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Turin

Turin

Turin

Location within Italy
Region	Piedmont
Province	Turin
Area – Total – Water	130 km² (50 mi²) ##.# km² (#.# mi²) #.##%
Population – Total (2002) – Density	857,433 6,596/km²
Time zone	CET: UTC+1
Coordinates	¹
External link: [http://www.comune.torino.it/ Città di Torino]

Turin (Italian Torino) is a major industrial city in north-western Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the west bank of the Po River. The population of Turin city is 867,857 (2004 census), but its metropolitan area totals about 1.5 million inhabitants. The province is one of the largest in Italy, with 6,830 sq. km, and one of the most populated, with 2,191,960 inhabitants at the 2004 census. Turin is the host city of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

History

2006 Winter Olympics The name of Turin comes from Tau, a Celtic word that means mountains. The Italian name, Torino, happens to mean "little bull" in Italian, hence the coat of arms and the symbol of the city. The area was settled by the Taurini in pre-Roman times. In the first century A.D., the Romans created a military camp (Castra Taurinorum), later dedicated to Augustus (Augusta Taurinorum). The typical Roman street plan with streets at right angles can still be seen in the modern city. The capital of the Duchy of Savoy since 16th century, the Kingdom of Sardinia and then in 1861 Turin became the capital of the newly proclaimed United Italy. In 1865 the capital was moved to Florence. Since 1870 the capital has been Rome.

Law and government

Mr. Chiamparino is currently the mayor of Turin, which is elected directly by citizens every 5 years. He belongs to the center-left coalition. See also: List of mayors of Turin

Geography

Turin is located in the north-west of Italy. It's surrounded on the western and northern front by the Alps and on the southern front by the hills of Monferrato . Three major rivers pass through the city: the Po and two of its tributaries, the Dora Riparia (from the Celtic duria meaning "water," later changed to "Duria Minor" by the Romans), and the Stura di Lanzo and Sangone.

Demographics

The city of Torino grew by less than 0.5% in the last 3 years, which was attributed by a very low birth rate, contributing to an aging population. Around 12.4% of the population are under 14 years over age, while those in retirement age number 20.8%. The city has seen a sharp rise in immigrants, including the suburban areas. The population remains vastly Italian (92.1%), but there are sizeable numbers of other groups like Romanian: 2.3%, Moroccan: 1.5%, Peruvian: 0.5%, Albanian: 0.4%, and other groups.

Economy

Nowadays the city is a major industrial centre, known particularly as home to the headquarters and main production lines of the car company Fiat. The city is home to the famous Lingotto building, which was at one time the largest car factory in the world, and is now a convention centre, concert hall, art gallery, shopping centre and hotel. Other industries born in Turin are Invicta born in 1821 ,Lavazza, Martini and the chocolate factory Caffarel. It is also a center for aerospace industry, with Alenia. Some major elements of the International Space Station, such as the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules have been produced in Turin. The future European launcher projects beyond Ariane 5 will also be managed from Turin, by the new NGL company, a subsidiary of EADS (70%) and Finmeccanica (30%). Turin is also the birthplace of major aspects of Italian economy, such as telecommunications Telecom Italia, television (Rai, National TV channel) and cinema. Most of these industries have moved to other parts of Italy, but Turin still hosts the National Museum of Cinema. The town currently has a large number of rail and road work sites. Although this activity has increased as a result of the 2006 Winter Olympics, part of it had long been planned. Some of the work sites deal with general improvements to car traffic, such as underpasses and flyovers. Two projects are of major importance and will change the shape of the town radically. One is the 'Spina' ('spine') which includes the doubling of a major railroad crossing the town; the railroad previously ran in a trench, which will now be covered by a major boulevard; the town rail station on this line will become the main station of Turin ('Porta Susa'). The other major project is the construction of a metropolitan underground line based on the VAL system. This project is expected to continue for years and to cover a larger part of the town, but its first phase will finish in time for the Olympic Games and will link the nearby town of Collegno with the 'Porta Nuova' station in Turin's town centre. This underground transportation project has historical importance for Turin, as the town has dreamed of an underground line for decades, the first project dating as far back as the twenties. In fact, the main street in the town centre ('Via Roma') runs atop a tunnel built during the fascist era (when 'Via Roma' was built); the tunnel was supposed to host the underground line and is now used as an underground car park.

Sites of interest

Collegno] Collegno Collegno] One of its main symbols is the Mole Antonelliana, which hosts the National Cinema Museum of Italy. The Cathedral of St John the Baptist houses the Shroud of Turin, an old linen cloth with an imprint of a man, which is believed by many to be the cloth that covered Jesus in his grave. The Museo Egizio has the most important collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world after the Cairo Museum. Turin offers a circuit of great historical and architectural interest: the Savoy Residences. In addition to the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Savoys until 1865, the circuit includes palaces, residences and castles in the city centre and in the surrounding towns. Torino is home to Palazzo Chiablese, the Royal Armoury, the Royal Library, Palazzo Madama, Palazzo Carignano, Villa della Regina, and the Valentino Castle. In the area around the city, the castles of Rivoli, Moncalieri, Venaria, Agliè, Racconigi, and Govone can be visited. The Hunting Lodge by Juvarra can be admired in Stupinigi and there is also the royal estate in Pollenzo. Some of these (first and foremost Rivoli, the location of the Museum of the same name) host events, exhibitions and cultural initiatives not only of local interest. In 1997, this complex of historical buildings was recognised as a world heritage site by Unesco. In the hills above the city is the basilica church of Superga, from where there is a splendid panorama of Turin against a backdrop of the snow-capped Alps. Superga can be reached by means of the Superga Rack Railway from the suburb of Sassi. The city is also famous for being the film set of the 1969 classic film The Italian Job starring Michael Caine. It is possible to visit all the locations on a special tour.

Universities

- University of Turin (Università degli Studi di Torino) / http://www.unito.it/
- Politecnico di Torino (Turin) / http://www.polito.it/

Turin World Book Capital

After Alexandria, Madrid, New Delhi, Antwerp and Montreal, Turin has been chosen by UNESCO as World Book Capital for the year 2006 because of its activity of book and reading promotion, especially with the International Book Fair, one of the most important fairs in Europe of its kind. From April 2006 to April 2007 Turin will host a festival called "Signs of Writing" composed of events, meetings, seminars, debates, letters, and performances.

Sport

The city is famous for its soccer teams (Juventus and Torino Calcio), and will host the 2006 Winter Olympics. One year later, in 2007 it will host the Winter Universiade. In a terrible air accident in 1949, a plane carrying the whole Torino football team (at that time one of the most important in Italy) hit the church of Superga, on the Turin hills. Among those who lost their lives was Valentino Mazzola, father of Ferruccio and Sandro Mazzola (who were also later to be football champions). Turin was also the city were the FISA (international rowing federation) was born in 1892.

Chocolate

Turin is the birth place of solid chocolate. It was in Turin that Doret invented a revolutionary machine that could make solid chocolate as we eat it now at the end of the 18th century. Turin produces a typical chocolate, named Gianduiotto after Gianduia, a local Commedia dell'arte mask, and many other kinds of chocolate in a host of confectioneries all around the city.

Nearby towns

Turin is surrounded by several smaller cities in the Province of Turin such as Grugliasco, Rivoli, Chivasso, Venaria, Settimo Torinese, Orbassano, Moncalieri, Avigliana, Buttigliera Alta, Gassino Torinese, Nichelino, Collegno and others, that make up one of Italy's primary metropolitan areas.

Notable natives

- Giovanni Agnelli (1866-1945) founder of FIAT
- Gianni Agnelli (1921-2003) chairman director of FIAT and very influential Italian
- Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856) biologist
- Alessandro Baricco (1958-) writer
- Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti (1719-1789) critic
- Camillo Benso, count of Cavour politician (Italian unification)
- Norberto Bobbio (1909-2004) Historian and philosopher
- Pierre Paul Caffarel (1795-1850) Inventor and businessman of chocolate
- Antonio Benedetto Carpano (1764-1815) Inventor of Vermouth and aperitif
- Robert Fano (1917-) Engineer
- Galileo Ferraris (1847-1997) Physicist and electrical engineer
- Sonia Gandhi (1946-) Politician
- Piero Gobetti (1901-1926) Intellectual
- Joseph Louis Lagrange (1736-1813) Mathematician
- Vincenzo Lancia (1881-1937) Sportsman and businessman, founder of Lancia
- Luigi Lavazza (1859-1949) Inventor and businessman of coffee
- Carlo Levi (1902-1975) Painter
- Primo Levi (1919-1987) Philosopher and writer
- Salvador Edward Luria (1912-1991) Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine
- Alessandro Martini (1812-1905) Businessman of vermouth
- Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-) Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine
- Adriano Olivetti (1901-1960) Businessman
- Giuseppe Peano (1858-1932) Mathematician
- Aurelio Peccei (1908-1984) Founder of the Club of Rome
- Piero Sraffa (1898-1983) Influential economist
- Massimo Taparelli, marquis d'Azeglio (1798-1866), statesman, novelist and painter
- Umberto Tozzi (1952-) Singer
- Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1820-1878) The King of Piedmont and the first King of the united Italy

Notable residents

- Edmondo de Amicis
- St. John Bosco
- Francesco Faà di Bruno
- Italo Calvino
- Gaspare Campari
- Francesco Cirio
- Renato Dulbecco
- Umberto Eco
- Luigi Einaudi
- Erasmus
- Guido Fubini
- Natalia Ginzburg
- Antonio Gramsci
- Cesare Lombroso
- Joseph de Maistre
- Giulio Natta
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Vilfredo Pareto
- Cesare Pavese
- Emilio Salgari
- Ascanio Sobrero
- Germain Sommeiller
- Elio Vittorini

External links

- [http://www.comune.torino.it The official istitutional site] - Website version is in Italian - Also some pages in English, German, Spanish and French.
- [http://mappatorino.csp.it Experimental interactive maps] - Website version is in Italian
- [http://digilander.libero.it/fotogian/torino.home.html Photos of Turin]
- [http://www.torino2006.org/ Torino 2006 Olympic Games] - English, Italian and French. Website version is in Italian.
- [http://citymayors.com/interviews/turin_interview.html CityMayors article]
- [http://www.universiadetorino2007.org/ENG/HomeENG.asp Winter Universiade Torino 2007] - English, Italian and French. Website Version is Italian.
- [http://en.comuni-italiani.it/001/272/ Guide to Turin city] - Information and useful link
- [http://www.italianvisits.com/piemonte/turin/ ItalianVisits.com]
- [http://www.fieralibro.it/ International Book Fair ]
- [http://www.museonazionaledelcinema.org/ National Cinema Museum of Italy ] Category:Turin Category:Host cities of the Winter Olympic Games Category:World Book Capital Category:Towns in Piedmont ko:토리노 ja:トリノ

Piedmont (Italy)

Piedmont (Italian: Piemonte) is a region of northwestern Italy. It has an area of 25,400 km² and a population of est. 4.2 million. Its capital is Turin. Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps mountain range, including the Monviso, where the Po River rises, and Monte Rosa. It borders with France, Switzerland, and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia Romagna and Valle d'Aosta. Lowland Piedmont is a fertile agricultural region, producing wheat, rice, maize and grapes. The region also contains major industrial centres, notably Turin, home to the FIAT automobile works. In 1046, the counts of the House of Savoy added Piedmont to their main territory of Savoy, with a capital at Chambéry (now in France). The House of Savoy was elevated to a duchy in 1416, and Duke Emanuele Filiberto moved the seat to Turin in 1563. (The dukes were also kings of Sardinia starting in 1720.) Piedmont was the springboard for Italy's unification in 1859-1861, following earlier unsuccessful wars against Austria in 1820-1821 and 1848-1849. A "piedmont" is a foothill, and "piedmont" has become a generic designation for foothill regions in geography. Piedmont is one of the great winegrowing regions in Italy. More than half of its 700 km² (170,000 acres) of vineyards are registered with DOC designations. It produces wines of renowned depth such as the famed Barbera, Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as the more approachable Dolcetto. The main cities of the Piedmont region are the provincial capitals (Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Vercelli, Verbania, Torino, Moncalieri and Rivoli).

External links

Government agencies

- [http://www.regione.piemonte.it/ Piemonte Region: Official Site]
- [http://www.consiglioregionale.piemonte.it/ Consiglio Regionale]
- [http://www.arpa.piemonte.it/ ARPA Piemonte] (environmental protection agency)
- [http://www.piemonte.istruzione.it/ Ufficio Scolastico Regionale] (school district)

Specialty sites

- [http://www.ilgiornaledelpiemonte.com/ Giornale del Piemonte] (daily newspaper)
- [http://www.piemonte-online.com/ Piemonte Magazine]
- [http://www.federpiemonte.org/ Confindustria] (manufacturers association)
- [http://cucina.piemonte.net/ Cucina Piemonte.Net] (Piemontese cuisine)
- [http://www.tempoitalia.it/meteoregione/previsione.php?reg=piemonte TempoItalia] (weather forecasts)

Tourism portals

- [http://www.italy-weather-and-maps.com/maps/italy/piedmont.gif Map of Piedmont]
- [http://www.globalgeografia.com/italia/piemonte.htm Global Geografia]
- [http://www.piemondo.it/ Piemondo]
- [http://www.piemonte-emozioni.it/ Piemonte Emozioni]
- [http://www.piemonteonline.it/ Piemonte Online]
- [http://www.piemonteweb.it/pw/Home.asp Piemonte Web]
- [http://www.itinerari-piemonte.it/ Itinerari Piemonte]] Category:NUTS 2 Statistical Regions of Europe ja:ピエモンテ州 simple:Piedmont

Turin

Turin

Location within Italy
Region	Piedmont
Province	Turin
Area – Total – Water	130 km² (50 mi²) ##.# km² (#.# mi²) #.##%
Population – Total (2002) – Density	857,433 6,596/km²
Time zone	CET: UTC+1
Coordinates	¹
External link: [http://www.comune.torino.it/ Città di Torino]

History

Law and government

Mr. Chiamparino is currently the mayor of Turin, which is elected directly by citizens every 5 years. He belongs to the center-left coalition. See also: List of mayors of Turin

Geography

Demographics

Economy

Sites of interest

Universities

- University of Turin (Università degli Studi di Torino) / http://www.unito.it/
- Politecnico di Torino (Turin) / http://www.polito.it/

Turin World Book Capital

Sport

Chocolate

Nearby towns

Notable natives

Notable residents

External links

Square kilometre

A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. It is the SI unit of area. It is abbreviated m². A square metre is equal to:
- 0.000 001 square kilometre (km²)
- 10 000 square centimetres (cm²)
- 0.000 1 hectares
- 0.01 ares
- 0.000 247 105 381 acres
- 1.195 990 square yards
- 10.763 911 square feet
- 1,550.003 1 square inches

Square kilometre

1 km² is equal to:
- the area of a square measuring 1 kilometre on each side
- 1,000,000 m²
- 100 hectares
- 0.386 102 square miles (statute)
- 247.105 381 acres Conversely:
- 1 m² = 0.000 001 km²
- 1 hectare = 0.01 km²
- 1 square mile = 2.589 988 km²
- 1 acre = 0.004 047 km² Note: "km²" means square kilometre and not kilo–square metre. For example, 3 km² is equal to 3 000 000 m² and not to 3 000 m².

Square megametre

Square megametres are not widely used; however, there are a number of "megametre fans" who think that this unit is very convenient for measuring oceans and continents. 1 Mm² is equal to:
- the area of a square measuring 1 megametre on each side
- 1,000,000,000,000 m²
- 100,000,000 hectares
- 1,000,000 km²

2002

2002 (MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:
- International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains
- Year of the Outback in Australia
- National Science Year in the United Kingdom
- Autism Awareness Year in the United Kingdom See also Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.

Overview of the year

In contrast to 2000 and 2001, which retained elements of the late 1990s, 2002 shifted into a new cultural decade. With the declining popularity of late 1990s and early 2000s acts like 'N Sync and The Backstreet Boys after band break-ups, rap acts like 50 Cent and Eminem rose in popularity. Pop-Punk acts like Good Charlotte and New Found Glory also appealed to adolescents. 2002 also marked the begining of the controversial Iraq War, which many say, along with 9/11, was the true generation definer of the 2000s.

Events

January

- January 1 - The Republic of China officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
- January 1 - The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially enters in to force.
- January 5 - Charles Bishop, a 15 year-old student pilot, crashes a light aircraft into a Tampa, Florida building, evoking fear of a copycat 9/11 terrorist attack.
- January 9 - The United States Department of Justice announces it is going to pursue a criminal investigation of Enron.
- January 10 - Enrique Bolaños began his five-year term as President of the Republic of Nicaragua.
- January 13 - President George W. Bush faints after choking on a pretzel.
- January 14 - The case of Adelaide Abankwah comes into trial in New York
- January 16 - A student shoots 6 people at the Appalachian School of Law, killing three.
- January 16 - John Ashcroft announces that American Taliban member John Walker Lindh would be tried in the United States.
- January 16 - The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the Taliban.
- January 17 - Eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
- January 18 - A Canadian Pacific Railway train carrying anhydrous ammonia derails outside of Minot, North Dakota, killing one.
- January 22 - AOL Time Warner brings a federal suit against Microsoft seeking damages. The suit alleges that the market for AOL's Netscape Navigator Internet browser was harmed when Microsoft started to give away a competing browser.
- January 22 - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- January 22 - Clyde Hood sentenced for 14 years in prison for Omega Trust fraud
- January 24 - Terrorist suspect John Walker Lindh's hearing begins.
- January 27 - Several explosions at a military dump in Lagos, Nigeria kill more than 1,000.

February

- February 2 - Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands marries Máxima, Princess of Orange in Amsterdam.
- February 3 - Costa Rica: elections for President and Congress
- February 8-February 24 - 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah
- February 12 - The trial of former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague
- February 12 - Nuclear waste: US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear repository.
- February 13 - Queen Elizabeth II gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood.
- February 16 - Rachel Thaler, aged 16, blown up at a pizzena in an Israeli shopping mall following a suicide bombing attack on a crowd of teenagers.
- February 19 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of using its thermal emission imaging system.
- February 20 - In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370
- February 20 - In most of the world, at 20:02 (8:02 PM) local time, date (written as day/month), time, and year are all 2002, making each of them alone, any two together, and the combination of all three, all palindromes.
- February 22 - Norwegian-facilitated ceasefire begins in Sri Lanka
- February 23 - FARC kidnaps Ingrid Betancourt in Colombia when she campaigns for presidency
- February 27 - Ethnic conflict in India: 59 Hindu pilgrims die aboard a train burned by a Muslim mob in Godhra, India, sparking a series of riots, leaving hundreds dead
- February 28 - The ex-currencies of all euro members officialy (at EU-level) cease to be legal tender.

March

- March 1 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.
- March 1 - 28 people die in continuing violence in Ahmedabad. Police shoot and kill five while attempting to control rioters.
- March 1 - The Envisat environmental satellite successfully reaches an orbit 800km above the Earth on its 11th launch, carrying the heaviest payload to date at 8500kg.
- March 1 - Space Shuttle Columbia flies Hubble Space Telescope service mission (STS-109).
- March 1 - Peseta discontinued as official currency of Spain and is replaced with the euro (€)
- March 3 - São Tomé and Príncipe: elections for the legislature
- March 6 - France agrees to return the remains of Saartje Baartman to South Africa
- March 10 - Colombia: elections for the legislature; Togo: elections for the Parliament
- March 11 - BBC 6 Music, the first new BBC music radio station in decades, is launched
- March 12 - In Texas, Andrea Yates is found guilty of drowning her five children on June 20, 2001. She is later sentenced to life in prison
- March 17 - Portugal: elections for the Parliament
- March 19 - US Attack on Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 1) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities
- March 21 - In Pakistan, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh along with three other suspects are charged with murder for their part in the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
- March 27 - Netanya suicide attack: A suicide bomber kills 28 people in Netanya, Israel
- March 31 - Ukraine: elections for the Parliament

April

April
- April 2 - Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, when militants take shelter there. A siege ensues.
- April 9- Funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother takes place in Westminster Abbey, London.
- April 15 - An Air China Boeing 767-200 crashes into a hillside during heavy rain and fog near Pusan, South Korea, killing 128
- April 15 - The Alameda Corridor transportation project in Los Angeles, California opens to rail traffic, ceasing operations of through freight trains on the 120-year-old BNSF Harbor Subdivision.
- April 17 - Four Canadian infantrymen are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two U.S. F-16s.
- April 18 - New order of insects, Mantophasmatodea, announced.
- April 25 - South African Mark Shuttleworth blasts off from the Baikonur cosmodrome; he had paid £15 million for the trip.
- April 26 - Robert Steinhauser opens fire on his former teachers and other students in Erfurt, Germany and then kills himself: 16 dead.
- April 27 - Three people killed in Laughlin, Nevada River Run Riot.
- April 30 - Pakistan: Pakistani voters approve a referendum granting a five-year term for Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf.

May

May]
- May 4 - In Germany, BV Borussia Dortmund wins the Bundesliga title after a 2-1 victory over SV Werder Bremen.
- May 6 - In the Netherlands, politician Pim Fortuyn is killed by Volkert van der Graaf.
- May 7 - Gay Canadian teenager Marc Hall is granted a court injunction ordering that he be allowed to attend his high school prom with his boyfriend.
- May 9 - The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agreed to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries. The standoff started April 2.
- May 9 - In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-control bomb explodes during a holiday parade, killing 43 and injuring at least 130.
- May 10 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for selling American secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
- May 12 - Former President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
- May 15 - The Netherlands: elections for the Lower House.
- May 16 - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones is released in theaters.
- May 20 - Restoration of East Timor independence
- May 21 - US State Department releases report citing seven State-Sponsors of Terrorism;Iran,Iraq,Cuba,Libya,North Korea,Sudan,andSyria.
- May 22 - In Washington, DC, Chandra Levy's remains are found in Rock Creek Park.
- May 22 - American civil rights movement: 16th Street Baptist Church bombing: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls.
- May 23 - Irish Football Captain, Roy Keane, Is sent home from the Training Camp in Saipan, by Manager Mick McCarthy after an Argument over Training arrangements. This cause a huge Media sensation in Ireland and Britain. Many people were split over two sides and some called it the Second Irish Civil War.
- May 23 - First Eurovision Song Contest in a former Soviet country: Estonia
- May 25 - The Boston Celtics come back from twenty-six points down to defeat the New Jersey Nets in Game 3 of the National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference Finals.
- May 25 - China Airlines Flight 611 broke up near the Penghu Islands at Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.
- May 26 - The Mars Odyssey finds signs of huge water ice deposits on the planet Mars.
- May 28 - Washington DC's medical examiner declares that Chandra Levy's death was the result of homicide.
- May 31 through June 30 - 17th Football World Cup in South Korea and Japan

June

June over London in a fly past for Queen Elizabeth II on her Golden Jubilee]]
- June 1 - The Los Angeles Lakers def the Sacramento Kings 112-106, to win Game 7 of the National Basketball Association's 2002 Western Conference Finals.
- June 3 - The "Party in the Palace" takes place at Buckingham Palace, London for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations.
- June 4 - Quaoar is discovered.
- June 4 - Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh ride in the gold state coach from Buckingham Palace to St Paul's Cathedral for a special service marking the Queen's 50 years on the throne. In New York, the Empire State Building is lit in purple for her honour.
- June 5 - Elizabeth Smart is kidnapped from her Salt Lake City, Utah home.
- June 5 - Mozilla 1.0, the first 'official' version, is released.
- June 6 - The United States House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee announces it is probing Martha Stewart's ImClone stock sales.
- June 8 - Serena Williams defeats her sister Venus Williams in straight sets to win the 2002 French Open.
- June 10 - Annular solar eclipse.
- June 11 - Antonio Meucci was recognised as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
- June 12 - The Los Angeles Lakers def the New Jersey Nets 4 games to 0 to win the 2002 NBA Finals.
- June 13 - The Detroit Red Wings def the Carolina Hurricanes 4 games to 1 in the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 14 - In Karachi, Pakistan, a car bomb in front of the U.S. consulate kills twelve Pakistanis and injures fifty.
- June 18 - Arizona experiences its worst forest fire, burning 462,606 acres (1,872 km²) near the Mogollon Rim.
- June 30 - Brazil defeats Germany 2-0 to win the Football World Cup 2002.

July

- July 1 - Russian passenger jet and a cargo plane collide over the town of Uberlingen in Southern Germany - 72 dead
- July 1 - Wendy J. Hamilton became president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
- July 5 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq once again rejects new U.N. weapons inspections proposals
- July 10 - At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting "The Massacre of the Innocents" is sold for £49.5million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson
- July 13 - A lighting strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which is left to burn 499,570 acres (2,022 km²) when finally contained on September 5.
- July 14 - During Bastille Day celebrations, Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed.
- July 15 - So-called "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and for the possession of explosives during the commission of a felony. Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each of the charges
- July 19 - K-19: The Widowmaker starring Harrison Ford is released.
- July 21 - Telecommunications giant WorldCom files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the largest such filing in United States history
- July 27 - Helen Clark leader of the Labour Party is historically re-elected in a landslide victory over the Right Wing in the New Zealand general election of 2002.
- July 27 - A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes at an air show in Ukraine killing 78 and injuring more than 100 others, the largest air show disaster in history.

August

- August 27 - Simon & Schuster sues Michael Pelligrino and Artist Management Group because Pelligrino had written a book claiming to be a son of late Mafioso Carlo Gambino

September

- September 2 - The opening of the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development, successor of the 1972 Conference on the Human Environment, 1983 World Commission on Environment and Development, and the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development.
- September 3 - Consolidated Freightways files for bankruptcy
- September 5 - A car bomb kills at least 30 people in Afghanistan, and an apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai fails the same day.
- September 5 - The Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which burned 499,570 acres (2,022 km²), is finally contained.
- September 8 - Typhoon Sinlaku causes huge waves on the Qiantangjiang River in Sheijang Province, China
- September 11 - The World Summit on Sustainable Development comes to a close.
- September 12 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush, addresses the U.N. and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.
- September 15 - The Swedish parliamentary election leaves Prime Minister Göran Persson and the Social Democrats in power.
- September 22 - The German federal election leaves Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, his Social Democrats and the Greens in power

October

- October 2 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.S. Congress passes a joint resolution which explicitly authorizes the President to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate.
- October 7 - Discovery of Quaoar is announced.
- October 11 - Lone bomber explodes a home-made bomb in the Myyrmanni shopping mall north of Helsinki, Finland - casualties include himself. See Myyrmanni bombing.
- October 12 - Bali bombing: Terrorists detonate massive bombs in two nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, killing 202 and injuring over 300.
- October 16 - Iraq disarmament crisis: George W. Bush signs the Iraq war resolution.
- October 24 - The Beltway snipers are arrested.
- October 25 - U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone, his family and staff, are killed by a plane accident at Eveleth, Minnesota.
- October 27 - The Anaheim Angels defeat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.

November

November.
- November 5 - U.S. Elections: The Republican Party maintains control of the House of Representatives and regains control of the Senate.
- November 7 - Iran bans advertising of US products.
- November 8 - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441 – The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences".
- November 9 - In Los Angeles, California, television and film actor Merlin Santana is shot to death while sitting in the passenger seat of a friend's car parked on the 3800 block of Victoria Avenue.
- November 13 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq agrees to the terms of the UN Security Council Resolution 1441.
- November 13 - The oil tanker Prestige sinks off the Galician coast and causes a huge oil spill.
- November 14 - Argentina defaults on a US$805 million World Bank payment
- November 15 - Hu Jintao becomes general secretary of the Communist Party of China.
- November 16 - A Campaign Against Climate Change march takes place in London from Lincoln's Inn Fields, past Esso offices to the United States Embassy.
- November 18 - Iraq disarmament crisis: United Nations weapons inspectors led by Hans Blix arrive in Iraq.
- November 21 - NATO Summit in Prague - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia invited to become NATO members.
- November 22 - In Nigeria, more than 100 people are killed at an attack aimed at the contestants of the Miss World contest.
- November 25 - US President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security in the largest US government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 (the Senate passed the bill 90-9 on November 19).

December

- December 4 - Total solar eclipse
- December 7 - Iraq disarmament crisis: As required by the recently passed U.N. resolution, Iraq files a 12,000 page weapons declaration with the U.N. Security Council. Although it is supposed to be a complete declaration, it is seen as incomplete by the Security Council and weapons inspectors.
- December 10 - High Court of Australia hands down its judgement in the Internet defamation dispute in the case of Gutnick v Dow Jones.
- December 18 - Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was released into theaters.
- December 24 - Laci Peterson of Modesto, California is reported missing.
- December 27 - Suicide truck-bomb attack destroys headquarters of Chechnya's Moscow-backed government, killing 72 people.
- December 29 – Communist New People's Army blows up a bust of Ferdinand Marcos in Benguet, Philippines.

Unknown Date

- Naruto (anime) is created by Studio Perriot.
- American Prohibition Foundation incorported.

Births

- August 2 - Kara Hoffman, American actress
- August 2 - Shelby Hoffman, American actress
- December 6 - Sophia Rosalinda Bratt, daughter of Benjamin Bratt and Talisa Soto

Deaths

For more deaths see: Deaths in 2002

January

- January 3 - Freddy Heineken, Dutch-born beer magnate (b. 1923)
- January 8 - Alexander Prochorow, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- January 8 - Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1932)
- January 12 - Stanley Unwin, South African comedian (b. 1911)
- January 12 - Cyrus Vance, United States Secretary of State (b. 1917)
- January 13 - Ted Demme, American film and television director (b. 1963)
- January 16 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
- January 16 - Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
- January 16 - Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
- January 17 - Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer (b. 1916)
- January 22 - Peggy Lee, American singer and actress (b. 1920)
- January 23 - Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b. 1930)
- January 23 - Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b. 1938)
- January 28 - Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (b. 1928)
- January 28 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish children's book author (b. 1907)
- January 29 - Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b. 1914)

February

- February 6 - Max Perutz, Austrian-born molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1914)
- February 8 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- February 9 - Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (b. 1930)
- February 14 - Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (b. 1922)
- February 15 - Howard K. Smith, American television journalist (b. 1914)
- February 15 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
- February 16 - Walter Winterbottom, English football manager (b. 1913)
- February 19 - Virginia Hamilton, American writer
- February 21 - John Thaw, British actor (b. 1942)
- February 22 - Chuck Jones, American animator (b. 1912)
- February 22 - Jonas Savimbi, Angolan rebel leader (b. 1934)
- February 24 - Leo Ornstein, American composer and pianist (b. 1912)
- February 26 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
- February 27 - Spike Milligan, British comedian, writer, and poet (b. 1918)
- February 27 - Mary Stuart, American actress (b. 1926)
- February 28 - Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (b. 1920)

March

- March 11 - James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- March 14 - Cherry Wilder, New Zealand author (b. 1930)
- March 24 - César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1927)
- March 25 - Kenneth Wolstenholme, British football commentator (b. 1920)
- March 27 - Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
- March 27 - Dudley Moore, British pianist, comedian, and actor (b. 1935)
- March 27 - Billy Wilder, Austrian-born film screenwriter and director (b. 1906)
- March 30 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, queen of George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
- March 31 - Barry Took, British comedian and writer (b. 1928)

April

- April 5 - Layne Staley, American singer (Alice in Chains) (b. 1967)
- April 8 - Maria Felix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
- April 9 - Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b. 1891)
- April 15 - Byron White, American athlete and Supreme Court Justice (b. 1917)
- April 16 - Franz Krienbühl, Swiss speed skater (b. 1929)
- April 16 - Robert Urich, American actor (cancer) (b. 1946)
- April 18 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (b. 1914)
- April 18 - Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
- April 25 - Indra Devi, yoga teacher (b. 1899)
- April 25 - Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, American rapper (TLC) (b. 1971)
- April 27 - George Alec Effinger, American author (b. 1947)
- April 27 - Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, Swiss industrialist and art collector (b. 1921)
- April 28 - Ruth Handler, American toy manufacturer (b. 1916)
- April 28 - Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (b. 1950)

May

- May 5 - Hugo Bánzer Suarez, President of Bolivia (b. 1926)
- May 6 - Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (assassi

Time zone

::Time Zone is also a historical computer game. ::There is also an Australian franchise of video arcades called Timezone. Time zones are areas of the Earth that have adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. Formerly, people used local solar time, originally apparent and then mean solar time. Their difference is the equation of time. Mean solar time is the average over the course of a year of apparent solar time (sundial time). With the expansion of the railways and as telecommunications improved this became increasingly awkward because clocks in a given town would differ from those in any other by an amount corresponding to their difference in geographical longitude, which was generally not a convenient number. Forcing all localities to run their clocks in synchrony would solve this problem, but under such a scheme, in many places the time shown by clocks at sunrise and sunset would differ too markedly from the solar time values to which people are accustomed. As a compromise, a scheme was devised where the surface of the planet was divided into twenty four "time zones", each separated by 15° of longitude and offset by one hour from its neighbor. Under this scheme, local time is always close to mean solar time, while comparing the time in different places is a simple matter of adding or subtracting whole hours. However, the one hour separation is not universal and, as the map below shows, the shapes of time zones can be quite irregular because they usually follow the boundaries of states, countries or other administrative areas. longitude] Originally, time zones were aligned such that the Prime Meridian (longitude 0°) was the centre of its own time zone, with the mean solar time on that meridian (Greenwich Mean Time or GMT) defining its local time. As a result, all other time zones used GMT as the "base time", from which they were offset by a whole number of hours. However, as a mean solar time, GMT, or UT1 as it is also now known, is defined by the rotation of the Earth, which is not constant in rate. Initially, the rate of atomic clocks was annually changed or steered to closely match GMT, but effective