This Year in History:
2003
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
On January 22, 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau releases detailed statistics on race and ethnicity, the first time such numbers had been released since the 2000 census. The numbers showed…
On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia breaks up while entering the atmosphere over Texas, killing all seven crew members on board. The Columbia‘s 28th space mission, designated STS‑107,…
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell gives a speech to the United Nations that is both highly consequential and full of fabrications on February 5, 2003. Using talking points that…
On February 18, 2003, a man ignites a gasoline‑filled container inside a subway train in Daegu, South Korea. The blaze engulfed the six‑car train, before spreading to another train that…
A fire at a rock concert in a West Warwick, Rhode Island, nightclub kills 100 people and seriously injures almost 200 more on February 20, 2003. It was the deadliest…
In response to the critical comments made about him by singer Natalie Maines in the run‑up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, President George W. Bush offered this response: “The…
On March 12, 2003, 15‑year‑old Elizabeth Smart is finally found in Sandy, Utah, nine months after being abducted from her family’s home. Her alleged kidnappers, Brian David Mitchell, a drifter…
An Israeli‑owned bulldozer kills 23‑year‑old American woman Rachel Corrie on March 16, 2003, as she protests a demolition campaign that destroyed over a thousand homes in the Gaza Strip. Following the…
On March 19, 2003, the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, U.S.…
On April 9, 2003, just three weeks into the invasion of Iraq, U.S. forces pull down a bronze statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad’s Firdos Square, symbolizing the end of…
Some 35 U.S. states declare it to be Bob Hope Day on May 29, 2003, when the iconic comedic actor and entertainer turns 100 years old. In a public ceremony…
For domestic guru and media mogul Martha Stewart, known for her “good things” tips and tricks, things turn very bad when a federal grand jury serves her and her former…
Strom Thurmond, who served in the United States Senate for a record 46 years, dies on June 26, 2003. Thurmond’s long and controversial political career had ended with his retirement…
On June 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Texas’ sodomy laws, along with similar laws in 13 other states. The decision in Lawrence v. Texas is a landmark one,…
On June 29, 2003, Katharine Hepburn—a four‑time Academy Award winner for Best Actress and one of the greatest screen legends of Hollywood’s golden era—dies of natural causes at the age…
A female employee at a Colorado resort goes to police to file sexual misconduct charges against basketball star Kobe Bryant on July 1, 2003. A few days later, an arrest…
On July 5, 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) announces that all person‑to‑person transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has ceased. In the previous eight months, the disease had…
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s sons, Qusay and Uday Hussein, are killed after a three‑hour firefight with U.S. forces in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. It is widely believed…
On July 22, 2003, U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch, a prisoner‑of‑war who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital, receives a hero’s welcome when she returns to her hometown of Palestine,…
On July 30, 2003, the last of 21,529,464 Volkswagen Beetles built since World War II rolls off the production line at Volkswagen’s plant in Puebla, Mexico. One of a 3,000‑unit…
