Events Date 2003 P 2 | History by KabAstro

Events 201 - 253 of 253

Sports History

Oct 31 Bethany Hamilton, aged 13, has her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing in Hawaii

Appointment of Interest

Oct 31 Mahathir Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad

Nov 1 Arkansas beats Kentucky 71-63 in 7 OTs at Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington; ties NCAA record for longest game in college football history
Nov 1 Arkansas beats Kentucky, 71-63 at Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington; ties NCAA record for longest football game ever played, with 7 overtime periods
Nov 1 John Gagliardi ties Eddie Robinson as college football's career victory leader with his 408th win, guiding Division III St. John's to a 15-12 victory over St.Thomas at St. Paul, Minnesota
Nov 1 University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald establishes a new NCAA record with a touchdown reception in his 14th straight game as Pittsburgh beats Boston College, 24-13 at Alumni Stadium
Nov 2 New York City Marathon: Margaret Okayo of Kenya wins in 2:22:31 to break her own record; her countryman Martin Lel wins men's race in 2:10:30

Arrested Development

Nov 2 US sitcom "Arrested Development" Premieres created by Mitchell Hurwitz, starring Jason Bateman, Porta de Rossi, Michael Cera and an ensemble cast on Fox

Hockey Hall of Fame

Nov 3 Grant Fuhr, Pat LaFontaine, Red Wings owner Mike Illitch and Ottawa 67’s coach Brian Kilreais are inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame

Shock'n Y'all

Nov 4 "Shock'n Y'all" 8th studio album by Toby Keith is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2004)

Nov 4 Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy becomes the first person indicted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He was eventually acquitted.
Nov 4 The most powerful solar flare as observed by satellite instrumentation is recorded.
Nov 9 A suicide-terrorist attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills 17 people.

Clijsters reaches $4 Million

Nov 10 Kim Clijsters of Belgium becomes first female tennis player to earn $US4 million in a season when she overwhelms Amélie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-0 for the WTA Tour Championship at the Staples Center, Los Angeles

Closer

Nov 11 Josh Groban releases his second album "Closer"; it goes to #1 on US charts and becomes his biggest seller

Nov 12 Iraq war: In Nasiriya, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 Iraq war are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.
Nov 12 With 501 km/h (311 mph) Shanghai Transrapid sets up a new world record for commercial railway systems.
Nov 15 First day of the Istanbul Bombings takes place, followed by additional bombings on November 20th

Messi Debut

Nov 16 16-year old Lionel Messi makes his official debut for FC Barcelona when he comes on as a substitute in a friendly against Porto

Federer First of Six

Nov 16 Roger Federer of Switzerland wins his first of 6 season-ending Tennis Masters Cup titles with a 6–3, 6–0, 6–4 victory over American Andre Agassi in the final in Houston, Texas

Britney Spears

Nov 17 Britney Spears, at 21 years old, becomes the youngest singer to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Nov 18 In England, the Local Government Act 2003, repealing controversial anti-gay amendment Section 28, becomes effective
Nov 18 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules the state's ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional
Nov 18 The congress of the Communist Party of Indian Union (Marxist-Leninist) decides to merge the party into Kanu Sanyal's CPI(ML).
Nov 20 After the November 15 bombings, a second day of the 2003 Istanbul Bombings occurs in Istanbul, Turkey, destroying the Turkish head office of HSBC Bank AS and the British consulate.

England World Champions

Nov 22 5th Rugby World Cup Final, Stadium Australia, Sydney: Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson lands winning drop goal in extra time as England beats Australia, 20-17

Georgia's Rose Revolution

Nov 22 Rose Revolution : In Tbilisi, Georgia, opponents of President Eduard Shevardnadze seize the parliament building and demand the president's resignation

President of Georgia and Soviet Diplomat Eduard Shevardnadze

Nov 23 Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze resigns following weeks of mass protests over flawed elections
Nov 26 India accepts Pakistan's offer of a ceasefire in Kashmir
Nov 26 Supersonic airplane the Concorde makes its last ever flight, returning to Bristol, England.

Mandela's AIDS Concerts

Nov 29 The first of Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS benefit concerts held at Green Point Stadium, Capetown

Anti-apartheid Activist and South African President Nelson Mandela

The Return of the King

Dec 1 "The Return of the King", 3rd and final film in the Lord of the Rings series, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen premieres in Wellington, New Zealand

Film Director, Producer, and Screenwriter Peter Jackson

The Simple Life

Dec 2 US reality TV show "The Simple Life" with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie premieres on Fox-TV

Thalia Hollywood Star

Dec 5 Mexican singer Thalia the "Queen of Latin Pop" is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles

Dec 7 The Conservative Party of Canada is officially recognized after the merger of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Film & TV History

Dec 9 "Peter Pan" live action adventure film adaptation of the 1904 play and 1911 by J.M. Barrie premieres in London; flops at the box office

Dec 9 A blast in the center of Moscow kills six people and wounds several more.

Martin Becomes Prime Minister

Dec 12 Paul Martin becomes Prime Minister of Canada after resignation of Jean Chretien

21st Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin

20th Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien

Dec 13 69th Heisman Trophy Award: Jason White, Oklahoma (QB)

Saddam Hussein Captured

Dec 13 Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit, during Operation Red Dawn by US forces

Iraqi President and Dictator Saddam Hussein

Dec 14 President of Pakistan Pervez Musharaf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt
Dec 14 US President George W. Bush announces the capture of Saddam Hussein
Dec 17 "The Return of the King" 3rd Lord of the Ring films is released. Makes US$72 million opening weekend, 2nd film to gross over 1 billion worldwide.
Dec 17 SpaceShipOne flight 11P, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first supersonic flight
Dec 17 The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Dec 22 A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hits near San Simeon, California.

Ballon d'Or

Dec 22 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd is named best football player in Europe ahead of Arsenal forward Thierry Henry and Milan defender Paolo Maldini

NY Knicks Hire Isiah Thomas

Dec 22 The New York Knicks hire Isiah Thomas as President of Basketball Operations

Dec 23 PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai, Chongqing, China, killing at least 234.
Dec 24 Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.
Dec 25 The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe which was released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.
Dec 26 A magnitude 6.6 earthquake devastates southeast Iranian city of Bam, killing tens of thousands and destroying the citadel of Arg-é Bam.
Dec 30 U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recuses himself and his office from the Plame affair.