2000

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years:	1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

2000 by topic:
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Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec
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Birth and death categories
Births - Deaths
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Establishments - Disestablishments
Works category
Works

**2000 in other calendars**
Gregorian calendar	2000 MM
Ab urbe condita	2753
Armenian calendar	1449 ԹՎ ՌՆԽԹ
Chinese calendar	4696 – 4697 己卯 – 庚辰
Ethiopian calendar	1992 – 1993
Hebrew calendar	5760 – 5761
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2055 – 2056
- Shaka Samvat	1922 – 1923
- Kali Yuga	5101 – 5102
Iranian calendar	1378 – 1379
Islamic calendar	1421 – 1422

This article is about the year 2000. For other uses of 2000, see 2000 (number) or 2000 (breakdancing move).

2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. In the Chinese Calendar it is the Year of the Dragon and in the western astrological calendar it is the year of Leo, the Lion. Popular culture also holds the year 2000 as the first year of the twenty first century and the third millennium. Many people know this fact but still choose to celebrate the year 2000 as the millennium simply as it seems 'right'. In the Gregorian Calendar, however, this distinction falls to the year 2001. This is because the first century began with the year 1 (there was no year zero), the first century (or first 100 years AD) was from January 1, in the year one (AD 1) through December 31, in the year one-hundred (AD 100). The second century began on January 1, in the year one-hundred and one (101 AD). (The selection of AD 1 may be up to seven years from Jesus' birth, and January 1 is a historical choice for New Year's Day. 2000-01-01 is the day all the digits "rolled over".)

The year 2000 was also marked as:

The International Year for a Culture of Peace.
The World Mathematical Year.

See also Encyclopedia Jr's almanac of events for this year.

Events

January

January 1 - Millennium celebrations take place throughout the world.
January 1 - Y2K passes without serious, widespread computer failures.
January 3-January 10 - Israel and Syria hold inconclusive peace talks.
January 4 - Alan Greenspan is nominated for a fourth term as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman.
January 5-January 8 - The 2000 al-Qaeda Summit of several high-level al-Qaeda members (including 2 9/11 American Airlines hijackers) is held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
January 10 - America Online announces an agreement to buy Time Warner for $162 billion. This is the largest-ever corporate merger.
January 11 - The armed wing of Islamic Salvation Front concludes its negotiations with the government for an amnesty and disbands in Algeria.^{Confirmation needed}
January 11 - The trawler Solway Harvester sinks off the Isle of Man.^{Confirmation needed},
January 14 - A United Nations tribunal sentences 5 Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years, for the 1993 killing of over 100 Bosnian Muslims in a Bosnian village.^{Confirmation needed}
January 14 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 11,792.98, a level never reached before (the peak of the Dot-com bubble).
January 16 - In Sacramento, California, a commercial truck carrying evaporated milk is driven into the State Capitol building, killing the driver.
January 24 - God's Army, a Karen militia group led by twins Johnny and Luther Htoo, take 700 hostages at a Thai hospital near the Burmese border. ^{Confirmation needed}
January 30 - Off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 169.
January 31 - Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashes off the California coast into the Pacific Ocean, killing 88.
January 31 - Dr. Harold Shipman is found guilty of murdering 15 patients between 1995 and 1998 and sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial judge recommends that Shipman, 54, should never be released from prison.

February

Windows 2000

February 1 - Vice President Al Gore wins the New Hampshire Democratic primary. George W. Bush wins the Republican primary. Gary Bauer withdraws from the race February 4, followed by Steve Forbes, February 10.
February 2 - Today is the first day since August 28, 888 that all of the digits in the date are even.
February 4 - German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion, in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.
February 6 - Tarja Halonen is elected the first female president of Finland.
February 6 - Hillary Clinton enters the New York Senate race.
February 7 - Stipe Mesic is elected president of Croatia.
February 11 - A blast wounds dozens, kills none at a bank across from the NYSE on Wall Street, the first of a series of 11 terrorist attacks (2/11/00 New York, 9/11/01 New York-DC, 5 and 7/11/02 New Delhi blasts, 4/11/03 attack targets Germans on vacation, 3/11/04 Madrid, Spain and also 7/7/05 in London).
February 13 - The final original Peanuts comic strip is published, following the death of its creator, Charles Schulz.
February 14 - The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
February 17 - Microsoft releases Windows 2000.

March

Vladimir Putin

March 1 - The Constitution of Finland is rewritten.
March 2 - Hans Blix assumes the position of Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC.
March 7 - George W. Bush and Al Gore emerge victorious in nationwide Republican and Democratic caucuses and primaries.
March 8 - A sideswipe collision of two Tokyo Metro trains kills 5 people.
March 9 - The FBI arrests suspected purveyor of art forgeries, Ely Sakhai, in New York City.
March 10 - The NASDAQ Composite Index reaches an all-time high of 5048. ([1])
March 18 - 2000 Taiwanese presidential election: Chen Shui-bian is elected President of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
March 19 - U.S. President Bill Clinton arrives in New Delhi for a state visit.
March 20 - Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (H. Rap Brown), a former Black Panther, is captured after a gun battle in Atlanta, Georgia, that leaves a sheriff's deputy dead.
March 21 - Pope John Paul II begins the first official visit by a Roman Catholic pontiff to Israel.
March 21 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules the government lacks authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug, throwing out the Clinton administration's main anti-smoking initiative.
March 26 - Presidential elections in Russia: Vladimir Putin is elected President.
March 26 - Seattle's Kingdome implodes to make way for Qwest Field.
March 28 - A Murray County, Georgia, school bus gets hit by a CSX freight train (3 children die from this accident).
March 30 - America's Cup 2000 is retained by Team New Zealand near Auckland. Prada Challenge 2000 lost 0-5 in a "best-of-9".

April

April 1 - Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi suffers a stroke and falls into a coma.
April 3 - United States v. Microsoft: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors.
April 5 - Yoshiro Mori replaces Keizo Obuchi as prime minister of Japan.
April 7 - Attack submarine ex-Trepang completes being recycled.
April 16 - Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah, Sultan of Selangor, dies after a reign of 55 years. He was the longest reigning monarch in the world since the death of Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein.
April 17 - Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin becomes Raja of Perlis.
April 22 - In a predawn raid, federal agents seize six-year old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida and fly him to his Cuban father in Washington, DC, ending one of the most publicized custody battles in US history.
April 25 - The State of Vermont passes HB847, legalizing Civil Unions for same-sex couples.

May

May 3 - A rare conjunction of 7 celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets Mercury - Jupiter) occurs on the New Moon.
May 3 - In San Antonio, Texas, computer pioneer Datapoint files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
May 12 - The Tate Modern Gallery opens in London.
May 18 - Boo.com collapses in London after 6 months, due to lack of funds.
May 25 - Israel withdraws IDF forces from southern Lebanon after 22 years.
May 28 - The volcano Mount Cameroon erupts.

June

June 1 - Mount Etna erupts on the island of Sicily.
June 19 - The Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers 116-111 in game 6 of the 2000 NBA Finals.
June 21 - Section 28, a law preventing the promotion of homosexuality, is repealed by the Scottish Parliament.
June 30 - At the Roskilde Festival near Copenhagen, Denmark, 9 die and 26 are injured during a set by the rock group Pearl Jam.

July

Air France Flight 4590 shortly before the fatal crash on July 25.

July 2 - France beats Italy 2-1 to win Euro 2000 with a golden goal.
July 2 - Vicente Fox is elected President of Mexico, as candidate of the rightist PAN (National Action Party).
July 10 - In southern Nigeria, a leaking petroleum pipeline explodes, killing about 250 villagers who were scavenging gasoline.
July 10 - Bashar al-Assad is confirmed as Syria's leader in a national referendum.
July 11-July 25 - Israel's prime minister Ehud Barak and PLO head Yasser Arafat meet at Camp David, but fail to reach an agreement.
July 18 - Alex Salmond resigns as the leader of the Scottish National Party.
July 18 - Sussex police launch a murder investigation after the body of a girl found near Pulborough is confirmed to be that of Sarah Payne, who was reported missing on July 1.
July 21-July 23 - G-8 Nations hold their 26th Annual Summit. Issues include AIDS, the 'digital divide', and halving world poverty by 2015.
July 25 - A Concorde carrying Air France Flight 4590 crashes just after takeoff from Paris, killing all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground.
July 30 - Venezuela's president Hugo Chávez is reelected with 59% of the vote.
July 31-August 3 - The Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania nominates George W. Bush for U.S. President and Dick Cheney for Vice President.

August

August 1 - The Santa Cruz Operation announced that it will sell its Server Software and Services Divisions, as well as UnixWare and OpenServer technologies, to Caldera Systems, Inc.
August 8 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
August 12 - The Russian submarine Kursk sinks in the Barents Sea, resulting in the deaths of all 118 men on board.
August 14 - Tsar Nicholas II and several members of his family are canonized by the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
August 14-August 17 - The Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles nominates U.S. Vice President Al Gore for President and Senator Joe Lieberman for Vice President.
August 27 - The Ostankino Tower in Moscow catches fire; 3 people are killed.

September

September 5 - Tuvalu joins the United Nations.
September 6 - In Paragould, Arkansas, Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart is stillborn to Scott Stewart and Lisa Bartlett. Breanna Lynn's stillbirth is notable for being the first stillbirth to be resolved by means of the Kleihauer-Betke test.
September 6 - The last wholly Swedish-owned arms manufacturer, Bofors, is sold to American arms manufacturer United Defense.
September 6 - World leaders attend the Millennium Summit at UN Headquarters.
September 7-September 14 - The UK fuel protests take place, with refineries blockaded, and supply to the country's network of petrol stations halted.
September 8 - Albania officially joins the World Trade Organization.
September 14 - Microsoft releases Windows Me.
September 15 - The 2000 Summer Olympics open in Sydney, Australia.
September 16 - Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Gongadze is last seen alive; this day is taken as the commemoration date of his death.
September 16 - Peru's president Alberto Fujimori calls for new elections in which he will not run.
September 26 - Anti-globalization protests in Prague (some 15,000 protesters) turn violent during the IMF and World Bank summits.
September 26 - The Greek ferry Express Samina sinks off the coast of the island of Paros; 80 of the over 500 passengers lose their lives.
September 28 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visits the Temple Mount, protected by a several-hundred-strong Israeli police force. Palestinian riots erupt, leading into a full-fledged armed uprising (called the Al-Aqsa Intifada by sympathizers and the Oslo War by opponents).
September 29 - The Long Kesh prison in Northern Ireland is closed.

October

Slobodan Milošević

October 5 - President Slobodan Milošević leaves office after widespread demonstrations throughout Serbia and the withdrawal of Russian support. This political event becomes known as the 5th October Revolution in Serbia.
October 6 - The last Mini is produced in Longbridge.
October 11 - 250 million gallons of coal sludge spill in Martin County, Kentucky. Considered a greater environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
October 12 - In Aden, Yemen, the USS Cole is badly damaged by two suicide bombers, who placed a small boat laden with explosives along-side the United States Navy destroyer, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.
October 21 Fifteen Arab leaders convene in Cairo, Egypt, for their first summit in 4 years; the Libyan delegation walks out, angry over signs the summit will stop short of calling for breaking ties with Israel.
October 22 - The Mainichi Shinbun newspaper exposes Japanese archeologist Shinichi Fujimura as a fraud; Japanese archaeologists had based their treatises on his findings.
October 23 - Madeleine Albright holds talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il.
October 26 - Pakistani authorities announce that their police have found an apparently ancient mummy of a Persian princess in the province of Balochistan. Iran, Pakistan and the Taliban all claim the mummy until Pakistan announces it is a forgery on April 17, 2001
October 31 - Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collides with construction equipment in the Chiang Kai Shek International Airport - 83 dead.

November

November - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq rejects new U.N. Security Council weapons inspections proposals
November 3 - Widespread flooding occurs throughout England and Wales after days of heavy rain.
November 7 - U.S. presidential election, 2000: Republican challenger George W. Bush defeats Democrat Vice President Al Gore, but the final outcome is not known for over a month because of disputed votes in Florida.
November 7 - In London, a criminal gang raids the Millennium Dome to steal The Millennium Star diamond, but police surveillance catches them in the act.
November 7 - Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first First Lady of the United States to win public office.
November 11 - Kaprun disaster, Austria: A cable car fire in an alpine tunnel kills 155 skiers and snowboarders.
November 14 - Netscape Navigator version 6.0 is launched following two years of open source development, creating a stable Mozilla web browser upon which it is based.
November 15 - A new state called Jharkhand is formed, carving out the South Chhota Nagpur area from Bihar in India.
November 16 - Bill Clinton becomes the first sitting U.S. President to visit Vietnam.
November 17 - A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills 7, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophies in Slovenia in the past 100 years.
November 17 - Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.
November 27 - Canada - Parliamentary elections - Jean Chrétien re-elected as Prime Minister, as the Liberal Party increases majority in House of Commons.
November 28 - Ukrainian politician Oleksander Moroz touches off the Cassette Scandal by publicly accusing President Leonid Kuchma of involvement in the murder of journalist Georgiy Gongadze.

December

December 1 - Vicente Fox takes office as President of Mexico.
December 1 - At the Miss World Pageant in London's Millennium Dome, Priyanka Chopra wins the title.
December 13 - The U.S. Supreme Court, (Bush v. Gore) stops the Florida presidential recount, effectively giving the state, and the Presidency, to George W. Bush.
December 13 - The Texas 7 escape from their prison unit in Kenedy, Texas, and start a crime spree.
December 24 - The Texas 7 rob a sports store in Irving, Texas; police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot dead.
December 28 - U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.
December 30 - Rizal Day Bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines, within a span of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about 100.

World population

World population: 6,070,581,000
- Africa: 795,671,000
- Asia: 3,679,737,000
- Europe: 727,986,000
- Latin-America: 520,229,000
- Northern America: 315,915,000
- Oceania: 31,043,000

Births

March 15 - Amy and Emily Walton, English actresses
September 6 - Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart, notable American stillborn baby girl
September 6 - Victoria Federica de Marichalar y de Borbón, granddaughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.
December 6 - Pablo Nicolás Urdangarín y de Borbón, grandson of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.