2003

Events

January

• January 11 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
• January 22 – The last signal from NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft is received, some 12.2 billion kilometers from Earth.
• January 30 – Belgium legally recognizes same-sex marriage, becoming the second country in the world to do so.

  February

• February 1 – At the conclusion of the STS-107 mission, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry over Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board.
• February 4 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is renamed to "Serbia and Montenegro" after its leaders reconstitute the country into a loose state-union between Montenegro and Serbia, marking an end to the 73-year-long use of the name "Yugoslavia" by any sovereign state.
• February 15–16 – Antwerp diamond heist: An Italian gang steals loose diamonds, gold and jewellery valued at more than $100 million from a Belgian vault, one of the largest robberies in history.
• February 15 – Millions of people worldwide take part in massive anti-war protests in anticipation of the United States and its allies invading Iraq to depose its Ba'athist regime.
• February 18 – An arsonist sets fire to a subway train in Daegu, South Korea, killing 192 people.
• February 20 – The Station nightclub fire occurs in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killing 100 people and injuring 230 and another 132 escape uninjured.
• February 26 – The War in Darfur begins after rebel groups rise up against the Sudanese government.
• February 27 – Former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavšić is sentenced by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to 11 years in prison for war crimes committed during the Bosnian War.

  March

• March 8 – Malta approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• March 12
• * Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić is assassinated in Belgrade by a sniper.
• * The World Health Organization issues a global alert on severe acute respiratory syndrome when it spreads to Hong Kong and Vietnam after originating in China.
• March 20 – The Iraq War begins with the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and allied forces.
• March 23 – Slovenia approves joining the European Union and NATO in a referendum.

  April

• April 9 – U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, ending the Ba'athist regime of Saddam Hussein.
• April 12 – Hungary approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• April 14 – The Human Genome Project is completed, with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.
• April 29 – The United States announces the withdrawal of its troops stationed in Saudi Arabia, and the redeployment of some at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

  May

• May 11
• * Benvenuto Cellini's Cellini Salt Cellar table sculpture is stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
• * Lithuania approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• May 12 – In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over 30 people are killed in multiple bombings at a housing compound, mostly foreign expatriates.
• May 17 – Slovakia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• May 23 – Dewey, the first deer cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University, is born.
• May 24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 takes place in Riga, Latvia, and is won by Turkish entrant Sertab Erener with the song "Every Way That I Can".
• May 26 – Rwanda adopts a new constitution, which among other things, changes the country's official name from "Rwandese Republic" to "Republic of Rwanda".
• May 28 – Prometea, the world's first cloned horse, is born.

  June

• June 8 – Poland approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• June 14 – The Czech Republic approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• June 30 – Warring parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sign a peace accord, bringing an end to the Second Congo War, which left millions dead.

  July

• July 2 - The International Olympic Committee awards Vancouver the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• July 5 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome is declared to be contained by the World Health Organization.
• July 6 - The 70-meter Eupatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message Cosmic Call 2 to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri, HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris, that will arrive at these stars in 2036, 2040, May 2044, September 2044 and 2049 respectively.
• July 18 - The Convention on the Future of Europe finishes its work and proposes the first European Constitution.
• July 24 - The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, led by Australia, begins after ethnic violence engulfs the island country.

  August

• August 5 – A car bomb exploded at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 12 people and injuring 150.
• August 11
• * The Second Liberian Civil War comes to an end after President Charles Taylor resigns and flees the country.
• * NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
• August 14 – The Northeast blackout of 2003 cuts electricity to the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
• August 18 – One-year-old Zachary Turner is murdered by his mother in Conception Bay South, Canada. She had controversially been bailed and granted custody of the toddler despite facing extradition and trial for the murder of Zachary's father. The case inspired the movie and prompted a change in Canadian law.
• August 25 – The unmanned Spitzer Space Telescope is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
• August 27
• *Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in over 60,000 years.
• * The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program.

  September

• September 4 - Europe's busiest shopping centre, the Bull Ring in Birmingham, is officially opened.
• September 14 - Estonia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• September 15 - ELN rebels kidnap eight foreign tourists at Ciudad Perdida, Colombia, being freed 100 days later following negotiations with the Colombian government.
• September 20 - Latvia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• September 24 - The Hubble Space Telescope starts the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, making 800 exposures, until January 16, 2004.
• September 27 - SMART-1, an unmanned ESA spaceprobe and ESA's first mission to the moon, is launched from Kourou, French Guiana.
• September 29 - Hurricane Juan makes landfall in Halifax. Causing over $265 million

  October

• October 1 – The popular and controversial English-language imageboard 4chan is launched.
• October 5 – Israeli warplanes strike alleged Islamic jihad bases inside Syrian territory, the first Israeli attack on the country since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
• October 15 – China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned spaceflight.
• October 24 – Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to an end.

  November

• November 7 – The game named for Nintendo GameCube was released.
• November 12 – A suicide bombing at an Italian military police headquarters in Nasiriyah, Iraq, kills 17 Italian military police officers and nine Iraqi civilians.
• November 23 – Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze resigns after widespread protests engulf the country following a disputed parliamentary election.
• November 26 – The supersonic passenger jet, Concorde, makes its last ever flight from Heathrow Airport in London to Bristol Filton Airport.

  December

• December 13 – Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, is captured in the small town of Ad-Dawr by the U.S. Army.
• December 19 – Libya agrees to eliminate all of its materials, equipment, and programs aimed at producing weapons of mass destruction.
• December 23
• * The World Tourism Organization becomes a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• * PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.
• December 26 – The 6.6 Bam earthquake shakes southeastern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, killing an estimated 30,000 people.
• December 29 – The last known speaker of the Akkala Sámi language dies, rendering it extinct.

  Births

• January 3 - Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist
• January 4 - Jaeden Martell, American actor
• January 6 - MattyBRaps, American remixer
• January 23 - Apollinariia Panfilova, Russian pair skater
• February 15 - Naseem Shah, Pakistani cricketer
• February 20 - Olivia Rodrigo, American actress
• March 6 - Millicent Simmonds, American actress
• March 7 - Polina Kostiukovich, Russian pair skater
• March 26 - Bhad Bhabie, American rapper
• April 3 - Elsie Fisher, American actress
• April 4 - Harvey Elliott, English footballer
• April 11 - Aksel Rykkvin, Norwegian singer
• May 1 - Lizzy Greene, American actress
• May 8 - Joaquín Bondoni, Mexican actor
• May 19 - JoJo Siwa, American dancer, singer and actress
• May 29 - Priska Madelyn Nugroho, Indonesian tennis player
• June 16 - Anna Cathcart, Canadian actress
• June 11 - Breanna Yde, American actress
• June 21 - Adhisty Zara, Indonesian singer, performer and actress
• June 27 - Tomokazu Harimoto, Japanese table tennis player
• July 1 - Storm Reid, American actress
• July 4 - Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer
• July 13 - Wyatt Oleff, American actor
• August 16 - The Kid Laroi, Australian rapper
• August 19 - Steele Stebbins, American actor
• August 20 - Prince Gabriel of Belgium
• August 24 - Alena Kostornaia, Russian figure skater
• August 28 - Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress
• September 3 - Jack Dylan Grazer, American actor
• September 18 - Aidan Gallagher, American actor
• October 8 - Ángela Aguilar, Mexican-American singer
• October 24 - Hudson Yang, American actor
• November 8 - Lady Louise Windsor, British royalty
• November 17 - Luce Douady, French climber
• December 1 - Robert Irwin, Australian television personality
• December 7 - Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange

  Deaths

January

• January 11 – Maurice Pialat, French actor and director
• January 12
• * Maurice Gibb, British musician
• * Leopoldo Galtieri, 44th President of Argentina
• January 17 – Richard Crenna, American actor
• January 23 – Nell Carter, American singer and actress
• January 24 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive
• January 26
• * Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete
• * Vladimir Mulyavin, Soviet and Belarusian rock musician
• January 27 – Henryk Jabłoński, 5th President of the Polish People's Republic

  February

• February 1
• * Michael P. Anderson, American astronaut
• * David M. Brown, American astronaut
• * Kalpana Chawla, American astronaut
• * Laurel Clark, American astronaut
• * Rick Husband, American astronaut
• * William McCool, American astronaut
• * Ilan Ramon, Israeli fighter pilot and astronaut
• February 2 – Lou Harrison, American composer
• February 10 – Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler
• February 15 – Francisque Ravony, 7th Prime Minister of Madagascar
• February 19 – Johnny Paycheck, American country singer-songwriter
• February 20 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and writer
• February 27
• * Wolfgang Larrazábal, Venezuelan naval officer and politician, 52nd President of Venezuela
• * Fred Rogers, American television personality
• February 28 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, 45th President of El Salvador

  March

• March 3 – Horst Buchholz, German actor
• March 8 – Adam Faith, English singer and actor
• March 9 – Bernard Dowiyogo, 7-Time President of Nauru
• March 10 − Naftali Temu, Kenyan Olympic athlete
• March 12
• * Zoran Đinđić, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia
• * Howard Fast, American novelist
• * Lynne Thigpen, American actress
• March 16 – Rachel Corrie, American activist and diarist
• March 21 - Umar Wirahadikusumah, 4th Vice President of Indonesia
• March 22 – Milton George Henschel, American Jehovah's Witnesses leader
• March 29 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician
• March 30 – Michael Jeter, American actor

  April

• April 1 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer and actor
• April 2 – Edwin Starr, American soul singer
• April 4 – Anthony Caruso, American actor
• April 8 – Bing Russell, American actor
• April 9 – Jorge Oteiza, Spanish painter
• April 20
• * Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer
• * Bernard Katz, German-British Nobel biophysicist
• April 21 – Nina Simone, American singer
• April 22 – Mike Larrabee, American Olympic athlete

  May

• May 1 – Miss Elizabeth, American professional wrestling valet
• May 2 – Mohammed Dib, Algerian author
• May 3 – Suzy Parker, American model and actress
• May 5 – Walter Sisulu, South African anti-apartheid activist
• May 11 – Noel Redding, English musician
• May 12 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French international civil servant
• May 14
• * Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach
• * Wendy Hiller, English actress
• * Robert Stack, American actor
• May 15
• * June Carter Cash, American singer
• * Constantin Dăscălescu, Prime Minister of Romania
• * Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist
• May 23 – Jean Yanne, French film actor and director
• May 24 – Rachel Kempson, English actress
• May 27 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer
• May 28
• * Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian Nobel physicist and chemist
• * Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian cosmonaut
• * Martha Scott, American actress
• May 29 – Trevor Ford, Welsh professional footballer

  June

• June 2 – Dick Cusack, American actor, filmmaker and humorist
• June 5 – Jürgen Möllemann, German politician
• June 7 – Trevor Goddard, English actor
• June 10 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher
• June 12 – Gregory Peck, American actor
• June 15
• * Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor
• * Kaiser Matanzima, 1st President of Transkei
• June 18 – Larry Doby, American baseball player and manager
• June 21
• * Leon Uris, American writer
• * Piet Dankert, Dutch politician
• June 22 – Vasil Bykaŭ, Belarusian novelist
• June 23 – Shelby Starner, American singer-songwriter and musician
• June 26
• * Denis Thatcher, British businessman and husband of Margaret Thatcher
• * Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer
• * Strom Thurmond, American politician
• June 29 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress
• June 30 − Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian

  July

• July 1 – Nǃxau ǂToma, Namibian actor
• July 4 – Barry White, American singer
• July 5
• * Princess Isabelle, Countess of Paris
• * Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player
• July 6 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer
• July 12 – Benny Carter, American jazz musician
• July 13 – Compay Segundo, Cuban musician
• July 15 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean writer
• July 16
• * Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer
• * Carol Shields, American-Canadian writer
• July 17 – Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist
• July 22
• * Uday Hussein, Iraqi paramilitary leader
• * Qusay Hussein, Iraqi politician
• July 25
• * Erik Brann, American musician
• * John Schlesinger, English film director
• July 27
• * Bob Hope, English-American comedian and actor
• * Jean Nguza Karl-i-Bond, Zairian politician
• July 30 – Sam Phillips, American record producer

  August

• August 1
• * Guy Thys, Belgian footballer and manager
• * Marie Trintignant, French actress
• August 3 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, 2nd President of Sierra Leone
• August 4 – Frederick Chapman Robbins, American Nobel pediatrician and virologist
• August 7 – Rajko Žižić, Yugoslavian professional basketball player
• August 8 – Martha Chase, American geneticist
• August 9
• * Jacques Deray, French film director and screenwriter
• * Gregory Hines, American dancer and actor
• August 11
• * Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician
• * Herb Brooks, American hockey player and coach
• August 13 – Lothar Emmerich, German footballer
• August 14 – Helmut Rahn, German footballer
• August 16 – Idi Amin, 3rd President of Uganda
• August 19
• * Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat
• * Carlos Roberto Reina, 60th President of Honduras
• August 21 – Wesley Willis, American musician
• August 29 – Vladimír Vašíček, Czech painter
• August 30 – Charles Bronson, American actor

  September

• September 2 – Ptolemy Reid, 2nd Prime Minister of Guyana
• September 7 – Warren Zevon, American singer
• September 8
• * Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian actress and voice actress
• * Leni Riefenstahl, German film director
• September 9 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist
• September 11
• * Anna Lindh, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs
• * John Ritter, American actor and comedian
• September 12 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter and actor
• September 19 – Slim Dusty, Australian country singer
• September 25
• * Franco Modigliani, Italian-American Nobel economist
• * Edward Said, Palestinian-American literary critic
• * Yuri Senkevich, Russian cosmonaut
• September 26
• * Shawn Lane, American musician
• * Robert Palmer, English singer
• September 27 – Donald O'Connor, American actor, singer, and dancer
• September 28
• * Althea Gibson, American tennis player
• * Elia Kazan, Greek-American director
• September 30 – Robert Kardashian, American attorney and businessman

  October

• October 2 – Otto Günsche, German adjutant of Adolf Hitler
• October 5
• * Neil Postman, American educator, media theorist, and cultural critic
• * Timothy Treadwell, American environmentalist and filmmaker
• October 13 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian Nobel physicist
• October 14 – Moktar Ould Daddah, 1st President of Mauritania
• October 16
• * Stu Hart, Canadian wrestling promoter
• * László Papp, Hungarian boxer
• October 17 – Janice Rule, American actress
• October 19
• * Alija Izetbegović, 1st President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• * Road Warrior Hawk, American professional wrestler
• October 20 – Jack Elam, American actor
• October 21 – Elliott Smith, American musician
• October 22 – Tony Renna, American race car driver
• October 23 – Soong Mei-ling, First Lady of China
• October 24 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish cross-country skier
• October 27 – Rod Roddy, American television announcer
• October 29
• * Hal Clement, American writer
• * Franco Corelli, Italian opera tenor

  November

• November 3 – Rasul Gamzatov, poet
• November 5
• * Bobby Hatfield, American singer
• * Dorothy Fay, American actress
• November 6
• * Crash Holly, American wrestler
• * Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor
• November 9 – Art Carney, American actor
• November 10 – Canaan Banana, 1st President of Zimbabwe
• November 12
• * Jonathan Brandis, American actor
• * Penny Singleton, American actress
• November 14 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor
• November 17 – Don Gibson, American country musician
• November 18 – Michael Kamen, American composer
• November 20 – David Dacko, 1st President of the Central African Republic
• November 24 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player
• November 30 – Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer

  December

• December 3
• * Ellen Drew, American actress
• * Sita Ram Goel, Indian historian, publisher and author
• * David Hemmings, English actor
• December 6 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, 30th President of Guatemala
• December 8 – Rubén González, Cuban pianist
• December 11 – Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer
• December 12 – Heydar Aliyev, 3rd President of Azerbaijan
• December 14
• * Jeanne Crain, American actress
• * Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, American mobster
• December 19 – Hope Lange, American actress
• December 23 – Kriangsak Chamanan, 15th Prime Minister of Thailand
• December 27 – Alan Bates, English actor
• December 29 – Earl Hindman, American actor
• December 30 – Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer

  Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry – Peter Agre, Roderick MacKinnon
• Economics – Robert F. Engle, Clive W. J. Granger
• Literature – John Maxwell Coetzee
• Peace – Shirin Ebadi
• Physics – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg, Anthony James Leggett
• Physiology or Medicine – Paul Lauterbur, Peter Mansfield

  New English words and terms

• anti-cultural
• baby bump
• Big Rip
• binge-watch
• botnet
• darmstadtium
• electronic cigarette
• flash mob
• iraimbilanja
• manscaping
• MERS
• muffin top
• net neutrality
• netroots
• SARS
• severe acute respiratory syndrome
• unfriend