2003 in the United States

Incumbents

Federal government

• President: George W. Bush
• Vice President: Dick Cheney
• Chief Justice: William Rehnquist
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert
• Senate Majority Leader: Tom Daschle , Bill Frist
• Congress: 107th, 108th

  Governors

Lieutenant governors

Events

January

• January - Sky marshals are introduced on U.S. airlines in an attempt to prevent hijackings.
• January 3
• * The 108th United States Congress is sworn in, including incoming freshmen Senators Saxby Chambliss, Lindsey Graham, John Sununu, Lamar Alexander, Elizabeth Dole, Norm Coleman, and Mark Pryor.
• * The Ohio State University defeats the University of Miami in double-overtime in the Fiesta Bowl, 31–24, for the national Bowl Championship Series title.
• January 8 - US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people aboard.
• January 15 - Eldred v. Ashcroft: The Supreme Court of the United States allows the extension of copyright terms in the U.S.
• January 16 - STS-107: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on what turns out to be its last flight.
• January 23 - The last signal is received from NASA's Pioneer 10 spacecraft, some 7.5 billion miles from Earth.
• January 24 - The newly created United States Department of Homeland Security begins operation.
• January 25 - An international group of volunteers leaves London for Baghdad to act as voluntary human shields, hoping to avert a U.S. invasion.
• January 26 - Super Bowl XXXVII: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Oakland Raiders 48-21.
• January 30 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The leaders of the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain release a statement demonstrating support for the United States' plans to invade Iraq.

  February

• February 1 - STS-107: Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon re-entry, killing all seven astronauts on board.
• February 3 - John W. Snow is sworn in as the new Secretary of Treasury, succeeding Paul O'Neill.
• February 5 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addresses the UN Security Council on Iraq.
• February 7 - An unsuccessful attempt is made to contact Pioneer 10.
• February 20 - The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island claims the lives of 100 people.
• February 27 - Fred Rogers, host of the children's television show Mister Rogers Neighborhood, dies of stomach cancer at the age of 74.

  March

• March 1
• * The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs Service, and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
• * The Turkish parliament vetoes U.S. troop access to airbases in Turkey in order to attack Iraq from the north. The Bush administration starts working on Plan B, namely attacking Iraq from the south, through the Persian Gulf.
• March 5 - Lockyer v. Andrade, Ewing v. California: In two separate opinions, the Supreme Court of the United States, by 5–4 margins, upholds California's "three strikes" law.
• March 11 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi fighters threaten two U.S. U-2 surveillance planes, on missions for U.N. weapons inspectors, forcing them to abort their mission and return to base.
• 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 March 17 the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or 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 18
• * FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama, on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.
• * About $1 billion is taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States begins bombing Iraq.
• March 19 - The first American bombs drop on Baghdad after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not comply with U.S. President George W. Bush's 48-hour mandate demanding their exit from Iraq.
• March 20 - The US-led Iraq War begins.
• 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
• *Hasan Akbar, a Muslim soldier with the 101st Airborne, kills two fellow soldiers in a grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.
• * The 75th Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Steve Martin, is held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Chicago wins Best Picture.
• March 30 - Meigs Field Airport in Chicago, Illinois, is demolished overnight.

  April

• April 3 - U.S. forces seize control of Saddam International Airport, changing the airport's name to Baghdad International Airport.
• April 3-12 - Iraq War: US forces defeat the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Battle of Baghdad.
• April 9 - Iraq War: U.S. forces seize control of Baghdad, ending the regime of Saddam Hussein.
• April 13
• *Iraq War: Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit falls to U.S. forces.
• * President George W. Bush accuses Syria of possessing chemical weapons.
• April 21 - Retired U.S. Army General Jay Garner becomes Interim Civil Administrator of Iraq.
• April 29 - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld confirms that U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Saudi Arabia where they have been stationed since the 1991 Gulf War.

  May

• May 1 - U.S. president George W. Bush lands on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where he gives a speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. A banner behind him declares "Mission Accomplished".
• May 3 - The Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation in New Hampshire, crumbles after heavy rain.
• May 4 - Top Thrill Dragster opens in Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio as the world's tallest, fastest roller coaster.
• May 4-10 - A major severe weather outbreak spawns more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history; 393 tornadoes are reported in 19 states.
• May 23 - Dewey, the first deer cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University, is born.
• May 25 - After docking in Miami at 05:00, the SS Norway is severely damaged by a boiler explosion at 06:30, killing seven and injuring 17 crew members. A few weeks later it is announced by Norwegian Cruise Line that she will never sail again as a commercial ocean liner.
• May 28 - President George W. Bush authorizes $350 billion worth of tax cuts over 10 years.
• May 31 - Eric Rudolph, suspected in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996, is captured in Murphy, North Carolina.

  June

• June - As a result of the early 2000s recession, as well as the jobless recovery that followed, unemployment peaks at 6.3%, the highest since April 1994.
• June 4 - Martha Stewart and her broker are indicted for using privileged investment information and then obstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigns as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living.
• June 14 - Ennis shooting: A gunman goes on a shooting spree in Madison County, Montana. The gunman kills one man and injures six others, before being involved in a chase and shootout with responding police. He is sentenced to 11 life terms, the longest prison sentence in Montana state history.
• June 19 - The US Census Bureau announces that with 37 million, Hispanics constitute the largest minority in the USA.
• June 22 - The largest hailstone ever recorded falls in Aurora, Nebraska.
• June 23 - Grutter v. Bollinger: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds affirmative action in university admissions.
• June 26
• * A senior Department of State chemical and biological weapons expert testifies to the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee that he was pressured to modify intelligence reports about Iraq.
• * Lawrence v. Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court declares sodomy laws unconstitutional.
• June 29 - A balcony collapse in Chicago kills 13.
• June 30 - In Irvine, California, Joseph Hunter Parker kills two Albertsons employees with a sword, before being shot to death by the police.

  July

• July 8 - Douglas Williams goes on a shooting rampage in a Lockheed Martin plant in Meridian, Mississippi, killing six and injuring eight before committing suicide.
• July 14 - CIA leak scandal: The Washington Post columnist Robert Novak publishes the name of Valerie Plame, blowing her cover as a CIA operative.
• July 22 - Uday and Qusay Hussein, sons of Saddam Hussein, are killed by the U.S. military in Iraq, after being tipped off by an informant.
• July 26 - The electorate of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma approves a new constitution re-designating the tribe "Cherokee Nation" without "of Oklahoma" and specifically disenfranchising the Cherokee Freedmen.

  August

• August 14 - A widespread power outage affects the northeastern United States and South-Central Canada.
• August 25 - The Spitzer Space Telescope was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, during Delta II.
• August 28 - Brian Douglas Wells, a pizza delivery man in Erie, Pennsylvania, is killed after a bomb fastened around his neck explodes. Wells was forced to rob a bank with the bomb collar on before it was detonated remotely.

  September

• September 7 - President Bush announces a request for $87 billion from Congress for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• September 12 - Paola Duarte-Garcia was born in Tacoma
• September 17 - President Bush concedes there is no evidence linking Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• September 18 - Hurricane Isabel makes landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane on North Carolina's Outer Banks. It directly kills 16 people in the Mid–Atlantic area.
• September 29 - Jaidyn Smith was born in Corona, California

  October

• October 7 - 2003 California recall: Voters recall Governor Gray Davis from office and elect actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him.
• October 9 - The redesigned $20 bill is first released, containing many new security features not found in older bills.
• October 10 - Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh publicly admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killers, and will seek treatment.
• October 15 - The 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash kills 11 after one of its ferries slams into a pier.
• October 25
• * The Florida Marlins defeat the New York Yankees to win their second World Series title.
• * The Cedar Fire begins in San Diego County, burning 280,000 acres, 2,232 homes and killing 14.

  November

• November 18
• * The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, rules anti-gay laws against same-sex marriage unconstitutional in Massachusetts.
• * U.S. President George W. Bush makes a state visit to London in the midst of massive anti-war protests.
• November 20 - Iraq War: End of Operation Iron Hammer, an attempt to end the Iraq insurgency.

  December

• 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 13 - Iraq War: End of Operation Red Dawn resulting in the capture of Saddam Hussein in Tikrit.
• December 19 - After being arrested, Guatemalan Ricardo Alfonso Cerna commits suicide at a police station in San Bernardino County, California by shooting himself in the head with a concealed handgun.
• December 22 - The 6.6 San Simeon earthquake shook the central coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII, leaving two dead and 40 injured, and causing $250–300 million in damage.
• December 24
• * At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the French government orders Air France to cancel several flights between France and the U.S. in response to terrorism concerns.
• * A BSE outbreak in Washington state is announced. Several countries including Brazil, Australia, and Taiwan ban the import of beef from the United States.
• December 31 - British Airways Flight 223, a Boeing 747-400 flying from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles, is held for security checks after landing in Washington, D.C. due to intelligence suggesting a terrorist threat.

  Ongoing

• Iraqi no-fly zones
• War in Afghanistan
• Iraq War

  Births">:Category:2003 births">Births

• July 13 - Wyatt Oleff, child actor

  Deaths">:Category:2003 deaths">Deaths

January">January 2003 deaths">January

• January 3 - Sid Gillman, American football player, coach and executive
• January 4 - Sabine Ulibarrí, poet and critic
• January 11 - Richard Simmons, actor
• January 12 - Dean Amadon, ornithologist
• January 15 - Doris Fisher, singer and songwriter
• January 17 - Richard Crenna, actor
• January 20
• * Al Hirschfeld, cartoonist
• * Craig Kelly, snowboarder
• January 23 - Nell Carter, singer and actress
• January 29 - Frank Moss, former United States Senator from Utah

  February">February 2003 deaths">February

• February 1 – crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-107:
• February 2 – Lou Harrison, American composer
• February 10
• * Edgar de Evia, Mexican-born American photographer
• * Ron Ziegler, White House Press Secretary
• * Curt Hennig, American wrestler
• February 16 – Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley
• February 19 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer and songwriter
• February 20 – Orville Freeman, 29th Governor of Minnesota from 1955 through1959
• February 21 – Julie Mitchum, American actress
• February 23 – Howie Epstein, American musician and producer
• February 27 – Fred Rogers, American educator, minister, songwriter, writer, and television host

  March">March 2003 deaths">March

• March 2 – Hank Ballard, American singer and songwriter
• March 3 – Ann A. Bernatitus, American U.S. Navy nurse
• March 9 – Stan Brakhage, American filmmaker
• March 12
• * Howard Fast, American novelist
• * Lynne Thigpen, American actress
• March 14 – Amanda Davis, American writer and teacher
• March 16 – Rachel Corrie, American activist and diarist
• March 20 – Sailor Art Thomas, American bodybuilder and wrestler
• March 22 – Milton G. Henschel, American minister and executive
• March 26 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American politician
• March 30 – Michael Jeter, American actor
• March 31 - Anne Gwynne, American actress

  April">April 2003 deaths">April

• April 2 – Edwin Starr American soul singer
• April 4 – Anthony Caruso, American actor
• April 8 – Bing Russell, American actor
• April 11 – Cecil Howard Green, British-American geophysicist and businessman
• April 17
• * Robert Atkins, American physician
• * Paul Getty, American-born British philanthropist
• * Earl King, American singer, songwriter, and guitarist
• April 20 – Ruth Hale, writer and actress
• April 21 – Nina Simone, American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist
• April 22 – Mike Larrabee, American Olympic athlete
• April 26 – Peter Stone, American screenwriter

  May">Deaths in May 2003">May

• May 1 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestling manager and valet
• May 3 – Suzy Parker, American model and actress
• May 9
• * Carmen Filpi, American actor
• * Russell B. Long, American politician
• May 14 – Robert Stack, American actor and television host
• May 15 – June Carter Cash, American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedian, and writer
• May 17 – Pop Ivy, American-Canadian football player and coach
• May 26 – Kathleen Winsor, American writer
• May 28 – Martha Scott, American actress

  June">Deaths in June 2003">June

• June 2
• * Fred Blassie, American wrestler and manager
• * Dick Cusack, American actor, filmmaker and humorist
• * Burke Marshall, American civil rights lawyer
• June 6 – Ken Grimwood, American writer
• June 10 – Donald Regan, 66th United States Secretary
• June 11 – David Brinkley, American television journalist
• June 12 – Gregory Peck, American actor
• June 14 – Jimmy Knepper, American musician
• June 15 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor
• June 18 – Larry Doby, American baseball player and manager
• June 20 – Bob Stump, American politician
• June 21 – Leon Uris, American writer
• June 23 – Maynard Jackson, American politician
• June 25 – Lester Maddox, American politician
• June 26 – Strom Thurmond, American politician
• June 29 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress
• June 30 – Buddy Hackett, American comedian and actor

  July">Deaths in July 2003">July

• July 1 – Herbie Mann, musician
• July 4 – Barry White, singer and songwriter
• July 6 – Buddy Ebsen, actor and dancer
• July 12 – Benny Carter, musician
• July 15 – Tex Schramm, American football executive
• July 16
• * Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer
• * Carol Shields, American-born Canadian writer
• July 17 – Rosalyn Tureck, pianist and harpsichordist
• July 25 – Erik Brann, American musician
• July 27 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian
• July 28 – Greg Guidry, American singer-songwriter
• July 30 – Sam Phillips, record producer

  August">August 2003 deaths">August

• August 3 – Roger Voudouris, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• August 4 – Frederick Chapman Robbins, American Nobel pediatrician and virologist
• August 6 – Julius Baker, American flute player
• August 9 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer
• August 11 – Herb Brooks, American hockey player and coach
• August 21 – Wesley Willis, American musician
• August 23 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player
• August 26 – Wilma Burgess, American country musician
• August 28 – Brian Douglas Wells, criminal and murder victim
• August 30 – Charles Bronson, American actor

  September">September 2003 deaths">September

• September 1
• * Rand Brooks, American actor
• * John Gould, American humorist, essayist, and columnist
• September 3 – Ma Dunjing, Chinese General, died in Los Angeles, California
• September 6 – Harry Goz, American actor
• September 7 – Warren Zevon, American singer, songwriter, and musician
• September 9
• * Larry Hovis, American actor
• * Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist
• September 11 – John Ritter, American actor and comedian
• September 12 – Johnny Cash, American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor
• September 13 – Frank O'Bannon, 47th Governor of Indiana from 1997 till 2003.
• September 14 – John Serry Sr., Italian-American musician
• September 16 – Sheb Wooley, American actor, singer, and songwriter
• September 22 – Gordon Jump, American actor
• September 25
• * Franco Modigliani, Italian-American Nobel economist
• * George Plimpton, American journalist, writer, and actor
• * Edward Said, Palestinian-American literary critic
• September 26 – Shawn Lane, American musician
• September 27 – Donald O'Connor, American actor, singer, and dancer
• September 28
• * Althea Gibson, American tennis player
• * Elia Kazan, Greek-American director
• September 30 – Robert Kardashian, American attorney and businessman

  October">October 2003 deaths">October

• October 3 – William Steig, American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer
• October 5
• * Neil Postman, American writer, media theorist, and cultural critic
• * Timothy Treadwell, American enthusiast, environmentalist, amateur naturalist, and documentary film maker
• October 7 – Ellen Cannon Reed, American witch and writer
• October 10 – Eugene Istomin, American pianist
• October 12 – Willie Shoemaker, American jockey
• October 17 – Janice Rule, American actress
• October 19 – Road Warrior Hawk, American professional wrestler
• October 20 – Jack Elam, American actor
• October 21
• * Fred Berry, American actor
• * Elliott Smith, American singer, songwriter, and musician
• October 22 – Tony Renna, American race car driver
• October 25 – Robert Strassburg, American conductor, composer, musicologist, and music educator
• October 27 – Rod Roddy, American television announcer
• October 29 – Hal Clement, American writer
• October 31 – Richard Neustadt, American political scientist

  November">November 2003 deaths">November

• November 5
• * Dorothy Fay, American actress
• * Bobby Hatfield, American singer
• November 6
• * Crash Holly, American wrestler
• * Spider Jorgensen, American baseball player and coach
• November 9 – Art Carney, American actor
• November 10 – Irv Kupcinet, American columnist and television personality
• November 12
• * Jonathan Brandis, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• * Kay E. Kuter, American actor
• * Penny Singleton, American actress
• November 13 – Kellie Waymire, American actress
• November 14 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer
• November 15
• * Dorothy Loudon, American actress and singer
• * Laurence Tisch, American businessman, co-founded the Loews Corporation
• * Speedy West, American guitarist and producer
• November 17 – Don Gibson, American country musician
• November 18
• * Patricia Broderick, American playwright and painter
• * Michael Kamen, American composer, conductor, and songwriter
• November 20 – Jim Siedow, American actor
• November 24 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player
• November 26 – Soulja Slim, American rapper, songwriter, and murder victim
• November 30 – Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer

  December">December 2003 deaths">December

• December 3 – Ellen Drew, American actress
• December 4 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver
• December 7
• * Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher
• * Azie Taylor Morton, 36th Treasurer of the United States
• December 9 – Paul Simon, American politician
• December 13 – William Roth, American politician
• December 14 – Jeanne Crain, American actress
• December 15 – George Fisher, American political cartoonist
• December 16 – Gary Stewart, American singer, songwriter, and musician
• December 17 – Otto Graham, American football player and coach
• December 19 – Hope Lange, American actress
• December 22 – Dave Dudley, American singer
• December 27
• * Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
• * Pete Alvarado, American animator and comic book artist
• December 29 – Earl Hindman, American actor
• December 30 – John Gregory Dunne, American writer, screenwriter, literary critic, and journalist