2001 was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. By traditional interpretation of the Gregorian Calendar, 2001 is also the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium. Popular culture, however, often views the year 2000 as holding this distinction.

2001 saw George W. Bush sworn in as America’s 43rd president. It was the year of the horrifying 9-11 attacks that directly influenced the beginning of the War on Terror, involving invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. September 11, 2001 was a major event that would shape events throughout the decade.

The following events took place in 2001:

• January 1 - Many people celebrate the beginning of the new millennium - the 21st century (but not as much as the celebrations in 2000). A black monolith measuring approximately 9 feet tall appears in Seattle, Washington’s Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• The Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner. (January)
• The EDSA Revolution of 2001 finds Philippine President Joseph Estrada peacefully removed from office. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sworn in on January 20th.
  
  Manila, Philippines, Jan 18-20, 2001
• January 20 - George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States.
• Four of the Texas 7 are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado, and a fifth kills himself inside a motor home. The last two are captured a few days later. (January)
• An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths and destroying most of the city.
• The Baltimore Ravens beat the New York Giants 34-7 in Super Bowl XXXV (January)
• Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon wins election as Prime Minister of Israel. (February)
• NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt is killed instantly in a crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500. (February)
• April 1st: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.
• April 1 - Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia President Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.
• Soyuz TM-32 lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying the first space tourist, American Dennis Tito. (April)
• Washington, DC police declare Chandra Levy missing (May).
  
  Famous photo of Washington Intern Chandra Levy
• Silvio Berlusconi and the Italian House of the Liberties coalition win general elections. (May)
• suck.com closes down
• Timothy McVeigh is executed for the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing. (June)
• Andrea Yates of Houston,TX drowns her five children in a bathtub and confesses to her crime.(June)
• The 27th G8 summit takes place in Genoa, Italy. Massive demonstrations are held against the meeting by anti-globalisation groups. One demonstrator, Carlo Giuliani, is shot dead by a carabiniere. (July)
  
  G8 Protestors
• August 6 - The White House briefing, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”, is delivered to George W. Bush. This document foreshadows the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• R&B singer Aaliyah dies in an airplane crash (August)
• September 11 - The World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks. Almost 3,000 people killed.
  
• September 15 - President George W. Bush announces the War on Terrorism.
  
  George W. Bush
• September 18 - Anthrax 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. Five people are killed and 17 others infected. The crime remains unsolved.
• October 5 - Tom Ridge resigns as Governor of Pennsylvania to become the first director of the newly created United States Office of Homeland Security.
• October 7 - The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from the United Kingdom.
• October 10 - War on Terrorism: U.S. President George W. Bush presents a list of 22 most wanted terrorists.
• October 23 - Apple Computer releases the iPod.
• October 25 - Microsoft releases Windows XP.
• October 26 - The USA Patriot Act becomes law.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the 3 time defending World Series Champions New York Yankees in 7 games to win their first ever World Series Championship (November)
• The People’s Republic of China is admitted to the World Trade Organization (November)
• November 12 - In New York City, American Airlines Flight 587 headed to the Dominican Republic crashes in Queens, New York minutes after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 260 on board.
• November 12 - Taliban forces abandon Kabul.
• 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)
• Microsoft releases the Xbox (November)
• Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time. It was later revealed that its reported financial condition was sustained mostly by institutionalized, systematic, and creatively planned accounting fraud. Enron has since become a popular symbol of willful corporate fraud and corruption. (December)
  
• John Walker Lindh, an American citizen, is captured in Afghanistan as a Taliban prisoner.
  
  Lindh, captured after a prison revolt
• In December, Lisa Beamer, wife of Todd Beamer, through the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, registers the trademark “Let’s Roll” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office less than 3 months after his death in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Bush himself would later use the phrase in a speech in 2002.
• Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is released into theaters. (December)
• Hamid Karzai is sworn in as head of the interim government in Afghanistan. (December)
• A Paris-Miami, Florida flight is diverted to Boston, Massachusetts after passenger Richard Reid attempts to set his shoe, filled with explosives, on fire. (December)
  
  Richard Reid