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200 events on this timeline
  1. Michael Phelps

    First American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship

    2003Barcelona, Spain

    At Nationals, Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly. He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship.

  2. BMW

    Bavarian Auto Group became the importer of the BMW and Mini brands

    2003Cairo, Egypt

    Bavarian Auto Group became the importer of the BMW and Mini brands in 2003.

  3. Halimah Yacob

    Her World Woman of the Year Award

    2003Singapore

    In recognition of her contributions, she has conferred the "Her World Woman of the Year Award" in 2003.

  4. Sooronbay Jeenbekov

    Graduating

    2003Kyrgyz National Agrarian University, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    Jeenbekov attended the Kyrgyz Academy of Agriculture, graduating with a degree in zoological engineering. In 2003, he completed further studies, graduating in accounting from the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University.

  5. Bolivarian Revolution

    Mission Robinson

    2003Venezuela

    The program uses volunteers to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the more than 1.5 million Venezuelan adults who were illiterate prior to Chávez's election to the presidency in 1999. The program is military-civilian in nature and sends soldiers to—among other places—remote and dangerous locales in order to reach the most undereducated, neglected and marginalized adult citizens to give them regular schooling and lessons.

  6. 1997 Asian financial crisis

    The increasing tax revenues allowed the country to balance its budget and repay its debts

    2003Thailand

    The increasing tax revenues allowed the country to balance its budget and repay its debts to the IMF in 2003, four years ahead of schedule.

  7. Prince William

    Catherine Middleton

    2003England, United Kingdom

    William's private life became a subject of tabloid speculation, especially around his relationship with Catherine Middleton, one of William's university flatmates whom William began dating in 2003. Middleton attended William's passing-out parade at Sandhurst, which was the first high-profile event that she attended as his guest. Their relationship was followed so closely that bookmakers took bets on the possibility of marriage and the retail chain Woolworths produced memorabilia bearing the likenesses of the couple. Media attention became so intense that William formally asked the press to keep their distance from Middleton.

  8. Robin Williams

    Back to addiction

    2003California, U.S.

    In 2003, Williams started drinking again while working on a film in Alaska.

  9. Tesla, Inc.

    GM Recalled all Its EV1 Electric Cars

    2003U.S.

    The founders were influenced to start the company after GM recalled all its EV1 electric cars in 2003 and then destroyed them.

  10. Slobodan Milošević

    Milošević was charged with ordering Ivan Stambolić's Murder

    2003Serbia

    In the summer of 2000, former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić was kidnapped; his body was found in 2003 and Milošević was charged with ordering his murder.

  11. Francesco Totti

    Second Serie A Footballer of the Year Award

    2003Italy

    In 2003, Totti won his second Serie A Footballer of the Year Award.

  12. Kaká

    2003 Season

    2003Milan, Italy

    His Serie A debut was in a 2–0 win over Ancona. He scored ten goals in 30 appearances that season, also providing several important assists, such as the cross which led to Shevchenko's title-deciding headed goal, as Milan won the Scudetto and the UEFA Super Cup, whilst finishing as runner up in the Intercontinental Cup and the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana.

  13. Adidas

    Adidas Filed a Lawsuit Challenging Fitness World

    2003United Kingdom

    In 2003, Adidas filed a lawsuit in a British court challenging Fitness World Trading's use of a two-stripe motif similar to Adidas's three stripes. The court ruled that despite the simplicity of the mark, Fitness World 's use was infringing because the public could establish a link between that use and Adidas's mark.

  14. Nike, Inc.

    Nike acquired Converse

    2003Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

    In 2003, Nike paid US$309 million to acquire Converse, makers of the Chuck Taylor All-Stars line of sneakers.

  15. Lula da Silva

    A President

    Wednesday Jan 1, 2003Brazil

    He became a president in 2003.

  16. New York Stock Exchange

    NYSE Composite Index was relaunched

    2003New York, U.S.

    In 2003, NYSE Composite Index was relaunched and value set equal to 5,000 points.

  17. Microprocessor

    US$44 Billion Worth of Microprocessors Were Manufactured and Sold

    2003U.S.

    In 2003, about US$44 (equivalent to $59.93 in 2018) billion worth of microprocessors were manufactured and sold.

  18. Sofia Kenin

    Kenin began playing tennis

    2003Florida, U.S.

    Kenin began playing tennis at the age of five, drawing inspiration from her father who had played recreationally. Her parents recognized her potential and arranged for her to begin training with Rick Macci in Broward County, Florida.

  19. Jeff Bezos

    Rebounding from Financial Instability

    2003Bellevue, Washington, U.S.

    In 2003, Amazon rebounded from financial instability and turned a profit of $400 million.

  20. Google LLC

    The Company Leased an Office Complex From Silicon Graphics

    2003Mountain View, California, U.S.

    In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. Three years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.

  21. Facebook, Inc.

    Zuckerberg Built a Website Called "Facemash"

    2003Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

    Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online facebooks of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group list-servers, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration.

  22. Facebook, Inc.

    Harvard's "face book"

    2003Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

    A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information.In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told the Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."

  23. Marvel Studios

    The SCI FI Channel and Reveille Productions agreed to develop two pilot films

    Jan, 2003U.S.

    In January 2003, Marvel, The SCI FI Channel and Reveille Productions agreed to develop two pilot films based on Brother Voodoo and Strikeforce: Morituri.

  24. Kobe Bryant

    Sexual assault

    2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    Bryant was arrested for sexual assault before the season began. This caused Bryant to miss some games due to court appearances or attend court earlier in the day and travel to play games later in the same day.

  25. Banking Frauds and Hacks

    Data processors International

    2003U.S.

    The FBI and the secret service announced that the network of data processors international, the third-party payment processing company. Was violated by an unknown computer hacker. It isn’t clear how many accounts were compromised. Or if any of that information has been used for fraudulent purposes. About 8 million credit card was stolen. 2.2M cards were issued by MasterCard and 3.4M were issued by Visa.

  26. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    A new infection with SARS is confirmed in China

    Sunday Jan 5, 2003China

    China confirmed that the case reported in December was a case of wild source SARS.

  27. Mamie Till

    Till-Mobley died of heart failure

    Monday Jan 6, 2003Chicago, Illinois, United States

    On January 6, 2003, Till-Mobley died of heart failure at the age of 81. Till-Mobley was buried near her son in Burr Oak Cemetery, where her monument reads, "Her pain united a nation."

  28. Kobe Bryant

    NBA record for three-pointers

    Tuesday Jan 7, 2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    He set an NBA record for three-pointers in a game on January 7, 2003, when he made 12 against the Seattle SuperSonics.

  29. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis

    Back to Iraq

    2003Iraq

    He returned to Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and went on to serve as a security adviser to the first Iraqi prime minister after the invasion, Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

  30. Kobe Bryant

    Bryants' first child

    Sunday Jan 19, 2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    Bryants' first child was born in January 2003. The birth resulted in a reconciliation between Bryant and his parents.

  31. Garry Kasparov

    Deep Junior

    Jan, 2003New York, U.S.

    In January 2003, he engaged in a six-game classical time control match with a $1 million prize fund which was billed as the FIDE "Man vs. Machine" World Championship, against "Deep Junior". The engine evaluated three million positions per second. After one win each and three draws, it was all up to the final game. After reaching a decent position Kasparov offered a draw, which was soon accepted by the Deep Junior team. Asked why he offered the draw, Kasparov said he feared making a blunder.

  32. Donald Trump

    The Apprentice

    2003U.S.

    In 2003, Trump became the co-producer and host of The Apprentice, a reality show in which contestants competed for a one-year management job with the Trump Organization, and Trump weeded out applicants with the catchphrase "You're fired". He later co-hosted The Celebrity Apprentice, in which celebrities competed to win money for charities. In February 2015, Trump said he was not ready to sign on for another season of the show because he considered running for president. Despite this, NBC planned a fifteenth season, but in June distanced itself from Trump, citing "derogatory statements regarding immigrants" in his campaign announcement.

  33. Xerox

    SEC filed a complaint against Xerox's auditors, KPMG

    Wednesday Jan 29, 2003U.S.

    On January 29, 2003, the SEC filed a complaint against Xerox's auditors, KPMG, alleging four partners in the "Big Five" accounting firm permitted Xerox to "cook the books" to fill a $3 billion "gap" in revenue and $1.4 billion "gap" in pre-tax earnings. In April 2005 KPMG settled with the SEC by paying a US$22.48 million fine. Meanwhile, Xerox paid a civil penalty of $10 million. As part of the settlement, KPMG neither admits nor denies wrongdoings.

  34. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    The first international spreaded

    Friday Jan 31, 2003Guangzhou, China

    The first super-spreader, Zhou Zuofen would bring the disease to the international stage. He checked in to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital in Guangzhou on January 31. This was the same hospital where Liu Jianlun was treating the disease. The virus was soon spread to nearby hospitals while Liu would later spread the disease to Hong Kong.

  35. Dwayne Johnson

    The Rock Returned

    Thursday Jan 30, 2003Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.

    The Rock returned on the January 30, 2003 episode of SmackDown! to set up another match with Hulk Hogan at No Way Out.

  36. Best Buy

    First global-sourcing office

    Jan, 2003Shanghai, China

    Best Buy stores in the U.S. surpassed the 600-store mark and the company opened its first global-sourcing office in Shanghai in 2003.

  37. Elizabeth Holmes

    Holmes founded "Real-Time Cures"

    2003Stanford, California, United States

    In 2003, Holmes founded the company Real-Time Cures in Palo Alto, California, to "democratize healthcare".

  38. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

    2003 New Election

    Sunday Feb 9, 2003Siirt, Turkey

    In December 2002, the Supreme Election Board canceled the general election results from Siirt due to voting irregularities and scheduled a new election for 9 February 2003. By this time, party leader Erdoğan was able to run for parliament due to a legal change made possible by the opposition Republican People's Party. The AKP duly listed Erdoğan as a candidate for the rescheduled election, which he won, becoming Prime Minister after Gül handed over the post.

  39. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong Spread: First Patient Liu Jianlun

    Friday Feb 21, 2003Hong Kong, China

    Liu Jianlun, Hong Kong's first patient, checked into the Metropole Hotel on February 21, with a room on the ninth floor, specifically room 911. Even though he was already feeling somewhat ill he visited with his family and travelled around Hong Kong.

  40. Elizabeth Holmes

    Holmes changed the name of the company to Theranos 

    Feb, 2003Palo Alto, California, United States

    In 2003, Holmes renamed the company Theranos (a portmanteau of "therapy" and "diagnosis"). Robertson became the company's first board member and introduced Holmes to venture capitalists.

  41. Elizabeth Holmes

    Holmes discovered a wearable patch to monitor patients' blood

    2003Stanford, California, United States

    During her research, Elizabeth came up with a wearable drug-delivery patch that could help in early detection and prevention. The device incorporated microfluidics and nanotechnology into a patch that could sample the blood, detect an infection and deliver antibiotics to the infected area.

  42. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS reaches Canda

    Sunday Feb 23, 2003Toronto, Canada

    An elderly woman, Kwan Sui-Chu returned to Toronto from Hong Kong after being infected by Liu Jianlun at the Metropole Hotel. She died at home on March 5, after infecting her son Tse Chi Kwai, who spread the disease at Scarborough Grace Hospital and then he also died.

  43. Dwayne Johnson

    No Way Out (2003)

    Sunday Feb 23, 2003Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    The Rock defeated Hogan at No Way Out before assigning himself to the Raw brand.

  44. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Spreading though Taiwan

    Tuesday Feb 25, 2003Taipei, Taiwan

    On February 25, a businessman who had travelled in Hong Kong and the Guangdong Province returned home to Taipei. This marked the beginning of the outbreak on Taiwan.

  45. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Vietnam: First Patient

    Wednesday Feb 26, 2003Vietnam

    The virus was carried to Hanoi, Vietnam by a fellow guest on the Metropole's ninth floor. A Chinese-American resident of Shanghai, Johnny Chen, had roomed across the hall from Liu at the Metropole. He travelled on to Hanoi, fell ill there, and on February 26, was admitted to the French Hospital of Hanoi where he infected at least 38 of the staff there.

  46. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Spreading to Singapore

    Saturday Mar 1, 2003Novena, Singapore

    On March 1, 26-year-old Esther Mok was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after visiting Hong Kong, starting the Singapore outbreak. She recovered as various family members died.

  47. September 11 (9/11) Attacks

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Arrested

    Saturday Mar 1, 2003Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested on March 1, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by Pakistani security officials working with the CIA. He was then held at multiple CIA secret prisons and Guantanamo Bay where he was interrogated and tortured with methods including waterboarding.

  48. DC Comics

    Elfquest

    Mar, 2003U.S.

    In March 2003 DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to the long-running fantasy series Elfquest, previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, in collection into DC Archive Editions.

  49. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: consequences on medical staff

    Tuesday Mar 4, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On March 4, a 27-year-old Hong Kong man who had visited a guest in Metropole (on the ninth floor) 11 days earlier was admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital. At least 99 hospital workers (including 17 medical students) were infected while treating him.

  50. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Hong Kong: First Patient

    Tuesday Mar 4, 2003Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong, China

    Liu Jianlun died in the intensive care Unit at Kwong Wah Hospital after being held in the hospital for around 10 days.

  51. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS identification Carlo Urbani

    Wednesday Mar 5, 2003Hanoi, Vietnam

    Carlo Urbani, a WHO infectious disease specialist, was among the staff who examined Chen. Urbani observed that other hospital staff were already becoming ill and realized that he was dealing with a new and dangerous disease. His diagnosis was clear: this was an unusual case of an “unknown contagious disease”. Responding to the gravity of the situation, Dr Urbani alerted WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

  52. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Containing in Vietnam: Hanoi French Hospital stops admission

    Tuesday Mar 11, 2003Hanoi, Vietnam

    Hanoi French Hospital didn't accept new patients starting from March 11, but it only kept its own infected staff.

  53. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    WHO: First Global alert.

    Wednesday Mar 12, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On March 12, WHO issued a global alert about a new infectious disease of unknown origin in both Vietnam and Hong Kong.

  54. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Vietnam: First Patient

    Thursday Mar 13, 2003Hong Kong, China

    Johnny Chen was then evacuated to Hong Kong, he died on March 13.

  55. PlayStation

    The Sony PSX

    2003Tokyo, Japan

    Released solely in Japan in 2003, the Sony PSX was a fully integrated DVR and PlayStation 2 video game console. It was the first Sony product to utilize the XrossMediaBar (XMB) and can be linked with a PlayStation Portable to transfer videos and music via USB.

  56. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    WHO: Intense Global Health alert

    Saturday Mar 15, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On March 15, WHO issued a heightened global health alert about mysterious pneumonia with a case definition of SARS after cases in Singapore and Canada were also identified. The alert included a rare emergency travel advisory to international travellers, healthcare professionals, and health authorities.

  57. Mona Lisa

    Research in 2003

    2003Harvard University, Massachusetts, U.S.

    Research in 2003 by Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University said that Mona Lisa's smile disappears when observed with direct vision, known as foveal. Because of the way the human eye processes visual information, it is less suited to pick up shadows directly; however, peripheral vision can pick up shadows well.

  58. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Hong Kong: Consequences

    Mar, 2003Hong Kong, China

    Liu's brother-in-law sought medical treatment in late February, entered the hospital on March 1, and died on March 19. Twenty-three other guests from the Metropole developed SARS, seven of them from the ninth floor, and it is estimated that around 80% of the Hong Kong cases were due to Liu.

  59. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Vietnam: Hanoi French Hospital Staff infections

    Mar, 2003Vietnam

    On March 15, Nguyen Thi Luong, the nurse who had tended to Chen, died. On March 19, Jean Paul Derosier, the anesthetist who had put Chen on a ventilator, died. On March 24, gynecologist Nguyen The Phuong and nurse Nguyen Thi Uyen died.

  60. John Forbes Nash Jr.: A Beautiful Mind

    Honorary in Economics

    Wednesday Mar 19, 2003Naples, Italy

    Nash received an honorary degree in economics from the University of Naples Federico II on March 19, 2003

  61. George W. Bush

    Iraq invasion

    Thursday Mar 20, 2003Iraq

    More than 20 nations (most notably the United Kingdom), designated the "coalition of the willing" joined the United States in invading Iraq. They launched the invasion on March 20, 2003. The Iraqi military was quickly defeated.

  62. Second Chechen War

    New Chechen constitution was passed in a referendum

    Sunday Mar 23, 2003Chechnya, Russia

    On 23 March 2003, a new Chechen constitution was passed in a referendum.

  63. Plague

    An outbreak of plague is reported in Algeria

    2003Algeria

    An outbreak of plague is reported in Algeria, in an area considered plague-free for 50 years.

  64. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: Educational classes cancellation

    Thursday Mar 27, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On March 27, Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau announced the class cancellation of all educational institutions.

  65. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Singapore: Educational classes cancellation

    Thursday Mar 27, 2003Singapore

    The Ministry of Education of Singapore announced that all primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges were to be shut until April 6, 2003.

  66. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Carlo Urbani death

    Friday Mar 28, 2003Bangkok, Thailand

    During a flight to Bangkok to attend a conference, Dr Urbani developed symptoms of SARS. He died of complication related to SARS on 29 March 2003 – a public health hero.

  67. United Nations

    United States invaded Iraq

    Saturday Mar 29, 2003Iraq

    In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the organization's effectiveness.

  68. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: Massive Building outbreak!

    Sunday Mar 30, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On March 30, Hong Kong authorities quarantined estate E of the Amoy Gardens Apartment due to a massive (200+ cases) outbreak in the building.

  69. Dwayne Johnson

    WrestleMania XIX

    Sunday Mar 30, 2003Seattle, Washington, U.S.

    After failing to win a number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock went into another program with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This led to a match at WrestleMania XIX, which called back to their previous two WrestleMania encounters, both of which Austin had won.

  70. Dwayne Johnson

    The Rock Appreciation Night

    Monday Mar 31, 2003Seattle, Washington, U.S.

    The next night, Raw was billed as "The Rock Appreciation Night", in honor of his victory over Austin. That night, he was attacked by a debuting Goldberg.

  71. Alan Turing

    Turing's work at Bletchley Park was named an IEEE Milestone

    Tuesday Apr 1, 2003Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom

    On 1 April 2003, Turing's work at Bletchley Park was named an IEEE Milestone.

  72. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS: Chinese outbreak status

    Wednesday Apr 2, 2003Guangdong, China

    On April 2, Chinese medical officials began reporting the status of the SARS outbreak. China's southern Guangdong province reported 361 new infections and 9 new deaths, increasing the total Mainland China figures previously reported at end-February.

  73. Second Chechen War

    The 2003 Constitution granted the Chechen Republic a significant degree of autonomy

    Wednesday Apr 2, 2003Chechnya, Russia

    The 2003 Constitution granted the Chechen Republic a significant degree of autonomy, but still tied it firmly to Russia and Moscow's rule, and went into force on 2 April 2003.

  74. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through China: Releasing Data

    Friday Apr 4, 2003China

    A Chinese health specialist admitted at a press conference of not informing the public early enough about the outbreak. The PRC Health Minister also claimed that the disease has been under control in most parts of mainland China. He also released the names of seven drugs which he claimed to be effective in curing SARS.

  75. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through Singapore: School Closure Extension

    Friday Apr 4, 2003Singapore

    On April 5, the Singapore government announced that school closures would be extended. Junior colleges were to reopen on April 9, secondary schools would reopen on April 14 and primary schools and pre-schools would reopen on April 16.

  76. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS reaches Manila Philippines

    Sunday Apr 6, 2003Manila, Philippines

    On April 6, a SARS case was found in Manila (the capital city of the Philippines), a person who had returned from Hong Kong.

  77. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through Hong Kong: So far!

    Tuesday Apr 8, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On April 8, SARS started to plague the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate near Amoy Gardens in Kowloon. Hong Kong health officials warned that SARS had spread so far domestically and abroad that it was here to stay.

  78. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through Hong Kong: James Salisbury (American's Death)

    Wednesday Apr 9, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On April 9, James Earl Salisbury died of SARS at a hospital in Hong Kong. An American Mormon and a teacher at Shenzhen Polytechnic. He had been sick for approximately one month before his death, but he was originally diagnosed with pneumonia. His son Michael "Mickey" Salisbury was with him in China and also contracted the disease, but he survived it. Salisbury's death led to more open admissions by the Chinese government about the spread of SARS.

  79. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading by global air confirmation

    Friday Apr 11, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On April 11, the World Health Organization issued a global health alert for SARS as it became clear the disease was being spread by global air travel.

  80. Michael Jordan

    23 no more in Miami Heat

    Friday Apr 11, 2003Miami, Florida, U.S.

    The Miami Heat retired the number 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team.

  81. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Containing in Vietnam: Hanoi French Hospital shutting

    Friday Apr 11, 2003Hanoi, Vietnam

    Hanoi French Hospital shut its doors completely after the last patient's death on April 12.

  82. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Breaking Genetic code of the virus

    Saturday Apr 12, 2003British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada

    On April 12, Marco Marra, director of the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, which is part of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, announced that scientists at his centre had broken the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing the disease.

  83. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS New infections in Canda

    Saturday Apr 12, 2003Toronto, Canada

    In Toronto, three more people died of SARS, bringing the Canadian death toll to 13.

  84. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS reaches India

    Wednesday Apr 16, 2003Dinner, a village near Bangalore, India

    On April 16, Doctors were surprised to discover the occurrence of at least two cases of SARS in Dinner, a village near Bangalore, India.

  85. Michael Jordan

    Final Match

    Wednesday Apr 16, 2003Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

    Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia.

  86. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    The virus has a name SARS

    Wednesday Apr 16, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On April 16, the WHO issued a press release stating that the coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the official cause of SARS. The virus was officially named the SARS virus ( The Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus )

  87. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS spreading through China: More transparency

    Sunday Apr 20, 2003China

    On April 20, Beijing's mayor and the health minister of the PRCwere replaced respectively by Wang Qishan and the former deputy health minister Gao Qiang. In the news conference chaired by Gao Qiang several hours earlier, the PRC admitted that in Beijing there were more than 300 cases, as opposed to the previous figure of only 37.

  88. Shaquille O'Neal

    O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years

    2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me."

  89. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: Schools reopening

    Tuesday Apr 22, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On April 22, schools, in Hong Kong, started to reopen in stages.

  90. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS spreading through Beijing: Schools closure

    Wednesday Apr 23, 2003Beijing, China

    On April 23, Beijing announced that all primary and secondary schools would be closed for two weeks. A few days before, some colleges in Peking University had been closed because some students had been infected.

  91. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    WHO Travel Advisories Updates

    Wednesday Apr 23, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On April 23, The WHO issued travel advisories against Beijing, Toronto, and Shanxi Province.

  92. Bolivarian Revolution

    Mission Mercal

    Thursday Apr 24, 2003Venezuela

    The Mission involves a state-run company called Mercados de Alimentos, C.A. (MERCAL), which provides subsidised food and basic goods through a nationwide chain of stores. In 2010 Mercal was reported as having 16,600 outlets, "ranging from street-corner shops to huge warehouse stores", in addition to 6,000 soup kitchens. Mercal employs 85,000 workers. In 2006, some 11.36 million Venezuelans benefited from Mercal food programs on a regular basis. At least 14,208 Mission Mercal food distribution sites were spread throughout Venezuela and 4,543 metric tons of food distributed each day. In recent times, customers who had to wait in long lines for discounted products say that there were a lack of products in Mercal stores and that items available at the stores change constantly. Some customers complained about rationing being enforced at Mercal stores due to the lack of products. In some cases, protests have occurred due to the shortages in stores.

  93. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS spreading through Taiwan

    Friday Apr 25, 2003Taipei, Taiwan

    On April 25, Taipei city government closed Taipei Municipal Hospital Hoping branch, and quarantined its 930 staff and 240 patients for 2 weeks. Later, people were relocated and the building sanitized.

  94. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through China: Closing entertainment venues

    Friday Apr 25, 2003Beijing, China

    On April 26–27, Chinese authorities closed down theatres, discos, and other entertainment venues in Beijing as the death toll in Beijing continued to rise, threatening to become the worst-hit area of the country

  95. Dwayne Johnson

    Backlash (2003)

    Sunday Apr 27, 2003Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.

    At Backlash, Goldberg defeated The Rock, who then briefly left WWE to film Walking Tall.

  96. Huawei

    Partnering with 3Com on a joint venture

    May, 2003Hangzhou, China

    In May 2003, Huawei partnered with 3Com on a joint venture known as H3C, which was focused on enterprise networking equipment. It marked 3Com's re-entrance into the high-end core routers and switch market, after having abandoned it in 2000 to focus on other businesses. 3Com bought out Huawei's share of the venture in 2006 for US$882 million.

  97. Diego Maradona

    Diego Junior met Maradona

    May, 2003Italy

    Maradona admitted he is the father of Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on 20 September 1986). The Italian courts had already ruled so in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests to prove or disprove his paternity. Diego Junior met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Italy where Maradona was playing.

  98. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    FIFA moves women's world cup to USA

    Saturday May 3, 2003Zurich, Switzerland

    On May 3, the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was abruptly moved to the United States due to the outbreak.

  99. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Infections dropping in Hong Kong

    Sunday May 4, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On May 4, the newly infected number of people in Hong Kong dropped to a single digit.

  100. Michael Jordan

    Fired

    Wednesday May 7, 2003Washington D.C., U.S.

    On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team's president of basketball operations. Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.

  101. Michael Phelps

    First American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship

    2003Barcelona, Spain

    At Nationals, Phelps won the 200-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, and the 100-meter butterfly. He became the first American swimmer to win three different races in three different strokes at a national championship.

  102. BMW

    Bavarian Auto Group became the importer of the BMW and Mini brands

    2003Cairo, Egypt

    Bavarian Auto Group became the importer of the BMW and Mini brands in 2003.

  103. Halimah Yacob

    Her World Woman of the Year Award

    2003Singapore

    In recognition of her contributions, she has conferred the "Her World Woman of the Year Award" in 2003.

  104. Sooronbay Jeenbekov

    Graduating

    2003Kyrgyz National Agrarian University, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

    Jeenbekov attended the Kyrgyz Academy of Agriculture, graduating with a degree in zoological engineering. In 2003, he completed further studies, graduating in accounting from the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University.

  105. Bolivarian Revolution

    Mission Robinson

    2003Venezuela

    The program uses volunteers to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the more than 1.5 million Venezuelan adults who were illiterate prior to Chávez's election to the presidency in 1999. The program is military-civilian in nature and sends soldiers to—among other places—remote and dangerous locales in order to reach the most undereducated, neglected and marginalized adult citizens to give them regular schooling and lessons.

  106. 1997 Asian financial crisis

    The increasing tax revenues allowed the country to balance its budget and repay its debts

    2003Thailand

    The increasing tax revenues allowed the country to balance its budget and repay its debts to the IMF in 2003, four years ahead of schedule.

  107. Prince William

    Catherine Middleton

    2003England, United Kingdom

    William's private life became a subject of tabloid speculation, especially around his relationship with Catherine Middleton, one of William's university flatmates whom William began dating in 2003. Middleton attended William's passing-out parade at Sandhurst, which was the first high-profile event that she attended as his guest. Their relationship was followed so closely that bookmakers took bets on the possibility of marriage and the retail chain Woolworths produced memorabilia bearing the likenesses of the couple. Media attention became so intense that William formally asked the press to keep their distance from Middleton.

  108. Robin Williams

    Back to addiction

    2003California, U.S.

    In 2003, Williams started drinking again while working on a film in Alaska.

  109. Tesla, Inc.

    GM Recalled all Its EV1 Electric Cars

    2003U.S.

    The founders were influenced to start the company after GM recalled all its EV1 electric cars in 2003 and then destroyed them.

  110. Slobodan Milošević

    Milošević was charged with ordering Ivan Stambolić's Murder

    2003Serbia

    In the summer of 2000, former Serbian President Ivan Stambolić was kidnapped; his body was found in 2003 and Milošević was charged with ordering his murder.

  111. Francesco Totti

    Second Serie A Footballer of the Year Award

    2003Italy

    In 2003, Totti won his second Serie A Footballer of the Year Award.

  112. Kaká

    2003 Season

    2003Milan, Italy

    His Serie A debut was in a 2–0 win over Ancona. He scored ten goals in 30 appearances that season, also providing several important assists, such as the cross which led to Shevchenko's title-deciding headed goal, as Milan won the Scudetto and the UEFA Super Cup, whilst finishing as runner up in the Intercontinental Cup and the 2003 Supercoppa Italiana.

  113. Adidas

    Adidas Filed a Lawsuit Challenging Fitness World

    2003United Kingdom

    In 2003, Adidas filed a lawsuit in a British court challenging Fitness World Trading's use of a two-stripe motif similar to Adidas's three stripes. The court ruled that despite the simplicity of the mark, Fitness World 's use was infringing because the public could establish a link between that use and Adidas's mark.

  114. Nike, Inc.

    Nike acquired Converse

    2003Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

    In 2003, Nike paid US$309 million to acquire Converse, makers of the Chuck Taylor All-Stars line of sneakers.

  115. Lula da Silva

    A President

    Wednesday Jan 1, 2003Brazil

    He became a president in 2003.

  116. New York Stock Exchange

    NYSE Composite Index was relaunched

    2003New York, U.S.

    In 2003, NYSE Composite Index was relaunched and value set equal to 5,000 points.

  117. Microprocessor

    US$44 Billion Worth of Microprocessors Were Manufactured and Sold

    2003U.S.

    In 2003, about US$44 (equivalent to $59.93 in 2018) billion worth of microprocessors were manufactured and sold.

  118. Sofia Kenin

    Kenin began playing tennis

    2003Florida, U.S.

    Kenin began playing tennis at the age of five, drawing inspiration from her father who had played recreationally. Her parents recognized her potential and arranged for her to begin training with Rick Macci in Broward County, Florida.

  119. Jeff Bezos

    Rebounding from Financial Instability

    2003Bellevue, Washington, U.S.

    In 2003, Amazon rebounded from financial instability and turned a profit of $400 million.

  120. Google LLC

    The Company Leased an Office Complex From Silicon Graphics

    2003Mountain View, California, U.S.

    In 2003, after outgrowing two other locations, the company leased an office complex from Silicon Graphics, at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View, California.The complex became known as the Googleplex, a play on the word googolplex, the number one followed by a googol zeroes. Three years later, Google bought the property from SGI for $319 million.

  121. Facebook, Inc.

    Zuckerberg Built a Website Called "Facemash"

    2003Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

    Zuckerberg built a website called "Facemash" in 2003 while attending Harvard University. The site was comparable to Hot or Not and used "photos compiled from the online facebooks of nine Houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the "hotter" person". Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours. The site was sent to several campus group list-servers, but was shut down a few days later by Harvard administration.

  122. Facebook, Inc.

    Harvard's "face book"

    2003Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

    A "face book" is a student directory featuring photos and personal information.In 2003, Harvard had only a paper version along with private online directories. Zuckerberg told the Crimson, "Everyone's been talking a lot about a universal face book within Harvard. I think it's kind of silly that it would take the University a couple of years to get around to it. I can do it better than they can, and I can do it in a week."

  123. Marvel Studios

    The SCI FI Channel and Reveille Productions agreed to develop two pilot films

    Jan, 2003U.S.

    In January 2003, Marvel, The SCI FI Channel and Reveille Productions agreed to develop two pilot films based on Brother Voodoo and Strikeforce: Morituri.

  124. Kobe Bryant

    Sexual assault

    2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    Bryant was arrested for sexual assault before the season began. This caused Bryant to miss some games due to court appearances or attend court earlier in the day and travel to play games later in the same day.

  125. Banking Frauds and Hacks

    Data processors International

    2003U.S.

    The FBI and the secret service announced that the network of data processors international, the third-party payment processing company. Was violated by an unknown computer hacker. It isn’t clear how many accounts were compromised. Or if any of that information has been used for fraudulent purposes. About 8 million credit card was stolen. 2.2M cards were issued by MasterCard and 3.4M were issued by Visa.

  126. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    A new infection with SARS is confirmed in China

    Sunday Jan 5, 2003China

    China confirmed that the case reported in December was a case of wild source SARS.

  127. Mamie Till

    Till-Mobley died of heart failure

    Monday Jan 6, 2003Chicago, Illinois, United States

    On January 6, 2003, Till-Mobley died of heart failure at the age of 81. Till-Mobley was buried near her son in Burr Oak Cemetery, where her monument reads, "Her pain united a nation."

  128. Kobe Bryant

    NBA record for three-pointers

    Tuesday Jan 7, 2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    He set an NBA record for three-pointers in a game on January 7, 2003, when he made 12 against the Seattle SuperSonics.

  129. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis

    Back to Iraq

    2003Iraq

    He returned to Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and went on to serve as a security adviser to the first Iraqi prime minister after the invasion, Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

  130. Kobe Bryant

    Bryants' first child

    Sunday Jan 19, 2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    Bryants' first child was born in January 2003. The birth resulted in a reconciliation between Bryant and his parents.

  131. Garry Kasparov

    Deep Junior

    Jan, 2003New York, U.S.

    In January 2003, he engaged in a six-game classical time control match with a $1 million prize fund which was billed as the FIDE "Man vs. Machine" World Championship, against "Deep Junior". The engine evaluated three million positions per second. After one win each and three draws, it was all up to the final game. After reaching a decent position Kasparov offered a draw, which was soon accepted by the Deep Junior team. Asked why he offered the draw, Kasparov said he feared making a blunder.

  132. Donald Trump

    The Apprentice

    2003U.S.

    In 2003, Trump became the co-producer and host of The Apprentice, a reality show in which contestants competed for a one-year management job with the Trump Organization, and Trump weeded out applicants with the catchphrase "You're fired". He later co-hosted The Celebrity Apprentice, in which celebrities competed to win money for charities. In February 2015, Trump said he was not ready to sign on for another season of the show because he considered running for president. Despite this, NBC planned a fifteenth season, but in June distanced itself from Trump, citing "derogatory statements regarding immigrants" in his campaign announcement.

  133. Xerox

    SEC filed a complaint against Xerox's auditors, KPMG

    Wednesday Jan 29, 2003U.S.

    On January 29, 2003, the SEC filed a complaint against Xerox's auditors, KPMG, alleging four partners in the "Big Five" accounting firm permitted Xerox to "cook the books" to fill a $3 billion "gap" in revenue and $1.4 billion "gap" in pre-tax earnings. In April 2005 KPMG settled with the SEC by paying a US$22.48 million fine. Meanwhile, Xerox paid a civil penalty of $10 million. As part of the settlement, KPMG neither admits nor denies wrongdoings.

  134. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    The first international spreaded

    Friday Jan 31, 2003Guangzhou, China

    The first super-spreader, Zhou Zuofen would bring the disease to the international stage. He checked in to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital in Guangzhou on January 31. This was the same hospital where Liu Jianlun was treating the disease. The virus was soon spread to nearby hospitals while Liu would later spread the disease to Hong Kong.

  135. Dwayne Johnson

    The Rock Returned

    Thursday Jan 30, 2003Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.

    The Rock returned on the January 30, 2003 episode of SmackDown! to set up another match with Hulk Hogan at No Way Out.

  136. Best Buy

    First global-sourcing office

    Jan, 2003Shanghai, China

    Best Buy stores in the U.S. surpassed the 600-store mark and the company opened its first global-sourcing office in Shanghai in 2003.

  137. Elizabeth Holmes

    Holmes founded "Real-Time Cures"

    2003Stanford, California, United States

    In 2003, Holmes founded the company Real-Time Cures in Palo Alto, California, to "democratize healthcare".

  138. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

    2003 New Election

    Sunday Feb 9, 2003Siirt, Turkey

    In December 2002, the Supreme Election Board canceled the general election results from Siirt due to voting irregularities and scheduled a new election for 9 February 2003. By this time, party leader Erdoğan was able to run for parliament due to a legal change made possible by the opposition Republican People's Party. The AKP duly listed Erdoğan as a candidate for the rescheduled election, which he won, becoming Prime Minister after Gül handed over the post.

  139. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong Spread: First Patient Liu Jianlun

    Friday Feb 21, 2003Hong Kong, China

    Liu Jianlun, Hong Kong's first patient, checked into the Metropole Hotel on February 21, with a room on the ninth floor, specifically room 911. Even though he was already feeling somewhat ill he visited with his family and travelled around Hong Kong.

  140. Elizabeth Holmes

    Holmes changed the name of the company to Theranos 

    Feb, 2003Palo Alto, California, United States

    In 2003, Holmes renamed the company Theranos (a portmanteau of "therapy" and "diagnosis"). Robertson became the company's first board member and introduced Holmes to venture capitalists.

  141. Elizabeth Holmes

    Holmes discovered a wearable patch to monitor patients' blood

    2003Stanford, California, United States

    During her research, Elizabeth came up with a wearable drug-delivery patch that could help in early detection and prevention. The device incorporated microfluidics and nanotechnology into a patch that could sample the blood, detect an infection and deliver antibiotics to the infected area.

  142. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS reaches Canda

    Sunday Feb 23, 2003Toronto, Canada

    An elderly woman, Kwan Sui-Chu returned to Toronto from Hong Kong after being infected by Liu Jianlun at the Metropole Hotel. She died at home on March 5, after infecting her son Tse Chi Kwai, who spread the disease at Scarborough Grace Hospital and then he also died.

  143. Dwayne Johnson

    No Way Out (2003)

    Sunday Feb 23, 2003Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    The Rock defeated Hogan at No Way Out before assigning himself to the Raw brand.

  144. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Spreading though Taiwan

    Tuesday Feb 25, 2003Taipei, Taiwan

    On February 25, a businessman who had travelled in Hong Kong and the Guangdong Province returned home to Taipei. This marked the beginning of the outbreak on Taiwan.

  145. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Vietnam: First Patient

    Wednesday Feb 26, 2003Vietnam

    The virus was carried to Hanoi, Vietnam by a fellow guest on the Metropole's ninth floor. A Chinese-American resident of Shanghai, Johnny Chen, had roomed across the hall from Liu at the Metropole. He travelled on to Hanoi, fell ill there, and on February 26, was admitted to the French Hospital of Hanoi where he infected at least 38 of the staff there.

  146. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Spreading to Singapore

    Saturday Mar 1, 2003Novena, Singapore

    On March 1, 26-year-old Esther Mok was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital after visiting Hong Kong, starting the Singapore outbreak. She recovered as various family members died.

  147. September 11 (9/11) Attacks

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Was Arrested

    Saturday Mar 1, 2003Rawalpindi, Pakistan

    Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was arrested on March 1, 2003, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by Pakistani security officials working with the CIA. He was then held at multiple CIA secret prisons and Guantanamo Bay where he was interrogated and tortured with methods including waterboarding.

  148. DC Comics

    Elfquest

    Mar, 2003U.S.

    In March 2003 DC acquired publishing and merchandising rights to the long-running fantasy series Elfquest, previously self-published by creators Wendy and Richard Pini under their WaRP Graphics publication banner. This series then followed another non-DC title, Tower Comics' series T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, in collection into DC Archive Editions.

  149. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: consequences on medical staff

    Tuesday Mar 4, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On March 4, a 27-year-old Hong Kong man who had visited a guest in Metropole (on the ninth floor) 11 days earlier was admitted to Prince of Wales Hospital. At least 99 hospital workers (including 17 medical students) were infected while treating him.

  150. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Hong Kong: First Patient

    Tuesday Mar 4, 2003Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong, China

    Liu Jianlun died in the intensive care Unit at Kwong Wah Hospital after being held in the hospital for around 10 days.

  151. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS identification Carlo Urbani

    Wednesday Mar 5, 2003Hanoi, Vietnam

    Carlo Urbani, a WHO infectious disease specialist, was among the staff who examined Chen. Urbani observed that other hospital staff were already becoming ill and realized that he was dealing with a new and dangerous disease. His diagnosis was clear: this was an unusual case of an “unknown contagious disease”. Responding to the gravity of the situation, Dr Urbani alerted WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

  152. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Containing in Vietnam: Hanoi French Hospital stops admission

    Tuesday Mar 11, 2003Hanoi, Vietnam

    Hanoi French Hospital didn't accept new patients starting from March 11, but it only kept its own infected staff.

  153. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    WHO: First Global alert.

    Wednesday Mar 12, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On March 12, WHO issued a global alert about a new infectious disease of unknown origin in both Vietnam and Hong Kong.

  154. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Vietnam: First Patient

    Thursday Mar 13, 2003Hong Kong, China

    Johnny Chen was then evacuated to Hong Kong, he died on March 13.

  155. PlayStation

    The Sony PSX

    2003Tokyo, Japan

    Released solely in Japan in 2003, the Sony PSX was a fully integrated DVR and PlayStation 2 video game console. It was the first Sony product to utilize the XrossMediaBar (XMB) and can be linked with a PlayStation Portable to transfer videos and music via USB.

  156. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    WHO: Intense Global Health alert

    Saturday Mar 15, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On March 15, WHO issued a heightened global health alert about mysterious pneumonia with a case definition of SARS after cases in Singapore and Canada were also identified. The alert included a rare emergency travel advisory to international travellers, healthcare professionals, and health authorities.

  157. Mona Lisa

    Research in 2003

    2003Harvard University, Massachusetts, U.S.

    Research in 2003 by Professor Margaret Livingstone of Harvard University said that Mona Lisa's smile disappears when observed with direct vision, known as foveal. Because of the way the human eye processes visual information, it is less suited to pick up shadows directly; however, peripheral vision can pick up shadows well.

  158. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Hong Kong: Consequences

    Mar, 2003Hong Kong, China

    Liu's brother-in-law sought medical treatment in late February, entered the hospital on March 1, and died on March 19. Twenty-three other guests from the Metropole developed SARS, seven of them from the ninth floor, and it is estimated that around 80% of the Hong Kong cases were due to Liu.

  159. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spread in Vietnam: Hanoi French Hospital Staff infections

    Mar, 2003Vietnam

    On March 15, Nguyen Thi Luong, the nurse who had tended to Chen, died. On March 19, Jean Paul Derosier, the anesthetist who had put Chen on a ventilator, died. On March 24, gynecologist Nguyen The Phuong and nurse Nguyen Thi Uyen died.

  160. John Forbes Nash Jr.: A Beautiful Mind

    Honorary in Economics

    Wednesday Mar 19, 2003Naples, Italy

    Nash received an honorary degree in economics from the University of Naples Federico II on March 19, 2003

  161. George W. Bush

    Iraq invasion

    Thursday Mar 20, 2003Iraq

    More than 20 nations (most notably the United Kingdom), designated the "coalition of the willing" joined the United States in invading Iraq. They launched the invasion on March 20, 2003. The Iraqi military was quickly defeated.

  162. Second Chechen War

    New Chechen constitution was passed in a referendum

    Sunday Mar 23, 2003Chechnya, Russia

    On 23 March 2003, a new Chechen constitution was passed in a referendum.

  163. Plague

    An outbreak of plague is reported in Algeria

    2003Algeria

    An outbreak of plague is reported in Algeria, in an area considered plague-free for 50 years.

  164. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: Educational classes cancellation

    Thursday Mar 27, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On March 27, Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau announced the class cancellation of all educational institutions.

  165. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Singapore: Educational classes cancellation

    Thursday Mar 27, 2003Singapore

    The Ministry of Education of Singapore announced that all primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges were to be shut until April 6, 2003.

  166. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Carlo Urbani death

    Friday Mar 28, 2003Bangkok, Thailand

    During a flight to Bangkok to attend a conference, Dr Urbani developed symptoms of SARS. He died of complication related to SARS on 29 March 2003 – a public health hero.

  167. United Nations

    United States invaded Iraq

    Saturday Mar 29, 2003Iraq

    In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq despite failing to pass a UN Security Council resolution for authorization, prompting a new round of questioning of the organization's effectiveness.

  168. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: Massive Building outbreak!

    Sunday Mar 30, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On March 30, Hong Kong authorities quarantined estate E of the Amoy Gardens Apartment due to a massive (200+ cases) outbreak in the building.

  169. Dwayne Johnson

    WrestleMania XIX

    Sunday Mar 30, 2003Seattle, Washington, U.S.

    After failing to win a number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock went into another program with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This led to a match at WrestleMania XIX, which called back to their previous two WrestleMania encounters, both of which Austin had won.

  170. Dwayne Johnson

    The Rock Appreciation Night

    Monday Mar 31, 2003Seattle, Washington, U.S.

    The next night, Raw was billed as "The Rock Appreciation Night", in honor of his victory over Austin. That night, he was attacked by a debuting Goldberg.

  171. Alan Turing

    Turing's work at Bletchley Park was named an IEEE Milestone

    Tuesday Apr 1, 2003Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom

    On 1 April 2003, Turing's work at Bletchley Park was named an IEEE Milestone.

  172. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS: Chinese outbreak status

    Wednesday Apr 2, 2003Guangdong, China

    On April 2, Chinese medical officials began reporting the status of the SARS outbreak. China's southern Guangdong province reported 361 new infections and 9 new deaths, increasing the total Mainland China figures previously reported at end-February.

  173. Second Chechen War

    The 2003 Constitution granted the Chechen Republic a significant degree of autonomy

    Wednesday Apr 2, 2003Chechnya, Russia

    The 2003 Constitution granted the Chechen Republic a significant degree of autonomy, but still tied it firmly to Russia and Moscow's rule, and went into force on 2 April 2003.

  174. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through China: Releasing Data

    Friday Apr 4, 2003China

    A Chinese health specialist admitted at a press conference of not informing the public early enough about the outbreak. The PRC Health Minister also claimed that the disease has been under control in most parts of mainland China. He also released the names of seven drugs which he claimed to be effective in curing SARS.

  175. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through Singapore: School Closure Extension

    Friday Apr 4, 2003Singapore

    On April 5, the Singapore government announced that school closures would be extended. Junior colleges were to reopen on April 9, secondary schools would reopen on April 14 and primary schools and pre-schools would reopen on April 16.

  176. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS reaches Manila Philippines

    Sunday Apr 6, 2003Manila, Philippines

    On April 6, a SARS case was found in Manila (the capital city of the Philippines), a person who had returned from Hong Kong.

  177. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through Hong Kong: So far!

    Tuesday Apr 8, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On April 8, SARS started to plague the Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate near Amoy Gardens in Kowloon. Hong Kong health officials warned that SARS had spread so far domestically and abroad that it was here to stay.

  178. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through Hong Kong: James Salisbury (American's Death)

    Wednesday Apr 9, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On April 9, James Earl Salisbury died of SARS at a hospital in Hong Kong. An American Mormon and a teacher at Shenzhen Polytechnic. He had been sick for approximately one month before his death, but he was originally diagnosed with pneumonia. His son Michael "Mickey" Salisbury was with him in China and also contracted the disease, but he survived it. Salisbury's death led to more open admissions by the Chinese government about the spread of SARS.

  179. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading by global air confirmation

    Friday Apr 11, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On April 11, the World Health Organization issued a global health alert for SARS as it became clear the disease was being spread by global air travel.

  180. Michael Jordan

    23 no more in Miami Heat

    Friday Apr 11, 2003Miami, Florida, U.S.

    The Miami Heat retired the number 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan never played for the team.

  181. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Containing in Vietnam: Hanoi French Hospital shutting

    Friday Apr 11, 2003Hanoi, Vietnam

    Hanoi French Hospital shut its doors completely after the last patient's death on April 12.

  182. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Breaking Genetic code of the virus

    Saturday Apr 12, 2003British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada

    On April 12, Marco Marra, director of the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, which is part of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, announced that scientists at his centre had broken the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing the disease.

  183. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS New infections in Canda

    Saturday Apr 12, 2003Toronto, Canada

    In Toronto, three more people died of SARS, bringing the Canadian death toll to 13.

  184. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS reaches India

    Wednesday Apr 16, 2003Dinner, a village near Bangalore, India

    On April 16, Doctors were surprised to discover the occurrence of at least two cases of SARS in Dinner, a village near Bangalore, India.

  185. Michael Jordan

    Final Match

    Wednesday Apr 16, 2003Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

    Jordan played in his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia.

  186. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    The virus has a name SARS

    Wednesday Apr 16, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On April 16, the WHO issued a press release stating that the coronavirus identified by a number of laboratories was the official cause of SARS. The virus was officially named the SARS virus ( The Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus )

  187. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS spreading through China: More transparency

    Sunday Apr 20, 2003China

    On April 20, Beijing's mayor and the health minister of the PRCwere replaced respectively by Wang Qishan and the former deputy health minister Gao Qiang. In the news conference chaired by Gao Qiang several hours earlier, the PRC admitted that in Beijing there were more than 300 cases, as opposed to the previous figure of only 37.

  188. Shaquille O'Neal

    O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years

    2003Los Angeles, California, U.S.

    At the beginning of the 2003–04 season, O'Neal wanted a contract extension with a pay raise on his remaining three years for $30 million. The Lakers had hoped O'Neal would take less money due to his age, physical conditioning, and games missed due to injuries. During a preseason game, O'Neal had yelled at Lakers owner Jerry Buss, "Pay me."

  189. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    Hong Kong: Schools reopening

    Tuesday Apr 22, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On April 22, schools, in Hong Kong, started to reopen in stages.

  190. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS spreading through Beijing: Schools closure

    Wednesday Apr 23, 2003Beijing, China

    On April 23, Beijing announced that all primary and secondary schools would be closed for two weeks. A few days before, some colleges in Peking University had been closed because some students had been infected.

  191. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    WHO Travel Advisories Updates

    Wednesday Apr 23, 2003Geneva, Switzerland

    On April 23, The WHO issued travel advisories against Beijing, Toronto, and Shanxi Province.

  192. Bolivarian Revolution

    Mission Mercal

    Thursday Apr 24, 2003Venezuela

    The Mission involves a state-run company called Mercados de Alimentos, C.A. (MERCAL), which provides subsidised food and basic goods through a nationwide chain of stores. In 2010 Mercal was reported as having 16,600 outlets, "ranging from street-corner shops to huge warehouse stores", in addition to 6,000 soup kitchens. Mercal employs 85,000 workers. In 2006, some 11.36 million Venezuelans benefited from Mercal food programs on a regular basis. At least 14,208 Mission Mercal food distribution sites were spread throughout Venezuela and 4,543 metric tons of food distributed each day. In recent times, customers who had to wait in long lines for discounted products say that there were a lack of products in Mercal stores and that items available at the stores change constantly. Some customers complained about rationing being enforced at Mercal stores due to the lack of products. In some cases, protests have occurred due to the shortages in stores.

  193. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS spreading through Taiwan

    Friday Apr 25, 2003Taipei, Taiwan

    On April 25, Taipei city government closed Taipei Municipal Hospital Hoping branch, and quarantined its 930 staff and 240 patients for 2 weeks. Later, people were relocated and the building sanitized.

  194. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Spreading through China: Closing entertainment venues

    Friday Apr 25, 2003Beijing, China

    On April 26–27, Chinese authorities closed down theatres, discos, and other entertainment venues in Beijing as the death toll in Beijing continued to rise, threatening to become the worst-hit area of the country

  195. Dwayne Johnson

    Backlash (2003)

    Sunday Apr 27, 2003Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.

    At Backlash, Goldberg defeated The Rock, who then briefly left WWE to film Walking Tall.

  196. Huawei

    Partnering with 3Com on a joint venture

    May, 2003Hangzhou, China

    In May 2003, Huawei partnered with 3Com on a joint venture known as H3C, which was focused on enterprise networking equipment. It marked 3Com's re-entrance into the high-end core routers and switch market, after having abandoned it in 2000 to focus on other businesses. 3Com bought out Huawei's share of the venture in 2006 for US$882 million.

  197. Diego Maradona

    Diego Junior met Maradona

    May, 2003Italy

    Maradona admitted he is the father of Diego Sinagra (born in Naples on 20 September 1986). The Italian courts had already ruled so in 1993, after Maradona refused to undergo DNA tests to prove or disprove his paternity. Diego Junior met Maradona for the first time in May 2003 after tricking his way onto a golf course in Italy where Maradona was playing.

  198. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    FIFA moves women's world cup to USA

    Saturday May 3, 2003Zurich, Switzerland

    On May 3, the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was abruptly moved to the United States due to the outbreak.

  199. SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Infections dropping in Hong Kong

    Sunday May 4, 2003Hong Kong, China

    On May 4, the newly infected number of people in Hong Kong dropped to a single digit.

  200. Michael Jordan

    Fired

    Wednesday May 7, 2003Washington D.C., U.S.

    On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as the team's president of basketball operations. Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he had known he would be fired upon retiring he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.