2003

2003 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	2003; MMIII
Ab urbe condita	2756
Armenian calendar	1452; ԹՎ ՌՆԾԲ
Assyrian calendar	6753
Baháʼí calendar	159–160
Balinese saka calendar	1924–1925
Bengali calendar	1410
Berber calendar	2953
British Regnal year	51 Eliz. 2 – 52 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2547
Burmese calendar	1365
Byzantine calendar	7511–7512
Chinese calendar	壬午年 (Water Horse); 4699 or 4639; — to —; 癸未年 (Water Goat); 4700 or 4640
Coptic calendar	1719–1720
Discordian calendar	3169
Ethiopian calendar	1995–1996
Hebrew calendar	5763–5764
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2059–2060
- Shaka Samvat	1924–1925
- Kali Yuga	5103–5104
Holocene calendar	12003
Igbo calendar	1003–1004
Iranian calendar	1381–1382
Islamic calendar	1423–1424
Japanese calendar	Heisei 15; (平成１５年)
Javanese calendar	1935–1936
Juche calendar	92
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4336
Minguo calendar	ROC 92; 民國92年
Nanakshahi calendar	535
Thai solar calendar	2546
Tibetan calendar	阳水马年; (male Water-Horse); 2129 or 1748 or 976; — to —; 阴水羊年; (female Water-Goat); 2130 or 1749 or 977
Unix time	1041379200 – 1072915199

Millennium:	3rd millennium
Centuries:	20th century; 21st century ; 22nd century;
Decades:	1980s; 1990s; 2000s; 2010s; 2020s;
Years:	2000; 2001; 2002; 2003; 2004; 2005; 2006;

From left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A destroyed building in Bam, Iran after the 2003 Bam earthquake killed 30,000 people; A U.S. Army M1 Abrams tank patrols the streets of Baghdad after the city fell to U.S.-led forces; Abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison by U.S. personnel; Protests in London against the Invasion of Iraq; "Mission Accomplished" became an ironic symbol of the protractedness of the Iraq War after President George W. Bush's infamous speech; a statue of Saddam Hussein is toppled in Baghdad after he was deposed during the Iraq War.

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2003rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2000s decade.

2003 was designated the International Year of the Fresh water.^[1]

In 2003, a United States-led coalition launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq, beginning the Iraq War.

Events

January

January 22
- The last signal from NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft is received, some 12.2 billion kilometers (7.6 billion mi) from Earth.^[2]
- A 7.6-magnitude earthquake strikes the state of Colima in southwestern Mexico, killing at least 29.^[3]

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.^[4]
February 4 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is renamed to "Serbia and Montenegro" (after its constituent states) 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.^[5]
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.^[6]^[7]
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 overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime.^[8]
February 18 – An arsonist sets fire to a subway train in Daegu, South Korea, killing 192 people.^[9]
February 26 – The War in Darfur begins after rebel groups rise up against the Sudanese government.^[10]
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.^[11]

March

March 8 – Malta approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[12]
March 12
- Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić is assassinated in Belgrade by a sniper.^[13]
- The World Health Organization issues a global alert on severe acute respiratory syndrome when it spreads to Hong Kong and Vietnam after originating in Mainland China.^[14]
March 20 – The Iraq War begins with the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and allied forces.^[15]
March 23 – Slovenia approves joining the European Union and NATO in a referendum.^[16]

April

April 9 – U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, ending the rule of Saddam Hussein.^[15]
April 12 – Hungary approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[17]
April 14 – The Human Genome Project is completed, with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.^[18]
April 16 – The Treaty of Accession^[19] is signed in Athens between the European Union and ten countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia), concerning these countries' accession into the EU, leading to the 2004 enlargement of the European Union.
April 27 – Nicanor Duarte Frutos is elected president over Julio César Franco in the 2003 Paraguayan general election.^[20]
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.^[21]

May

May 4 – The amusement park Cedar Point opens Top Thrill Dragster, which is the first roller coaster in the world to surpass 400 feet in height, and until the opening of Kingda Ka, is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world.^[22]
May 11
- Benvenuto Cellini's Cellini Salt Cellar table sculpture is stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.^[23]
- Lithuania approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[24]
May 12 – In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over 30 people are killed in multiple bombings at a housing compound, mostly foreign expatriates.^[25]
May 17 – Slovakia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[26]
May 21 – Algeria The 6.8 M_w  Boumerdès earthquake shakes the suburb of the Algerian capital Algiers with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Violent), killing an estimated 2,266 people.^[27]
May 23 – Dewey, the first deer cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University, is born.^[28]
May 24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 takes place in Riga, Latvia, and is won by Turkish entrant Sertab Erener with the song "Everyway That I Can".
May 28 – Prometea, the world's first cloned horse, is born.^[29]

June

June 8 – Poland approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[30]
June 14 – The Czech Republic approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[31]
June 21 – Declaration of Thessaloniki: The European Union encourages accession of states of the western Balkans.^[32]
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.^[33]

July

July 1 – Tesla Inc., the American electric car company, is founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in San Carlos, California.^[34]^[35]
July 2 – The International Olympic Committee awards Vancouver the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.^[36]
July 5 – Severe acute respiratory syndrome is declared to be contained by the World Health Organization.^[37]
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.^[38]
- Dennis Schmitt discovers the island of 83-42, a candidate for being the northernmost point of land.
July 14 – Robert Novak identifies Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent, initiating a scandal known as the Plame affair.^[39]
July 18 – The Convention on the Future of Europe finishes its work and proposes the first European Constitution.^[40]
July 24 – The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, led by Australia, begins after ethnic violence engulfs the island country.^[41]

August

August 5 – A car bomb explodes at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 12 people and injuring 150.^[42]
August 11
- The Second Liberian Civil War comes to an end after President Charles Taylor resigns and flees the country.^[43]
- NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.^[44]
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 Dear Zachary and prompted a change in Canadian law.^[45]
August 19 - In the Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad 22 people are killed, among them United Nations' Special Representative in Iraq Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and over 100 are injured.
August 25
- The Spitzer Space Telescope is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.^[46]
- Car bombs explode at Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar in Mumbai, claiming 54 lives and injuring 244 others. Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba is blamed for the attack.^[47]
August 27
- Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in over 60,000 years.^[48]
- 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.^[49]

September

September 12 – Typhoon Maemi, the strongest recorded typhoon to strike South Korea, made landfall near Busan.^[50]
September 14 – Estonia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[51]
September 15 – ELN rebels kidnap eight foreign tourists at Ciudad Perdida, Colombia, being freed 100 days later following negotiations with the Colombian government.^[52]
September 20 – Latvia approves joining the European Union in a referendum.^[53]
September 24 – The Hubble Space Telescope starts the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, making 800 exposures, until January 16, 2004.^[54]
September 27 – SMART-1, an ESA spaceprobe and ESA's first mission to the moon, is launched from Kourou, French Guiana.^[55]
September 29 – Hurricane Juan makes landfall in Halifax. Causing over $265 million (2003 CAD) in damage.

October

October 1 – The popular and controversial English-language imageboard 4chan is launched.^[56]
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.^[57]
October 15 – China launches Shenzhou 5, their first human spaceflight.^[58]
October 24 – Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to an end.^[59]
October 25 – The Florida Marlins win the World Series for the second time after defeating the New York Yankees by four games to two.

November

November 12 – A suicide bombing at an Italian military police headquarters in Nasiriyah, Iraq, kills 17 Italian military police officers and nine Iraqi civilians.^[60]
November 23 – Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze resigns after widespread protests engulf the country following a disputed parliamentary election.^[61]
November 26 – The supersonic passenger jet, Concorde, makes its last ever flight from Heathrow Airport in London to Bristol Filton Airport.^[62]^[63]

December

December 13 – Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, is captured in the small town of Ad-Dawr by the U.S. Army.^[64]
December 19 – Libya agrees to eliminate all of its materials, equipment, and programs aimed at producing weapons of mass destruction.^[65]
December 23
- The World Tourism Organization becomes a specialized agency of the United Nations.^[66]
- PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.^[67]
December 26 – The 6.6 M_w  Bam earthquake shakes southeastern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing an estimated 30,000 people.^[68]
December 29 – The last known speaker of the Akkala Sámi language dies, rendering it extinct.^[69]

Full date unknown

Green Tomato Limited, mobile application service is founded in Hong Kong.^[70]
Helpline Telecoms Nigeria Limited is founded.^[71]

Births

Greta Thunberg

Jude Bellingham

Olivia Rodrigo

January 3 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist^[72]
January 4 – Jaeden Martell, American actor^[73]
February 5 – Simon Edvinsson, Swedish hockey player^[74]
February 15 – Naseem Shah, Pakistani cricketer^[75]
February 20 – Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer^[76]
February 26 – Jamal Musiala, German footballer^[77]
March 9 – Sunisa "Suni" Lee, American gymnast^[78]
March 25 – George Alice, Australian singer-songwriter^[79]
March 26 – Bhad Bhabie, American rapper^[80]
April 3 – Elsie Fisher , American actress
April 9 – Hayley Faith Negrin, American child voice actress
May 5 – Carlos Alcaraz, Spanish professional tennis player
May 19 – JoJo Siwa, American YouTube personality^[81]
June 20 – Hans Niemann, American chess player^[82]
June 21 - Giovana Queiroz, Brazilian football player
June 27 – Tomokazu Harimoto, Japanese table tennis player^[83]
June 29 – Jude Bellingham, English footballer^[84]
July 3 - Storm Reid, American actress
July 4 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer^[85]
August 17 – The Kid Laroi, Australian rapper
August 20 – Prince Gabriel of Belgium^[86]
August 24 – Alena Kostornaia, Russian figure skater^[87]
August 28 – Quvenzhané Wallis, American actress^[88]
September 3 – Jack Dylan Grazer, American actor
September 24 – Joe Locke, Manx actor
November 8 – Lady Louise Windsor, British royalty^[89]
December 7 – Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of the Netherlands^[90]^[91]