2000 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s – 2000s – 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years:	1997 1998 1999 – 2000 – 2001 2002 2003

2000 (MM) was a leap year that began on a Saturday. It was the last year of the 2nd millennium and the 20th century. It was also the first year of the 2000s decade. Many people worried about the Y2K bug, which was a fear that computers would crash when the year changed to 2000. Luckily, this did not cause serious problems. The year 2000 was also the first century leap year since 1600.

Major Events of 2000

January Highlights

January 3–10 – Israel and Syria held peace talks, but they did not reach an agreement.
January 4 – Alan Greenspan was chosen for a fourth time to lead the U.S. Federal Reserve, which manages the country's money.
January 10 – America Online announced a huge deal to buy Time Warner for $162 billion. This was the largest company merger ever at that time.
January 14 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a stock market index, reached a high point of 11,722.98 during the Dot-com bubble.
January 18 – The Tagish Lake meteorite landed on Earth.
January 30 – Super Bowl XXXIV: The St. Louis Rams won the NFL Championship for the first time since 1951. They beat the Tennessee Titans 23–16.
January 30 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Côte d'Ivoire, killing 169 people.
January 31 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crashed off the California coast into the Pacific Ocean, killing 88 people.

February Highlights

February 6 – Tarja Halonen became the first female president of Finland.
February 7 – Stjepan Mesić was elected president of Croatia.
February 9 – Heavy rains in Africa caused the worst flooding in Mozambique in 50 years. The floods lasted until March and killed 800 people.
February 13 – The last original Peanuts comic strip was published. This happened after its creator, Charles M. Schulz, passed away.
February 21 – UNESCO started the first celebration of International Mother Language Day.

March Highlights

March 1 – The Constitution of Finland was updated.
March 10 – The NASDAQ Composite Index, another stock market index, reached its highest point ever at 5,048.
March 12 – Pope John Paul II apologized for wrongdoings by members of the Catholic Church throughout history.
March 18 – Chen Shui-bian was elected President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). This was the first time the Democratic Progressive Party won, ending the long rule of the Kuomintang.
March 21 – Pope John Paul II made the first official visit by a Roman Catholic Pope to Israel.
March 26 – Vladimir Putin was elected President of Russia.

April Highlights

April 3 – In the case United States v. Microsoft, a court ruled that Microsoft had broken United States antitrust laws.
April 22 – Brazil celebrated its 500th anniversary. There were protests, especially from native and black communities.
April 22 – Federal agents took 6-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami. He was flown to his Cuban father, ending a very public custody battle.
April 25 – The state of Vermont passed a law allowing civil unions for same-sex couples.

May Highlights

May 3 – Seven celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, and planets Mercury to Saturn) lined up in a rare event during the New Moon.
May 4 – The ILOVEYOU computer virus started in The Philippines and quickly spread around the world.
May 11 – The billionth person was born in India.
May 12 – The Tate Modern Gallery opened in London.
May 13 – A fireworks factory exploded in Enschede, Netherlands, killing 23 people.
May 25 – Israel pulled its military forces out of southern Lebanon after 22 years.

June Highlights

June 5 – 405 The Movie, the first short movie widely shared on the Internet, was released.
June 13 – South Korean President Kim Dae-jung visited North Korea for the first meeting between leaders of the two countries.
June 21 – Section 28, a law that prevented the promotion of homosexuality, was removed by the Scottish Parliament.
June 26 – A first draft of the human genome was completed as part of the Human Genome Project.
June 28 – Elián González returned to Cuba with his father, ending his long custody battle.
June 30 – At the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, 9 people died and 26 were hurt during a Pearl Jam concert.

July Highlights

July 2 – France beat Italy 2–1 to win Euro 2000 with a golden goal.
July 2 – Vicente Fox was elected President of Mexico. This ended 71 years of rule by the PRI party.
July 10 – In southern Nigeria, a leaking oil pipeline exploded, killing about 250 villagers who were collecting gasoline.
July 10 – Bashar al-Assad was confirmed as Syria's leader.
July 25 – Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde airplane, crashed into a hotel near Paris shortly after takeoff. All 109 people on board and 4 people in the hotel died.
July 31 – August 3 – The Republican National Convention in Philadelphia nominated George W. Bush for U.S. President and Dick Cheney for Vice President.

August Highlights

August 8 – The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was brought to the surface after 136 years at the bottom of the ocean.
August 12 – The Russian submarine K-141 Kursk sank in the Barents Sea, and all 118 sailors on board died.
August 14 – Tsar Nicholas II and his family were made saints by the Russian Orthodox Church.
August 14–17 – The Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles nominated U.S. Vice President Al Gore for President and Senator Joe Lieberman for Vice President.
August 27 – The Ostankino Tower in Moscow caught fire, killing 3 people.

September Highlights

September 5 – Tuvalu joined the United Nations.
September 6–8 – World leaders attended the Millennium Summit at the UN Headquarters.
September 7–14 – UK fuel protests took place, with oil refineries blocked, stopping fuel supply to petrol stations.
September 8 – Albania officially joined the World Trade Organization.
September 14 – Microsoft released Windows ME.
September 15 – October 1 – The 2000 Summer Olympics were held in Sydney, Australia.
September 26 – The Greek ferry Express Samina sank off the island of Paros. 80 out of more than 500 passengers died in one of Greece's worst sea disasters.
September 26 – Anti-globalization protests in Prague turned violent during the IMF and World Bank meetings.
September 28 – Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount. Palestinian riots started, leading to a major uprising called the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

October Highlights

October 1 – The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, came to an end.
October 5 – President Slobodan Milošević left office after large protests across Serbia.
October 6 – The last Mini car was made in Longbridge.
October 11 – 250 million gallons of coal sludge spilled in Martin County, Kentucky. This was considered a bigger environmental disaster than the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
October 23 – Madeleine Albright met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
October 30 – This was the last day there was no human in space. The next day, Soyuz TM-31 launched, carrying the first crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has had people living on it ever since.
October 31 – Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashed into construction equipment at Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, killing 83 people.

November Highlights

November 2 – The first permanent crew entered the International Space Station.
November 3 – Widespread flooding happened across England and Wales after many days of heavy rain.
November 7 – United States presidential election, 2000: Republican candidate George W. Bush won against Democratic Vice President Al Gore. This was one of the closest elections ever, and the final result was not known for over a month due to disputed votes in Florida.
November 7 – Hillary Clinton was elected to the United States Senate. She became the first First Lady of the United States to win a public office.
November 11 – Kaprun disaster, Austria: A cable car fire in an Alpine tunnel killed 155 skiers and snowboarders.
November 15 – A new Indian state called Jharkhand was created from part of Bihar.
November 16 – Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. President to visit Vietnam.
November 17 – A huge landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, killed 7 people and caused a lot of damage.
November 17 – Alberto Fujimori was removed from his position as president of Peru.
November 27 – Jean Chrétien was re-elected as Prime Minister of Canada. His Liberal Party gained more seats.

December Highlights

December 1 – Vicente Fox officially became President of Mexico.
December 13 – Bush v. Gore: The Supreme Court of the United States stopped the vote recount in Florida. This effectively gave the state, and the Presidency, to George W. Bush.
December 15 – The last reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was shut down, closing the station completely.
December 24 – The Texas 7 robbed a sports store in Irving, Texas; police officer Aubrey Hawkins was shot and killed.
December 24 – Christmas Eve 2000 Indonesia bombings: 18 people were killed in several bomb attacks on churches across Indonesia.
December 25 – A shopping center fire in Luoyang, China, killed 309 people.
December 28 – U.S. store chain Montgomery Ward announced it was closing after 128 years.
December 30 – Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs exploded in different places in Metro Manila, Philippines, killing 22 people and injuring about 100.
December 31 – The Millennium Dome in London closed its doors, exactly one year after it opened.