On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Profile of Gerritsen Beach, seaside community of more than 2,300 homes in Brooklyn tucked between Sheepshead Bay and Marine Park; democraphics of community have barely changed in 80 years; photos; map (M)
Dave Anderson Sports of The Times column describes big weekend in New York football as Jets and Giants vie for playoff berths, setting up possibility, though distant, of all-New York Super Bowl; photos (M)
This Week column: New Year's Eve and New Year's Day festivities in Vienna will include traditional performances by Vienna State Opera, Volksoper and Vienna Philharmonic; Altogether Different 2003 series at Joyce Theater will present premieres of nine dances; Great Small Works Sixth International Toy Theater Festival will open at Here in South Village; 92nd Street Y will open its 33rd Lyrics and Lyricists series with program of songs by composer-lyricist Frank Loesser; photo (M)
Article on reasons for caution as Hollywood's declares 2002 a record-shattering year; notes that while more than $9 billion worth of tickets were sold and attendance rose at least 5 percent, audiences flocked to independent movies and major studios focused on sequels, prequels, remakes, spinoffs and comic-book blockbusters; photos; chart (M)
Kenyans elect opposition leader Mwai Kibaki as their new president, in resounding defeat for party that has ruled over country for nearly four decades; result leaves no doubt about voters' opinion of 24-year rule of retiring president Daniel arap Moi, whose chosen successor Uhuru Kenyatta is rejected throughout country; this is first election governing party has lost since independence in 1963; election officials declare Kibaki winner as ballots are still being tabulated; say margin is so great that none of his four rivals stand chance; independent election watchers give Kibaki 63 percent of vote, compared with 20 percent for Kenyatta, second-place finisher; Kibaki is former finance minister and vice president to Moi who broke with him decade ago; has vowed to change Kenya's fortunes by turning tide on corruption, poverty and authoritarian rule; Moi's decision to retire, as required by country's Constitution, and to allow bitter rival to replace him is seen as milestone in development of Kenya's democracy; photos; map; brief recap of country's history since 1963 (L)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 25, 2002, covering December 30, 2002.
Shania Twain
Dixie Chicks
Aaliyah
Tim McGraw
Soundtrack
2002Mary Brian, American actress (born 1906)[†]
Mary Brian was an American actress who made the transition from silent films to sound films.
2002Eleanor J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (born 1910)[†]
Eleanor Jack Gibson was an American psychologist who focused on reading development and perceptual learning in infants. Gibson began her career at Smith College as an instructor in 1932, publishing her first works on research conducted as an undergraduate student. Gibson was able to circumvent the many obstacles she faced due to the Great Depression and gender discrimination, by finding research opportunities that she could meld with her own interests. Gibson, with her husband James J. Gibson, created the Gibsonian ecological theory of development, which emphasized how important perception was because it allows humans to adapt to their environments. Perhaps her most well-known contribution to psychology was the "visual cliff," which studied depth perception in both human and animal species, leading to a new understanding of perceptual development in infants. Gibson was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1971, the National Academy of Education in 1972, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1977. In 1992, she was awarded the National Medal of Science.
2002Mary Wesley, English author (born 1912)[†]
Mary Aline Siepmann CBE, known by the pen name Mary Wesley, was an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including ten bestsellers in the last twenty years of her life.
In 2002, the world population was approximately 6,337,730,342 people[†]