Notable Historical Events - 2003
2003 Historical Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
Jan 12 |
29th People's Choice Awards: Mel Gibson & Julia Roberts win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Ray Romano & Jennifer Aniston win (TV) |
Jan 13 |
Rock musician Pete Townshend of The Who was arrested in London on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. He was later cleared. |
Jan 13 |
30th American Music Award: Sheryl Crow & Eminem win |
Jan 16 |
The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry. |
Jan 18 |
A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia. |
Jan 22 |
Last successful contact with the spacecraft Pioneer 10, one of the most distant man-made objects. |
Jan 23 |
Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10 |
Jan 24 |
The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation. |
Jan 26 |
Super Bowl XXXVII: Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat Oakland Raiders, 48-21 at the Qualcomm Stadium MVP: Dexter Jackson, Tampa Bay, S |
Jan 30 |
Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage. |
Jan 31 |
The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia. |
Feb 1 |
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard. |
Feb 2 |
Jennifer Lopez starts a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'All I Have' |
Feb 2 |
Russian pop girl duo Tatu start a four-week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'All The Things She Said' |
Feb 2 |
NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 45-23 |
Feb 4 |
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution. |
Feb 10 |
France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq. |
Feb 15 |
An estimated eleven million people around the world take to the streets to protest against the looming war with Iraq |
Feb 16 |
Michael Waltrip wins motor racing's Daytona 500 after rain stops the race for a second time at lap 109 |
Feb 17 |
The London Congestion Charge scheme begins. |
Feb 18 |
Comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT) makes perihelion, seen by SOHO. |
Feb 18 |
Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea. |
Feb 20 |
During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 300 others. |
Feb 21 |
Bill Maher's political talk show "Real Time with Bill Maher" debuts on HBO |
Feb 23 |
45th Grammy Awards: Don't Know Why, Norah Jones wins |
Feb 27 |
Former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic is sentenced by the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to 11 years in prison |
Feb 27 |
Rowan Williams is enthroned as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Anglican church. |
Mar 1 |
Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security. |
Mar 1 |
17th Soul Train Music Awards: LL Cool J, Mariah Carey & Nelly win |
Mar 2 |
The first International Symposium on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics is held at Chung Cheng University. |
Mar 5 |
In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed by a Hamas suicide bomb in the Haifa bus 37 massacre. |
Mar 11 |
The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague. |
Mar 12 |
Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade. |
Mar 12 |
Elizabeth Smart, was found after having been missing for 9 months. |
Mar 13 |
Human evolution: The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old footprints of an upright-walking human have been found in Italy. |
Mar 14 |
Start of weekend of protests against war in Iraq that are attended by millions |
Mar 15 |
Hu Jintao takes over presidency for the People's Republic of China. |
Mar 16 |
The largest coordinated worldwide vigil takes place, as part of the global protests against Iraq war. |
Mar 17 |
British Cabinet Minister Robin Cook, resigns over government plans for the war with Iraq. |
Mar 18 |
FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives. |
Mar 18 |
British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language. |
Mar 19 |
Invasion of Iraq by American and British led coalition begins without United Nations support and in defiance of world opinion |
Mar 22 |
23rd Golden Raspberry Awards: Swept Away wins |
Mar 23 |
In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom. |
Mar 23 |
75th Academy Awards - "Chicago," Adrien Brody & Nicole Kidman win |
Mar 24 |
The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq. |
Mar 28 |
In a "friendly fire" incident, two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National Guard's 190th Fighter Squadron attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull. |
Apr 5 |
18th Soap Opera Digest Awards - General Hospital wins |
Apr 7 |
U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later. |
Apr 7 |
37th CMT Flameworthy Video Music Awards: Toby Keith & Martina McBride wins |
Apr 9 |
Baghdad falls to U.S. forces ending the invasion of Iraqi but resulting in widespread looting |
Apr 13 |
67th Golf Masters Championship: Mike Weir wins, shooting a 281 |
Apr 14 |
The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%. |
Apr 14 |
U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the Achille Lauro in 1985. |
Apr 16 |
The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union. |
Apr 22 |
Patrick Roy plays his final career NHL game |
Apr 23 |
Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus. |
Apr 28 |
Andre Agassi recaptures the world no. 1 ranking to become the oldest top-ranked male in the history of the ATP rankings (33 years, 13 days) |
May 1 |
2003 invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" on board the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of California. |
May 3 |
New Hampshire's famous Old Man of the Mountain collapses. |
May 3 |
129th Kentucky Derby: Jose Santos aboard Funny Cide wins in 2:01.19 |
May 10 |
The May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence takes place. |
May 12 |
The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26. |
May 12 |
Fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers bring the Texas Legislature to a standstill by going into hiding in a dispute over a Republican congressional redistricting plan. |
May 16 |
In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks. |
May 20 |
The reality series "America's Next Top Model", created by Tyra Banks, debuts on UPN |
May 21 |
An earthquake hits northern Algeria killing more than 2,000 people. |
May 21 |
38th Academy of Country Music Awards: Toby Keith, Martina McBride & Kenny Chesney wins |
May 22 |
In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years. |
May 23 |
The Euro exceeds its initial trading value as it hits $1.18 for the first time since its introduction in 1999. |
May 25 |
Néstor Kirchner becomes President of Argentina after defeating Carlos Menem. He is the first elected President since the economic crisis. |
May 25 |
Indianapolis 500: Gil de Ferran wins in 3:11:56.989 (251.526 km/h) |
May 26 |
Only three days after a previous record, Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours 56 minutes. The tourism ministry of Nepal confirms this record in July that year. |
May 28 |
Peter Hollingworth becomes the first Governor-General of Australia to resign his office as a result of criticism of his conduct. |
May 28 |
Patrick Roy officially announces his retirement from the NHL |
Jun 1 |
The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam. |
Jun 2 |
Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency's Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan. |
Jun 5 |
A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50°C (122°F) in the region. |
Jun 7 |
135th Belmont: Jerry Bailey aboard Empire Maker wins in 2:28.26 |
Jun 8 |
57th Tony Awards: Hairspray & Take Me Out win |
Jun 8 |
49th LPGA Championship won by Annika Sörenstam |
Jun 10 |
The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission. |
Jun 10 |
"Wicked", starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, officially opens at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco |
Jun 15 |
57th NBA Championship: San Antonio Spurs beat New Jersey Nets, 4 games to 2 |
Jun 15 |
103rd US Golf Open: Jim Furyk shoots a 272 at Olympia Fields CC IL |
Jun 17 |
Moneyball, a book about the 2003 Oakland Athletics baseball team and GM Billy Beane's sabermetric approach, inspired by Bill James, is published |
Jun 18 |
Google launches AdSense, a program that enables website publishers to serve ads targeted to the specific content of their individual web pages, many of which like HistoryOrb.com go on to start their own publishing businesses |
Jun 23 |
Barry Bonds steals second base against the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to have 500 career home runs and 500 career steals |
Jun 26 |
The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional. |
Jun 27 |
The United States National Do Not Call Registry, formed to combat unwanted telemarketing calls and administered by the Federal Trade Commission, enrolls almost three-quarters of a million phone numbers on its first day. |
Jul 2 |
Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, insults German MP Martin Schulz by calling him a "kapo" during a session of the European Parliament. |
Jul 4 |
Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is arrested for sexual assault |
Jul 5 |
SARS is declared to be contained by the WHO. |
Jul 6 |
The 70-meter Eupatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message Cosmic Call 2 to 5 stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri, HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris that will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, 2044 and 2049 respectively. |
Jul 6 |
110th Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Serena Williams beats Venus Williams (4-6 6-4 6-2) |
Jul 6 |
117th Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Roger Federer beats M Philippoussis (7-6 6-2 7-6) |
Jul 7 |
The United Communist Party of Armenia is formed. |
Jul 8 |
Sudan Airways Flight 39, with 116 people on board, crashes in Sudan; the only survivor is a two-year-old boy who subsequently dies as a result of his injuries. |
Jul 10 |
A Neoplan bus, owned by Kowloon Motor Bus, collides with a truck, falls off a bridge on Tuen Mun Road, Hong Kong, and plunges into the underlying valley, killing 21 people. This is the deadliest traffic accident to date in Hong Kong. |
Jul 15 |
AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape Communications Corporation. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day. |
Jul 15 |
74th All Star Baseball Game: AL wins 7-6 at U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago |
Jul 16 |
11th ESPY Awards: Lance Armstrong, Serena Williams win |
Jul 20 |
France: Sixteen people are injured after two bombs explode outside a tax office in Nice. |
Jul 20 |
132nd British Golf Open: Ben Curtis shoots a 283 at Royal St George's Golf Club |
Jul 22 |
Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year old son, and a bodyguard. |
Jul 27 |
A group of 321 Filipino armed soldiers called "Magdalo" took over the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center in Makati City to show the Filipino people the alleged corruption of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration |
Jul 30 |
The last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line in Mexico |
Aug 5 |
A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150. |
Aug 10 |
The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK - 38.5°C (101.3°F) in Kent . It is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. |
Aug 11 |
Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand. |
Aug 11 |
A heat wave in Paris results in temperatures rising to 112°F (44° C), leaving about 144 people dead. |
Aug 11 |
NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history. |
Aug 14 |
Widescale power blackout in the northeast United States and Canada. |
Aug 16 |
U.S. Representative from South Dakota Bill Janklow hits and kills a motorcyclist with his car at a rural intersection near Trent, South Dakota; he will eventually be convicted of manslaughter and will resign from Congress. |
Aug 17 |
85th PGA Championship: Shaun Micheel shoots a 276 at Oak Hill Country Club |
Aug 19 |
A Hamas planned suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem kills 23 Israelis, 7 of them children in the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre. |
Aug 19 |
A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees. |
Aug 22 |
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is suspended after refusing to comply with a federal court order to remove a rock inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the Alabama Supreme Court building. |
Aug 25 |
The Tli Cho land claims agreement is signed between the Dogrib First Nations and the Canadian federal government in Rae-Edzo (now called Behchoko). |
Aug 26 |
The Columbia Accident Investigation Board releases its final reports on Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. |
Aug 27 |
Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant. |
Aug 28 |
An electricity blackout cuts off power to around 500,000 people living in south east England and brings 60% of London's underground rail network to a halt. |
Aug 28 |
20th MTV Awards: Missy Elliott, Beyoncé f/ Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake wins |
Aug 29 |
Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf. |
Sep 11 |
Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh dies after being assaulted and fatally wounded on September 10. |
Sep 11 |
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety enters into effect. |
Sep 12 |
In Fallujah, US forces mistakenly shoot and kill eight Iraqi police officers. |
Sep 12 |
The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. |
Sep 14 |
In a referendum Sweden rejects adopting the Euro. |
Sep 14 |
Estonia approves joining the European Union in a referendum. |
Sep 18 |
The United Kingdom's Local Government Act 2003, repealing controversial Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, receives Royal Assent. |
Sep 20 |
Maldives civil unrest: the death of prisoner Hassan Evan Naseem sparks a day of rioting in Malé. |
Sep 20 |
A referendum is held in Latvia to decide the country's accession to the European Union. |
Sep 21 |
Galileo mission terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter's atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes. |
Sep 21 |
55th Emmy Awards: The West Wing, Everybody Loves Raymond, James Gandolfini & Edie Falco wins |
Sep 22 |
David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon. |
Sep 25 |
A magnitude-8.0 earthquake strikes just offshore of Hokkaidō, Japan. |
Sep 27 |
Actress Halle Berry announces her separation from second husband, R&B singer Eric Benet |
Sep 27 |
Smart 1 satellite is launched. |
Sep 29 |
Hurricane Juan makes landfall in Nova Scotia. |
Oct 3 |
Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy is attacked by one of the shows tigers, canceling the show for good. |
Oct 4 |
Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel: 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs, are killed, and 51 others wounded. |
Oct 7 |
Gray Davis is recalled as Governor of California, three years before the official end of his office term. Film star Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected Governor. |
Oct 8 |
Peter Agre and Roderick MacKinnon win the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes |
Oct 14 |
Fan Steve Bartman deflects the ball away from Chicago Cubs outfielder Moises Alou. Cubs give up eight runs in the inning and lose to the Marlins 8-3, and the Bartman incident is seen as the turning point in the series |
Oct 15 |
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission. |
Oct 15 |
The Staten Island Ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi collides with a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43. |
Oct 17 |
The pinnacle was fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur by 50 meters (165 feet) and become the World's tallest highrise. |
Oct 17 |
Eunuchs in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh float the political party Jiti Jitayi Politics. |
Oct 18 |
Bolivian Gas War: President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, is forced to resign and leave Bolivia. |
Oct 19 |
Mother Teresa of Calcutta is beatified by Pope John Paul II. |
Oct 21 |
Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz. |
Oct 24 |
Concorde makes its last commercial flight. |
Oct 26 |
The Cedar Fire, the second-largest fire in California history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km²), and destroys 2,200 homes around San Diego. |
Oct 30 |
"Wicked" premieres on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, |
Oct 31 |
A bankruptcy court approves MCI's reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy. |
Oct 31 |
Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power. |
Nov 1 |
Panajot Pano is selected as the Golden Player of Albania by the Football Association of Albania as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee |
Nov 2 |
Grant Fuhr is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame |
Nov 3 |
Pat LaFontaine is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame |
Nov 4 |
The most powerful solar flare as observed by satellite instrumentation is recorded. |
Nov 4 |
Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy becomes the first person indicted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He was eventually acquitted. |
Nov 5 |
37th Country Music Association Award: Alan Jackson & Martina McBride wins |
Nov 9 |
A suicide-terrorist attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills 17 people. |
Nov 12 |
With 501 km/h (311 mph) Shanghai Transrapid sets up a new world record for commercial railway systems. |
Nov 12 |
Iraq war: In Nasiriya, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 Iraq war are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base. |
Nov 15 |
The first day of the 2003 Istanbul Bombings takes place, to be followed by additional bombings on November 20. |
Nov 16 |
91st CFL Grey Cup: Edmonton Eskimos defeats Montreal Alouettes, 34-22 |
Nov 16 |
Lionel Messi makes his official debut for FC Barcelona |
Nov 17 |
Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame |
Nov 18 |
The congress of the Communist Party of Indian Union (Marxist-Leninist) decides to merge the party into Kanu Sanyal's CPI(ML). |
Nov 18 |
In England, the Local Government Act 2003, repealing controversial anti-gay amendment Section 28, becomes effective |
Nov 20 |
After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul Bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate. |
Nov 22 |
In Tbilisi, Georgia, opponents of President Eduard Shevardnadze seize the parliament building and demand the president's resignation. |
Nov 23 |
Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed elections. |
Nov 26 |
Concorde makes its last ever flight over Bristol, England. |
Nov 30 |
92nd Davis Cup: Australia beats Spain in Melbourne (3-1) |
Dec 7 |
The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. |
Dec 9 |
A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more. |
Dec 11 |
Joe Sakic scores his 500th career goal at Vancouver |
Dec 12 |
Paul Martin becomes the Prime Minister of Canada |
Dec 12 |
Jean Chretien formally resigns as the Prime Minister of Canada |
Dec 13 |
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit (see Operation Red Dawn). |
Dec 14 |
President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. |
Dec 14 |
President George W. Bush announces the capture of Saddam Hussein. |
Dec 17 |
The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice. |
Dec 17 |
SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight. |
Dec 22 |
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits near San Simeon, California. |
Dec 22 |
The New York Knicks hire Isiah Thomas as President of Basketball Operations |
Dec 23 |
PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234. |
Dec 24 |
Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station. |
Dec 25 |
The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe which was released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing. |
Dec 26 |
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam. |
Dec 30 |
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recuses himself and his office from the Plame affair. |
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