Timeline March 2002

Events in March 2002 9

• 1900 – 2002 Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) Died 13 March 2002, aged 102 The German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer founded philosophical hermeneutics with his 1960 work Truth and Method, which argued that all understanding is shaped by tradition and prior expectation. He taught for decades, latterly at Heidelberg, and remained active past his hundredth year. His exchanges with thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida framed much of late-century Continental philosophy.
• 1900 – 2002 Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (1900-2002) Died 30 March 2002, aged 101 Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married the future King George VI in 1923 and became queen consort on his unexpected accession in 1936. Her decision to stay in London during the Blitz made her a symbol of wartime resolve. After the King's death in 1952 she remained a popular public figure for another half-century as the Queen Mother.
• 1906 – 2002 Billy Wilder (1906-2002) Died 27 March 2002, aged 95 Billy Wilder was an Austrian-born writer-director who fled Nazi Germany and became one of Hollywood's sharpest talents. His films spanned film noir, drama and comedy, including Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot and The Apartment. He won six Academy Awards and was known for acid wit on screen and off.
• 1908 – 2002 Milton Berle (1908-2002) Died 27 March 2002, aged 93 Milton Berle was a vaudeville and radio comedian who became American television's first major star as host of the Texaco Star Theater from 1948. His broad, costume-heavy slapstick drew such large audiences that he was nicknamed Mr. Television and credited with helping sell sets. His career on stage and screen spanned some eight decades.
• 1935 – 2002 Dudley Moore (1935-2002) Died 27 March 2002, aged 66 Dudley Moore rose through the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe and a long comic partnership with Peter Cook before Hollywood stardom in the films 10 and Arthur. A gifted jazz pianist, he often performed music alongside his acting. His final years were affected by the degenerative brain disease progressive supranuclear palsy.
• 2002 Iditarod 2002 Winner: Martin Buser — 8 days 22h Martin Buser won his fourth Iditarod and set a new course record of 8 days and 22 hours — the first sub-9-day finish on the southern route.
• 2002 Operation Anaconda Major US-led battle in eastern Afghanistan Between 2 and 18 March 2002, US, Afghan and allied forces fought al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters entrenched in the Shahi-Kot Valley south of Gardez. It was the largest set-piece battle of the Afghan war to that point and the first big operation dominated by US ground troops. Eight American soldiers were killed and the militant positions were eventually overrun.
• 2002 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Inducted in their first year of eligibility.
• 2002 Passover massacre and Operation Defensive Shield Israel launches its largest West Bank offensive since 1967 A Hamas suicide bomber killed 30 people at a Passover meal in a Netanya hotel on 27 March 2002, the deadliest attack of the Second Intifada. Two days later Israel began Operation Defensive Shield, reoccupying West Bank cities and besieging Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah. Heavy fighting in the Jenin refugee camp became the subject of lasting dispute.