istoryworld
All Events
The US Supreme Court gives victory to Republican George W. Bush rather than Democrat Al Gore after electoral irregularities in Florida
The Netherlands becomes the first country to legalize euthanasia, allowing doctors to end the life of a patient suffering 'unbearably' from a terminal condition
The first mobile phone to include a camera is put on the market in Japan by J-Phone
At the turn of the century, it is calculated that 36 million people worldwide are infected with the HIV virus
Kosovo, with its majority Albanian population, formally declares independence from Serbia
Wikipedia, the 'Free Encyclopedia', is put online by Jimmy Wales as an empty shell which members of the public are invited to fill with content
The Scottish Court in the Netherlands convicts a Libyan, Al-Megrahi, of responsibility for the Pan-Am Lockerbie bomb
An earthquake kills about 20,000 people in the region of Bhuj in the Indian state of Gujarat
Ariel Sharon is elected prime minister of Israel on the platform of taking a tough line with the PLO
Sylvio Berlusconi returns as Italy's prime minister with the electoral success of his right-wing House of Liberties coalition
Shrek, by DreamWorks Animation, is the first winner of a new Oscar category - Best Animated Feature
Crown Prince Dipendra kills nine members of his own royal family at the court of Nepal
Tony Blair leads Britain's Labour party in a second successive election victory, with a majority only marginally reduced from 179 to 167
Laurent Kabila, the president of the Congo, is assassinated in a failed coup attempt
The former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is handed over to the war crimes tribunal in the Hague
Peter Jackson directs the first of his trilogy of films The Lord of the Rings, based on the cult novel by English academic J.R.R. Tolkien
Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, is fatally wounded in an attack by two suicide bombers
Four hijacked planes are used in a massive September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington
Anthrax attacks, in the form of letters carrying the bacteria posted to journalists and politicians, begin in the USA
US and UK forces launch military action against Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan
Describing September 11 as an act of war, President Bush retaliates with a 'War on Terrorism'
US President George W. Bush revives bitter memories in the Middle East when he describes the war on terrorism as a 'crusade'
The Northern Alliance, the army of the Afghan resistance to the Taliban, drives the Taliban from Kabul
The giant Texas energy company Enron files for bankruptcy after disclosure of major accountancy fraud
A month after the fall of Kabul, the Northern Alliance drives the Taliban from their power base in Kandahar
