2003 will forever be remembered as the year the U.S. invaded Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction, ones that turned out not to exist.
Still, the year wasn’t without its milestones. The U.S. did manage to capture Saddam Hussein, and in a strange act of patriotism, some Americans even started calling French fries “freedom fries.”
Meanwhile, tragedy struck when the Columbia space shuttle disintegrated during re-entry, and aviation history closed a chapter as the legendary Concorde planes took their final flights after a remarkable 35-year run.
But let’s be honest, most of us were probably way more focused on re-shuffling our top eight friends on MySpace. 2003 also saw the launch of iTunes, finally allowing us to fill our iPods with carefully curated playlists to blast on our chunky white earbuds.
Pop culture didn’t disappoint either, delivering “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” “Finding Nemo,” and “The Matrix Reloaded” all in one year!
Oh, and, in one of the more surprising political twists, Arnold Schwarzenegger went from action hero to actual governor of California.
Continue reading to delve into the events, news, music, quotes, and famous people’s deaths that shaped 2003.
Historical Events
Prepare to be enthralled by the fascinating stories behind the significant events that unfolded throughout the year 2003.
January 2003
Jan 16
The Columbia space shuttle took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for its final time.
Its final mission, STS-107, was to conduct several important international science experiments in space. But, unfortunately, during re-entry on February 1, the Columbia space shuttle broke up during flight, killing all seven crew members.
Jan 23
The last signal from the Pioneer 10 space probe was received.
The Pioneer 10 space probe launched from Cape Canaveral on March 3, 1972, on a mission to Jupiter. After becoming the first spacecraft to complete a mission to Jupiter, it used the planet's gravitational field to slingshot out of the solar system, becoming one of the first five artificial objects to go beyond the solar system's edge. Communication with the probe was ultimately lost due to a loss of power to the radio transmitter. Pioneer 10 was already 7.46 billion miles (12 billion km) from Earth by this point.
February 2003
Feb 20
The Station nightclub in Rhode Island burned down, killing 100 people.
The fire started when Great White's pyrotechnics went out of control, igniting acoustic foam surrounding the stage and ceiling. One hundred people were killed, and another 230 people were injured.
March 2003
Mar 19
The Second Iraq War began after an airstrike took place in the country by combined US and British forces.
Mar 20
Ground troops from the USA, UK, Australia, and Poland invaded Iraq.
The invasion of Iraq was justified on the grounds that Iraq was illegally manufacturing and harboring weapons of mass destruction. Air raids pre-empted the invasion into Iraq on March 19. Approximately 130,000 troops from the US, 45,000 from the UK, 2,000 from Australia, and 194 from Poland participated in the initial invasion.
April 2003
Apr 9
US forces pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad to symbolize the end of the Iraqi president’s brutal reign.
Apr 21
American singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone died at 70 from breast cancer.
May 2003
May 28
The first-ever cloned horse was born in a natural delivery.
Additionally, it was the first cloned mammal born to its genetic mother. The foal was named Prometea, and it was created in a lab by fusing an adult skin cell and an empty egg then returning the resulting embryo to the female's womb after a few days.
June 2003
Jun 20
The Wikimedia Foundation Inc. was founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Wikimedia, a nonprofit organization, is best known for hosting Wikipedia. It was created to gather funding for various crowdsourced wiki projects such as Wikipedia and Wiktionary.
Jun 24
The USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched the NOAA-17 satellite.
NOAA-17, a polar-orbiting weather satellite, was launched atop a Titan 23G rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It functioned perfectly until it was decommissioned in April 2013. It then stayed in space until 2021, when it broke up in orbit.
Jul 5
The World Health Organization announced that the SARS outbreak was now contained.
Jul 6
The Cosmic Call 2 mission occurred at the Eupatoria Planetary Radar in western Crimea.
The radar sent a METI message to 5 stars. This was the second mission of its kind, following Cosmic Call 1 in 1999. The message is due to land at the different stars between 2036 and 2049, depending on the distance.
Jul 7
NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover launched from the Florida Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Launched aboard a Delta II rocket, the Opportunity rover landed on Mars in January 2004 for a 92-day mission. The Opportunity mission is considered one of NASA's most successful, primarily because it instead managed to operate for 5,251 days before all communication with the rover was lost after a massive sandstorm in 2018.
August 2003
Aug 14
A major blackout occurred in the Northeastern and Midwestern US along with Ontario, Canada.
The cause, which affected around 10 million people, was due to a software bug in the alarm systems at FirstEnergy.
Aug 27
Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years.
The last time it came so close is estimated to have been on September 12, 57,617 BC.
Aug 28
Half a million people in South East England were left without electricity.
The blackout caused significant disruption to transport services, and supplies weren't fully restored for up to two hours.
September 2003
Sep 21
After 14 years in space, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft was intentionally destroyed in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
The Galileo spacecraft was a space probe designed to study Jupiter and its moons. Launched on October 18, 1989, it became the first spacecraft to orbit an outer planet. Galileo's mission was initially planned to last eight years but managed to keep functioning until it all but ran out of fuel. It was only due to this that it was crashed into Jupiter's atmosphere, as it would not be able to be controlled anymore without fuel.
Sep 22
The European Space Agency integrated its SMART-1 spacecraft with its dedicated launching rocket.
SMART-1 was the first spacecraft in the ESA's series of Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology (SMART). The primary purpose of the SMART missions is to test new technologies in space. SMART-1 launched days later, on September 27.
Oct 24
The final commercial Concorde flight took place between New York and London Heathrow.
Oct 26
The Cedar Fire swept through San Diego County, California, destroying 2,232 homes and killing fifteen people.
The wildfire swept through 273,246 acres of land and caused more than $1.3 billion in damages.
Nov 12
A world record commercial railway train speed of 311 mph (500 kph) was achieved by Shanghai Transrapid Railway Systems.
Nov 18
The UK’s repealed anti-gay amendment, Section 28, came to a complete end in the UK.
Section 28 of the Local government Act 1986 stated authorities "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.", It was repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland and was fully repealed for the UK on this day.
Nov 18
The ban on same-sex marriage was ruled unconstitutional by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
December 2003
Dec 5
Mexican singer Thalia the “Queen of Latin Pop,” was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.
Dec 17
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was released in theaters.
The movie made $72 million on its opening weekend and became the second film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
Dec 23
A gas explosion occurred in Guoqiao, Kai, Chongqing, China.
A gas well belonging to PetroChina's Southwest Oil in the Chuandongbei gas field exploded, releasing highly toxic hydrogen sulfide. This incident killed 233 people and injured at least 9,000.
Famous Births
Take a look at this group of fascinating people born in 2003.
Age
22 years old
Born IN
California, USA
Age
22 years old
Born IN
California, USA
Age
22 years old
Born IN
Georgia, USA
Age
22 years old
Born IN
Ontario, Canada
Age
22 years old
Born IN
Oklahoma, USA
Age
22 years old
Born IN
Nebraska, USA
Famous Deaths
Here are some notable people who passed away in 2003.
1932 — 2003
Johnny Cash
American Singer Johnny Cash was born on February 26, 1932. He died on September 12, 2003, at age 71 in Tennessee, USA.
1928 — 2003
Fred Rogers
American TV Host Fred Rogers was born on March 20, 1928. He died on February 27, 2003, at age 74 in Pennsylvania, USA.
1948 — 2003
John Ritter
American Actor John Ritter was born on September 17, 1948. He died on September 11, 2003, at age 54 in California, USA.
Quotes
Explore some of the quotes that came out of 2003.
Apr 13
“Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you’re in a fight.”
Michael Jordan
(American Basketball Player)
Jul 16
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela
(South African President)
2003 in Music
2003 was a year that filled our playlists with chart-topping hits that we still can’t get enough of!
From the iconic pop hit “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z to the heartfelt ballad “White Flag” by Dido, these songs took the world by storm and had us singing along with their catchy melodies.
Get acquainted with these music highlights from 2003 that are worth knowing.
Album of the Year
Norah Jones’ enchanting jazz-infused album “Come Away with Me” captured the hearts of listeners in 2003, earning her the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Song of the Year
Norah Jones’s soothing and mesmerizing “Don’t Know Why” captivated listeners and earned her the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2003.
Best New Artist
Norah Jones’ soothing voice and jazz-influenced melodies won her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2003, enchanting listeners with her timeless sound.
Eurovision Song Contest Winner
Riga, Latvia, played host to the 48th Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, providing a stage for unique performances from all corners of Europe.
Sertab Erener, a dynamic artist from Turkey, wowed the audience with her enchanting song “Everyway That I Can,” bringing Turkey its first Eurovision victory.
2003 In Numbers
Are you ready for some fascinating number trivia? When expressed in Roman numerals, 2003 becomes MMIII, and in binary, it translates to 11111010011.
2003 is an extra special year too, as it’s a prime number! That means it can only be divided evenly by 1 and itself.
Deficient Number
Also, 2003 is referred to as a deficient number, which means that when you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into it, the total sum is less than the number itself.
So, when you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into 2003 (1), they add up to 1, which is less than 2003.
Chinese Zodiac 2003
According to the Chinese zodiac cycle, 2003 was The Year of the Goat, which occurs once every twelve years.
But did you know that the Chinese zodiac cycle also incorporates the five elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water? So this makes 2003 the Year of the Water Goat, a cycle which happens once every sixty years.
Because the Chinese calendar works from the lunar cycle, in 2003 Chinese New Year actually began on February 1st.
People born in the Year of the Goat are often gentle, calm, and compassionate individuals. They are artistic, creative, and have a deep appreciation for beauty and harmony.
Travis Scott and Dylan O’Brien, born in the Year of the Goat, have achieved fame and success in their respective fields, making them shining examples of this zodiac sign!
2004 Trivia
Did you know that in 2003, the first fossilized remains of a four-winged dinosaur were discovered?
Paleontologists working in northeastern China discovered the new flying dinosaur species, which they named “Microraptor gui.”
The Microraptor would have lived approximately 120 million years ago.
