What happened in 2003
282 entries recorded for 2003, listed by date. That was 23 years ago.
2003 at a glance
- Years ago
- 23 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 21st century
- Decade
- 2000s
- Generation born
- Generation Z
- Entries here
- 282
- Breakdown
- 123 births · 148 historical events · 11 deaths
January
- January 1
Daria Trubnikova
Daria Trubnikova, Russian rhythmic gymnast
- January 2
Elye Wahi
Elye Wahi, French footballer
- January 2
CJ Egan-Riley
CJ Egan-Riley, English footballer
- January 3
Alan Virginius
Alan Virginius, French footballer
- January 3
Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist
- January 3
Kyle Rittenhouse
Kyle Rittenhouse, American conservative personality
- January 4
Jaeden Martell
Jaeden Martell, American actor
- January 4
Kevin (footballer, born 2003)
Kevin, Brazilian footballer
- January 5
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police arrested six people in conjunction with an alleged terrorist plot to release ricin on the London Underground, although no toxin was found.
- January 5
Tel Aviv central bus station massacre
A suicide bombing at the Tel Aviv central bus station kills 23 people and injures over 100 more.
- January 6
MattyBRaps
MattyBRaps, American rapper, singer, and YouTuber
- January 7
Ryan Dunn (basketball)
Ryan Dunn, American basketball player
- January 8
Turkish Airlines Flight 634
Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of the 75 passengers.
- January 8
Air Midwest Flight 5481
Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board.
- January 9
TANS Perú Flight 222
TANS Perú Flight 222 crashes on approach to Chachapoyas Airport in Chachapoyas, Peru, killing 46 people.
- January 9
Sangiovanni
Sangiovanni, Italian singer-songwriter
- January 10
North Korea
North Korea withdraws from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, making it the first state to withdraw from the treaty.
- January 10
Cesare Casadei
Cesare Casadei, Italian footballer
- January 11
Jon Burge
After Chicago police detective Jon Burge was discovered to have extracted forced confessions from more than 200 suspects, the governor of Illinois commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners and pardoned four others.
- January 11
Governor of Illinois
Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois's death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
- January 13
208996 Achlys
The trans-Neptunian object 208996 Achlys was discovered by Chad Trujillo and Michael E. Brown at Palomar Observatory, California.
- January 13
Oksana Selekhmeteva
Oksana Selekhmeteva, Russian tennis player
- January 16
Space Shuttle Columbia
The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
- January 17
Robin Roefs
Robin Roefs, Dutch footballer
- January 18
2003 Canberra bushfires
A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
- January 18
Wendy Shongwe
Wendy Shongwe, South African sprinter and soccer player
- January 19
Felix Afena-Gyan
Felix Afena-Gyan, Ghanaian footballer
- January 20
Antonia Ružić
Antonia Ružić, Croatian tennis player
- January 20
J. J. McCarthy
J. J. McCarthy, American football player
- January 21
2003 Colima earthquake
A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
- January 21
Hannibal Mejbri
Hannibal Mejbri, Tunisian footballer
- January 23
Pioneer 10
A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
- January 23
NASA
The final signal was detected from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10, then about 12 billion kilometres (7.5 billion miles) from Earth.
- January 23
Nell Carter
Nell Carter, American actress and singer (born 1948)
- January 24
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
- January 24
Johnny Orlando
Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter
- January 25
2003 invasion of Iraq
Invasion of Iraq: A group of people leave London, England, for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields, intending to prevent the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations.
- January 27
National Recording Registry
The first selections for the United States National Recording Registry were announced by the Library of Congress.
- January 27
Park Seong-hoon (footballer)
Park Seong-hoon, South Korean footballer
- January 28
Carson Hocevar
Carson Hocevar, American professional stock car racing driver
- January 28
Whitney Peak (actress)
Whitney Peak, Ugandan-Canadian actress
- January 29
Jarell Quansah
Jarell Quansah, English footballer
- January 30
Amen Thompson
Amen Thompson, American basketball player
- January 30
Ausar Thompson
Ausar Thompson, American basketball player
- January 31
Waterfall rail accident
The Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia.
February
- February 1
Space Shuttle Columbia
All seven crew members aboard Space Shuttle Columbia were killed when the orbiter disintegrated over Texas during reentry.
- February 4
Serbia and Montenegro
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopts a new constitution, becoming a loose confederacy between Montenegro and Serbia.
- February 4
Kyla Kenedy
Kyla Kenedy, American actress
- February 4
Rasmus Højlund
Rasmus Højlund, Danish footballer
- February 7
Alessandro Fontanarosa
Alessandro Fontanarosa, Italian footballer
- February 9
Cooper DeJean
Cooper DeJean, American football player
- February 10
NATO
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.
- February 12
La Paz
Protesters in La Paz and the Bolivian government brokered a deal to end two days of rioting against a proposed salary tax.
- February 13
Raúl Asencio (footballer, born 2003)
Raúl Asencio, Spanish footballer
- February 14
Iraq disarmament crisis
Iraq disarmament crisis: UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix reports to the United Nations Security Council that disarmament inspectors have found no weapons of mass destruction in Ba'athist Iraq.
- February 15
15 February 2003 Iraq War protests
Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million and 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
- February 15
Anti-war movement
In one of the largest anti-war rallies in history, millions around the world in approximately 800 cities took part in protests against the impending invasion of Iraq.
- February 15
Ariane 4
The last Ariane 4 rocket is launched from the Guiana Space Centre, carrying Intelsat 907.
- February 18
Daegu subway fire
192 people die when an arsonist sets fire to a subway train in Daegu, South Korea.
- February 19
Ilyushin Il-76
An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
- February 20
Great White
During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
- February 20
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer
- February 24
Honey Osrin
Honey Osrin, British swimmer
- February 25
Brandin Podziemski
Brandin Podziemski, American basketball player
- February 26
Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala, German footballer
March
- March 1
United States Customs Service
Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service moves to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
- March 5
Haifa
In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing.
- March 6
Air Algérie Flight 6289
Air Algérie Flight 6289 crashes at the Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport in Tamanrasset, Algeria, killing 102 out of the 103 people on board.
- March 6
Millicent Simmonds
Millicent Simmonds, American actress
- March 8
Karen Morley
Karen Morley, American actress (born 1909)
- March 8
Montana Jordan
Montana Jordan, American actor
- March 8
Adam Faith
Adam Faith, English singer (born 1940)
- March 9
Sunisa Lee
Sunisa Lee, American gymnast
- March 11
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
- March 11
Tristan Vukčević
Tristan Vukčević, Serbian-Swedish basketball player
- March 12
Zoran Đinđić
Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade.
- March 12
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization officially release a global warning of outbreaks of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
- March 12
Malina Weissman
Malina Weissman, American actress and model
- March 12
Andrea Brillantes
Andrea Brillantes, Filipino actress and model
- March 13
Nature (journal)
An article in Nature identifies the Ciampate del Diavolo as 350,000-year-old hominid footprints.
- March 15
Quinn Ewers
Quinn Ewers, American football player
- March 16
Rachel Corrie
American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israel Defense Forces armored bulldozer in Rafah while protesting the demolition of a Palestinian house.
- March 17
Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council, Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- March 19
President of the United States
United States President George W. Bush addresses the nation, announcing the invasion of Iraq.
- March 20
Iraq War
Iraq War: The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland begin an invasion of Iraq.
- March 20
Cooper Hoffman
Cooper Hoffman, American actor
- March 21
Abbi Pulling
Abbi Pulling, English racing driver
- March 23
Battle of Nasiriyah
Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.
- March 26
Bhad Bhabie
Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and social media personality
- March 28
Friendly fire
In a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.
April
- April 4
Harvey Elliott
Harvey Elliott, English footballer
- April 5
Tetairoa McMillan
Tetairoa McMillan, American football player
- April 7
Iraq War
Iraq War: U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime falls two days later.
- April 7
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide demands reparations of $21 billion from France for the Haitian independence debt.
- April 9
Iraq War
Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.
- April 9
2003 invasion of Iraq
Invasion of Iraq: Coalition forces captured Baghdad and the statue of Saddam Hussein in Firdos Square was toppled.
- April 9
Hwang Do-yun
Hwang Do-yun, South Korean footballer
- April 14
Baghdad
U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner MS Achille Lauro in 1985.
- April 14
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
- April 16
Treaty of Accession 2003
The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.
- April 17
Anneli Jäätteenmäki
Anneli Jäätteenmäki takes office as the first female prime minister of Finland.
- April 19
Jackson Merrill
Jackson Merrill, American baseball player
- April 21
Xavi Simons
Xavi Simons, Dutch footballer
- April 21
Nina Simone
Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (born 1933)
- April 22
Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
Felice Bryant, American songwriter (born 1925)
- April 24
Backhoe
A backhoe breached a pipeline in Toronto, Canada, which caused a gas explosion that killed seven people.
- April 27
Xavier Worthy
Xavier Worthy, American football player
- April 30
Jung Yoon-seok
Jung Yun-seok, South Korean actor
- April 30
Emily Carey
Emily Carey, British actress
May
- May 1
2003 invasion of Iraq
Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended".
- May 1
Lizzy Greene
Lizzy Greene, American actress
- May 1
Miss Elizabeth
Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (born 1960)
- May 2
Cyclone Manou
Cyclone Manou formed in the Indian Ocean; over the next two weeks it struck Madagascar and left more than 100,000 people homeless.
- May 3
Florian Wirtz
Florian Wirtz, German footballer
- May 5
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz, Spanish tennis player
- May 8
Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco
Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco
- May 10
Milan Vukcevich
Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (born 1937)
- May 11
Fermín López
Fermín López, Spanish footballer
- May 11
Noel Redding
Noel Redding, English bass player (born 1945)
- May 12
Riyadh compound bombings
The Riyadh compound bombings in Saudi Arabia, carried out by al-Qaeda, kill 39 people.
- May 13
Jabari Smith Jr.
Jabari Smith Jr., American basketball player
- May 13
Javi Guerra (footballer, born 2003)
Javi Guerra, Spanish footballer
- May 13
Jaxson Dart
Jaxson Dart, American football player
- May 16
Morocco
In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
- May 18
Travis Hunter
Travis Hunter, American football player
- May 19
JoJo Siwa
Jojo Siwa, American dancer, singer, actress, and YouTube personality
- May 21
2003 Boumerdès earthquake
The 6.8 Mw Boumerdès earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). More than 2,200 people were killed and a moderate tsunami sank boats at the Balearic Islands.
- May 26
Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230
Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230 crashes in the Turkish town of Maçka, killing 75.
- May 27
Franco Colapinto
Franco Colapinto, Argentine racing driver
- May 28
Peter Hollingworth
Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
- May 30
Depayin massacre
Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
- May 31
Air France
Air France retires its fleet of Concorde aircraft.
June
- June 2
Mars
Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency's Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
- June 5
Heat wave
A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50 °C (122 °F) in the region.
- June 10
Spirit (rover)
The Spirit rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission.
- June 15
Pablo Barrios (footballer)
Pablo Barrios, Spanish footballer
- June 16
Anna Cathcart
Anna Cathcart, Canadian actress
- June 17
Rizki Juniansyah
Rizki Juniansyah, Indonesian weightlifter
- June 20
Wikimedia Foundation
The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.
- June 20
Hans Niemann
Hans Niemann, American chess player
- June 20
Marc Pubill
Marc Pubill, Spanish footballer
- June 26
Supreme Court of the United States
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down sodomy laws in the country in the landmark decision Lawrence v. Texas.
- June 29
2003 Chicago balcony collapse
An overloaded balcony collapsed in Chicago, United States, killing 13 people and injuring 57 others.
- June 29
Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham, English footballer
July
- July 1
Article 23
Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong.
- July 1
Storm Reid
Storm Reid, American actress
- July 1
Tate McRae
Tate McRae, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- July 4
Polina Bogusevich
Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer
- July 5
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization announces that the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak has been contained.
- July 5
Junior Caminero
Junior Caminero, Dominican baseball player
- July 6
Yevpatoria
The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.
- July 7
NASA
NASA Opportunity rover, MER-B or Mars Exploration Rover–B, was launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket.
- July 8
Sudan Airways Flight 139
Sudan Airways Flight 139 crashed near Port Sudan Airport during an emergency landing attempt, killing 116 of the 117 people on board.
- July 9
Conor Bradley
Conor Bradley, Northern Irish footballer
- July 13
Directorate General for External Security
French Directorate General for External Security personnel aborted an operation to rescue Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas, resulting in a political scandal.
- July 13
Wyatt Oleff
Wyatt Oleff, American actor
- July 13
Mason Teague
Mason Teague, Australian rugby league player
- July 14
Valerie Plame
Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA operative was leaked to and published by journalist Robert Novak.
- July 14
Haley Winn
Haley Winn, American hockey player
- July 15
WarnerMedia
AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
- July 16
Armed Forces of São Tomé and Príncipe
A faction of the armed forces of São Tomé and Príncipe led by Major Fernando Pereira overthrew the government of Fradique de Menezes in a bloodless coup d'état.
- July 19
Tyler Downs
Tyler Downs, American diver
- July 22
Iraq War
Iraq War: 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.
- July 22
Solveig Vik
Solveig Vik, Norwegian politician
- July 23
Alex Consani
Alex Consani, Model and Influencer
- July 27
Elvina Kalieva
Elvina Kalieva, American tennis player
- July 28
Malik Nabers
Malik Nabers, American football player
- July 29
Renato Veiga
Renato Veiga, Portuguese footballer
- July 29
Jens Castrop
Jens Castrop, German-South Korean footballer
- July 29
Johnny Brackins
Johnny Brackins, American long jumper and hurdler
- July 30
Pyrenean ibex
Three years after the death of the last Pyrenean ibex, Celia, a clone of her is born only to subsequently die from lung defects. Within minutes, the Pyrenean ibex becomes the first and so far only species to have ever gone de-extinct as well as go extinct twice.
- July 30
Volkswagen Beetle
In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
- July 31
Calvin Ramsay
Calvin Ramsay, Scottish footballer
August
- August 1
Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i
Joseph Sua'ali'i, Australian-Samoan rugby league player
- August 5
2003 Marriott Hotel bombing
A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.
- August 5
Toni Shaw
Toni Shaw, British Paralympic swimmer
- August 9
Kazuha (singer)
Kazuha, Japanese singer and dancer
- August 10
Okinawa Urban Monorail
The Okinawa Urban Monorail is opened in Naha, Okinawa.
- August 11
NATO
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 Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.
- August 14
Northeast blackout of 2003
A widescale power blackout affects the northeast United States and Canada.
- August 15
Juanlu Sánchez
Juanlu Sánchez, Spanish footballer
- August 17
Nastasja Schunk
Nastasja Schunk, German tennis player
- August 17
Rayan Cherki
Rayan Cherki, French footballer
- August 17
The Kid Laroi
The Kid Laroi, Australian rapper and songwriter
- August 18
Murders of Andrew Bagby and Zachary Turner
One-year-old Zachary Turner is murdered in Newfoundland by his mother, who was awarded custody despite facing trial for the murder of Zachary's father. The case was documented in the film Dear Zachary and led to reform of Canada's bail laws.
- August 19
Canal Hotel bombing
A car bomb destroyed the United Nations headquarters at Baghdad's Canal Hotel, killing Brazilian diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 others.
- August 19
2003 Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing
Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing: A suicide attack on a bus in Jerusalem, planned by Hamas, kills 23 Israelis, seven of them children.
- August 19
Hamas
A Hamas suicide bomber killed 23 people and wounded more than 130 others, including many Orthodox Jewish children, on a crowded public bus in Shmuel HaNavi, Jerusalem.
- August 20
Prince Gabriel of Belgium
Prince Gabriel of Belgium
- August 22
List of justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama 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.
- August 22
Roy Moore
Roy Moore, Alabama's chief justice, was suspended after refusing to comply with a U.S. federal court order to remove a rock inscribed with the Ten Commandments from the lobby of the Supreme Court of Alabama building.
- August 22
Cooper Connolly
Cooper Connolly, Australian cricketer
- August 25
NASA
NASA successfully launches the Spitzer Space Telescope into space.
- August 25
Rebeka Jančová
Rebeka Jančová, Slovak alpine ski racer
- August 26
Beechcraft 1900
A Beechcraft 1900 operating as Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing both pilots on board.
- August 27
Mars
Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, passing 34,646,418 miles (55,758,005 km) distant.
- August 27
Six-party talks
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.
- August 28
Federal Bureau of Investigation
In "one of the most complicated and bizarre crimes in the annals of the FBI", Brian Wells dies after becoming involved in a complex plot involving a bank robbery, a scavenger hunt, and a homemade explosive device.
- August 28
Quvenzhané Wallis
Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress
- August 29
Sayyid
Sayed Ayatollah 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.
September
- September 1
An Yu-jin
An Yu-jin, South Korean singer and actress
- September 3
Jack Dylan Grazer
Jack Dylan Grazer, American actor
- September 6
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas resigns from his position of Palestinian Prime Minister.
- September 8
Nicolas Cantu
Nicolas Cantu, American actor and internet personality
- September 9
Luke Hughes (ice hockey)
Luke Hughes, American ice hockey player
- September 12
Iraq War
Iraq War: In Fallujah, U.S. forces mistakenly shoot and kill eight Iraqi police officers.
- September 12
Steam (service)
The first public release of Steam, a distribution service for computer games, was made available for download.
- September 12
United Nations
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.
- September 12
Typhoon Maemi
Typhoon Maemi, the strongest recorded typhoon to strike South Korea, made landfall near Busan.
- September 14
Kumba Yala
President Kumba Ialá (pictured) of Guinea-Bissau was deposed in a bloodless military coup.
- September 14
2003 Estonian European Union membership referendum
In a referendum, Estonia approves joining the European Union.
- September 16
Toby Couchman
Toby Couchman, Australian rugby league player
- September 18
Aidan Gallagher
Aidan Gallagher, American actor and musician
- September 20
2003 Maldives civil unrest
Civil unrest in the Maldives breaks out after a prisoner is killed by guards.
- September 20
Thomas Crooks
Thomas Matthew Crooks, American attempted assassin of Donald Trump (died 2024)
- September 21
Galileo (spacecraft)
The Galileo spacecraft is terminated by sending it into Jupiter's atmosphere.
- September 22
Dolphin (emulator)
Dolphin, the first emulator for the GameCube that could run commercial video games, was released.
- September 24
Joe Locke
Joe Locke, Manx actor
- September 25
2003 Tokachi earthquake
The 8.3 Mw Hokkaidō earthquake strikes just offshore Hokkaidō, Japan.
- September 25
Bella Ramsey
Bella Ramsey, English actor
- September 26
Jane Remover
Jane Remover, American musician
- September 27
SMART-1
The SMART-1 satellite is launched.
- September 30
Alberto Moleiro
Alberto Moleiro, Spanish footballer
October
- October 1
Imageboard
The popular and controversial English-language imageboard 4chan is launched.
- October 1
Foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong
A levy was imposed on the hiring of foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong, who numbered in the hundreds of thousands at the time.
- October 3
Siegfried & Roy
Roy Horn of the American entertainment duo Siegfried & Roy (both pictured) was mauled by a tiger during a performance at the Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip.
- October 4
Maxim restaurant suicide bombing
The Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Israel kills twenty-one Israelis, both Jews and Arabs.
- October 8
Ángela Aguilar
Ángela Aguilar, Mexican-American singer
- October 14
Steve Bartman incident
The Steve Bartman Incident takes place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.
- October 15
Shenzhou 5
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed space mission.
- October 16
Scott Ogden
Scott Ogden, British motorcycle racer
- October 18
Bolivian gas war
Bolivian gas conflict: Bolivian President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada is forced to resign and leave Bolivia.
- October 19
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II.
- October 20
Sloan Great Wall
The Sloan Great Wall, once the largest cosmic structures known to humanity, is discovered by students at Princeton University.
- October 20
Carney Chukwuemeka
Carney Chukwuemeka, English footballer
- October 21
Eris (dwarf planet)
Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery.
- October 23
Jacob Bethell
Jacob Bethell, English Cricket Legend
- October 24
Concorde
Concorde makes its last commercial flight.
- October 24
2003 Afro-Asian Games
The inaugural Afro-Asian Games opened in Hyderabad, with 2,040 athletes from 96 nations competing.
- October 26
Cedar Fire
The Cedar Fire, the third-largest wildfire in California history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km2), and destroys 2,200 homes around San Diego.
- October 31
Mahathir Mohamad
After 22 years in power, Mahathir Mohamad retired as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
November
- November 1
Ernest Nuamah
Ernest Nuamah, Ghanaian footballer
- November 1
Lautaro Rivero
Lautaro Rivero, Argentine footballer
- November 3
Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatov, Russian poet and educator (born 1923)
- November 5
Gary Ridgway
American serial killer Gary Ridgway pleaded guilty to 48 counts of first-degree murder.
- November 10
Luca Del Bel Belluz
Luca Del Bel Belluz, Canadian ice hockey player
- November 12
Iraq War
Iraq War: In Nasiriyah, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.
- November 12
Shanghai maglev train
Shanghai Transrapid sets a new world speed record of 501 kilometres per hour (311 mph) for commercial railway systems, which remains the fastest for unmodified commercial rail vehicles.
- November 14
Sedna (dwarf planet)
Astronomers discover Sedna, a distant trans-Neptunian dwarf planet.
- November 14
Michael E. Brown
Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object Sedna.
- November 15
2003 Istanbul bombings
The first day of the 2003 Istanbul bombings, in which two car bombs, targeting two synagogues, explode, kill 25 people and wound 300 more.
- November 17
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger's tenure as the governor of California begins.
- November 18
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
With its ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made the state the first in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.
- November 18
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules 4–3 in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and gives the state legislature 180 days to change the law making Massachusetts the first state in the United States to gra
- November 20
2003 Istanbul bombings
Suicide bombers blew up the British consulate and the headquarters of HSBC Bank in Istanbul, killing 31 people, including consul general Roger Short and actor Kerem Yılmazer.
- November 20
November 15
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.
- November 22
2003 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident
Baghdad DHL attempted shootdown incident: Shortly after takeoff, a DHL Express cargo plane is struck on the left wing by a surface-to-air missile and forced to land.
- November 23
Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution: Eduard Shevardnadze resigned as President of Georgia following weeks of mass protests over disputed election results.
- November 26
Concorde
The Concorde makes its final flight, over Bristol, England.
- November 27
Adéla (singer)
Adéla Jergová, Slovak singer-songwriter
December
- December 1
Robert Irwin
Robert Irwin, Australian conservationist and television personality
- December 2
Neil Erasmus
Neil Erasmus, South African-Australian footballer
- December 3
Sita Ram Goel
Sita Ram Goel, Indian historian, publisher and writer (born 1921)
- December 3
David Hemmings
David Hemmings, English actor (born 1941)
- December 4
Jackson Holliday
Jackson Holliday, American baseball player
- December 4
Kim Do-ah
Kim Do-ah, South Korean singer and actress
- December 7
Conservative Party of Canada
The Conservative Party of Canada is officially registered, following the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
- December 9
2003 Mokhovaya Street bombing
A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more.
- December 9
Yuna (singer, born 2003)
Yuna, South Korean rapper, singer and dancer
- December 13
Iraq War
Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.
- December 14
Pervez Musharraf
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
- December 17
Soham murders
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 17
SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.
- December 17
International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.
- December 22
Joe Anders
Joe Anders, American-British actor
- December 23
PetroChina
An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.
- December 24
ETA (separatist group)
The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.
- December 25
UTA Flight 141
UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people.
- December 25
Beagle 2
The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing.
- December 26
2003 Bam earthquake
The 6.6 Mw Bam earthquake shakes southeastern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving more than 26,000 dead and 30,000 injured.
- December 29
Akkala Sámi
The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct.
Questions about 2003
What happened in 2003?
This site records 282 entries for 2003, including Daria Trubnikova on January 1. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 2003?
23 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 2003 turns 23 this year.
Which century is 2003 in?
2003 falls in the 21st century, in the 2000s.
Which generation was born in 2003?
Generation Z (1997–2012). First generation raised with smartphones and social media.
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