2003
Portal history | Portal Biographies | Current events | Annual calendar
◄ |
20th century |
21st century
◄ |
1970s |
1980s |
1990s |
2000s
| 2010s
◄◄ |
◄ |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003
| 2004
| 2005
| 2006
| 2007
| ►
| ►►
Jan.
| Feb.
| March
| Apr.
| May
| Jun.
| Jul.
| Aug.
| Sep
| Oct.
| Nov.
| Dec
Heads of State · Elections · necrology · Literature Year · Movie Year · broadcast year · sports year
Events
politics
January
- January 1st : Pascal Couchepin becomes President of Switzerland .
- Angola and Germany are non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two years . January 1:
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva becomes President of Brazil . January 1st:
- January 15th : Ecuador . Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa becomes President.
- January 19 : The third direct elections to the National Assembly take place in Cuba .
- January 22nd : Parliamentary elections in the Netherlands
February
- February 1 : Germany takes over the chairmanship of the UN Security Council for one month
- February 2 : State elections in Lower Saxony and Hesse , each with clear victories for the CDU
- constitutional amendment in Kyrgyzstan February 2:
- February 4th : By resolution of parliament, Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia and Montenegro
- February 5 : Armenia joins the WTO in
- February 9 : President Vladimir Putin , Russia , and Federal President Johannes Rau , Germany, open the German-Russian Culture Days in Berlin
- February 10 : Germany and the Netherlands take over leadership of ISAF in Afghanistan
- February 11 : Bolivia . Police riot; as a result, there are mass unrest with several dead and hundreds injured
- February 15 : Around nine million people worldwide demonstrate against the impending Iraq war
- 21 February : Croatia is in Athens , Greece , the application for membership in the EU
- February 26th : Rolandas Paksas is sworn in as President of Lithuania
- February 28 : Czech Republic . Václav Klaus becomes President
March
- After the parliamentary elections in 2002, Austria had major problems finding a new government. ÖVP and FPÖ decide to reissue the black-blue coalition that failed last year
- March 1 : trade agreement between the EU and Lebanon
- Rawalpindi is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested by Pakistani security forces. He is suspected of having been the chief planner of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks . March 1: In
- March 8 : Referendum in Malta on joining the European Union .
- March 11 : Recep Tayyip Erdoğan becomes Prime Minister of Turkey .
- March 12 : Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić is ambushed and shot by snipers in front of the government building in Belgrade .
- March 14th : Business and Professional Women - Germany Club Saarbrücken e. V.
- March 16 : General elections in El Salvador
- March 16: Parliamentary elections in Finland
- March 17th : Constitutional amendment in France . Main point: decentralization of France
- March 20 : Beginning of the Third Gulf War : The government of Germany and large parts of the German population, together with France in the Iraq conflict, opposed the war policy of the USA and Great Britain . It received harsh criticism from the USA for this, but also support from Russia and China
- March 23 : Constitutional amendment in Chechnya
- March 23: 90% of the population of Slovenia vote in a referendum to join the EU
- March 24 : US President George W. Bush announces the start of the war against Iraq to the American people in a speech of just four minutes
- March 24th: In Hamburg, a demonstration consisting of 20,000 schoolchildren (“ Youth Against War ”) is violently broken up by the police after riots.
- March 26 : The NATO Accession Protocol is signed in Brussels by Estonia's Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland
April
- April 3 : Serbia and Montenegro joins the Council of Europe
- April 4 : Several hundred people in a massacre in Ituri , DRC , killed
- April 9 : US- led troops march into Baghdad , Iraq
- April 10 : Estonia . Juhan Parts becomes Prime Minister
- April 12th : In a referendum in Hungary, 83.8% vote for the planned EU accession . The turnout is 45.6%.
- April 14 : Military coup in Guinea-Bissau
- April 15 : The Palestinian terrorist Abu Abbas is captured by US soldiers in Iraq. He is wanted as the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Achille Lauro, convicted in Italy .
- April 16 : Estonia and Malta sign the EU Accession Treaty in Athens , Greece
- April 17 : Finland . Anneli Jäätteenmäki becomes head of government (for 63 days)
- April 19 : Nigeria . President Olusegun Obasanjo is confirmed in office
- April 21 : The coalition interim administration for Iraq is established
- April 27 : Third democratic elections in Yemen
- April 27: General election in Paraguay
- April 29th : Joint declaration at the Chocolates Summit in Brussels , Belgium , Germany , France , Luxembourg and Belgium on the European security and defense policy
- April 30th : Burundi . Domitien Ndayizeye becomes President
- April 30th: The residents of the Gulf State of Qatar approve the first constitution since independence from Great Britain ( 1971 )
May
- May 1st : Summit in Athens , Greece , between Japan and the EU
- George W. Bush declares that most of the fighting in Iraq has ended May 1: US President
- May 2 : Albania and the USA sign a non-extradition treaty for American citizens at the International Criminal Court in The Hague
- May 8 : Morocco Birth of Mulai Hassan , Prince of Morocco and heir to the throne of Mohammed VI.
- May 11 : In a referendum in Lithuania, 91.07% of the voters vote in favor of the country's accession to the European Union .
- May 16 : Five Islamist- motivated attacks in Casablanca cost more than 40 lives and injure over 100 people.
- 16 / May 17 : More than 90% of voters vote in a referendum in Slovakia for EU membership .
- May 25 : Argentina . After winning the election, Néstor Kirchner becomes President on April 27th
- May 25: Armenia . Election to the National Assembly
- May 26 : Rwanda . 93% approval of the new constitution
June

- June 1st : The exchange rate of the taka , national currency in Bangladesh , to the US dollar is released
- Germany the new shop closing law comes into force June 1st: In
- June 4th : Surya Bahadur Thapa becomes Prime Minister of Nepal
- June 5 : Dieter Althaus becomes Prime Minister of the Free State of Thuringia
- June 7 : Four German ISAF soldiers die in a suicide attack on a bus in Kabul
- June 8 : An attempted coup in Mauritania fails
- Poles vote in a referendum to join the EU June 8: 77% of
- June 10 : Germany . Hans Martin Bury is appointed representative for Franco-German cooperation
- June 12th : Swearing-in of the trunk cabinet in Nepal
- June 14th : In a referendum, 77.3% of the voters in the Czech Republic vote in favor of joining the European Union.
- June 17th : Parliamentary elections in Jordan
- June 24 : Finland . Matti Vanhanen becomes Prime Minister
- June 24: The US freezes the fortunes of the 55 people on the list of the most wanted former Iraqi regime members
July
- July 4th : Joint declaration to end the war in Côte d'Ivoire
- July 5 : Parliamentary elections in Kuwait
- July 6 : Sghaïr Ould M'Bareck becomes Prime Minister in Mauritania
- referendum , the majority of voters in Corsica reject the proposed reform of Corsican institutions. July 6: In a
- Mexico July 6th: Election of MPs in
- July 15 : Kuwait . Separation of the office of the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister for the first time
- July 16 : Putsch in São Tomé and Príncipe by dissatisfied soldiers while President Fradique de Menezes is abroad.
- July 23 : The coup in São Tomé and Príncipe ends peacefully. The soldiers involved withdraw to their barracks and are given amnesty - President Fradique de Menezes returns from exile in Nigeria and takes over the affairs of state again
- July 27 : Parliamentary elections in Cambodia
August
- August 5 : A car bomb explodes outside the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta , killing twelve people.
- August 8 : René Harris becomes President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in one person in Nauru .
- August 11 : The President of Liberia , Charles Taylor , goes into exile in Nigeria .
- August 11: NATO takes control of Afghan military units.
- August 15 : Nicanor Duarte Frutos becomes President of Paraguay .
- August 18 : A bilateral consolidation agreement on Angola's debts to the Federal Republic of Germany is signed.
- August 19 : A serious attack is carried out on the UN headquarters in Baghdad , killing 22 people, including the special envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello .
- August 27 : The Maoist leadership announces the ceasefire in Nepal .
- August 29 : In a car bomb attack, the Shiite spiritual leader in Iraq, Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim , is killed in front of the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf immediately after Friday prayers . More than 100 people die with him.
- August 30 : The Prime Minister Khin Nyunt of Myanmar promulgated the "Myanmar Roadmap to Democracy".
September
- 5 September : visit of Queen Margrethe II. In Germany
- Gerhard Schröder visits Prague / Czech Republic September 5: The German Chancellor
- September 9 : The German President Johannes Rau pays a state visit to the People's Republic of China
- European Court of Justice (ECJ): the on- call duty of doctors in Germany is not to be considered as rest time, but rather as working time . This judgment was implemented by the TVöD , which was concluded on September 13, 2005 , with effect from October 1, 2005 for employees of the Federal Republic of Germany and with effect from January 1, 2006 for employees of the German municipalities . For the employees of the German federal states , corresponding regulations of the TV-L apply since May 19, 2006 ; separate collective agreements were concluded for doctors . The ECJ ruling will be legally implemented on January 1, 2007 through the Working Hours Act. September 9th: Jäger judgment of the
- September 10 : Mijailo Mijailović stabs Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh in a department store in Stockholm . She succumbs to serious injuries a day later.
- September 11th : Cuba . The Spanish cultural institute is closed by the Cuban government.
- September 11: The International Protocol on Biosafety enters into force.
- September 14 : Referendum in Estonia on planned EU accession
- September 14: Another military coup in Guinea-Bissau
- September 20 : Referendum in Latvia on joining the European Union
- September 21 : State election in Bavaria
- September 22 : Henrique Pereira Rosa becomes President of Guinea-Bissau
- September 24 : The Lithuanian government decides to sell its shares in the Russian company Gazprom
- September 24: Karlsruhe . The Federal Constitutional Court pronounces the headscarf ruling
- September 28th : Italy . Large-scale power failure (blackout) from 3 a.m. to around 3 p.m. ( s )
October
- October 4th : Oman . First elections in which everyone over 21, including women, is entitled to vote
- October 5 : Presidential elections in Chechnya
- October 7 : Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger wins recall elections in California against ruling Democrat Gray Davis and is elected Governor of California .
- October 9 : In Togliatti , the editor-in-chief Alexei Sidorov of the independent Russian weekly newspaper Tolyattinskoje Obosrenije is attacked and murdered. The paper has previously reported several times on criminal activities in the city.
- October 12 : Local elections in Albania with slight votes for the opposition
- October 13 : Foreign Ministers Joschka Fischer ( Germany ), Dominique de Villepin ( France ) and Lydie Polfer ( Luxembourg ) open the Pierre Werner Institute in Luxembourg
- October 14 : Gyude Bryant becomes President of the Transitional Government in Liberia
- October 15 : Azerbaijan . İlham Əliyev is elected President
- October 17th : The German Foreign Office supports women's projects in Kandahar / Afghanistan with 1 million euros
- October 17th: Bolivia . Carlos Mesa becomes President and Head of Government, while President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada resigns
- October 17: Germany and the Czech Republic reach an agreement on social security
- October 17: The zero point seven campaign is launched in Austria
- October 18 : Romania adopts a new constitution
- October 19 : Parliamentary elections in Switzerland
- October 24 : Germany is strengthening its commitment in Afghanistan and is aimed in autumn 2003, two branches of the Embassy Kabul in Kunduz and Herat a
- October 25 : Faisal al-Fayiz becomes Prime Minister in Jordan
- October 27th : Security Conference in Mexico
- October 29 : The German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder visits Bratislava , Slovakia
- October 30 : A bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement is signed in Luanda , Angola
- October 30: First visit by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder to Croatia
November
- November 2nd : Georgia . Third general election. Election fraud and election fraud overshadow these elections
- November 5th : Visit of the Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas to Germany
- November 12 : The German Foreign Office supports winter aid in Afghanistan with 1.2 million euros
- November 23rd : Georgia. Resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze
- November 23: Parliamentary elections in Croatia
- November 28 : The German Federal Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer opens an academic year at the Europa-Kolleg in Bruges / Belgium
December
- December 1st : The German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder visits the People's Republic of China for the fifth time
- December 2nd : The Element Darmstadtium (Ds), ordinal number 110, is officially baptized
- December 7th : Duma elections in Russia
- December 8 : Zimbabwe leaves the Commonwealth of
- December 9 : The Hamburg Senate, made up of the CDU , FDP and the Rule of Law Offensive party, fails after a little over two years. New elections are called
- December 10th : Switzerland : after 44 years the magic formula is blown. This gives the SVP a second seat and Christoph Blocher is elected to the Federal Council
- December 10: Agreement between Russia and Germany on travel facilitation
- December 12th : Canada . Paul Martin becomes Prime Minister
- December 12th: New government in San Marino
- December 13 : Iraq : Saddam Hussein is arrested at Tikrit
- December 15th : International forum on Myanmar in Bangkok / Thailand
- December 20 : Free and democratic elections are enshrined in the Moroni , Comoros Agreement
- December 23 : Ivo Sanader becomes head of government in Croatia
economy

- The German railway takes for lost revenue parts of the new pricing system and executes the " BahnCard 50", with which one again reduced by 50 percent tickets without specific train can acquire
- The media group AOL Time Warner removes AOL from its name after AOL and Time Warner merged in 2001
- January 1st : The EU bans the misleading terms “light” and “mild” for cigarettes
- February 27 : Double taxation agreement between Germany and Tajikistan
- March 14 : The toll Westerschelden tunnel is opened. It is the longest road tunnel in the Netherlands .
- April 1 : The German packaging company Schmalbach-Lubeca goes to the Ball Packaging Europe over
- April 4th : The nationwide medium-wave radio station Megaradio ceases operations due to bankruptcy
- June: A four-week strike by IG Metall in eastern Germany to introduce the 35-hour week remains unsuccessful
- June 5 : the Neuer Markt , a segment of the stock exchange, is closed again.
- June 20 : The non-profit organization Wikimedia Foundation is founded in Saint Petersburg , Florida . It receives all rights to names, domains and servers associated with Wikipedia or its sister projects.
- October 10 : The Magdeburg waterway junction goes into operation and shortens the travel time of inland waterways in east-west direction by four hours.
- November 11 : The in Birresborn be moved Birresborner Phoenix bubble is closed due to contaminated sources
- The planned satellite-supported motorway toll system cannot go into operation as planned due to technical problems; its introduction will be postponed to the third quarter of 2004 at the end of December 2003
- December: The Italian company Parmalat files for bankruptcy
- December 22nd : Bankhaus Löbbecke becomes a 100% subsidiary of MMWarburg & CO
- Taobao , Asia's largest trading platform, goes online.
Education, science and technology

- January 1st : The universities of Essen and Duisburg merge to form the University of Duisburg-Essen .
- January 1st: The University Hospitals in Kiel and Lübeck merge to form the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein .
- January 5 : The optical passage (transit) of the planet Saturn through the Crab Nebula enables an investigation of the gas envelope of the moon Titan .
- February 1 : At the end of the 16-day research stay STS-107, the space shuttle Columbia breaks up and burns up 15 minutes before landing on Cape Canaveral . All seven crew members, five men and two women, are killed.
- April 10th : Air France and British Airways announce that scheduled flights with Concorde will cease in the course of 2003.
- April 16 : The World Health Organization (WHO) announces that a coronavirus is the cause of the infectious disease SARS .
- May 28th : The first cloned horse named Prometea is born.
- May 31st : Annular solar eclipse in Scotland , Iceland and parts of Greenland . In Germany, a partial solar eclipse can be seen right at sunrise.
- June 1 : Closure of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River .
- June 24th : A Concorde flies from New York to Paris for the last time .
- June 30 : In the planetary system HD 216770 , Michel Mayor and his colleagues discover the exoplanet HD 216770 b using the radial velocity method .
- July 19 : A team of doctors from the Vienna General Hospital transplant a person's tongue for the first time in the world .
- July 30th : The last VW Beetle rolls off the assembly line at the Volkswagen plant in Puebla ( Mexico ).
- Heat wave 2003 , August: The highest temperature recorded so far in Germany is measured at 40.8 ° C in Perl - Nennig in the Saarland on August 8th, but later has to be corrected down to 40.3 ° C. In Switzerland, temperature values of over 40 ° C are recorded for the first time: on August 11, MeteoSchweiz in Grono ( Graubünden ) measured 41.5 ° C. 2003 goes down in history as the hottest year in Germany since 1540 . Additional deaths due to the summer heat go into the public eye as heat deaths . Figures for France, Italy and Germany run into the thousands. Vintage of the century for German winemakers .
- 25 August : A Delta II rocket carries the Spitzer Space Telescope of Cape Canaveral from the All . During its operation, it provides new knowledge for infrared astronomy and discovers previously unseen celestial objects.
- October 15 : China launches its first manned spaceship with Taikonaut Yang Liwei .
- October 21 : The dwarf planet Eris in the Kuiper Belt is discovered by Michael E. Brown , Chad Trujillo and David Lincoln Rabinowitz .
- October 24th : Concorde's last commercial flight from New York to London
- November 23 : total solar eclipse (Indian Ocean, Antarctica)
- November 26th : Last Concorde flight from London Heathrow to the Aviation Museum in Filton .
- December 2nd : The Element Darmstadtium (Ds), ordinal number 110, is officially baptized.
- December 3 : The twin- engine Honda HA-420 business jet takes off on its maiden flight .
- December 18th : The Linux kernel version 2.6 is released.
- December 18: The journal Nature reports on spectacular finds from Tübingen scientists from the Ice Age in the hollow rock karst cave on the Swabian Alb . From mammoth - ivory -made figures of a water bird, a horse's head and a lion's people are among the oldest works of art of mankind.
- December 25th : The European Beagle 2 robot attempts to land ; whether the surface of Mars was reached is unknown. The Mars Express spacecraft enters orbit around Mars.
- First World Summit on the Information Society
Culture
- In 2003, the European capital of culture is the Styrian capital Graz
- March 15 : Opening of the hands-on museum Tower of the Senses in Nuremberg.
- April 13th : The National Library of Baghdad is destroyed by arson during the Third Gulf War. Irreplaceable documents are lost.
- May 7th : For the first time in the history of the Vatican, Letizia Pani Ermini, a woman, is appointed to the head of a papal academy . Pope John Paul II appoints her president of the Academy of Archeology.
- May 28. bis 1. June : The first Ecumenical Church Congress held in Berlin instead
- May 30 : The full-length cartoon Finding Nemo opens in theaters in the United States .
- May 31 : In the presence of European leaders was a replica of the lost when the war ended the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg after 20 years of painstaking reconstruction opened
- June 5th : Signing of the cultural agreement between Kazakhstan and Germany
- October 23 : The Walt Disney Concert Hall , built according to plans by architect Frank Gehry , opens in Los Angeles .
- October 27 : In Andalusia Málaga , the birthplace of the painter Pablo Picasso , which is Museo Picasso opens.
- Cinema : Finding Nemo , X-Men 2 , Matrix Reloaded , Good Bye, Lenin! , The Hulk , My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Wedding in Greek , Catch Me If You Can, Solaris , The Ring, Chicago, Gangs Of New York, Daredevil, 28 Days Later, The Jungle Book 2, Don't Hang Up, Pirates of the Caribbean , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Books : Joanne K. Rowling : Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Hillary Clinton : Lived History - Michael Moore : Stupid White Men
- The Prague Biennale is taking place for the first time.
- First award of the Quadriga award
- For the first time the International Munich Peace Conference will take place
music
- At the Grammy Awards 2003 newcomer Norah Jones emerged as the big winner with five Grammys.
- Casting show boom in Germany, triggered by Germany looking for the superstar .
- In summer the band Modern Talking split up , in autumn the No Angels .
- The Doctors release their double studio album Noise .
- After the death of Maurice Gibb on January 12th, brothers Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb announced that they would never make music again under the name Bee Gees .
- Sertab Erener wins the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest for Turkey on May 24th in Riga with the song Everyway That I Can .
See also: 2003 number one hits in Australia , Belgium , Denmark , Germany , Finland , France , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Japan , Canada , Mexico , New Zealand , the Netherlands , Norway , Austria , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Sweden , Switzerland , Singapore , Spain , Hungary , the United States and the United Kingdom .
See also: Category: Music 2003
society
- May 23 : The Boeing 727 parked on the tarmac at Luanda Airport with the registration number N844AA is stolen . The plane has disappeared since its unauthorized take-off in Angola ; a global search remains unsuccessful.
religion
- April 4 : Voodoo is officially recognized as a religion in Haiti . The priesthood has the same rights as the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church in baptisms , weddings and funerals .
- May 28th : The first ecumenical Kirchentag , a lay meeting of Christians , especially of the two major denominations in Germany, under the slogan “You should be a blessing”, begins in Berlin .
- December 29 : In Bujumbura is Michael Courtney , the Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi , was murdered under mysterious circumstances on the way back from a funeral.
Sports
- German soccer champions : men: FC Bayern Munich , women: 1. FFC Frankfurt
- DFB Cup winners : men: FC Bayern Munich , women: 1. FFC Frankfurt
- March 8 : Wladimir Klitschko loses a boxing match against Corrie Sanders in the Preussag Arena , Hanover , Germany , by technical knockout
- April 12th : German preselection for the 2012 Olympic application in Munich , Leipzig is chosen
- April 20 : The Japanese motorcycle racer and 250 cm³ world champion from 2001 Daijirō Katō succumbs to his serious injuries, which he sustained at the season opener of the MotoGP class of the motorcycle world championship in Suzuka, Japan on April 6th.
- May 25th : The Austrian Werner Schlager wins the final of the table tennis world championships in Paris against the South Korean defense player Joo Se Hyuk and is table tennis world champion.
- June 21 : Vitali Klitschko loses a boxing match against Lennox Lewis at the Staples Center , Los Angeles , California , USA , by technical knockout
- July 12th : July 27th : Hannah Stockbauer wins three gold medals at the 10th World Swimming Championships in Barcelona
- 23 August to 31 August : 9th World Athletics Championships in Paris
- August 30 : Wladimir Klitschko wins a boxing match against Fabio Eduardo Moli in the Olympiahalle Munich , Germany, by Ko
- 27 / September 28 : 30th Berlin Marathon
- October 12 : The German women win the FIFA Women's World Cup , beating Sweden 2-1 n.GG.
- October 12 : Michael Schumacher becomes Formula 1 world champion for the sixth time .
- October 25th : The football club Benfica Lisbon opens its new sports arena Estádio da Luz .
- November 16 : In Porto , the new opened Estádio do Dragão , home of the games of FC Porto .
- December 6 : Vitali Klitschko wins a boxing match against Kirk Johnson in Madison Square Garden , New York , USA, by a technical knockout.
- December 10th : 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig is founded as the unofficial successor to VfB Leipzig .
- December 20 : Wladimir Klitschko wins a boxing match against Danell Nicholson in the Ostseehalle in Kiel , Germany, by technical knockout
- December 21 : Jan Ullrich is athlete of the year , Hannah Stockbauer is athlete of the year and the national soccer team for women is team of the year
- Germany becomes vice world champion at the handball world championship in Portugal
- 100th anniversary of the Tour de France , the Tour wins Lance Armstrong for the fifth time
- US tennis star Andy Roddick wins the final of the US Open against Juan Carlos Ferrero and thus his first Grand Slam title
- The Swiss tennis star Roger Federer wins his first Grand Slam title in the Wimbledon final against Mark Philippoussis
Disasters
- February 1 : The Columbia space shuttle breaks upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere . All seven crew members are killed.
- February 18 : An apparently insane man puts a Daegu subway fire ( South Korea ), in which at least 197 people are killed.
- February 19 : About 30 km before landing in Kerman , Iran, an Ilyushin Il-76 used by the Iranian militia crashes into a mountain. All 275 passengers die.
- February 20 : In the small American town of West Warwick , the fire disaster at The Station nightclub kills 100 people and injures 230.
- February 24 : 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region , People's Republic of China , kills 261
- March 6 : Tamanrasset , Algeria . A Boeing 737 of Air Algérie missed the runway and crashes. All 103 people on board die
- March 12 : The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies the lung disease SARS, which has broken out in East Asia, as a global threat.
- May 1st : A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Turkey . 177 dead
- May 21 : earthquake of magnitude 6.8 in Algeria , 2,266 dead (triggered a tsunami off the Mallorcan coast). See earthquake off Algeria in 2003
- July 8 : Port Sudan , Sudan . Crash of a Boeing 737 of Sudan Airways shortly after takeoff, about 5 km from the runway . 116 people die, one child is said to have survived
- July 8 : The river ferry MV Nasrin-1 capsizes near Chandpur , Bangladesh, drowning up to 750 people.
- Early August: The heat wave in Europe kills tens of thousands.
- August 22 : The Brazilian rocket explosion occurs in the Alcântara spaceport , triggered by an unexpectedly firing engine of a VLS-1 rocket.
- December 26th : In a severe earthquake measuring 6.6 to 6.8 on the Richter scale in the southeastern province of Kerman in Iran, the city of Bam is largely destroyed. 30,000 to 60,000 people are killed.
Born
- January 3 : Greta Thunberg , Swedish climate protection activist
- April 4 : Harvey Elliott , English soccer player
- April 16 : Alina Foley , American actress and voice actress
- May 1 : Lizzy Greene , American actress
- May 3 : Florian Wirtz , German soccer player
- May 16 : Matteo Markus Bok , Italian singer
- June 1 : Emjay Anthony , American actor and model
- June 11 : Breanna Yde , Australian actress
- June 27 : Tomokazu Harimoto , Japanese table tennis player
- July 26th : Can Öncü , Turkish motorcycle racer
- July 30th : Fynn-Luca Nicolaus , German handball player
- September 14th : Maurizio Magno , German child actor
- October 22 : Ethan Munck , American actor
- November 5 : Simon Halaski , German voice actor
- December 7th : Catharina-Amalia van Oranje , Dutch Crown Princess
- December 22nd : Neel Sethi , American actor
Died
This is a list of the most important people who passed away in 2003. For a more detailed list see Nekrolog 2003 .
January
- January 3 : Sid Gillman , American football player and coach (born 1911 )
- January 5 : Buzz Busby , American rockabilly and bluegrass musician (* 1933 )
- January 5th : Roy Jenkins , British politician (* 1920 )
- January 7th : Erich Beyreuther , German Lutheran theologian and church historian (* 1904 )
- January 7th : František Kovaříček , Czech composer and music teacher (* 1924 )
- January 7th : Helmut Zenker , Austrian writer (* 1949 )
- January 9 : Wilfried Hasselmann , German politician (* 1924 )
- January 10 : C. Douglas Dillon , American politician and former Treasury Secretary (* 1909 )
- January 10 : Roman Suchecki , Polish cellist and music teacher (* 1933 )
- January 11th : Mickey Finn , British musician (* 1947 )
- January 12 : Dean Amadon , American ornithologist (* 1912 )
- January 12 : Jaime Figueroa , Puerto Rican violinist (* 1910 )
- January 12 : Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri , Argentine general and politician (* 1926 )
- January 12 : Maurice Gibb , British musician (* 1949 )
- January 14th : Chester Gill , Barbadian-Swiss jazz musician, composer and choir director (* 1928 )
- January 14 : Zenon Płoszaj , Polish violinist and music teacher (* 1924 )
- January 16 : Henryk Czyż , Polish composer, conductor and music teacher (* 1923 )
- January 22nd : Lonny Kellner , German actress and singer (* 1930 )
- January 23 : Nell Carter , American actress and singer (* 1948 )
- January 24th : Giovanni Agnelli , Italian entrepreneur (* 1921 )
- January 26 : Annemarie Schimmel , German scholar of Islam (* 1922 )
- January 27 : Henryk Jabłoński , Polish politician (* 1909 )
February
- February 1 : Herbert Wilhelmy , German geographer (* 1910 )
- February 2 : Lou Harrison , American composer (* 1917 )
- February 3 : William Kelley , American writer and screenwriter (* 1929 )
- February 3 : Peter Schat , Dutch composer, music teacher and music writer (* 1935 )
- February 5 : Manfred von Brauchitsch , German automobile racing driver and sports official (* 1905 )
- February 7 : Augusto Monterroso , Guatemalan writer and diplomat (* 1921 )
- February 13 : Walt Whitman Rostow , American economist and economic historian (* 1916 )
- February 13 : Claude Savard , Canadian pianist and music teacher (* 1941 )
- February 14th : Dolly sheep , first cloned mammal in the world (* 1996 )
- February 18 : Michel Graillier , French jazz pianist (* 1946 )
- February 19 : Volkmar Gabert , German politician (* 1923 )
- February 19 : Amy Sue Rosen , American dancer and choreographer (* 1955 )
- February 20 : Cornelius Kweku Ganyo , Ghanaian percussionist and dancer (* 1937 )
- February 20 : Ulrich Roski , German singer-songwriter (* 1944 )
- February 22nd : Kurt Gscheidle , German politician (* 1924 )
- February 23 : Schlomo Argov , Israeli diplomat (* 1929 )
- February 23 : Marcel Prawy , Austrian dramaturge, opera connoisseur and opera critic (* 1911 )
- February 23 : Maria von Schmedes , Austrian singer and actress (* 1917 )
- February 24 : Alberto Sordi , Italian actor (* 1920 )
- February 24 : Alexander Leonowitsch Kemurdschian , Russian aerospace engineer (* 1921)
- February 25 : Uwe Lüthje , German-Austrian economist (* 1931)
- February 26 : Christian Goethals , Belgian racing driver (* 1928 )
- February 27 : Wolfgang Larrazábal , Venezuelan officer and politician (* 1911 )
- February 27 : Albert Steinberg , Canadian violinist and conductor (* 1910 )
- February 28 : Chris Brasher , British athlete and Olympic champion (* 1928 )
- February 28 : Fidel Sánchez Hernández , Salvadoran general and politician (* 1917 )
March

- March 1 : Nadine Conner , American singer (* 1907 )
- March 2 : Antonio Arellano Durán , Venezuelan bishop (* 1927 )
- March 2 : Malcolm Williamson , Australian composer (* 1931 )
- March 3 : Horst Buchholz , German actor (* 1933 )
- March 6 : Saba Youakim , Lebanese Archbishop of Petra and Philadelphia (Jordan) (* 1914 )
- March 8 : Erik Sparre Andersen , Danish mathematician (* 1919 )
- March 9 : Dsidra Ritenbergs , Latvian actress and director (* 1928 )
- March 10 : Charles Cyroulnik , French violinist (* 1923 )
- March 10 : Barry Sheene , English motorcycle racer (* 1950 )
- March 10 : Ottorino Volonterio , Swiss racing driver (* 1917 )
- March 12 : Zoran Đinđić , Serbian politician (* 1952 )
- March 17 : Zoltán Kádár , Hungarian archaeologist and art historian (* 1915 )
- March 19 : Émile Genest , Canadian actor and comedian (* 1921 )
- March 24th : Hans Hermann Groër , Archbishop of Vienna (* 1919 )
- March 24th : Heinrich Neuy , German Bauhaus artist, painter (* 1911 )
- March 26 : Daniel Patrick Moynihan , American politician and sociologist (* 1927 )
- March 26 : Martin Schenkel , Swiss actor and singer (* 1968 )
- March 26th : José Tamayo , Spanish theater director and director (* 1920 )
- March 27 : Winfried Albert Holtmann , German cycling manager and journalist (* 1941 )
- March 28 : Ludwig Elsbett , German inventor of the Elsbett engine (* 1913 )
- March 28 : Kurt Schmidtchen , German actor (* 1930 )
- March 30th : Valentin Pavlov , Soviet politician (* 1937 )
- March 31 : George Connor , American football player (born 1925 )
- March 31 : Fermín Vélez , Spanish racing car driver (* 1959 )
April
- April 1 : Leslie Cheung , Chinese actor (born 1956 )
- April 2 : Edwin Starr , American soul singer (* 1942 )
- April 6 : Anita Borg , American computer scientist and women's rights activist (* 1949 )
- April 6 : Susan French , American actress (born 1912 )
- April 7 : Iropa Maurice Kouandété , President of Dahomey (* 1932 )
- April 8 : Nathan Apea Aferi , Ghanaian politician (* 1922 )
- April 13 : Carlos Duarte , Venezuelan composer and pianist (* 1957 )
- April 14 : Gerda Gmelin , German actress and theater director (* 1919 )
- April 16 : Erika Eisenblätter-Laskowski , German painter (* 1908 )
- April 17 : Werner Gerich , German engineer (* 1919 )
- April 18 : Edgar F. Codd , British mathematician and computer scientist (* 1923 )
- April 19 : Julián Plaza , Argentine tango composer and arranger, bandoneonist and pianist (* 1928 )
- April 20 : Daijirō Katō , Japanese motorcycle racer (* 1976 )
- April 20: Bernard Katz , British biophysicist (* 1911 )
- April 21 : Nina Simone , American jazz and blues singer (* 1933 )
- April 24 : Kazuko Saegusa , Japanese writer, essayist and literary critic (* 1929 )
- April 25 : Al Hood , American jazz pianist and composer (* approx. 1936 )
- April 27 : Klaus Mertens , German actor (* 1929 )
- April 27 : Dorothee Sölle , German Protestant theologian (* 1929 )
May
- May 1 : Paul Moore , American Anglican Bishop (born 1919 )
- May 2 : Blaga Dimitrova , Bulgarian writer and poet (* 1922 )
- May 3 : Paul Gerhard Aring , German theologian (* 1926 )
- May 4 : Johannes Agnoli , German political scientist (* 1925 )
- May 5 : David Lewin , American music theorist, musicologist, pianist and composer (* 1933 )
- May 12 : Sadruddin Aga Khan , Persian-French-Swiss UN High Commissioner for Refugees (* 1933 )
- May 14 : Wendy Hiller , British actress (born 1912 )
- May 15 : June Carter , American country singer and wife of Johnny Cash (* 1929 )
- May 15: Constantin Dăscălescu , Romanian politician (* 1923 )
- May 16 : William Charles Anderson , American science fiction writer (* 1920 )
- May 17 : Luigi Pintor , Italian writer, journalist and politician (* 1925 )
- May 20 : Walter Höllerer , German professor of German studies (* 1922 )
- May 24 : Edward Bogusławski , Polish composer and music teacher (* 1940 )
- May 25 : Bill Paschal , American football player (born 1921 )
- May 27 : Luciano Berio , Italian composer (* 1925 )
- May 28 : Ilya Prigogine , Russian-Belgian physical chemist (* 1917 )
- May 29 : Karlheinz Idelberger , German medic (* 1909 )
- May 30th : Mickie Most , English producer, record label owner and music publisher (* 1938 )
- May 30: Günter Pfitzmann , German actor (* 1924 )
June

- June 3 : Antoni Marianowicz , Polish diplomat, journalist and writer (* 1923 )
- June 5 : Patricia Blomfield Holt , Canadian composer, music teacher and pianist (* 1910 )
- June 5 : Jürgen W. Möllemann , German politician (* 1945 )
- June 5 : Manuel Rosenthal , French conductor and composer (* 1904 )
- June 6 : Bernhard Askani , German history teacher and textbook author (* 1937 )
- June 6 : Angelika Kill , German nun (* 1917 )
- June 7th : Héctor Cabrera , Venezuelan singer and actor (* 1932 )
- June 6th : Hilda Sour , Chilean actress and singer (* 1915 )
- June 12 : Gregory Peck , American actor (born 1916 )
- June 12 : Rico Steinemann , Swiss journalist, Porsche race director and racing car driver (* 1939 )
- June 14 : Jimmy Knepper , American jazz trombonist (* 1927 )
- June 14 : Volker Kriegel , German jazz musician, draftsman and writer (* 1943 )
- June 14th : Dale Whittington , American racing driver (* 1959 )
- June 15 : René Touzet , Cuban pianist, composer and band leader (* 1916 )
- June 21 : Piet Dankert , Dutch politician (* 1934 )
- June 25 : Lester Maddox , American politician (* 1915 )
- June 26 : Marc-Vivien Foé , Cameroonian football player (* 1975 )
- June 26 : Denis Thatcher , British businessman and husband of the British Prime Minister (born 1915 )
- June 26 : Strom Thurmond , American politician (* 1902 )
- June 29 : Rodney Amateau , American screenwriter, producer and director (born 1923 )
- June 29th : Katharine Hepburn , American actress (* 1907 )
- June 30th : Buddy Hackett , American comedian and actor (* 1924 )
July
- July 1 : Berta Ambrož , Yugoslav singer (* 1944 )
- July 1 : Fernando Masone , Italian police chief (* 1936 )
- July 2 : Briggs Cunningham , American racing driver, designer and sailor (* 1907 )
- July 4th : Barry White , American soul singer (* 1944 )
- July 6 : Buddy Ebsen , American actor (* 1908 )
- July 11th : Ken Whyld , British chess journalist and chess historian (* 1926 )
- July 12 : Benny Carter , American jazz musician (* 1907 )
- July 14 : Compay Segundo , Cuban guitarist and composer (* 1907 )
- July 15 : Tex Schramm , American football player (* 1920 )
- July 16 : Walrus Antje , mascot of the NDR (* 1976 )
- July 16 : Kurt Semm , German gynecologist, founder of laparoscopic surgery (* 1927 )
- July 17 : Hans Abich , German film producer and radio journalist (* 1918 )
- July 19 : Pierre Graber , Swiss politician (* 1908 )
- July 19 : Bill Bright , American evangelist (born 1921 )
- July 20 : Lauri Aus , Estonian cyclist (* 1970 )
- July 21 : Ingrid von Bothmer , German actress (* 1918 )
- July 21 : Victor Hasler , Swiss Protestant clergyman and university professor (* 1920 )
- July 22nd : Udai (* 1964 ) and Kusai Hussein (* 1967 ), the sons of Saddam Hussein
- July 24 : Ija Alexejewna Arepina , Soviet actress (* 1930 )
- July 24th : Hans Schaffert , Swiss Protestant clergyman (* 1918 )
- July 25 : Ludwig Bölkow , German engineer and entrepreneur (* 1912 )
- July 25 : John Schlesinger , British director (born 1926 )
- July 26 : Jürgen Brandt , German general (* 1922 )
- July 27 : Bob Hope , American comedian (* 1903 )
- July 30th : Steve Hislop , British motorcycle racer (born 1962 )
- July 31 : João Ferreira Bigode , Brazilian soccer player (* 1922 )
August
- August 1 : Marie Trintignant , French actress (* 1962 )
- August 2 : Joachim Piefke , German manager (* 1921 )
- August 3 : Joseph Saidu Momoh , President of Sierra Leone (* 1937 )
- August 4th : Anthony von Sourozh , Russian bishop (* 1914 )
- August 4th : Frederick Chapman Robbins , American microbiologist (* 1916 )
- August 5 : Tite Curet Alonso , Puerto Rican composer (* 1926 )
- August 5 : Heinz Krekeler , German chemist and politician (* 1906 )
- August 7th : Sibylle Courvoisier , Swiss actress (* 1943 )
- August 8 : Hermann Oxfort , Mayor of Berlin and Senator for Justice (FDP) (* 1928 )
- August 9 : Gregory Hines , American tap dancer and actor (born 1946 )
- August 9 : David Macdonald , Canadian organist (* 1952 )
- August 9 : Bill Perkins , American jazz saxophonist and flutist (* 1924 )
- August 9 : Skip Scott , American racing driver (* 1941 )
- August 12 : Esteban Servellón , Salvadoran composer, musician, conductor and music teacher (* 1921 )
- August 13 : Lothar Emmerich , German football player (* 1941 )

- August 14 : Helmut Rahn , German football player (* 1929 )
- August 16 : Idi Amin , dictator of Uganda (* 1928 )
- August 18 : Yolande Dulude , Canadian singer (* 1931 )
- August 19 : Rudolf Austen , German painter and graphic artist (* 1931 )
- August 19 : Sérgio Vieira de Mello , UN special envoy in Iraq (* 1948 )
- August 19 : Carlos Roberto Reina , Honduran politician (* 1926 )
- August 19 : Hermann Withalm , Austrian politician (* 1912 )
- August 23 : Lino Borges , Cuban bolero singer (* 1932 )
- August 24th : Wilfred Thesiger , British researcher and author of travelogues (* 1910 )
- August 28 : Peter Hacks , German playwright (* 1928 )
- August 29 : Horace Welcome Babcock , American astronomer (* 1912 )
- August 30 : Charles Bronson , American actor (born 1921 )
- August 30 : Peter Meven , German opera and concert singer (* 1929 )
- August 31 : Tadeusz Machl , Polish composer, organist and music teacher (* 1922 )
September

- September 1 : Sten G. Halfvarson , American music teacher and choir director (* 1915 )
- September 3 : Ute Mora , German actress (e.g. Lindenstrasse ) (* 1945 )
- September 4th : Lola Bobesco , Romanian violinist of Romanian origin (* 1921 )
- September 4th : Tibor Varga , Hungarian violinist (* 1921 )
- September 5 : Yūji Aoki , Japanese manga artist (* 1945 )
- September 5 : Heinz Cramer , German staff officer and modern pentathlon (* 1911 )
- September 8 : Leni Riefenstahl , German film director (* 1902 )
- September 9 : Edward Teller , American physicist (* 1908 )
- September 11 : Anna Lindh , Swedish Foreign Minister (* 1957 )
- September 11th : John Ritter , American actor (* 1948 )

- September 12 : Johnny Cash , American country singer (born 1932 )
- September 12 : Ray Merrick , British racing driver (* 1918 )
- September 14 : Walter Davy , Austrian actor (* 1924 )
- September 17th : Ljubica Marić , Serbian composer (* 1909 )
- September 19 : Dursun Akçam , Turkish writer (* 1930 )
- September 19 : Slim Dusty , Australian singer (* 1927 )
- September 19 : Frank Lowe , American jazz saxophonist (* 1943 )
- September 20 : Josef Anselm Patritius Graf Adelmann von Adelmannsfelden Freiherr von Hake , German theologian and writer (* 1924 )
- September 20 : Gordon Mitchell , American actor (born 1923 )
- September 24 : Hugh Gregg , American politician (* 1917 )
- September 25 : Josef Guggenmos , poet and children's book author (* 1922 )
- September 25 : Franco Modigliani , Italian economist (* 1918 )
- September 25 : Edward Said , American literary theorist and critic of Palestinian origin (* 1935 )
- September 26 : Shawn Lane , American rock and fusion guitarist (* 1963 )
- September 26 : Robert Palmer , British singer (born 1949 )
- September 27 : Fay Helm , American actress (* 1909 )
- September 27 : Jean Lucas , French racing driver (* 1917 )
- September 27th : Claus Weyrosta , Baden-Württemberg politician (* 1925 )
- September 28 : Hanns Adrian , German architect and urban planner (* 1931 )
- September 28 : Olle Anderberg , Swedish wrestler (* 1919 )
- September 28 : Elia Kazan , American director (* 1909 )
October

Photo by William P. Gottlieb
- October 1 : Chubby Jackson , American jazz bassist (* 1918 )
- October 1 : Peter Schubert , German albanologist and diplomat (* 1938 )
- October 2 : John Thomas Dunlop , American politician and former Minister of Labor (* 1914 )
- October 2 : Gunther Philipp , Austrian actor (* 1918 )
- October 5 : Neil Postman , American media scholar (* 1931 )
- October 5th : Denis Quilley , British actor (born 1927 )
- October 7th : Israel Harold Asper , Canadian lawyer, media entrepreneur and politician (* 1932 )
- October 7 : Arthur Victor Berger , American composer, music teacher and critic (* 1912 )
- October 8 : Kozō Andō , Japanese Kendōka (* 1940 )
- October 9 : Justinas Bašinskas , Lithuanian composer (* 1923 )
- October 9 : Antanas Rekašius , Lithuanian composer (* 1928 )
- October 10 : Eugene Istomin , American pianist (* 1925 )
- October 11 : Ivan A. Getting , American physicist (* 1912 )
- October 13 : Bertram Brockhouse , Canadian physicist (* 1918 )
- October 14 : Moktar Ould Daddah , Mauritanian politician (* 1924 )
- October 14 : Heinz Quermann , German television entertainer (* 1921 )
- October 16 : László Papp , Hungarian boxer (* 1926 )
- October 19 : Alija Izetbegović , Bosnian politician and statesman (* 1925 )
- October 19 : Michael Hegstrand , American wrestler (* 1957 or 1958 )
- October 19 : Nello Pagani , Italian motorcycle and automobile racing driver (* 1911 )
- October 20 : Jack Elam , American actor (* 1920 )
- October 20 : Miodrag Petrović Čkalja , Serbian actor and comedian (* 1924 )
- October 20 : Frank Rand , American entrepreneur and racing car driver (* 1935 )
- October 22 : Ron Collier , Canadian jazz trombonist, composer and arranger (* 1930 )
- October 23 : Song Meiling , wife of Chiang Kai-shek (* 1897 )
- October 25 : Primo Angeli , Italian jazz and entertainment musician (* 1906 )
- October 26 : Peter Niklas Wilson , German jazz bassist and musicologist (* 1957 )
- October 26 : Roberto García Morillo , Argentine composer (* 1911 )
- October 27 : Johnny Boyd , American racing driver (* 1926 )
- October 29 : Eduard Buess , Swiss Protestant clergyman and university professor (* 1913 )
- October 29 : Hal Clement , American SF writer (born 1922 )
- October 30 : Abel Ehrlich , Israeli composer (* 1915 )
- October 30th : Steve O'Rourke , British music manager, racing team owner and racing car driver (* 1940 )
- October 30 : Mike Yaconelli , American pastor, educator, writer and satirist (* 1942 )
November
- November 4 : Lotte Berk , German-British dancer, gymnastics and dance teacher (* 1913 )
- November 5 : Władysław Kruczek , Polish politician (* 1910 )
- November 6th : Hallvard Johnsen , Norwegian composer (* 1916 )
- November 6th : Pit Krüger , German comedian, singer and actor (* 1934 )
- November 9 : Art Carney , American actor (born 1918 )
- November 10 : Canaan Banana , President of Zimbabwe (* 1936 )
- November 12th : Jonathan Brandis , American actor (* 1976 )
- November 12th : Tony Thompsong , American drummer (* 1954 )
- November 13th : Friedrich Gondolatsch , German astronomer (* 1904 )
- November 16 : Augustine Eugene Hornyak , Serbian Bishop and Exarch of Great Britain (* 1919 )
- November 16 : Martin Metz , Romanian-German church musician and composer (* 1933 )
- November 16 : Zbigniew Śliwiński , Polish pianist and music teacher (* 1924 )
- November 18 : Michael Kamen , American film music composer (* 1948 )
- November 20 : Robert Alastair Addie , British actor (* 1960 )
- November 20 : David Dacko , Central African politician (* 1930 )
- November 24th : Louai al-Atassi , Syrian general and politician (* 1926 )
- November 25 : Fernando Ariztía Ruiz , Chilean bishop (* 1925 )
- November 26 : Werner Böckenförde , German cathedral capitular, theologian and lawyer (* 1928 )
- November 26th : Soulja Slim , American rapper (born 1977 )
- November 27 : Riccardo Malipiero , Italian composer (* 1914 )
- November 27 : Will Quadflieg , German actor (* 1914 )
- November 29 : Tony Canadeo , American football player (born 1919 )
- November 29th : Jesse Carver , English football player and coach (* 1911 )
- November 30th : Jack Brewer , American baseball player (born 1918 )
December
- December 2 : Ignaz Kiechle , German politician (* 1930 )
- December 3 : David Hemmings , British actor (born 1941 )
- December 6 : Carlos Arana Osorio , Guatemalan general and politician (* 1918 )
- December 7th : Raúl Vale , Mexican singer, composer and actor (* 1944 )
- December 11 : Bernard Dorival , French art historian and art critic (* 1914 )
- December 12 : Heydər Əliyev , Azerbaijani politician (* 1923 )
- December 12 : Éva Besnyő , Hungarian-Dutch photographer (* 1910 )
- December 12 : Keiko , whale on film set of Free Willy (. * Approx collaborated 1976 / 1977 )
- December 14th : Jeanne Crain , American actress (* 1925 )
- December 15 : Samuel R. Külling , Swiss Protestant Reformed pastor, Old Testament scholar and founder and rector of FETA / STH (* 1924 )
- December 16 : Judd Marmor , American psychiatrist (* 1910 )
- December 17 : Otto Graham , American football player and coach, basketball player (* 1921 )
- December 18 : Pierre Daignault , Canadian actor, folk singer and writer (* 1925 )
- December 19 : Hope Lange , American actress (* 1931 )
- December 21 : Alfonso zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg , German jet set star (* 1924 )
- December 22nd : Dave Dudley , (actually Darwin David Pedruska), American country singer (* 1928 )
- December 22nd : Doris Shadbolt , Canadian art historian (* 1918 )
- December 23 : Don Lamond , American jazz drummer (* 1920 )
- December 23 : Curley Money , American country musician (born 1925 )
- December 27 : Alan Bates , (Sir Alan Arthur), English actor (born 1934 )
- December 29 : Tino Schwierzina , only Lord Mayor of East Berlin elected after the fall of the Berlin Wall (* 1927 )
- December 31 : John Prchlik , American football player (born 1925 )
Date unknown
- Richard Down , British racing car driver (* 1961 )
- Pedro Lerma , Spanish pianist and music teacher (* 1916 )
- Eduardo Maturana , Chilean composer (* 1920 )
Nobel Prizes
- Physics : Alexei Abrikosow , Witali Ginsburg and Anthony James Leggett
- Chemistry : Peter Agre and Roderick MacKinnon
- Medicine : Paul C. Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield
- Literature : JM Coetzee
- Nobel Peace Prize : Shirin Ebadi
- Economics : Robert F. Engle and Clive WJ Granger
Further prices
- The Charlemagne Prize 2003 for European international understanding was awarded to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (President of the European Convention )
- Alexander Kluge received the Büchner Prize
- The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade went to Susan Sontag
- First award of the BIENE Award
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Efforts to recover Bangladesh ferry continue . IFRC July 11, 2003, accessed October 29, 2018.