2003

Millennium:	3rd millennium
Centuries:	20th century – 21st century – 22nd century
Decades:	1970s  1980s  1990s  – 2000s –  2010s  2020s  2030s
Years:	2000 2001 2002 – 2003 – 2004 2005 2006

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

• January 1 – Pascal Couchepin becomes President of the Confederation in Switzerland.
• February 1 – Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed during re-entry. All seven astronauts on board died.
• February 4 the Hindu minority of Bnagladesh declare the sovereign state of Bangabhumi, recognised by UNPO.
• July 10 – Wikibooks, a project of the Wikimedia Foundation, was created.
• October 30 – Wicked has its first show at the Gershwin Theatre in Broadway.

Nobel prize winners

• Chemistry – Peter Agre
• Chemistry – Roderick MacKinnon
• Economics – Robert F. Engle III
• Economics – Clive W.J. Granger
• Literature – J. M. Coetzee
• Medicine – Paul C. Lauterbur
• Medicine – Sir Peter Mansfield
• Peace – Shirin Ebadi
• Physics – Alexei A. Abrikosov
• Physics – Vitaly L. Ginzburg
• Physics – Anthony J. Leggett

Deaths

• January 12 – Maurice Gibb, British musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
• January 17 - Richard Crenna, American actor (b. 1926)
• January 20 – Al Hirschfeld, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
• February 1 – Crew of Space Shuttle Columbia: Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, Laurel Clark
• February 27 – Fred Rogers, American children's television host (b. 1928)
• June 12 – Gregory Peck, American actor (b. 1916)
• June 26 – Strom Thurmond, U.S. Senator (b. 1902)
• June 29 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (b. 1907)
• July 25 – John Schlesinger, English movie director (b. 1926)
• August 16 – Idi Amin, Ugandan dictator
• September 12 – Johnny Cash, American singer and guitarist (b. 1932)
• September 23 – Shawn Lane, American musician

Movies released

• Brother Bear
• Cheaper by the Dozen
• The Cunning Little Vixen, animated version of Leoš Janáček's opera by BBC – (movie only mentioned in article)
• Finding Nemo – Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
• Kill Bill Vol. 1
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, directed by Peter Jackson – Academy, Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for Best Picture
• Monster, starring Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

New books

• The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J. K. Rowling

Hit Songs

• American Life – Madonna
• Toxic – Britney Spears
• Milkshake - Kelis
• In da Club – 50 Cent
• Damaged – TLC
• Dangerously in Love, Part II – Beyoncé
• Low – Kelly Clarkson
• Someday – Nickelback
• Numb – Linkin Park
• Travelin' Soldier – Dixie Chicks
• Forever and for Always – Shania Twain