At A Glance

31 December 2002 at a glance

Day of the week
31 December 2002 was a Tuesday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.
Top Film of 2002
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2002 was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Bestselling Novel of 2002
“The Summons” by John Grisham was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 2002.
Top-Rated TV Show
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 2002–03 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 31 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 31 December 2002 fell in the Year of the Horse.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 31 December 2002 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 31 December

  • 1998 The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency.
  • 1999 The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, resigns from office, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President and successor.
  • 1999 The U.S. government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
  • 2001 Rwanda adopts a new national flag and anthem.
  • 2004 The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 ft).

Famous people born on December 31

  • Val Kilmer, American actor (1959–2025)
  • Sophia Laforteza, Filipino-American singer (born 2002)
  • Alex Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager (born 1941)
  • Charles Edward Stuart, Scottish claimant to the throne of England (1720–1788)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 2002 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '2002 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 8 – The No Child Left Behind Act is signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush.
  • March 1 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: In eastern Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda begins.
  • March 14 – SpaceX is founded by Elon Musk in El Segundo, California.
More events of 2002 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 2002

President

George W. Bush

Gas (per gallon)

$1.36

Loaf of Bread

$1.14

Average House

$187,600

Weekly Wage

$591

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Famous Faces Born in the 2000s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Inde Navarrette3 March 2001ActressView their day →Ben Shelton9 October 2002Tennis playerView their day →Kaia Gerber3 September 2001Model & actressView their day →Sadie Sink16 April 2002ActressView their day →Olivia Rodrigo20 February 2003Singer-songwriter & actressView their day →Coco Gauff13 March 2004Tennis playerView their day →Sombr5 July 2005Singer-songwriterView their day →Caitlin Clark22 January 2002Basketball playerView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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