Timeline March 2000

Events in March 2000 10

• 1942 – 2000 Ian Dury (1942-2000) Died 27 March 2000, aged 57 Ian Dury was an English singer and lyricist who, with his band the Blockheads, brought wit and music-hall swagger to the punk and new wave era. Songs such as "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick" showcased his wordplay. Left disabled by childhood polio, he was also an advocate for disabled people. He died of cancer.
• 2000 Iditarod 2000 Winner: Doug Swingley — 9 days 0h Doug Swingley became the first musher to finish under 9 days, winning in 9 days and 0 hours.
• 2000 Launch of the PlayStation 2 Sony releases what became the best-selling home console Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in Japan on 4 March 2000, with North American and European releases following in the autumn. Backward compatible with PlayStation games and doubling as a DVD player, it eventually sold more than 155 million units, more than any other console. It stayed in production until 2013.
• 2000 PlayStation 2 — the best-selling console ever The PlayStation 2 launches in Japan on 4 March 2000 — and becomes the best-selling video game console in history, with 155 million units sold over its 13-year production run. Its built-in DVD player makes it many households' first DVD player, driving DVD format adoption. Its library of over 4,000 games includes Grand Theft Auto III, Shadow of the Colossus, God of War and Metal Gear Solid 2. The PS2 is Sony's greatest single product success.
• 2000 Athlon reaches 1GHz — beats Intel in the race On 6 March 2000, AMD announces the first 1GHz processor — the Athlon — one day before Intel's competing announcement. The 1GHz milestone is the most visible performance landmark in PC history; both companies race to reach it first. AMD wins. The moment is enormous for AMD's brand: for the first time, AMD is not copying Intel — it is beating Intel. The 1GHz Athlon generates massive media coverage and establishes AMD as a genuine performance leader among enthusiasts and gamers.
• 2000 James Taylor inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Inducted the same year as Bonnie Raitt.
• 2000 Kanungu massacre Hundreds die in a Ugandan doomsday cult On 17 March 2000 a church building at Kanungu in south-western Uganda was set ablaze with members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God locked inside, killing around 330 people. Mass graves linked to the group found over the following weeks raised the toll above 700. The leaders, who had predicted the end of the world, were never found.
• 2000 Chen Shui-bian wins the Taiwanese presidency The first transfer of power away from the Kuomintang On 18 March 2000 Chen Shui-bian of the Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan's presidential election, ending more than fifty years of unbroken Kuomintang rule on the island. It was the first peaceful transfer of power between parties in Taiwanese history. Beijing reacted with alarm at his party's pro-independence roots.
• 2000 Pope John Paul II visits the Holy Land A Jubilee pilgrimage to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories From 20 to 26 March 2000 Pope John Paul II made a week-long pilgrimage to the Holy Land during the Catholic Jubilee year. He prayed at the Western Wall and left a note apologising for Christian mistreatment of Jews, and he visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. The trip was seen as a landmark in Jewish-Catholic relations.
• 2000 – 2008 Putin 1st presidency First and second terms — 2000 to 2008 Putin was elected President on March 26, 2000, and re-elected in 2004. During his first two terms he consolidated state power, suppressed political opposition, benefited from oil revenues, and gradually reasserted Russian influence abroad.