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Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
2003 has been designated as:
Also see: the almanac of events for this year.
Events
January
- January 1 - Pascal Couchepin becomes President of the Confederation in Switzerland.
- January 3 - The Ohio State University defeats the University of Miami in double-overtime in the Fiesta Bowl, 31-24, for the national Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title.
- January 3 - The 108th United States Congress is sworn in, including incoming freshmen Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Sununu (R-NH), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Norm Coleman (R-MN), and Mark Pryor (D-AR).
- January 8 - US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people aboard.
- January 15 - Eldred v. Ashcroft: The Supreme Court of the United States allows the extension of copyright terms in the U.S.
- January 18 - The Canberra Bushfires occur in Canberra, Australia, killing 4 people.
- January 23 - Last signal is received from NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft when it is 7.5 billion miles from Earth.
- January 24 - The new United States Department of Homeland Security begins operation.
- January 25 - A Central Line train crashes into the tunnel wall at Chancery Lane tube station in London, injuring 34 people.
- January 25 - An international group of volunteers leaves London for Baghdad to act as voluntary human shields, hoping to avert a U.S. invasion.
- January 26 - Super Bowl XXXVII: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Oakland Raiders 48-21.
- January 29 - Riots in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where the Thai Embassy was burned and commercial properties of Thai businesses were vandalized.
- January 30 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain release a statement, The Letter of the Eight, demonstrating support for the United States' plans to invade Iraq.
February
March
A SARS hospital in Taiwan.
- March 1 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The United Arab Emirates calls for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to step down to avoid war, a sentiment later echoed by Bahrain and Kuwait.
- March 1 - The Turkish parliament vetoes U.S. troop access to airbases in Turkey in order to attack Iraq from the north. The Bush administration starts working on Plan B, namely attacking Iraq from the south, through the Persian Gulf.
- March 1 - The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs Service, and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
- March 1 - War on Terrorism: Pakistani authorities capture Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks, along with money man Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.
- March 5 - The Supreme Court of the United States, by a 5-4 margin, upholds California's "three strikes and you're out" law.
- March 11 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi fighters threaten 2 U.S. U-2 surveillance planes, on missions for U.N. weapons inspectors, forcing them to abort their mission and return to base.
- March 12 - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Ðindic is assassinated in Belgrade.
- March 12 - The WHO issues a global alert on SARS.
- March 12 - Iraq disarmament crisis: British prime minister Tony Blair proposes an amendment to the possible 18th U.N. resolution, which would call for Iraq to meet certain benchmarks to prove that it was disarming. The amendment is immediately rejected by France, who promises to veto any new resolution.
- March 13 - Human evolution: The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old upright-walking human footprints had been found in Italy.
- March 15 - Hu Jintao becomes president of the People's Republic of China, replacing Jiang Zemin.
- March 16 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United States, Britain, Portugal, and Spain meet at a summit in the Azores Islands. U.S. President Bush calls March 17 the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or be disarmed by force.
- March 17 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush gives an ultimatum: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons must either leave Iraq, or face military action at a time of the U.S.'s choosing.
- March 18 - The UK government recognises British Sign Language as an official British language.
- March 18 - The Parliament of the United Kingdom votes in favour of a motion understood as giving the government final authority to join the invasion of Iraq.[1]
- March 18 - About $1 billion was taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States began bombing Iraq. [2]
- March 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.
- March 19 - The first American bombs drop on Baghdad after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not comply with U.S. President George W. Bush's 48-hour mandate demanding their exit from Iraq.
- March 20 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: Land troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invade Iraq.
- March 22 - The United States and the United Kingdom begin their shock and awe campaign, with a massive air strike on military targets in Baghdad.
- March 23 - The 75th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Steve Martin, takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Chicago wins Best Picture.
- March 23 - The 2003 Cricket World Cup ends as Australia wins over India by 125 runs in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- March 23 - Hasan Akbar, a Muslim soldier with the 101st Airborne, kills two fellow soldiers in a grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.
- March 29 - WHO doctor Carlo Urbani, who first identified SARS, dies of the disease.
- March 30 - Meigs Field Airport in Chicago, Illinois, is demolished overnight.
April
May
- May 1 - U. S. president George W. Bush lands on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where he gives a speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. A banner behind him declares "Mission Accomplished."
- May 2 - The Monkeyman superhero hoax begins in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK.
- May 3 - The Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation in New Hampshire, crumbles after heavy rain.
- May 4–10 - A major severe weather outbreak spawns more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history; 393 tornadoes are reported in 19 states.
- May 4 - Top Thrill Dragster opens in Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio as the world's tallest, fastest roller coaster.
- May 11 - Benvenuto Cellini's Saliera is stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
- May 12 - A suicide truck-bomb attack kills at least 60 at a government compound in northern Chechnya.
- May 12 - In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 26 people are killed in the Riyadh Compound Bombings.
- May 14 - A female suicide bomber blows up explosives strapped to her waist in a crowd of thousands of Muslim pilgrims, killing at least 18 people in Chechnya.
- May 15 - The date predicted by Pana-Wave Laboratory, a Japanese cult, on which a close encounter with an unknown planet would result in the extinction of most of humankind.
- May 16 - In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
- May 17 - Arsenal beats Southampton 1-0 to win the FA Cup.
- May 19 - Pen Hadow becomes the first person to walk alone, without any outside help, from Canada to the North Pole.
- May 19 - Indonesian military begins an operation in Aceh province.
- May 21 - F.C. Porto defeats Celtic 3-2 (AET) in the UEFA Cup Final in Seville, Spain.
- May 21 - An earthquake in the Boumerdès region of northern Algeria kills 2,200.
- May 22 - The Sheffield Winter Gardens are officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
- May 23 - Dewey, the first deer cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University, is born.
- May 24 - Sertab Erener wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 for Turkey with the song Every Way That I Can, in Riga, Latvia.
- May 26 - A draft of the proposed European Constitution is unveiled.
- May 28 - Prometea, the first horse cloned by Italian scientists, is born.
- May 28 - AC Milan defeats fellow Italian rival Juventus 3-2 on penalties after a scoreless tie to win the UEFA Champions League, their sixth European title.
- May 31 - Eric Rudolph, suspected in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996, is captured in Murphy, North Carolina.
June
- June 1 - The Group of Eight summit opens in Évian-les-Bains, France, to tight security and tens of thousands of protesters.
- June 1 - The People's Republic of China begins filling the lake behind the massive Three Gorges Dam, raising the water level near the dam over 100 metres.
- June 2 - Toontown Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, launched in America.
- June 4 - Martha Stewart and her broker are indicted for using privileged investment information and then obstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigns as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living.
- June 5 - A female suicide bomber detonates a bomb near a bus carrying soldiers and civilians to a military airfield in Mozdok, a major staging point for Russian troops in Chechnya, killing at least 16 people.
- June 9 - The New Jersey Devils defeat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 3-0 in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals to win their third Stanley Cup championship.
- June 15 - The San Antonio Spurs defeat the New Jersey Nets to win the 2003 NBA Finals, 4-2.
- June 22 - The largest hailstone ever recorded falls in Aurora, Nebraska.
- June 23 - Grutter v. Bollinger: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds affirmative action in university admissions.
- June 26 - Lawrence v. Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court declares sodomy laws unconstitutional.
- June 29 - Thirteen are killed in a porch collapse in Chicago.
- June 30 - In Irvine, California, Joseph Hunter Parker kills two Albertsons employees with a sword, before being shot to death himself by the police.
July
- July 1 - 5 Hong Kong people march to protest Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, which controversially redefines treason.
- July 2 - At the International Olympic Committee session in Prague, Vancouver, British Columbia is declared the Host City for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010.
- July 5 - SARS is declared to be contained by WHO.
- July 5 - A double suicide bombing at a Moscow rock concert kills the attackers and 15 other people.
- July 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
- July 7 - Corsica voters reject a referendum for increased autonomy from France by a very narrow margin.
- July 7 - Canon Jeffrey John, first would-be gay bishop in the Church of England, withdraws his acceptance of the post of The Bishop of Reading after discussions with church leaders.
- July 8 - Sudan Airways Flight 39, with 117 people on board, crashes in Sudan; the only survivor is a two-year-old child.
- July 10 - A Russian security agent dies in Moscow, while trying to defuse a bomb a woman had tried to carry into a cafe on central Moscow's main street.
- July 14 - Washington Post columnist Robert Novak publishes the name of Valerie Plame, blowing her cover as a CIA operative. The CIA leak scandal begins.
- July 18 - The Convention on the Future of Europe finishes its work and proposes the first European Constitution.
- July 18 - The body of David Kelly, a scientist at the Ministry of Defence, is found a few miles from his home, leading to the Hutton inquiry.
- July 22 - Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of Saddam Hussein, are killed by the U.S. military in Iraq, after being tipped off by an informant.
- July 23 - Operation Warrior Sweep is the first major military deployment of the Afghan National Army.
- July 24 - The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, Operation Helpem Fren, led by Australia, begins.
- July 30 - The last Volkswagen Type 1 rolls off its production line in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.
August
- August 1 - A suicide bomber rams a truck filled with explosives into a military hospital near Chechnya, killing 50 people, including Russian troops wounded in Chechnya.
- August 2 - The United Nations authorizes an international peacekeeping force for Liberia.
- August 10 - The highest temperature ever is recorded in the UK; 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Brogdale near Faversham in Kent [3].
- August 11 - NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
- August 11 - Jemaah Islamiah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.
- August 11 - A heat wave in Paris causes temperatures up to 44°C (112°F).
- August 14 - A widespread power outage affects the northeastern United States and South-Central Canada.
- August 14 - A 6.4 Richter scale earthquake occurs near the Greek Ionian island of Lefkada; 24 are injured.
- August 15 - Global oil production begins a four-year plateau (and subsequent decline) in the face of rising demand, causing the start of the Oil price increases since 2003.
- August 16 - The 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire spreads quickly on the outskirts of Kelowna, British Columbia, threatening to engulf the largest town in B.C.'s interior.
- August 22 - A rocket explosion kills 21 at the Brazilian rocket complex in Alcântara, Brazil, due to the premature ignition of a solid rocket booster.
- August 25 - Two bomb blasts in Mumbai, India kill 52.
- August 25 - The Spitzer Space Telescope is launched in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- August 27 - Perihelic Opposition: Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in over 50,000 years.
- August 28 - Bank robber Brian Douglas Wells is killed when a time bomb around his neck explodes, allegedly in an act of betrayal by his co-conspiritors.
- August 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.
September
- September 3 - Hubble Space Telescope starts Hubble Ultra Deep Field.
- September 4 - Europe's busiest shopping centre, the Bullring in Birmingham, is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore.
- September 10 - Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh is stabbed in a Stockholm department store and dies the next day.
- September 10 - Estonia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
- September 13 - Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon dies after suffering a stroke on September 8 in Chicago, Illinois. Joe Kernan, the Lieutenant Governor, is sworn in as Indiana's 48th Governor.
- September 14 - Sweden rejects adopting the Euro in a referendum.
- September 15 - The ELN kidnaps 8 foreign tourists in the Ciudad Perdida in Colombia; they demand a human rights investigation and release the last hostages 3 months later.
- September 16 - Two suicide bombers drive an explosive-filled truck into a government security services building near Chechnya, killing 3 and injuring 25.
- September 18 - Hurricane Isabel made landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane on North Carolina's Outer Banks. It would directly kill 16 people in the Mid–Atlantic area.
- September 27 - Smart 1, a European Space Agency satellite, is launched from French Guiana.
- September 28 - A power failure affects all of Italy except Sardinia, cutting service to more than 56 million people.
- September 29 - Hurricane Juan lands at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a category 2 storm, killing 2 directly and 5 indirectly.
October
- October 5 - Israeli warplanes strike inside Syrian territory.
- October 7 - 2003 California recall: Voters recall Governor Gray Davis from office and elect actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him.
- October 10 - Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh publicly admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killers, and will seek treatment.
- October 12 - Michael Schumacher wins the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship in Suzuka, Japan, beating Kimi Räikkönen to the title.
- October 15 - China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission.
- October 15 - The 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash kills 11 after one of its ferries slams into a pier.
- October 24 - The Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to a close, at least for the time being.
- October 25 - The Cedar Fire begins in San Diego County, burning 280,000 acres (1,100 km²), 2,232 homes and killing 14.
- October 25 - The Florida Marlins defeated the New York Yankees to win their second World Series title.
- October 31 - Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.
November
- November 3 - New York City Subway's legendary Redbird trains are retired from passenger service after the R33/36 World's Fair cars make their final trip on the 7 line.
- November 5 - Gary Ridgway, The "Green River Killer", confesses to murdering 48 women.
- November 9 - A lunar eclipse is seen in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Central Asia.
- November 12 - Occupation of Iraq: 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.
- November 15 - Two car bombs explode simultaneously in Istanbul, Turkey, targeting 2 synagogues, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 300; Al-Qaida claims responsibility.
- November 16 - The Edmonton Eskimos win the CFL Championship for the first time in a decade, defeating the Montreal Alouettes 34-22 in the 91st Grey Cup at Taylor Field in Regina, Saskatchewan.
- November 18 - In Santa Barbara, California, an arrest warrant is issued for Michael Jackson after new child molestation claims.
- November 18 - U.S. President George W. Bush makes a state visit to London in the midst of massive protests.
- November 18 - The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, rules anti-same-sex marriage laws unconstitutional in Massachusetts.
- November 19 - At the end of a long public inquiry, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Prescott, gives planning approval to London Bridge Tower, set to become the tallest building in Europe.
- November 20 - Several bombs explode in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC and the British consulate.
- November 20 - Michael Jackson is arrested by police on charges of child molestation, a charge that can carry an 8-year jail term.
- November 22 - England wins the 2003 Rugby World Cup, defeating Australia 20-17 after extra time.
- November 23 - The Georgian Rose Revolution ends with overwhelming victory – president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over fraudulent elections.
- November 23 - A total solar eclipse is seen over Antarctica.
- November 24 - The High Court in Glasgow imposes a minimum sentence of 27 years for Al Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
- November 26 - Chillenden Windmill collapses in a gale. The mill was rebuilt in 2005.
- November 28 - Kalev Ots succeeds to the presidency of the pre-WW II Republic of Estonia in exile, after the death of Mihkel Mathiesen.
December
- December 1 - The use of hand-held cell phones while driving is made illegal in the United Kingdom.
- December 1 - Boeing chairman and CEO Phil Condit resigns unexpectedly. He is replaced by Lewis Platt as non-executive chairman and Harry Stonecipher as president and CEO.
- December 5 - A suicide bombing on a commuter train in southern Russia kills 44 people. President Vladimir Putin condemns the attack as a bid to destabilize the country two days before parliamentary elections.
- December 5 - The eighteenth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting opens in Abuja, Nigeria.
- December 7 - Parliamentary elections are held in Russia.
- December 7 - Australian schoolboy Daniel Morcombe disappears from a bus stop on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the country's highest profile mysteries.
- December 7 - The new Government in Exile of the pre-World War II Republic of Estonia, headed by Ahti Mänd, assumes office.
- December 8 - The Aso Rock Declaration is issued at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, outlining the Commonwealth's priority objectives.
- December 9 - A female suicide bomber blows herself up outside Moscow's National Hotel, across from the Kremlin and Red Square, killing 5 bystanders.
- December 12 - Paul Martin becomes the 21st Prime Minister of Canada.
- December 12 - Olympic Airlines, Greece's new flag carrier, is launched.
- December 13 - Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is captured in Tikrit by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division.
- December 16 - The United Kingdom announces plans to build a new runway at Stansted Airport in Essex and a short-haul runway at Heathrow Airport, sparking anger from environmental groups.
- December 18 - 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.
- December 20 - Libya admits to building a nuclear bomb.
- December 22 - An earthquake shakes up California, killing two people.
- December 22 - Parmalat is first accused of falsifying accounts to the tune of USD $5 billion, later admitted by founder Calisto Tanzi; observers call it "Europe's Enron".
- December 23 - PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, 234 killed.
- December 24 - A BSE (mad cow disease) outbreak in Washington State is announced. Several countries including Brazil, Australia and Taiwan ban the import of beef from the United States of America.
- December 24 - At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the French Government orders Air France to cancel several
