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, the 2003rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium, the 3rd year of the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2000s decade.

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