WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2003
Find out what all happened January to December 2003

Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois' death row based on the Jon Burge scandal. (11. January 2003)

Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman becomes infamously known as the scapegoat for the Cubs losing game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series to the Florida Marlins. (14. October 2003)

AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day (15. July 2003)

Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel: 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs, are killed, and 51 others wounded. (4. October 2003)

Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10. (23. January 2003)

In Mexico, the last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line. (30. July 2003)

Smart 1 satellite is launched. (27. September 2003)

In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed by a Hamas suicide bomb in the Haifa bus 37 massacre. (5. March 2003)

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution. (4. February 2003)

Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II. (19. October 2003)

The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. (12. September 2003)

The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, England, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend Maxine Carr is found guilty of perverting the course of justice. (17. December 2003)

Shanghai Transrapid sets a new world speed record (501 kilometres per hour (311 mph)) for commercial railway systems, which remains the fastest for unmodified commercial rail vehicles. (12. November 2003)

The Bengali Hindus declares the independence of the Republic of Bangabhumi from Bangladesh. (4. February 2003)

Anna Lindh, the foreign minister of Sweden, is fatally stabbed while shopping, and dies the following day. (10. September 2003)

A car-bomb attack on United Nations headquarters in Iraq kills the agency's top envoy Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 other employees. (19. August 2003)

Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf. (29. August 2003)

French DGSE personnel abort an operation to rescue Íngrid Betancourt from FARC rebels in Colombia, causing a political scandal when details are leaked to the press. (13. July 2003)

The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct. (29. December 2003)

The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague. (1. March 2003)