2003: Encyclopedia - 2003

2003

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. It was designated the:

• International Year of Freshwater
• European Disability Year
• Blog Year

2003 - Events

2003 - January

• January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil.
• 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. The game is considered to be among the best in recent years.
• January 8 - US Airways flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina killing all 21 people aboard.
• January 15 - The United States Supreme Court hands down its decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft allowing the extension of copyright terms in the U.S.
• January 24 - The new United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
• January 25 - Central Line train crashes into the tunnel wall at Chancery Lane station in London, injuring 34 people.
• January 25 - An international group of volunteers left London and headed for Baghdad to act as voluntary human shields, hoping to avert a U.S. invasion.
• January 30 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic release a statement, the letter of the eight, demonstrating support for the United States' plans for an invasion of Iraq.

2003 - February

• February 1 - The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon reentry, killing all seven astronauts onboard.
• February 1 - In Northern Ireland, The Protestant UDA Belfast leader John Gregg is killed by a loyalist faction.
• February 3 - The worldwide movie premiere of Shanghai Knights was held at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.
• February 5 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council on Iraq.^{Confirmation needed}
• February 9 - Cricket World Cup begins in South Africa.^{Confirmation needed}
• February 15 - Global protests against Iraq war - more than ten million people protest in over 600 cities worldwide, the largest war protest to take place before the war occurred.
• February 17 - Antwerp Diamond Center in Belgium opens its vaults after weekend and discovers that unknown burglars had stolen diamonds worth $100 million - largest diamond theft so far.^{Confirmation needed}
• February 20 - The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island claims the life of 100 people, the forth deadliest nightclub fire in United States history.
• February 26 - An American businessman is admitted to the Vietnam France Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. WHO doctor Carlo Urbani reports the unusual highly contagious disease to WHO. Both the businessman and Carlo Urbani die of SARS in March.^{Confirmation needed}

2003 - March

• March 1 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The United Arab Emirates calls for Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to step down to avoid war. The sentiment is later echoed by Bahrain and Kuwait
• March 1 - The Turkish parliment vetos the access of the U.S troops to airbases in Turkey in order to attack Iraq from the north. The Bush administration starts working on the B Plan, 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 moves to the United States Department of Homeland Security
• March 1 - Boxer Roy Jones Jr. beats John Ruiz to become WBA champion
• March 1 - War on Terrorism: Authorities in Pakistan capture Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks along with money man Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi.
• March 1 - Ohio celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
• 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 two U.S. U-2 surveillance planes, flying missions for U.N. weapons inspectors, forcing them to abort their mission and return to base.
• March 12 - Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić assassinated in Belgrade
• March 12 - 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 Monday, March 17th, the "moment of Truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" would make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council that would give Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or to 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 19 - First American bombs dropped on Baghdad, Iraq. President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not comply with President Bush's 48 hour mandate demanding their exit from Iraq.
• March 20 - 2003 Iraq war: Land troops from 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 - Cricket World Cup ends as Australia wins over India in Centurion, South Africa.
• March 29 - WHO doctor Carlo Urbani, who first identified SARS, dies of the disease.
• March 30 - The Undertaker defeated the Big Show and A-Train in a handicap match, boosting his Wrestlemania record to 11-0.
• March 31 - Goldberg made his WWE debut.

2003 - April

• April 3 - Passenger bus hits remote-controlled land mine in the Chechen capital, killing at least 8.
• April 9 - U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, apparently ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
• April 14 - Human Genome Project successfully completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.
• April 17 - The Stevens Report concludes that members of the RUC and British Army cooperated with the UDA in the killings of Catholics in Northern Ireland
• April 21 - Retired U.S. Army General Jay Garner becomes Interim Civil Administrator of Iraq.
• April 30 - The last American owned vehicle frame manufacturer, Midland Steel Products goes out of business after almost 110 years in business, laying off almost 250 people.

2003 - May

• May 1 - George W. Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in a Lockheed S-3 Viking, where he gave a speech announcing end of major combat in the Iraq war. During his speech, a prominent banner declared "Mission Accomplished."
• May 2 - Monkeyman superhero hoax begins in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK
• May 3 - Old Man of the Mountain, rock formation in New Hampshire, crumbles after heavy rain
• May 4-10 - A major severe weather outbreak spawned more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history. 393 tornadoes were reported in 19 states.
• May 11 - Benvenuto Cellini's Saliera is stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
• May 12 - 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 - Female suicide bomber blows up explosives strapped to her waist in crowd of thousands of Muslim pilgrims, killing at least 18 people in Chechnya.
• May 16 - In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
• May 19 - Pen Hadow becomes the first man to walk alone, without any outside help, from Canada to the North Pole
• May 20 - Buffy The Vampire Slayer airs its final show ending a 7 year run on both The WB Network and UPN
• May 23 - The birth of Dewey, the first cloned deer by scientists at Texas A&M University
• May 26 - A draft of the proposed European constitution is unveiled.
• May 28 - The birth of Prometea, the first cloned horse by Italian scientists.
• May 31 - Eric Rudolph, the suspected person to have carried out the Centennial Olympic Park bombing is captured in North Carolina behind a Save-A-Lot store.

2003 - June

• June 1 - The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the massive Three Gorges Dam, raising the water level near the dam over 100 metres.
• June 4 - Martha Stewart and her broker are indicted for using privileged investment information and then obstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigned as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living.
• June 5 - Female suicide bomber detonates 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 15 - 2003 NBA Finals end. The San Antonio Spurs defeat the New Jersey Nets, 4 games to 2.
• June 22 - The largest hailstone ever recorded falls in Aurora, Nebraska, USA.
• June 23 - U.S. Supreme Court upholds affirmative action in university admissions in Grutter v. Bollinger
• June 26 - U.S. Supreme Court rules sodomy laws unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas

2003 - July

• July 1 - 500,000 Hong Kong people march to protest Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23, which redefined treason controversially.
• July 2 - International Olympic Committee session in Prague. Vancouver ,Canada 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 - Double suicide bombing at a Moscow rock concert kills the female attackers and 15 other people.
• July 6 - Residents of Corsica reject a referendum for increased autonomy for the region 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 the church leaders
• July 10 - 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 - U.S. columnist Robert Novak publishes the name of Valerie Plame, blowing her cover as a CIA operative. CIA leak scandal begins.
• July 18 - Convention on the Future of Europe finishes its work and proposes the first European constitution
• July 18 - The body of Dr. David Kelly, a scientist at the Ministry of Defence, is found a few miles from his home, leading to the Hutton inquiry
• 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 in the Solomon Islands
• July 30 - The last old-style Volkswagen Beetle rolls off its production line in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico.

2003 - August

• August 1 - Suicide bomber rams 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 recorded in the UK - 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Brogdale near Faversham in Kent [1]. It is the first time the UK has recorded a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
• 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 14 - Widespread power outage affects northeast United States and Canada.
• August 14 - 6.4 Richter scale earthquake near the Greek Ionian island of Lefkada - 24 injured
• August 22 - 21 killed at the Brazilian rocket complex in Alcântara due to a premature ignition of a solid rocket booster.
• August 25 - 52 killed in two bomb blasts in Mumbai, India.
• August 27 - Perihelion of Mars

2003 - September

• September 4 - Europe's largest shopping centre, the Bullring in Birmingham, is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore.
• September 5 - Roller coaster accident at Disneyland injures 10 and kills one.
• September 10 - Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh is stabbed in a Stockholm department store and dies the next day.
• September 14 - Sweden rejects adopting the Euro in a referendum. (Results.)
• September 14 - Estonia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.
• September 15 - ELN kidnaps 8 foreign tourists in the Ciudad Perdida - they demand a human rights investigation and release last of the hostages three months later
• September 16 - Two suicide bombers drive a truck laden with explosives into a government security services building near Chechnya, killing three people and injuring 25.
• September 27 - Smart 1 is launched.
• September 27 - The Uniterran Church was founded in Victor, NY
• September 28 - a power failure affected all of Italy except Sardinia, cutting service to more than 56 million people.
• September 29 - Hurricane Juan makes landfall at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada as a category 2 storm. Two were killed directly and 5 indirectly.

2003 - October

• October 7 - 2003 California recall: Voters recall Governor Gray Davis from office and elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him.
• October 10 - Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American Right Wing radio host Rush Limbaugh publically admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killers and will seek treatment.
• October 14 - The Florida Marlins defeat the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of Major League Baseball's National League Championship Series; the game is remembered for Cubs fan Steve Bartman interfering with a foul ball which could have helped Chicago win the game and the series.
• October 15 - China launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission.
• October 16 - The Boston Red Sox lose to their hated rivals, the New York Yankees in Game 7 of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series, blowing a three-run, eighth-inning lead.
• October 23 - Luis A. Ferre, the third Democratically Elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at age 99.
• October 24 - 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 Florida Marlins defeat the New York Yankees 4 games to 2 to win the 2003 World Series, behind a complete-game shutout by ace pitcher, Josh Beckett.
• October 25 - Cedar Fire begins in San Diego County burning 280,000 acres (1,100 km²), 2,232 homes and killing 14
• October 31 - Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after 22 years in power.

2003 - November

• November 5 - Gary Ridgway, The "Green River Killer", confesses murders of 48 women
• November 9 - Lunar eclipse (the Americas, Europe, Africa, 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 two synagogues, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 300; Al-Qaida claims responsibility.
• November 18 - US President George W. Bush makes a state visit to London in the midst of massive protests.
• November 18 - Goodridge v. Department of Public Health rules anti-same-sex marriage laws unconstitutional in Massachusetts
• November 18 - Britney Spears breaks her own record with her 4th album "In The Zone" going to #1 on the Billboard 200, making her the only artist in music history to have her first 4 albums go to #1 on the Billboard 200.
• November 20 - Several bombs explode in Istanbul, Turkey destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Holdings 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 Rugby Union World Cup defeating Australia 20-17 after extra time.
• November 23 - Georgian Rose Revolution ends with overwhelming victory - president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over fraudulent elections.
• November 23 - Total solar eclipse (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.

2003 - December

• December 1 - The use of hand-held mobile 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 - Suicide bombing on commuter train in southern Russia kills 44 people. President Vladimir Putin condemns attack as bid to destabilize the country two days before parliamentary elections.
• December 7 - Parliamentary election in Russia.
• December 9 - Female suicide bomber blows herself up outside Moscow's National Hotel, across from the Kremlin and Red Square, killing five 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 17 - The film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King released, effectively completing the Lord of the Rings Trilogy directed by Peter Jackson.
• 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 that it was 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 24 - A BSE outbreak in Washington State is announced. Several countries including Brazil, Australia and Taiwan place a ban on the import of beef from the United States of America.
• December 24 - At the request of the US Embassy in Paris, the French Government orders Air France to cancel several flights between France and the US in response to terrorist concerns.
• December 24 - The Spanish police thwarts an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 PM on Christmas Eve inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.
• December 25 - Queen Elizabeth II broadcasts a Christmas message to the British Commonwealth paying tribute to British troops in Iraq. Pope John Paul II's Christmas message calls for peace in the Middle East.
• December 25 - Beagle 2 is scheduled to land on Mars, but nothing is heard from the lander.
• December 25 - The President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, escapes the second assassination attempt in two weeks.
• December 26 - A massive earthquake devastates southeastern Iran. Over 40,000 people are reported to have been killed in the city of Bam.
• December 31 - The world's largest Hogmanay party in the Scottish capital Edinburgh is cancelled twenty minutes before midnight due to bad weather.

2003 - Births

• April 29 - Maud Angelica Behn, daughter of Ari Behn and Princess Märtha Louise of Norway
• August 24 - Alexandre Coste, son of Albert II, Prince of Monaco
• November 8 - Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Earl and Countess of Wessex
• December 7 - Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, daughter of Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

2003 - Deaths

For more deaths, see: Deaths in 2003

2003 - January

• January 3 - Sid Gillman, American football coach (b. 1911)
• January 4 - Conrad Hall, Tahitian-born cinematographer (b. 1926)
• January 4 - Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born violinist (b. 1923)
• January 8 - Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (b. 1925)
• January 11 - Maurice Pialat, French actor and director (b. 1925)
• January 11 - Richard Simmons, American actor (b. 1913)
• January 12 - Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine dictator (b. 1926)
• January 12 - Maurice Gibb, Australian musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
• January 15 - Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
• January 17 - Richard Crenna, American actor (b. 1926)
• January 20 - Al Hirschfeld, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
• January 23 - Nell Carter, American singer and actress (b. 1948)
• January 24 - Gianni Agnelli, Italian auto executive (b. 1921)
• January 26 - Valeriy Brumel, Russian athlete (b. 1942)
• January 26 - Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (b. 1917)
• January 29 - Frank Moss, U.S. Senator from Utah (b. 1911)

2003 - February

• February 1 - Crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia
  • Michael P. Anderson (b. 1959)
  • David M. Brown (b. 1956)
  • Kalpana Chawla (b. 1961)
  • Laurel Clark (b. 1961)
  • Rick Husband (b. 1957)
  • William McCool (b. 1961)
  • Ilan Ramon (b. 1954)
• February 2 - Lou Harrison, American composer (b. 1917)
• February 10 - Edgar de Evia, American photographer (b. 1910)
• February 10 - Ron Ziegler, Richard Nixon's White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
• February 19 - Johnny PayCheck, American singer (b. 1938)
• February 20 - Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and writer (b. 1907)
• February 20 - Orville Freeman, American politician (b. 1918)
• February 27 - Fred Rogers, American television host (b. 1928)
• February 28 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández, President of El Salvador (heart attack) (b. 1917)

2003 - March

• March 2 - Hank Ballard, American musician (b. 1927)
• March 9 - Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru (diabetes) (b. 1946)
• March 12 - Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia (assassinated) (b. 1952)
• March 12 - Lynne Thigpen, American actress (b.1948)
• March 22 - Paul Moran, Australian cameraman (Iraq, car bomb) (b. 1963)
• March 26 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator from New York (b. 1926)
• March 29 - Carlo Urbani, Italian physician (SARS) (b. 1956)

2003 - April

• April 1 - Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer and actor (b.1961)
• April 7 - Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (b. 1903)
• April 11 - Cecil Howard Green, British-born geophysicist and businessman (b. 1900)
• April 17 - Robert Atkins, American nutritionist (b. 1930)
• April 17 - Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (b. 1932)
• April 17 - Earl King, American musician (b. 1934)
• April 20 - Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (b. 1908)
• April 20 - Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1911)
• April 21 - Nina Simone, American singer (b. 1933)
• April 23 - Fernand Fonssagrives, French photographer (b. 1910)
• April 26 - Peter Stone, American writer (b. 1930)
• April 30 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)

2003 - May

• May 3 - Suzy Parker, American actress (b. 1932)
• May 9 - Russell B. Long, U.S. Senator from Louisiana (b. 1933)
• May 12 - Sadruddhin Aga Khan, French UN High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1933)
• May 14 - Wendy Hiller, English actress (b. 1912)
• May 14 - Robert Stack, American actor (b. 1919)
• May 15 - June Carter Cash, American singer (b. 1929)
• May 15 - Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist (b. 1924)
• May 26 - Kathleen Winsor, American writer (b. 1919)
• May 27 - Luciano Berio, Italian composer (b. 1925)
• May 28 - Ilya Prigogine, Russian-born physicist and chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1917)
• May 28 - Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)

2003 - June

• June 2 - Burke Marshall, American lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
• June 10 - Donald Regan, U.S. Treasury Secretary (b. 1918)
• June 10 - Bernard Williams, English philosopher (b. 1929)
• June 11 - David Brinkley, American television reporter (b. 1920)
• June 12 - Gregory Peck, American actor (b. 1916)
• June 15 - Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (b. 1911)
• June 18 - Larry Doby, baseball player (b. 1923)
• June 21 - Leon Uris, American writer (b. 1924)
• June 23 - Maynard Jackson, Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (b. 1938)
• June 25 - Lester Maddox, Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
• June 26 - Denis Thatcher, husband of Margaret Thatcher (b. 1915)
• June 26 - Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator (b. 1902)
• June 29 - Katharine Hepburn, American actress (b. 1907)
• June 30 - Buddy Hackett, American comedian and actor (b. 1924)

2003 - July

• July 1 - Herbie Mann, American jazz flutist (b. 1930)
• July 4 - Barry White, American singer (b. 1944)
• July 5 - Roman Lyashenko, Russian hockey player (b. 1979)
• July 7 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor (b. 1908)
• July 10 - Winston Graham, English writer (b. 1908)
• July 10 - Hartley Shawcross, British chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials (b. 1902)
• July 12 - Benny Carter, American musician (b. 1907)
• July 13 - Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1907)
• July 15 - Roberto Bolaño, Chilean writer (b. 1953)
• July 15 - Tex Schramm, American football team president and general manager (b. 1920)
• July 16 - Celia Cruz, Cuban singer (b. 1924)
• July 16 - Carol Shields, American-born writer (b. 1935)
• July 17 - Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (b. 1914)
• July 25 - Ludwig Bölkow, German aeronautical engineer (b. 1912)
• July 25 - John Schlesinger, English film director (b. 1926)
• July 27 - Bob Hope, English-born comedian (b. 1902)
• July 30 - Sam Phillips, American record producer (b. 1923)

2003 - August

• August 1 - Marie Trintignant, French actress (b. 1962)
• August 4 - Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1916)
• August 9 - Gregory Hines, American dancer and actor (cancer) (b. 1946)
• August 11 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1923)
• August 14 - Helmut Rahn, German footballer (b. 1929)
• August 16 - Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator
• August 19 - Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (b. 1948)
• August 19 - Carlos Roberto Reina, President of Honduras (b. 1926)
• August 23 - Bobby Bonds, baseball player and manager (b. 1946)
• August 30 - Charles Bronson, American actor (b. 1921)

2003 - September

• September 1 - Terry Frost, English artist (b. 1915)
• September 6 - Harry Goz, American actor (b. 1932)
• September 8 - Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian actress (b. 1986)
• September 8 - Leni Riefenstahl, German film director (b. 1902)
• September 8 - Vadim Schneider, French actor (automobile accident) (b. 1986)
• September 9 - Larry Hovis, American actor (b. 1936)
• September 9 - Edward Teller, Hungarian-born physicist (b. 1908)
• September 11 - Anna Lindh, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs (assassinated) (b. 1957)
• September 11 - John Ritter, American actor (b. 1948)
• September 12 - Johnny Cash, American singer and guitarist (b. 1932)
• September 14 - Yetunde Price, American sister of Venus and Serena Williams (murdered)
• September 17 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (b. 1951)
• September 17 - Sheb Wooley, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
• September 22 - Gordon Jump, American actor (b. 1932)
• September 24 - Edward Said, Palestinian-born literary critic (b. 1935)
• September 25 - Franco Modigliani, Italian-born economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• September 25 - George Plimpton, American writer and actor (b. 1927)
• September 26 - Robert Palmer, English singer (b. 1949)
• September 27 - Donald O'Connor, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1925)
• September 28 - Althea Gibson, American tennis player (b. 1927)
• September 28 - Elia Kazan, Hungarian-born director (b. 1909)

2003 - October

• October 3 - William Steig, American cartoonist (b. 1907)
• October 5 - Denis Quilley, British actor (b. 1927)
• October 5 - Dan Snyder, Canadian hockey player (b. 1978)
• October 10 - Eugene Istomin, American pianist (b. 1925)
• October 12 - Jim Cairns, Australian politician (b. 1914)
• October 12 - Willie Shoemaker, American jockey (b. 1931)
• October 13 - Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• October 16 - László Papp, Hungarian boxer (b. 1926)
• October 19 - Alija Izetbegović, Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (b. 1925)
• October 20 - Jack Elam, American actor (b. 1918)
• October 21 - Fred Berry, American actor (b. 1951)
• October 21 - Elliott Smith, American musician (b. 1969)
• October 23 - Tony Capstick, English comedian, actor, and musician (b. 1944)
• October 23 - Soong May-ling, Chinese wife of Chiang Kai-shek (b. 1898)
• October 29 - Hal Clement, American writer (b. 1922)
• October 29 - Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (b. 1921)
• October 31 - Richard Neustadt, American political historian (b. 1919)

2003 - November

• November 4 - Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (b. 1923)
• November 5 - Bobby Hatfield, American singer (Righteous Brothers) (b. 1940)
• November 6 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (b. 1919)
• November 6 - Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (b. 1962)
• November 9 - Art Carney, American actor (b. 1918)
• November 10 - Canaan Banana, first President of Zimbabwe (b. 1936)
• November 10 - Irv Kupcinet, American columnist and television personality (murdered) (b. 1912)
• November 12 - Jonathan Brandis, American actor (suicide) (b. 1976)
• November 12 - Penny Singleton, American actress (b. 1908)
• November 13 - Kellie Waymire, American actress (b. 1967)
• November 14 - Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (b. 1962)
• November 15 - Ray Lewis, Canadian runner (b. 1910)
• November 15 - T. Y. Lin, Chinese-born civil engineer (b. 1912)
• November 15 - Dorothy Loudon, American actress (b. 1933)
• November 18 - Michael Kamen, American composer (b. 1948)
• November 20 - Robert Addie, British actor (cancer) (b. 1960)
• November 20 - David Dacko, first President of the Central African Republic (b. 1930)
• November 20 - Jim Siedow, American actor (b. 1920)
• November 24 - Hugh Kenner, Canadian literary critic (b. 1922)
• November 24 - Warren Spahn, baseball player (b. 1921)
• November 26 - Abed Hamed Mowhoush, Iraqi general
• November 26 - Stefan Wul, French writer (b. 1922)
• November 30 - Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer (b. 1906)

2003 - December

• December 3 - David Hemmings, English actor (b. 1941}
• December 6 - Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (b. 1918)
• December 7 - Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher (b. 1913)
• December 7 - Azie Taylor Morton, U.S. Treasurer (b. 1936)
• December 8 - Rubén González, Cuban pianist (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1919)
• December 9 - Paul Simon, U.S. Senator from Illinois (b. 1928)
• December 11 - Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer (b. 1927)
• December 12 - Geidar Aliev, President of Azerbaijan
• December 12 - Keiko, Orca from Free Willy
• December 13 - William Roth, U.S. Senator from Delaware (b. 1921)
• December 14 - Jeanne Crain, American actress (b. 1925)
• December 15 - George Fisher, American political cartoonist (b. 1923)
• December 16 - Robert Stanfield, Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)
• December 16 - Gary Stewart, American singer (suicide) (b. 1945)
• December 17 - Ed Devereaux, Australian actor (b. 1925)
• December 17 - Otto Graham, American football player (b. 1921)
• December 19 - Hope Lange, American actress (b. 1941)
• December 22 - Dave Dudley, American singer (b. 1928)
• December 27 - Alan Bates, English actor (b. 1934)
• December 27 - Ivan Calderon, Puerto Rican baseball player (murdered) (b. 1962)
• December 29 - Earl Hindman, American actor (lung cancer) (b. 1942)
• December 29 - Dinsdale Landen, English actor (cancer) (b. 1932)
• December 29 - Bob Monkhouse, English comedian and game show host (b. 1928)
• December 30 - David Bale, South African-born activist (cancer) (b. 1941)
• December 30 - John Gregory Dunne, American writer (b. 1932)
• December 30 - Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer (b. 1963)
• December 31 - Arthur R. von Hippel, German-born physicist (b. 1898)

2003 - Nobel Prizes

• Physics - Alexei Alexeevich Abrikosov, Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg, Anthony James Leggett
• Chemistry - Peter Agre, Roderick MacKinnon
• Physiology or Medicine - Paul Lauterbur, Sir Peter Mansfield
• Literature - John Maxwell Coetzee
• Peace - Shirin Ebadi
• Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel - Robert F. Engle, Clive W. J. Granger

2003 - 2003 in Fiction

• The Game Boy Advance format of the Sims Bustin' Out video game takes place in 2003, which is also the year in which it was released. This is mentioned in Urbz:Sims in the City, at the end of which you may "time travel" to 2003 and find yourself inside the game.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "2003", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki