of Minnesota: Jesse Ventura (Independence) Governor of Mississippi: Ronnie Musgrove (Democratic) Governor of Missouri: Roger B. Wilson (Democratic) (until January 8), Bob Holden (Democratic) (starting January 8) Governor of Montana: Marc Racicot (Republican) (until January 1), Judy Martz (Republican) (starting January 1) Governor of Nebraska: Mike Johanns (Republican) Governor of Nevada: Kenny Guinn (Republican) Governor of New Hampshire: Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) Governor of New Jersey: Christine Todd Whitman (Republican) (until January 31), Donald DiFrancesco (Republican) (starting January 31) Governor of New Mexico: Gary Johnson (Republican) Governor of New York: George Pataki (Republican) Governor of North Carolina: Jim Hunt (Democratic) (until January 6), Mike Easley (Democratic) (starting January 6) Governor of North Dakota: John Hoeven (Republican) Governor of Ohio: Bob Taft (Republican) Governor of Oklahoma: Frank Keating (Republican) Governor of Oregon: John Kitzhaber (Democratic) Governor of Pennsylvania: Tom Ridge (Republican) (until October 5), Mark S. Schweiker (Republican) (starting October 5) Governor of Rhode Island: Lincoln C. Almond (Republican) Governor of South Carolina: Jim Hodges (Democratic) Governor of South Dakota: William J. Janklow (Republican) Governor of Tennessee: Don Sundquist (Republican) Governor of Texas: Rick Perry (Republican) Governor of Utah: Mike Leavitt (Republican) Governor of Vermont: Howard Dean (Democratic) Governor of Virginia: Jim Gilmore (Republican) Governor of Washington: Gary Locke (Democratic) Governor of West Virginia: Cecil H. Underwood (Republican) (until January 15), Bob Wise (Democratic) (starting January 15) Governor of Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson (Republican) (until February 1), Scott McCallum (Republican) (starting February 1) Governor of Wyoming: Jim Geringer (Republican) Lieutenant governors Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Steve Windom (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Fran Ulmer (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of California: Cruz Bustamante (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Joe Rogers (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Jodi Rell (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: until January 3: Ruth Ann Minner (Democratic) January 3-January 16: vacant starting January 16: John Carney (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Frank Brogan (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Mark Taylor (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Mazie Hirono (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: until January 3: Butch Otter (Republican) January 3-January 30: vacant starting January 30: Jack Riggs (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Corinne Wood (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Joe E. Kernan (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Sally Pederson (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: Gary Sherrer (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Steve Henry (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Kathleen Blanco (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Jane Swift (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Dick Posthumus (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Mae Schunk (Independence) Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Amy Tuck (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Joe Maxwell (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Judy Martz (Republican) (until January 1), Karl Ohs (Republican) (starting January 1) Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: David I. Maurstad (Republican) (until October 1), Dave Heineman (Republican) (starting October 1) Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Lorraine Hunt (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Walter Dwight Bradley (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of New York: Mary Donohue (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Dennis A. Wicker (Democratic) (until January 6), Bev Perdue (Democratic) (starting January 6) Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Jack Dalrymple (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Maureen O'Connor (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Mary Fallin (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Mark S. Schweiker (Republican) (until October 5), Robert Jubelirer (Republican) (starting October 5) Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Charles J. Fogarty (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: Bob Peeler (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Carole Hillard (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Texas: Bill Ratliff (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Utah: Olene S. Walker (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Doug Racine (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: John H. Hager (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Brad Owen (Democratic) Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: until February 1: Scott McCallum (Republican) February 1-May 9: vacant starting May 9: Margaret A. Farrow (Republican)

Events

January

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 10 – Nevada County shootings: In Nevada County, California, 40-year-old Scott Harlan Thorpe kills three people in a shooting spree. He is later found incompetent to stand trial and declared not guilty by reason of insanity.
January 11 – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner.^[2]
January 15
- UK children's stop motion animated series Bob the Builder starts its American debut for the first time on Nick Jr.
- Wikipedia is launched.
January 16
- 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.
- 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.^[3]
January 18 – President Bill Clinton delivers his farewell address to the nation.
January 20 – George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States, and Dick Cheney is sworn in as the 46th vice president.
January 22–24 – The "Texas Seven", a group of convicts who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit in Texas, are found in Colorado.
January 26 – Lacrosse player and coach Diane Whipple is killed by two Presa Canarios named Bane and Hera, owned by her neighbors and attorneys Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel.
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 (SSN-772) 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.
- 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 27 – President Bush delivers his first address to the 107th Congress.^[4]
February 28 – The 6.8 M_w Nisqually earthquake shook the Puget Sound region of western Washington with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), causing 1 death, 400 injuries, and 1 to US$4 billion in losses.

March

March – The United States enters the early 2000s recession; the unemployment rate rises to 4.4%.
March 24 – Apple Computer releases the Mac OS X next-generation operating system, with version 10.0. It goes on to be the second-most used desktop operating system with a market share of roughly 10 percent.^[5]
March 25 – The 73rd Academy Awards, hosted by Steve Martin, are held at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Ridley Scott's Gladiator winning five awards out of 12 nominations, including Best Picture. Steven Soderbergh is nominated twice for Best Director, winning for Traffic . The telecast garners 42.9 million viewers.
March 28 – The Bush administration withdraws U.S. support for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on the reduction of greenhouse gases.^[6]
March 30 – The Fairly OddParents debuts on Nickelodeon.

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 17 – The 2001 Mississippi flag referendum occurred, 64.39% of the population voted to formally adopt the 1894 U.S. state flag over the new 2001 proposed state flag design.
April 19 – The multiple Tony Award-winning musical The Producers by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, opens on Broadway at the St. James Theatre.
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.)
May 18 – Shrek is released in theaters.

June

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.^[7]
June 7 – The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 is signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush, the first of a series of acts which becomes known as the Bush tax cuts.
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 15 – Walt Disney Pictures' 41st feature film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire , is released. Though reception is mixed and it performs modestly at the box office, it has since become a cult favorite among fans due in part to the visual influence of comics artist Mike Mignola.
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.^[8]
June 20 – Andrea Yates drowns her five children in a bath tub in Houston, Texas.^[9]

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 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (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 is eventually removed from office.
August 2 – The House of Representatives approves oil exploration in the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.^[6]
August 5 – Having acquired the Jim Henson Company's interest in the Odyssey cable network the previous year, Crown Media Holdings rebrands Odyssey as the Hallmark Channel, after Crown Media's corporate parent Hallmark Cards. The Hallmark Channel branding continues to this day.
August 9 – President Bush announces his limited support for federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells.
August 25 – U.S. singer Aaliyah dies in a plane crash in the Bahamas.
August 28 – The U.S. governors of New England agree with the Quebec and Atlantic Canadian premiers to the Climate Change Action Plan 2001.

September

September 1 – The libertarian Free State Project is founded at Yale University.
September 2 – Adult Swim, an adult-oriented programming block, debuts on its Turner sister cable channel Cartoon Network.
September 4 – Robert Mueller becomes the FBI's director.
September 5 – The piece As Slow as Possible , composed by John Cage, begins. It will last 639 years, finishing in the year 2640.^[10]
September 6 – United States v. Microsoft Corp. : 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 10 – Donald Rumsfeld gives a speech regarding $2.3 trillion in Pentagon spending that cannot be accounted for, identifying the bureaucratic processes of the Pentagon as the biggest threat to America.^[11]

September 11 – September 11 attacks: Almost 3,000 people are killed in four suicide attacks at the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City (NYC); the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; and in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania.^[6] The attack launches the global War on Terrorism.
September 15 – The Queen Isabella Causeway in Texas collapses after being hit by a tugboat, killing eight.
September 17 – The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.
September 18 – The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as letters containing anthrax spores are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post , and the National Enquirer . Twenty-two people in total are exposed, with five resulting fatalities.^[12]
September 20 – President Bush delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress, announcing the investigation into the September 11 attacks.^[13]
September 21 – America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.

October

October 26: President George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act

October 3 – 2001 Greyhound bus attack: A passenger slits the throat of the driver, causing the bus to crash near Manchester, Tennessee, killing seven people.
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.^[6]
October 8 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.
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 23 – Apple releases the first iPod in the U.S., revolutionizing the way people listen to music.
October 25 – Microsoft releases Windows XP to the public.
October 26 – U.S. President George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act into law.^[14]

November

November 1 – The New York Yankees defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series to tie the series at 2 in the first World Series game to be played in the month of November. Derek Jeter's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th earns him the nickname "Mr. November".
November 2 – Pixar Animation Studios' fourth feature film, Monsters, Inc. , is released in theaters.
November 4 – The Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the New York Yankees in seven games to win their first world series.
November 5 – Andrew Bagby is murdered in Keystone State Park, Pennsylvania by his former partner Shirley Jane Turner. While awaiting trial and extraction from Canada, she gained custody of the couple's son who she then also murdered. The deaths later became the basis for the 2008 documentary Dear Zachary.^[15]
November 12 – In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587, headed to the Dominican Republic, crashes in Queens just minutes after takeoff from the John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board and five on the ground.
November 13 – War on Terror: 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.
November 16 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , directed by Chris Columbus is released in theaters as the first film of the Harry Potter film series.
November 18 – Nintendo releases the Nintendo Gamecube in North America.
November 29 – English musician, singer, songwriter, music and film producer, and former Beatle George Harrison dies of lung cancer in Los Angeles.
November 30 – Gary Ridgway, a.k.a. The Green River Killer, is arrested outside the truck factory where he had worked in Renton, Washington. His arrest marks the end of one of the longest running homicide investigations in US history.

December

December – The unemployment rate rises to 5.7%, the highest since January 1996; the early 2000s recession ends.
December 1 – The last Trans World Airlines flight lands at St. Louis International Airport, following TWA's purchase by American Airlines.
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.^[6]
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.
- The United States Customs Service raids members of international software piracy group DrinkOrDie in Operation Buccaneer.^[16]
December 13 – U.S. President George W. Bush announces the United States' withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
December 16 – Cleveland Browns fans riot by throwing bottles after the team's 15–10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars following a controversial call by the referees regarding a fourth-down pass from Tim Couch.^[17]
December 19 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , directed by Peter Jackson, is released in theaters as the first film of The Lord of the Rings film series.
December 22 – A flight from Paris, France to Miami, Florida 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)^[18]
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Births

March 6
- Milo Manheim, actor
- Zhavia Ward, singer-songwriter
March 10 – Alyssa Carson, space enthusiast and undergraduate student^[21]
March 11 – Kaylee Bryson, race car driver
March 22 – Aalayah Eastmond, activist
March 31
- Noah Urrea singer, actor, and model
- James Wiseman, basketball player