January
05 – Metropolitan Police launch a major anti-terror raid on a flat in Wood Green, London, discovering traces of the deadly poison ricin.
12 – Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees dies from complications following a stomach operation to correct an intestinal blockage. It is understood he suffered a heart attack before the operation and, although he briefly regained consciousness following the procedure, was not strong enough to pull through. He is 53.
14 – Detective Constable Stephen Oake is tragically stabbed to death during a follow-up anti-terror raid in Manchester (England), shocking the nation.
18 – Catastrophic bushfires sweep into the suburbs of Canberra (Australia), killing four people, injuring over 400, and destroying nearly 500 homes alongside the historic Mount Stromlo Observatory.
26 – Super Bowl XXXVII sees the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Oakland Raiders, while Shania Twain, No Doubt, and Sting headline a massive Halftime Show.
30 – British-born “shoe bomber” Richard Reid is sentenced in America to life in prison for trying to blow up a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami.
February
01 – The space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board (pictured above). The dead are Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla and Ilan Ramon.
13 – The recording industry initiates aggressive copyright lawsuits against file-sharing networks like Kazaa, signalling a war against digital piracy.
14 – Over 250,000 people march through the streets of Sydney, with hundreds of thousands more in Melbourne and Brisbane, staging the largest anti-war protests in Australian history against the impending invasion of Iraq.
15 – Over one million people march through London in the “Stop the War” protest, marking the largest single public demonstration in British political history.
17 – Mayor of London Ken Livingstone officially introduces the London Congestion Charge, fundamentally changing urban transport infrastructure and traffic management in the nation’s capital.
March
10 – The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks) lead singer Natalie Maines publicly criticises President Bush onstage in London, triggering a massive country music boycott.
18 – The Leader of the House of Commons Robin Cook resigns from the Cabinet in protest over the impending war, delivering a historic, devastating resignation speech in Parliament.
18 – The British Parliament votes to support the military invasion of Iraq following a fierce, highly emotional debate that permanently fractures the Labour Party.
19 – American, British and Coalition troops invade Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein, triggering worldwide protests and an eight-year war.
22 – Premier Bob Carr leads the Australian Labor Party to a historic third consecutive landslide victory in the New South Wales state election.
28 – In Iraq, two USAF Air National Guard 190th Fighter Squadron A-10 Thunderbolts fire on and destroy two British armoured vehicles belonging to the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, killing British soldier Matty Hull, and wounding five others.
April
09 – British troops capture the southern Iraqi city of Basra, establishing a long-term military command sector in the region.
11 – Australian troops secure the critical naval port of Umm Qasr in Iraq, establishing Australia’s primary operational command sector in the Gulf War.
28 – Apple launches the iTunes Music Store, revolutionising global media consumption by popularising cheap legal digital downloads.
May
01 – President George W Bush delivers his highly televised “Mission Accomplished” speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
12 – International Development Secretary Clare Short resigns from the UK Cabinet, heavily criticising Tony Blair‘s post-war strategy and governance style.
29 – BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan broadcasts a report on Radio 4’s Today programme claiming the government “sexed up” the Iraq intelligence dossier, initiating a brutal public war between Downing Street and the BBC.
29 – Australian Governor-General Peter Hollingworth resigns following an intense national controversy and public outcry over his past handling of child abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
30 – Disney-Pixar releases Finding Nemo, which goes on to become the highest-grossing animated film of its time.
June
01 – Belgium legalises same-sex marriage, becoming the second country to do so after the Netherlands.
09 – Chancellor Gordon Brown officially announces that the UK will not adopt the Euro currency, stating that the economic “five tests” have not yet been met.
12 – Tony Blair abolishes the ancient office of Lord Chancellor in a sudden, highly criticised Cabinet reshuffle, creating a new Department for Constitutional Affairs.
21 – J.K. Rowling publishes Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, selling an unprecedented 1.8 million copies in the UK in its first 24 hours.
July
08 – Conjoined Iranian twins Laleh and Ladan Bijani – who volunteered to go ahead with a major operation to separate them – die during surgery.
09 – The website MySpace is launched, fundamentally shifting early web infrastructure and establishing the blueprint for the social media era.
18 – The body of British government scientist Dr David Kelly – who has been at the centre of a row between the British Government and the BBC about the use of intelligence reports in the run-up to the war against Iraq – is found in woodland near his Oxfordshire home. He apparently took his own life by slitting his wrists and taking an overdose of painkillers. A knife and a packet of pills are found beside his body.
22 – American forces eliminate Saddam Hussein‘s son Uday and Qusay in Mosul, generating intense global news coverage and reshaping the war’s trajectory.
24 – Australia deploys hundreds of military and federal police personnel to the Solomon Islands under RAMSI (Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands) to restore civil order in the Pacific nation.
27 – Just two months after celebrating his 100th birthday, legendary American comedian Bob Hope dies in his sleep at home in Toluca Lake, California, with his family at his bedside. He had been ill with pneumonia.
August
01 – The Lord Chief Justice appoints Lord Brian Hutton to lead the Hutton Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Dr David Kelly.
03 – The Anglican Church in America approves the appointment of an openly gay bishop, the Reverend Canon Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
05 – Fox premieres The O.C., driving an indie-rock music resurgence and setting the paradigm for teen television dramas.
10 – The United Kingdom records its hottest day in history, as temperatures reach a staggering 38.5°C (101.3°F) in Brogdale, Kent, crippling rail infrastructure and causing thousands of excess heat-related deaths.
14 – Massive power failures cause chaos across the eastern United States and Canada, hitting major cities including New York and Ottawa. It is the worst power cut in US history, affecting more than 50 million people.
16 – Former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, dies in exile in Saudi Arabia. He had been in a coma at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the city of Jeddah since 18 July. A hospital spokesman said he died of multiple organ failure.
19 – The Canal Hotel bombing in Baghdad targets the UN headquarters, killing UN Envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.
27– Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years, fueling an international wave of scientific public interest.
28 – Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera perform a controversial, highly publicised onstage kiss at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
September
11 – Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh dies in hospital from stab wounds inflicted in an attack while shopping in a Stockholm department store the day before. Mijailo Mijailovic is subsequently found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
12 – Country music legend Johnny Cash dies aged 71. He had been rushed to the hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, with respiratory failure, but doctors could not save him.
October
07 – Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected Governor of California in a historic recall election, embodying the synthesis of politics and celebrity culture.
10 – The global sports world focuses on Sydney as the 2003 Rugby World Cup opens at Telstra Stadium, launching a massive, multi-week international tournament.
15 – China launches Shenzhou 5, its first crewed spaceflight mission with astronaut Yang Liwei.
19 – American illusionist David Blaine ends his 44-day stunt of being suspended in a glass box by the River Thames in London without food. Blaine lost almost 30% of his body weight during the stunt and was suffering from malnutrition when he emerged. He was dogged for the duration of his stunt by a group of “Blaine-baiters” who jeered, threw eggs at him and cut his water supply.
22 – United States President George W Bush arrives in Canberra for a historic Australian state visit, addressing a joint sitting of Parliament amid intense public anti-war protests.
23 – Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Canberra immediately after Bush, signalling Australia’s unique, high-stakes economic and geopolitical balancing act between the US and China.
24 – The legendary supersonic aircraft, Concorde, lands at the end of its last passenger flight, amid emotional scenes at Heathrow airport, ending an era of luxury, ultra-fast commercial aviation.
29 – Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith resigns after narrowly failing to win the backing of his fellow MPs in a vote of confidence.
November
06 – Michael Howard is elected unopposed as the new Leader of the Conservative Party, attempting to stabilise the fractured official opposition.
08 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex, is rushed into hospital to give birth to a girl – Louise Alice Elizabeth Mary Mountbatten-Windsor – a month early.
17 – Legendary pop star Michael Jackson faces high-profile legal charges, setting off an unprecedented multi-year international tabloid media circus.
18 – US President George W. Bush arrives in London for a highly controversial, heavily policed state visit, drawing hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters to the streets.
22 – England win the Rugby World Cup, beating Australia 20-17. The final, in Sydney, is won just 26 seconds from the end of the match, with a breathtaking drop goal by the youngest member of the England squad, Jonny Wilkinson.
December
11 – Canada officially ratifies the Kyoto Protocol, escalating international ecological and geopolitical framework discourse.
14 – The ousted President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, is under arrest after being captured by US soldiers in a mission named “Operation Red Dawn”. He is found hidden in a tiny bunker at a farmhouse about 10 miles (15 km) south of his hometown, Tikrit.
17 – Former school caretaker Ian Huntley is found guilty of the murder of Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Huntley is given two life sentences.
25 – Scientists fail to make contact with the British-built Mars probe, Beagle 2, which should have landed on the planet early today. The £35m ($62m) spacecraft was scheduled to touch down at 0254 GMT after its seven-month flight to the Red Planet. The Beagle 2 probe is never heard from again.
Also this year . . .
- The Human Genome Project is completed
- Arsenal are FA Cup Final Winners, beating Southampton 1 – 0
- Amelia Vega (Dominican Republic) is crowned Miss Universe
- Average London house price is £311,238
- ‘Makybe Diva’ wins the Melbourne Cup