2003

2003 is a commonyear starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also:

• The International Year of Freshwater
• The European Disability Year

Summary

Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the United States , Britain , Spain and otherallies. All over the world, many months in 2003 were devoted to the discussion, debate, protest, and organization of this war,making it probably the most discussed (and controversial) war in modern history. The war would ultimately depose longtime Iraqileader Saddam Hussein and begin a period of occupation that continuedwell into 2004.

2003 was also a landmark year for the European Union with manystates from the former Soviet Bloc voting to join. The first wide-scale EUconstitution was also drafted and will be either ratified or rejected by member states in 2004.

Over 30 nations held elections in 2003.

Events

January

• January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil .
• January 1 - PascalCouchepin becomes President of the Confederation in Switzerland
• January 15 - The Supreme Court hands down its decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft allowing the extension of copyright terms.
• January 21 - KevinMitnick , a famous U.S. hacker, is allowed to use a computer again.
• January 24 - The new United StatesDepartment of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
• January 30 - Iraq disarmament crisis : Facing worldwide criticism and against the wishes of the majorities oftheir own electorates, leaders of Britain , Spain , Italy , Portugal , Hungary , Poland , Denmark , and the Czech Republic release astatement, the letter of the eight , demonstratingsupport for the United States ' plans for an invasion of Iraq .

February

• February 1 - The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon reentry, killing all seven astronauts onboard.
• February 5 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council on Iraq.
• February 9 - Cricket World Cupbegins in South Africa
• February 15 - Global protests against war on Iraq - more than six million people protest in over 600cities worldwide, the largest war protest to take place before the war occurred.
• February 23 - NewYork City is the site of the 2003 Grammy Awards , with Nickelback , No Doubt , Foo Fighters , BritneySpears and some other bands and performers.
• February 26 - An American businessman is admitted to the Vietnam FranceHospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. WHO doctor Carlo Urbani report the unusual highly contagious disease to WHO. Both thebusinessman and Carlo Urbani die of SARS in March.
• February 26 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush talks publicly about his vision of a post-invasion democracy in Iraq. Bush says it will be "an example" to other nations in Arabia .

March

• March 1 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The United Arab Emirates calls for Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to step down to avoid war. Thesentiment is later echoed by Bahrain and Kuwait .
• March 1 - War on Terrorism : Authorities in Pakistan capture Khalid Shaikh Mohammed , the suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 TerroristAttacks along with money man Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi .
• March 1 - AttackSubmarine USS-Lapon (now ex-Lapon SSN-661) starts to be deactivated
• March 1 - the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center , the United States Customs Service , and the United States Secret Service moves to the United StatesDepartment of Homeland Security
• March 1 - boxer Roy Jones Jr. beats John Ruiz to become WBA champion
• March 1 - America's Cup race postponed after yachts wait two hoursfor better weather
• March 1 - Iraq disarmament crisis: the Turkish speaker of Parliament voids the vote accepting U.S. troopsinvolved in the planned invasion of Iraq into Turkey on constitutional grounds. 264 votes for and 250 against accepting 62,000 US military personnel do not constitute the necessary majority under the Turkishconstitution, due to 19 abstentions.
• 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 themto abort their mission and return to base. Iraqi officials described the incident as a "technical mistake" by the U.N.inspectors. Ewen Buchanan, spokesman for UNMOVIC, said that Iraqi officials had been notified about the flight beforehand.
• March 11 - Iraq disarmament crisis: According to Arab media, Saddam Husseinopens terrorist training camps in Iraq for Arab volunteers willing to carry out suicide bombings against U.S. forces if aU.S.-led attack took place.
• March 12 - ZoranDjindjic 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 callfor Iraq to meet certain benchmarks to prove that it was disarming. The amendment is immediately rejected by France, who promisesto veto any new resolution.
• March 13 - Humanevolution : The journal Nature reports that350,000-year-old upright-walking human footprints had been found in Italy .
• March 14 - U.S. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. steps down as a regional Whip for the House Democrats for making what he called"insensitive" remarks about Jews pushing the nation into war with Iraq. At a March 3 anti-war rally in Reston, Virginia , Moran said, "If it were notfor the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this."
• March 15 - Hu Jintao becomes president ofthe 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 ofTruth", 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 disarmimmediately or to be disarmed by force.
• March 16 - Largest co-ordinated worldwide vigil as part of the global protestsagainst war on Iraq.
• March 17 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President George W. Bush gives anultimatum: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons must either leave Iraq, or face military action at a time of the U.S.'schoosing.
• March 19 - Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) gives a speech in the Senate, saying "I weep for my country" as he attests that America is discarding its image of astrong, benevolent peacekeeper.
• March 19 - First American bombsdropped on Baghdad, Iraq . President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not comply with President Bush's 48 hour mandate demanding their exitfrom Iraq .
• March 20 - 2003 Iraqwar : 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 Baghdadusing cruise missiles fired from US Navy warships, Royal Navy submarines and B-52 bombers; and laser guided missiles fired by Stealth Bombers .
• March 23 - Cricket World Cup endsas Australia win over India in Centurion, South Africa .
• March 29 - WHO doctor CarloUrbani , who first identified SARS, dies of the disease.

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 ofSaddam Hussein.
• April 21 - Retired U.S. Army General Jay Garner becomes Interim Civil Administrator of Iraq.

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 ofmajor combat in the Iraq war. Clearly visible in the background was a banner stating "Mission Accomplished". Bush's landing wascriticized by opponents as overly theatrical and expensive. The banner, made by White House personnel (according to a CNN story: [1] ) and placed there by the U.S.Navy, was criticized as premature.
  
• May 12 - Homicidetruck-bomb attack kills at least 60 at a government compound in northern Chechnya .
• May 14 - Female homicidebomber blows up explosives strapped to her waist in crowd of thousands of Muslim pilgrims , killing at least 18people in an apparent attempt on the life of Chechnya's Moscow -backed chief administrator, Akhmad Kadyrov ,now the region's president.
• May 15 - San AntonioSpurs def Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in 2003 NBA playoffs for the first time in 3 years there will be a new NBA champion.
• May 22 - Yuichiro Miura becomes the oldest person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest .
• May 24 - Eurovision song contestin Riga , Latvia . Winner was Turkey and Sertab Erener performed thesong, Everyway That I Can.
• May 26 - A draft of the proposed European constitution is unveiled.
• May 27 - Three hundredth anniversary celebration of Saint Petersburg , Russia, begins.
• 2003 Stanley Cup Finals starts New Jersey Devils vs. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim .
• May 31 - Annular solar eclipse (Northern Scotland , Faroe Islands, Greenland , Iceland with partial eclipse covering much of Europe and Russia )
• May 31 - Eric Rudolph , thesuspected person to have carried out the Centennial Olympic Park bombing is captured in North Carolina behind a Save-A-Lot store.

June

• June 1 - The Peoples Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the massive Three Gorges Dam ,raising the water level near the dam over 100 meters.
• June 4 - Martha Stewart and her broker are indicted for using privileged investment information and thenobstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigned as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha StewartLiving .
• June 5 - Female homicidebomber detonates bomb near a bus carrying soldiers and civilians to a military airfieldin Mozdok , a major staging point for Russian troops in Chechnya , killing at least 16 people.
• 2003 NBA Finals start San Antonio Spurs vs. New Jersey Nets
• June 12 - RobertAngleton goes missing while on bond five days before he was to be tried for weapons charges and conspiracy to commit the 1997murder of wife Doris Angleton . He was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam for passport fraud, and was sent back to Houston the same day.
• June 15 - 2003 NBA Finals end San AntonioSpurs def New Jersey Nets 4 games to 2.
• June 20 to June 29 - 2003 Special Olympics WorldSummer Games , Dublin , Ireland
• June 21 - Deputy Justice Fazel Ahmed Manawi of the Afghan Supreme Court announces that Aftab editor Sayed Madawi and his deputy Ali Payam Sestani will be tried for "libelling Islam"
• 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

July

• July 1 - 500,000 Hong Kong people march to protest Hong Kong Basic Law Article 23 , which redefined treason controversially.
• July 2 - Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada isdeclared the Host City for the XXI Olympic Winter Games in 2010 .
• July 5 - SARS is declared to be contained by WHO.
• July 5 - Double homicidebombing at a Moscow rock concert kills the female attackers and 15 other people.
• 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 main street .
• July 14 - Valerie Plame is "outed" as a CIA Agent by newspapercolumnist Robert Novak
• July 18 - Convention on the Future of Europe finishes its work and proposes the first Europeanconstitution.
• July 18 - Dr. David Kelly's body is found a few miles from his home. The government announces an independent judicial inquiry into the events leading up to the death, to be chaired by Lord Hutton .
• July 23 - Operation Warrior Sweep is the first major military deployment of the Afghan National Army .
• July 30 - The last old-style Volkswagen Beetle rolls off its production line in Puebla, Mexico .

August

• August 1 - Homicidebomber rams truck filled with explosives into a military hospital near Chechnya , killing 50 people, including Russian troops wounded in Chechnya .
• August 2 - The UnitedNations authorizes an international peacekeeping force for Liberia .
• August 2 - Scientists announce that the ozone layer may be showing signs of recovery due to an international ban on chlorofluorocarbons . [2]
• August 11 - NATO takes over command ofthe peacekeepingforce in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
• August 11 - JemaahIslamiah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali , is arrested in Bangkok , Thailand .
• August 14 - Widespread power outage affects northeast United States and Canada.
• August 25 - 52 killed in two bomb blasts in Mumbai , India .
• August 27 - Perigee of Mars

September-October

• September 5 - Roller coaster accident at Disneyland injures 10 and killsone.
• 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 16 - Two homicide 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 islaunched.
• October 18 - 2003 World Series stars Florida Marlins vs. New York Yankees .
• October 24 - Concorde makesits last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonictravel to a close, at least for the time being.
• October 25 - 2003 World Series ends Florida Marlins def New York Yankees 4 games to 2.
• October 31 - Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia after22 years in power.

November

• November 9 - Lunareclipse ( 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 atleast 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 ofmassive protests.
• November 18 - Goodridge et al.v. Department of Public Health rules anti- same-sex marriage laws unconstitutional in Massachusetts
• 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 yearjail term.
• November 22 - England winsthe Rugby Union World Cup defeating Australia 20-17 afterextra time.
• November 23 - Beleaguered Georgian president EduardShevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed 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 AlMegrahi , the Libyan convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland .
• November 26 - Last ever flight by Concorde .

December

• December 1 - The use of hand-held mobile phones while driving is made illegal in England , Wales and Scotland .
• December 1 - Boeing chairman andCEO Phil Condit resignsunexpectedly. He is replaced by Lewis Platt as non-executive chairman and Harry Stonecipher as president and CEO.
• December 5 - Homicide bombing on commuter train in southern Russia kills 44people. President Vladimir Putin condemns attack as bid to destabilizethe country two days before Parliamentary election .
• December 7 - Parliamentary election in Russia .
• December 9 - Female homicide bomber blows herself up outside Moscow's National Hotel, across from the Kremlin and Red Square , killing five bystanders.
• December 12 - PaulMartin becomes the 21st Prime Minister ofCanada
• December 12 - Olympic Airlines , Greece 's new flag carrier is launched.
• December 13 - Saddam Hussein , former President of Iraq , iscaptured 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 100th birthday of aviation.
• December 18 - The Soham Murder Trial ends at the Old Bailey in London with Ian Huntley found guilty of twocounts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
• December 20 - Libya admits thatit was building a nuclear bomb .
• December 22 - An earthquake shakes up California , killing two people.
• December 22 - Parmalat isfirst 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 - A terrier belonging to Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal attacks and kills a corgi belonging to Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal Family gather at Sandringham for Christmas .
• December 24 - A BSE outbreak in Washington state isannounced. Several countries including Brazil , Australia and Taiwan place a ban on the import ofbeef from the United States of America .
• December 24 - At the request of the US Embassy in Paris, the French Government orders Air France to cancelseveral flights between France and the US in response to terrorist concerns.
• December 24 - The Spanish policethwarts 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 BritishCommonwealth 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 isscheduled to land on Mars, but nothing is heard from the lander.
• December 25 - The President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan , escapes the secondassassination attempt in two weeks.
• December 26 - A massive earthquake devastates southeastern Iran . Over 40,000 people are reportedto 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.

Births

• May 23 - Dewey , the first cloned deer .
• May 28 - Prometea , the first cloned horse .
• October 28 - Beatrice Milly McCartney, daughter of Sir Paul McCartney and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney .
• November 8 - Lady Louise Windsor , daughter of Their Royal Highnesses The Earl and Countess of Wessex .
• December 7 - Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands , first daughter of Prince Willem-Alexander ofthe Netherlands .

Deaths

For more deaths see: Deaths in 2003

January

• January 5 - Roy Jenkins ,British politician
• January 11 - MickeyFinn , bongoist with Marc Bolan in T.Rex
• January 12 - Leopoldo Galtieri , Argentine dictator
• January 12 - MauriceGibb , Anglo-Australian musician, one-third of the Bee Gees
• January 15 - Gladys Kamakakuokalani Ainoa Brandt , a pioneering Hawaiian educator, fought for nativeHawaiian rights
• January 18 - RichardCrenna , actor
• January 24 - GianniAgnelli , Fiat president
• January 26 - ValeriyBrumel , Soviet athlete
• January 26 - George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie , British politician (b. 1931 )

February

• February 1 - The crew of STS-107 ; Michael P. Anderson , David M. Brown , KalpanaChawla , Laurel Clark , Rick D. Husband , Willie McCool , Ilan Ramon
• February 14 - Dolly the sheep , the world's first cloned mammal
• February 16 - Aleksandar Tisma , 79, Serbianauthor
• February 24 - Christopher Hill , 92, historian
• February 27 - FredMcFeely Rogers , 74, "Mister Rogers" of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
• February 28 - Roger Michael Needham , 68, professor of cryptography at Cambridge University

March-April

• March 1 - Fidel Sánchez Hernández , former president of ElSalvador ( 1967 - 1972 ) (b. 1917 )
• March 8 - Adam Faith , Englishsinger and actor
• March 9 - Stan Brakhage ,filmmaker
• March 9 - BernardDowiyogo , former president of Nauru (born 1946 )
• March 12 - ZoranDjindjic , Prime Minister of Serbia (assassinated)
• March 16 - RachelCorrie , American activist, member of the International Solidarity Movement .
• March 23 - Fritz Spiegl ,journalist
• March 26 - Daniel Patrick Moynihan , UnitedStates Senator
• March 29 - Carlo Urbani ,WHO doctor who discovered SARS.
• April 1 - Leslie Cheung ,46, Hong Kong singer/actor
• April 1 - Hyosuke Kujiraoka , 87, a former vice speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan
• April 17 - Dr. Robert Atkins , 72, developed the Atkins Nutritional Approach
• April 18 - Daijiro Kato ,MotoGP racer.
• April 22 - MichaelLarrabee , American athlete (b. 1933 )
• April 25 - Samson Kitur ,Kenyan athlete

May

• May 5 - Walter Sisulu ,anti-apartheid activist
• May 14 - DaveDeBusschere , NBA basketball player and team executive, Basketball Hall of Famer
• May 15 - BenedictJablonski , co-creator of The Hugo Award trophy
• May 18 - Barb Tarbox ,anti-smoking activist
• May 28 - Oleg Makarov , cosmonaut
• May 28 - Ilya Prigogine ,winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1977
• May 28 - Martha Scott ,American actress

June

• June 2 - Fred Blassie , former professional wrestler
• June 3 - Felix deWeldon , sculptor
• June 5 - JürgenMöllemann , German politician
• June 10 - Donald Regan ,Chief of Staff and Treasury Secretary during the Reagan administration
• June 11 - DavidBrinkley , broadcast journalist
• June 12 - Gregory Peck ,actor
• June 15 - Hume Cronyn , stageand film actor
• June 18 - Larry Doby , Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1923 )
• June 21 - Roger Neilson , National Hockey League coach
• June 26 - Sir DenisThatcher , husband of The Baroness Thatcher , former UK Prime Minister
• June 26 - StromThurmond , United States Senator
• June 26 - Marc-VivienFoé , Cameroon football player
• June 29 - KatharineHepburn , American actress

July-August

• July 1 - N!xau , Namibian actor ( The Gods Must BeCrazy )
• July 4 - Barry White ,singer
• July 6 - Buddy Ebsen , American actor
• July 16 - Carol Shields ,Canadian author
• July 22 - Uday Hussein ,Iraqi military leader; eldest son of Saddam Hussein
• July 22 - Qusay Hussein ,Iraqi military leader, younger son of Saddam Hussein
• July 25 - JohnSchlesinger , film director
• July 27 - Bob Hope , Anglo-Americancomedian, actor
• August 9 - GregoryHines , tap dancer, actor
• August 15 - Idi Amin , Ugandan dictator
• August 19 - Sérgio Vieira de Mello , Brazilian diplomat and statesman
• August 21 - WesleyWillis , American musician
• August 30 - CharlesBronson , actor

September

• September 4 - Tibor Varga , violinist , conductor andpedagogue (born 1921)
• September 7 - WarrenZevon , American musician-songwriter
• September 8 - Leni Riefenstahl , 101, German filmmaker
• September 9 - EdwardTeller , American physicist, "Father of the H-Bomb"
• September 11 - AnnaLindh , Swedish foreign minister (assassinated)
• September 12 - JohnnyCash , American musician
• September 12 - JohnRitter , American actor
• September 22 - GordonJump , actor, "Maytag Repairman"
• September 25 - EdwardSaid , Palestinian literary theorist and activist ( leukemia )
• September 25 - George Plimpton , American " Renaissanceman "
• September 26 - Robert Palmer , British singer
• September 28 - Althea Gibson , African-American tennis and golf pioneer
• September 28 - EliaKazan , American movie director

October

• October 5 - Sid McMath , American former Governor of Arkansas
• October 5 - Dan Snyder , Atlanta Thrashers NHL hockey player
• October 10 - EugeneIstomin , pianist
• October 12 - BillShoemaker , jockey
• October 14 - Patrick Dalzel-Job , inspiration for Ian Fleming 's James Bond
• October 15 - Bertram N. Brockhouse , Canadian physicist
• October 18 - Preston Smith , Governor of Texas (b. 1912 )
• October 19 - FaithFancher , television journalist and breast cancer awareness activist,53 years
• October 19 - Alija Izetbegovic , Bosnian politician and president
• October 21 - ElliottSmith , American musician-songwriter
• October 23 - SoongMay-ling , widow of Chiang Kai-shek
• October 27 - Rod Roddy ,game show announcer ( The Price is Right )
• October 31 - Richard Neustadt , political historian

November-December

• November 5 - BobbyHatfield , American musician, one-half of the RighteousBrothers
• November 6 - RieMastenbroek , Dutch swimmer
• November 9 - Art Carney ,American actor
• November 12 - Jonathan Brandis , American actor
• November 13 - Kellie Waymire , actress ( Star Trek:Enterprise ) (b. 1967 )
• November 20 - RogerShort , the British Consulate General in Istanbul , Turkey
• November 24 - WarrenSpahn , Baseball Hall of Famer (b. 1921 )
• November 30 - Gertrude Ederle , American swimmer
• December 2 - AlanDavidson , author
• December 3 - DavidHemmings , British actor
• December 13 - Keiko , the Killer Whale in the " Free Willy " movies
• December 15 - Johnny Cunningham , Scottishmusician, member of SillyWizard
• December 16 - Robert Stanfield , Canadian politician
• December 19 - HopeLange , American actress
• December 24 -
• December 26 - Sir AlanBates , British actor
• December 27 - BobMonkhouse
• December 28 - Dinsdale Landen , British actor
• December 30 - Anita Mui ,40, Hong Kong actress

Nobel Prizes

• Physics :
  • Alexei Alexeevich Abrikosov , Russia andUnited States
  • Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg , Russia
  • Anthony James Leggett , United Kingdom and UnitedStates, "for pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids "
• Chemistry :
  • Peter Agre , United States "fordiscoveries concerning channels in cell membranes", "for the discovery of water channels"
  • Roderick MacKinnon , United States "for structural andmechanistic studies of ion channels"
• Physiology orMedicine :
  • Paul Lauterbur , United States
  • Sir Peter Mansfield , United Kingdom "for their discoveriesconcerning magnetic resonance imaging "
• Literature :
  • John Maxwell Coetzee , South Africa , "who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider"
• Peace :
  • Shirin Ebadi , Iran "for herefforts for democracy and human rights"
• Economics :
  • Robert F. Engle , UnitedStates "for methods of analyzing economic time series with time-varying volatility"
  • Clive W. J. Granger , United Kingdom "for methods ofanalyzing economic time series with common trends"

Government, Religious, and Intl. Org. Leaders

• List of state leaders in 2003
• List of religious leaders in2003
• List of international organization leaders in 2003

External links

• 2003 Year in Review - comprehensive listing of 2003 reviews andlists
• 2003 Year-End Google Zeitgeist - Google's Yearly List of Major Events and TopSearches for 2003