2003 in the United States
Encyclopedia
Events from the year 2003 in the United States
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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Incumbents
- PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
: George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
(RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) - Vice PresidentVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
: Dick CheneyDick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
(RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) - Chief JusticeChief Justice of the United StatesThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
: William RehnquistWilliam RehnquistWilliam Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States... - Speaker of the House of RepresentativesSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
: Dennis HastertDennis HastertJohn Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
(RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Illinois) - Senate Majority Leader: Tom DaschleTom DaschleThomas Andrew "Tom" Daschle is a former U.S. Senator from South Dakota and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
(DDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-South Dakota) (until January 3), Bill FristBill FristWilliam Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr. is an American physician, businessman, and politician. He began his career as an heir and major stockholder to the for-profit hospital chain of Hospital Corporation of America. Frist later served two terms as a Republican United States Senator representing...
(RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Tennessee) (starting January 3) - CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
: 107th107th United States CongressThe One Hundred Seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 2001 to January 3, 2003, during the final...
(until January 3), 108th108th United States CongressThe One Hundred Eighth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005, during the third and fourth years of George W. Bush's...
(starting January 3)
January
- January – Sky marshalSky marshalA sky marshal is an undercover law enforcement or counter terrorist agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings...
s introduced on US airlines in an attempt to prevent hijackings. - January 3 – The 108th United States Congress108th United States CongressThe One Hundred Eighth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2003 to January 3, 2005, during the third and fourth years of George W. Bush's...
is sworn in, including incoming freshmen Senators Saxby ChamblissSaxby ChamblissClarence Saxby Chambliss, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative ....
(R-GA), Lindsey GrahamLindsey GrahamLindsey Olin Graham is the senior U.S. Senator from South Carolina and a member of the Republican Party. Previously he served as the U.S. Representative for .-Early life, education and career:...
(R-SC), John SununuJohn E. SununuJohn Edward Sununu is a former Republican United States Senator from New Hampshire, of Lebanese and Palestinian Christian ancestry. Sununu was the youngest member of the Senate for his entire six year term. He is the son of former New Hampshire Governor John H...
(R-NH), Lamar AlexanderLamar AlexanderAndrew Lamar Alexander is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and Conference Chair of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, United States Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H. W...
(R-TN), Elizabeth DoleElizabeth DoleMary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....
(R-NC), Norm ColemanNorm ColemanNorman Bertram Coleman, Jr. is an American attorney and politician. He was a United States senator from Minnesota from 2003 to 2009. Coleman was elected in 2002 and served in the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses. Before becoming a senator, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002...
(R-MN), and Mark PryorMark PryorMark Lunsford Pryor is the senior United States Senator from Arkansas, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and former Attorney General of Arkansas....
(D-AR). - January 3 – The Ohio State UniversityOhio State UniversityThe Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
defeats the University of MiamiUniversity of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
in double-overtime in the Fiesta BowlFiesta BowlThe Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
, 31–24, for the national Bowl Championship SeriesBowl Championship SeriesThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) title. - January 8 – US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte/Douglas International AirportCharlotte/Douglas International AirportCharlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...
in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
, killing all 21 people aboard. - January 15 – Eldred v. AshcroftEldred v. AshcroftEldred v. Ashcroft, was a court case in the United States challenging the constitutionality of the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act...
: The Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
allows the extension of copyright terms in the U.S. - January 16 – STS-107STS-107-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...
: Space Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
is launched on what turns out to be its last flight. - January 23 – The last signal is received from NASA's Pioneer 10Pioneer 10Pioneer 10 is a 258-kilogram robotic space probe that completed the first interplanetary mission to Jupiter, and became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. The project was managed by the NASA Ames Research Center and the contract for the construction of the...
spacecraft, some 7.5 billion miles from Earth. - January 24 – The new United States Department of Homeland SecurityUnited States Department of Homeland SecurityThe United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
begins operation. - January 25 – An international group of volunteersHuman shield action to IraqHuman shield action to Iraq was a group of people who travelled to Iraq to act as human shields with the purpose of preventing the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.- Chronology :...
leaves London for BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
to act as voluntary human shieldHuman shieldHuman shield is a military and political term describing the deliberate placement of civilians in or around combat targets to deter an enemy from attacking those targets. It may also refer to the use of civilians to literally shield combatants during attacks, by forcing the civilians to march in...
s, hoping to avert a U.S. invasion. - January 26 – Super Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
: The Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
defeat the Oakland RaidersOakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
48–21. - January 30 – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: The leaders of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
release a statement (The Letter of the Eight) demonstrating support for the United States' plans to invade IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
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February
- February 1 – STS-107STS-107-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...
: Space Shuttle Columbia disintegratesSpace Shuttle Columbia disasterThe Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
over TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
upon re-entry, killing all 7 astronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s onboard. - February 5 – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: U.S. Secretary of State Colin PowellColin PowellColin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
addresses the UN Security Council on Iraq. - February 7 – An unsuccessful attempt is made to contact Pioneer 10Pioneer 10Pioneer 10 is a 258-kilogram robotic space probe that completed the first interplanetary mission to Jupiter, and became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. The project was managed by the NASA Ames Research Center and the contract for the construction of the...
. - February 20 – The Station nightclub fireThe Station nightclub fireThe Station nightclub fire was the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people. The fire began at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003, at The Station, a glam metal and rock n roll themed nightclub located at 211 Cowesett Avenue in West Warwick, Rhode Island.The...
in West Warwick, Rhode IslandWest Warwick, Rhode IslandWest Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 29,191 at the 2010 census.West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the western bank of the Pawtuxet River, was the population and...
claims the lives of 100 people.
March
- March 1 – The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the United States Customs ServiceUnited States Customs ServiceUntil March 2003, the United States Customs Service was an agency of the U.S. federal government that collected import tariffs and performed other selected border security duties.Before it was rolled into form part of the U.S...
, and the United States Secret ServiceUnited States Secret ServiceThe United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
move to the United States Department of Homeland SecurityUnited States Department of Homeland SecurityThe United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
. - March 1 – The Turkish parliamentGrand National Assembly of TurkeyThe Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
vetoes U.S. troop access to airbases in TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in order to attack IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
from the north. The Bush administration starts working on Plan B, namely attacking Iraq from the south, through the Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
. - March 5 – Lockyer v. AndradeLockyer v. AndradeLockyer v. Andrade, , decided the same day as Ewing v. California, held that there would be no relief by means of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus from a sentence imposed under California's three strikes law as a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual...
, Ewing v. CaliforniaEwing v. CaliforniaEwing v. California, , is one of two cases upholding a sentence imposed under California's three strikes law against a challenge that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. As in its prior decision in Harmelin v. Michigan, , the Court could not agree on...
: In two separate opinions, the Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, by 5–4 margins, upholds California's "three strikes and you're outThree strikes lawThree strikes laws)"are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became...
" law. - March 11 – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: Iraqi fighters threaten two U.S. U-2 surveillance planesLockheed U-2The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
, on missions for U.N. weapons inspectors, forcing them to abort their mission and return to base. - March 16 – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: The leaders of the United States, BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
meet at a summit in the Azores Islands. U.S. President Bush calls March 17 the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willingCoalition of the willingThe term coalition of the willing is a post-1990 political phrase used to collectively describe participants in military or military-humanitarian interventions for which the United Nations Security Council cannot agree to mount a full UN peacekeeping operation...
" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or be disarmed by force. - March 17 – Iraq disarmament crisisIraq disarmament crisisThe issue of Iraq's disarmament reached a crisis in 2002-2003, when U.S. President George W. Bush demanded a complete end to what he alleged was Iraqi production of weapons of mass destruction and that Iraq comply with UN Resolutions requiring UN weapons inspectors unfettered access to areas those...
: U.S. President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
gives an ultimatum: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons must either leave Iraq, or face military action at a time of the U.S.'s choosing. - March 18 – FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, on suspicion of massive corporate fraudFraudIn criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
led by the company's top executives. - March 18 – About $1 billion is taken from Iraq's Central BankCentral Bank of Iraq-History:The Central Bank of Iraq was established as Iraq's central bank by Central Bank of Iraq Law 2004 with authorised capital of 100 billion dinars. The current Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq is Sinan Al Shabibi.-Architecture:...
by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States begins bombing Iraq. - March 19 – The first American bombs drop on BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
after IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i President Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and his sons do not comply with U.S. President George W. Bush's 48-hour mandate demanding their exit from IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. - March 20 – The US-led Iraq War begins.
- March 22 – The United States and the United Kingdom begin their shock and awe campaign, with a massive air strike on military targets in Baghdad.
- March 23 – Hasan AkbarHasan Akbar caseThe Hasan Akbar case refers to an event in the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, when Hasan Karim Akbar was convicted of the double-murder of two officers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait.The victims were Army...
, a Muslim soldier with the 101st Airborne, kills two fellow soldiers in a grenadeGrenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
attack at Camp PennsylvaniaCamp PennsylvaniaCamp Pennsylvania is a small military base in Kuwait in use by the 101st Airborne Division during the Iraq War during major hostilities. This small military base consists of little more than fencing and tents, however it became famous after a grenade attack in March 2003.-Grenade attack:Camp...
, KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
. - March 23 – The 75th Academy Awards75th Academy AwardsThe 75th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2002, were held on March 23, 2003, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. It was produced by Gil Cates and hosted for the second time by Steve Martin....
ceremony, hosted by Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
, is held at the Kodak TheatreKodak TheatreThe Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles...
in Hollywood. ChicagoChicago (2002 film)Chicago is a 2002 musical film adapted from the satirical stage musical of the same name, exploring the themes of celebrity, scandal, and corruption in Jazz-age Chicago....
wins Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. - March 30 – Meigs FieldMeigs FieldMerrill C. Meigs Field Airport , was a single strip airport that operated from December 1948 until March 2003. It was built on Northerly Island, the man-made peninsula that was also the site of the 1933–1934 Century of Progress in Chicago....
Airport in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, is demolished overnight.
April
- April 3 – U.S. forces seize control of Saddam International Airport, changing the airport's name to Baghdad International AirportBaghdad International AirportBaghdad International Airport, originally Saddam International Airport, , BIAP is Iraq's largest airport, located in a suburb about west of downtown Baghdad in the Baghdad Governorate...
. - April 3–April 12 – Iraq War: US forces defeat the Iraqi ArmyIraqi ArmyThe Iraqi Army is the land component of the Iraqi military, active in various forms since being formed by the British during their mandate over the country after World War I....
and the Iraqi Republican GuardIraqi Republican GuardThe Iraqi Republican Guard was a branch of the Iraqi military during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command with its expansion into two corps....
in the Battle of Baghdad. - April 9 – Iraq War: U.S. forces seize control of BaghdadBaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, ending the regime of Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
. - April 13 – Iraq War: Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's hometown of TikritTikritTikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
falls to US forces. - April 13 – President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
accuses SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
of possessing chemical weapons. - April 21 – Retired U.S. Army General Jay GarnerJay GarnerJay Montgomery Garner is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who was appointed in 2003 as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq but was soon replaced by Ambassador Paul Bremer and the ambassador's successor...
becomes Interim Civil Administrator of Iraq. - April 29 – Secretary of DefenseUnited States Secretary of DefenseThe Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Donald RumsfeldDonald RumsfeldDonald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
confirms that US troops will be withdrawn from Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
where they have been stationed since the 1991 Gulf WarGulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
.
May
- May 1 – U. S. president George W. Bush lands on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham LincolnUSS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)USS Abraham Lincoln , is the fifth Nimitz-class supercarrier in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship named after former president Abraham Lincoln. Her home port is Everett, Washington.-Construction:...
, where he gives a speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. A banner behind him declares "Mission Accomplished". - May 3 – The Old Man of the MountainOld Man of the MountainThe Old Man of the Mountain, also known as the Great Stone Face or the Profile, was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA that, when viewed from the north, appeared to be the jagged profile of a face. The rock formation was above...
, a rock formation in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, crumbles after heavy rain. - May 4 – Top Thrill DragsterTop Thrill DragsterTop Thrill Dragster is a steel, Hydraulic-launched roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It was the first "Strata Coaster", loosely defined as a complete circuit coaster that is over tall. It was built by Intamin and debuted to the public on May 4, 2003...
opens in Cedar PointCedar PointCedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
in Sandusky, OhioSandusky, OhioSandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
as the world's tallest, fastest roller coaster. - May 4–10 – A major severe weather outbreak spawns more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history; 393 tornadoes are reported in 19 states.
- May 23 – DeweyDewey (deer)Dewey is the first cloned deer and was born on May 23, 2003. Specifically, he is a White-tailed Deer, or Odocoileus virginianus, and was cloned from a dead buck by the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine....
, the first deerDeerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
cloned by scientists at Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, is born. - May 25 – After docking in Miami at 05:00, the SS Norway (old SS France) is severely damaged by a boiler explosion at 06:30, that kills seven, and injures 17 crew members. A few weeks later it is announced by Norwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...
that she will never sail again as a commercial ocean linerOcean linerAn ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
. - May 28 – President George W. Bush authorizes $350 billion worth of tax cuts over 10 years.
- May 31 – Eric Rudolph, suspected in the Centennial Olympic Park bombingCentennial Olympic Park bombingThe Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
in 1996, is captured in Murphy, North CarolinaMurphy, North Carolina-Household Income:The median income for a household in the town was $24,952, and the median income for a family was $35,234. Males had a median income of $30,395 versus $16,908 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,926...
.
June
- June 4 – Martha StewartMartha StewartMartha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
and her broker are indictedIndictmentAn indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
for using privileged investment information and then obstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigns as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart LivingMartha Stewart LivingMartha Stewart Living is a magazine and a television show featuring entertaining and home decorating guru Martha Stewart. Both the magazine and the television program focus on the domestic arts. Martha Stewart Living began as a quarterly magazine in 1990, published by Time Inc..and is currently...
. - June 19 – The US Census Bureau announces that with 37 million, Hispanics constitute the largest minority in the USA (compared with 36 million African Americans).
- June 22 – The largest hailstone ever recorded falls in Aurora, NebraskaAurora, NebraskaAurora is a city in Hamilton County, Nebraska in the United States of America. The population was 4,225 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County.-Geography:...
. - June 23 – Grutter v. BollingerGrutter v. BollingerGrutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 , was a case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School...
: The Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
upholds affirmative actionAffirmative actionAffirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
in university admissions. - June 26 – A senior Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
chemical and biological weapons expert testifies to the House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Intelligence CommitteeUnited States House Permanent Select Committee on IntelligenceThe United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Mike Rogers. It is the primary committee in the U.S...
that he was pressured to modify intelligence reports about Iraq. - June 26 – Lawrence v. TexasLawrence v. TexasLawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 , is a landmark United States Supreme Court case. In the 6-3 ruling, the Court struck down the sodomy law in Texas and, by proxy, invalidated sodomy laws in the thirteen other states where they remained in existence, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in...
: The U.S. Supreme Court declares sodomy lawSodomy lawA sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed unnatural. It also has a range of similar euphemisms...
s unconstitutional. - June 29 – A balcony collapse2003 Chicago balcony collapseThe 2003 Chicago balcony collapse was a disaster that occurred on June 29, 2003 in the city of Chicago, resulting in the deadliest porch collapse in United States history. An overloaded balcony collapsed during a party in an apartment building, killing thirteen people and seriously injuring...
in Chicago kills 13. - June 30 – In Irvine, CaliforniaIrvine, CaliforniaIrvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, Joseph Hunter Parker kills two Albertsons employees with a swordSwordA sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
, before being shot to death by the policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
.
July
- July 14 – CIA leak scandal: Washington Post columnist Robert NovakRobert NovakRobert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
publishes the name of Valerie PlameValerie PlameValerie Elise Plame Wilson , known as Valerie Plame, Valerie E. Wilson, and Valerie Plame Wilson, is a former United States CIA Operations Officer and the author of a memoir detailing her career and the events leading up to her resignation from the CIA.-Early life :Valerie Elise Plame was born on...
, blowing her cover as a CIA operative. - July 22 – UdayUday HusseinUday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...
and Qusay HusseinQusay HusseinQusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.- Family :...
, sons of Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, are killed by the U.S. military in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, after being tipped off by an informant. - July 26 – The electorate of the Cherokee Nation of OklahomaCherokee Nation of OklahomaThe Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who...
approves a new constitution re-designating the tribe "Cherokee Nation" without "of Oklahoma" and specifically disenfranchising the Cherokee Freedmen.
August
- August 14 – A widespread power outageNortheast Blackout of 2003The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003, just before 4:10 p.m....
affects the northeastern United States and South-Central Canada. - August 25 – The Spitzer Space TelescopeSpitzer Space TelescopeThe Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...
was launched from Cape CanaveralCape CanaveralCape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, during Delta IIDelta IIDelta II was an American space launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and was in service from 1989 until November 1, 2011...
.
September
- September 7 – President Bush announces a request for $87 billion from CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
for military operations in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. - September 17 – President Bush concedes there is no evidence linking Iraqi President Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
to the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. - September 18 – Hurricane Isabel makes landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane on North Carolina's Outer BanksOuter BanksThe Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
. It directly kills 16 people in the Mid–Atlantic area.
October
- October 7 – 2003 California recall: Voters recall Governor Gray DavisGray DavisJoseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
from office and elect actor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
to succeed him. - October 10 – Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American right-wing radio host Rush LimbaughRush LimbaughRush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
publicly admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killersOxycodoneOxycodone is an opioid analgesic medication synthesized from opium-derived thebaine. It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine , and codeine.Oxycodone oral medications are generally...
, and will seek treatment. - October 15 – The 2003 Staten Island Ferry crash2003 Staten Island Ferry crashOn October 15, 2003, at 3:21 p.m., the Staten Island Ferry vessel Andrew J. Barberi crashed full-speed into a concrete pier at the St. George ferry terminal. Eleven people were killed and 71 injured, some critically.-The accident:...
kills 11 after one of its ferries slams into a pier. - October 25 – The Florida MarlinsFlorida MarlinsThe Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
defeat the New York YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
to win their second World SeriesWorld SeriesThe World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
title. - October 25 – The Cedar FireCedar FireThe Cedar Fire was a human-caused wildfire that burned out of control through a large area of San Diego County, in Southern California, in October 2003...
begins in San Diego County, burning 280,000 acres (1,100 km²), 2,232 homes and killing 14.
November
- November 18 – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial CourtThe Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The SJC has the distinction of being the oldest continuously functioning appellate court in the Western Hemisphere.-History:...
, in Goodridge v. Department of Public HealthGoodridge v. Department of Public HealthGoodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E.2d 941 , was a landmark state appellate court case dealing with same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. The November 18, 2003, decision was the first by a U.S...
, rules anti-same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
laws unconstitutional in MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. - November 18 – U.S. President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
makes a state visit to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in the midst of massive protests. - November 20 – Iraq War: End of Operation Iron HammerOperation Iron Hammer (Iraq 2003)Operation Iron Hammer was a joint operation between the US Army, US Air Force and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps with the objective of preventing the staging of weapons by anti-coalition forces, and preemptively destroy enemy operating bases and fighters in Baghdad.The operation was launched on the...
, an attempt to end the Iraq insurgency.
December
- December 1 – BoeingBoeingThe Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
chairman and CEO Phil Condit resigns unexpectedly. He is replaced by Lewis Platt as non-executive chairman and Harry StonecipherHarry StonecipherHarry C. Stonecipher is a former President and Chief Executive of American aerospace companies McDonnell Douglas and, later, Boeing. Stonecipher orchestrated the merger between McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, and was widely credited with the resurgence of Boeing...
as president and CEO. - December 13 – Iraq War: End of Operation Red DawnOperation Red DawnOperation Red Dawn was the U.S. military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that captured Iraq President Saddam Hussein, ending rumours of his death. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade...
resulting in the capture of Saddam Hussein in Tikrit. - December 22 – An earthquake in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
kills two. - December 24 – At the request of the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the French GovernmentFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
orders Air FranceAir FranceAir France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
to cancel several flights between France and the U.S. in response to terrorist concerns. - December 24 – A BSEBovine spongiform encephalopathyBovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
(mad cow disease) outbreak in Washington State is announced. Several countries including BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and TaiwanRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
ban the import of beef from the United States. - December 31 – British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
Flight 223, a Boeing 747-400 flying from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles, is held for security checks after landing in Washington, DC due to intelligence suggesting a terrorist threat.
Ongoing
- Iraqi no-fly zonesIraqi no-fly zonesThe Iraqi no-fly zones were a set of two separate no-fly zones , and were proclaimed by the United States, United Kingdom and France after the Gulf War of 1991 to protect the Kurdish people in northern Iraq and Shiite Muslims in the south. Iraqi aircraft were forbidden from flying inside the zones...
(1991–2003) - War in AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
(2001–present) - Iraq War (2003–2010)
Births
- April 16 - Alina FoleyAlina FoleyAlina Chiara Foley is an American child actress. She is known for her role Claire Brady on Days of Our Lives .She is the daughter of actor Dave Foley and Crissy Guerrero...
, actress - May 18 - James and Lukas Rodriguez, actor
- June 24 - Marcus FieselMarcus FieselMarcus Fiesel was an American foster care child murder victim. On February 21, 2007 his foster mother Liz Carroll was convicted of murdering him...
, murder victim (died 20062006 in the United States-Incumbents:* President: George W. Bush * Vice President: Dick Cheney * Chief Justice: John Roberts* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert * Senate Majority Leader: Bill Frist * Congress: 109th...
) - July 5 - Terrell Ransom, JrTerrell Ransom, JrTerrell Ransom, Jr. is an American child actor and model. He is mostly known for his role on Days of our Lives as the autistic Theo Carver. He is currently still on the show and has been appearing on a regular basis since May 20, 2008....
, actor and model - Full date unknown
- Anastasia and Tatiana DogaruAnastasia and Tatiana DogaruAnastasia and Tatiana Dogaru are seven-year-old craniopagus conjoined twins. They were scheduled to begin the first of several surgeries to separate them at Rainbow Babies and Children's Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio...
, conjoined twins - Maxwell HuckabeeMaxwell HuckabeeMaxwell Huckabee is an American child actor.-Career:Huckabee took his first role as an actor in 2006, in Alias during its fifth season in the second to last episode, Reprisal. He also appeared in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the same year. He later appeared in Mad Men in 2007 as the young...
, actor
- Anastasia and Tatiana Dogaru
Deaths
- January 3 - Sid GillmanSid GillmanSidney "Sid" Gillman was an American football player, coach, executive, and innovator. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wide receivers at the sides of the line of scrimmage, was instrumental in...
, football coach (born 1911) - January 11 - Richard SimmonsRichard Simmons (actor)Richard Simmons , also known as Dick Simmons, was an American actor.-Early life and career:Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Simmons started his film acting career in 1937...
, actor (born 1913) - January 12 - Dean AmadonDean AmadonDean Arthur Amadon was an American ornithologist and an authority on birds of prey.Amadon was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Arthur and Mary Amadon. He received a BS from Hobart College in 1934 and a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1947...
, ornithologist (born 1912) - January 15 - Doris Fisher, singer-songwriter (born 1915)
- January 17 - Richard CrennaRichard CrennaRichard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
, actor (born 1926) - January 20 - Al HirschfeldAl HirschfeldAlbert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
, cartoonist (born 1903) - January 23 - Nell CarterNell CarterNell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin, as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television...
, singer and actress (born 1948) - January 29 - Frank Moss, politician (born 1911)
- February 1 - crew of the Space Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle ColumbiaSpace Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew...
on mission STS-107STS-107-Mission parameters:*Mass:**Orbiter Liftoff: **Orbiter Landing: **Payload: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 39.0°*Period: 90.1 min- Insignia :...
:
-
- Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (born 1959)
- David M. Brown, astronaut (born 1956)
- Kalpana ChawlaKalpana ChawlaKalpana Chawla was an Indian-American astronaut with NASA. She was one of seven crew members killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.-Early life:...
, astronaut (born 1961) - Laurel Clark, astronaut (born 1961)
- Rick HusbandRichard Douglas HusbandRick Douglas Husband was a United States Air Force Colonel, an astronaut, and the space shuttle commander of STS-107 who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. Husband is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.-Background:Husband was born...
, astronaut (born 1957) - William McCool, astronaut (born 1961)
- February 2 - Lou HarrisonLou HarrisonLou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...
, composer (born 1917) - February 10
- Edgar de EviaEdgar de EviaEdgar Domingo Evia y Joutard, known professionally as Edgar de Evia , was a Mexican-born American photographer....
, photographer (born 1910) - Ron ZieglerRon ZieglerRonald Louis "Ron" Ziegler was White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President during United States President Richard Nixon's administration.-Early life:...
, president Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's White House Press Secretary (born 1939) - "Mr. Perfect" Curt HennigCurt HennigCurtis Michael "Curt" Hennig , also known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator who worked for, among other promotions, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World...
, professional wrestler (born 1959)
- Edgar de Evia
- February 16 - Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. DaleyRichard J. DaleyRichard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
(born 1907) - February 19 - Johnny PayCheckJohnny PayCheckJohnny Paycheck was the legal name of Donald Eugene Lytle , a country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It"...
, singer (born 1938) - February 20 - Orville FreemanOrville FreemanOrville Lothrop Freeman was an American Democratic politician who served as the 29th Governor of Minnesota from January 5, 1955 to January 2, 1961, and as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1961 to 1969 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson...
, politician (born 1918) - February 27 - Fred Rogers, children's television host (born 1928)
- March 2 - Hank BallardHank BallardHank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
, musician (born 1927) - March 12 - Lynne ThigpenLynne ThigpenCherlynne Theresa “Lynne” Thigpen was an American stage and television actress, most famous as "The Chief" in the various Carmen Sandiego television series.-Early life:...
, actress (born 1948) - March 22 - Milton G. Henschel, Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
leader (born 1920) - March 26 - Daniel Patrick MoynihanDaniel Patrick MoynihanDaniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
, politician (born 1926) - April 17
- Robert AtkinsRobert Atkins (nutritionist)Robert Coleman Atkins, MD was an American physician and cardiologist, best known for the Atkins Nutritional Approach , a popular but controversial way of dieting that entails close control of carbohydrate consumption, emphasizing protein and fat intake, including saturated fat in addition to...
, nutritionist (born 1930) - Paul GettyPaul GettySir John Paul Getty KBE , born Eugene Paul Getty, was a wealthy American-born British philanthropist and book collector. He was the elder son of Jean Paul Getty, Sr...
, American-born philanthropist (born 1932) - Earl KingEarl KingThis article is about the musical artist. For the Earl King convicted of murdering a ship's officer, see Earl King, Ernest Ramsay, and Frank Conner...
, musician (born 1934)
- Robert Atkins
- April 20 - Ruth HaleRuth Hale (playwright and actress)Ruth Hale was an American playwright and actress.Hale was born in Granger, Utah and was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints....
, playwright and actress (born 1908) - April 21 - Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
, singer (born 1933) - April 26 - Peter StonePeter StonePeter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.-Life and career:Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda , was a film writer, and his father, John Stone was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies...
, writer (born 1930) - May 1 - Elizabeth HuletteMiss ElizabethElizabeth Ann Hulette , best known as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager. She gained international fame from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation, and the mid-1990s in World Championship Wrestling in her role as the manager to the late...
, wrestling manager and valet (born 1960) - May 3 - Suzy ParkerSuzy ParkerSuzy Parker was an American model and actress active from 1947 into the early 1960s. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s when she appeared on the cover of dozens of magazines, advertisements, and in movie and television roles.She appeared in several Revlon advertisements, but...
, actress (born 1932) - May 9 - Russell B. LongRussell B. LongRussell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
, politician (born 1918) - May 14 - Robert StackRobert StackRobert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
, actor (born 1919) - May 15 - June Carter CashJune Carter CashValerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
, singer (born 1929) - May 26 - Kathleen WinsorKathleen WinsorKathleen Winsor was an American author, best known for the romance novel Forever Amber.-Biography:Winsor was born October 16, 1919 in Olivia, Minnesota but raised in Berkeley, California. At the age of 18, Winsor made a list of her goals for life. Among those was her hope to write a best-selling...
, writer (born 1919) - May 28 - Martha ScottMartha ScottMartha Ellen Scott was an American actress best known for her roles as mother of the lead character in numerous films and television shows.-Early life:...
, actress (born 1912) - June 2
- Burke MarshallBurke MarshallBurke Marshall was an American lawyer and head of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice during the Civil Rights Era.-Early years:...
, lawyer and politician (born 1922) - "Classy" Freddy BlassieFred BlassieFrederick Kenneth Blassman , better known as "Classy" Freddie Blassie, was an American professional wrestling villain and manager born in St. Louis, Missouri. Renowned as "The Fashion Plate of Professional Wrestling" , Blassie was a master at antagonizing the crowd, and inspired legendary animosity...
, professional wrestler and manager (born 1918)
- Burke Marshall
- June 6 - Ken GrimwoodKen GrimwoodKenneth Milton Grimwood was an American author who was born in Dothan, Alabama. In his fantasy fiction Grimwood combined themes of life-affirmation and hope with metaphysical concepts, themes found in his best-known novel, the highly popular Replay...
, writer (born 1944) - June 10 - Donald ReganDonald ReganDonald Thomas Regan ,was the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from 1981 to 1985, and Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 in the Ronald Reagan Administration, where he advocated "Reaganomics" and tax cuts to create jobs and stimulate production.-Early life:Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts,...
, Treasury Secretary (born 1918) - June 11 - David BrinkleyDavid BrinkleyDavid McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997....
, television reporter (born 1920) - June 12 - Gregory PeckGregory PeckEldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, actor (born 1916) - June 14 - Jimmy KnepperJimmy KnepperJames M. Knepper was an American jazz trombonist.He was a good friend and arranging/transcribing partner of bassist and composer Charles Mingus. Knepper was twice on the receiving end of Mingus' legendary temper...
, musician (born 1927) - June 18 - Larry DobyLarry DobyLawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....
, baseball player (born 1923) - June 21 - Leon UrisLeon UrisLeon Marcus Uris was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep research that went into his novels. His two bestselling books were Exodus, published in 1958, and Trinity, in 1976.-Life:...
, writer (born 1924) - June 23 - Maynard JacksonMaynard JacksonMaynard Holbrook Jackson, Jr. was an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He served three terms, two consecutive terms from 1974 until 1982 and a third term from 1990 to 1994...
, mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (born 1938) - June 25 - Lester MaddoxLester MaddoxLester Garfield Maddox was an American politician who was the 75th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971....
, politician (born 1915) - June 26 - Strom ThurmondStrom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
, politician (born 1902) - June 29 - Katharine HepburnKatharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, actress (born 1907) - June 30 - Buddy HackettBuddy HackettBuddy Hackett was an American comedian and actor.-Early life:Hackett was born in Brooklyn, New York, New York, the son of a Jewish upholsterer. He grew up on 54th and 14th Ave in Borough Park, Brooklyn, across from Public School 103...
, comedian and actor (born 1924) - July 1 - Herbie MannHerbie MannHerbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
, jazz flutist (born 1930) - July 4 - Barry WhiteBarry WhiteBarry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, singer (born 1944) - July 7 - Buddy EbsenBuddy EbsenBuddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
, actor (born 1908) - July 12 - Benny CarterBenny CarterBennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
, musician (born 1907) - July 15 - Tex SchrammTex SchrammTexas Earnest "Tex" Schramm, Jr. was the original president and general manager of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise. Schramm became the head of the Cowboys when the former expansion team started operations in 1960.-Early life and career:Despite his name, Schramm was not born...
, football team president and general manager (born 1920) - July 16 - Carol ShieldsCarol ShieldsCarol Ann Shields, CC, OM, FRSC, MA was an American-born Canadian author. She is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the U.S. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in Canada.-Biography:Shields was born in Oak Park, Illinois...
, American-born writer (born 1935) - July 17 - Rosalyn TureckRosalyn TureckRosalyn Tureck was an American pianist and harpsichordist who was particularly associated with the music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
, pianist and harpsichordist (born 1914) - July 30 - Sam PhillipsSam PhillipsSamuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...
, record producer (born 1923) - August 4 - Frederick Chapman Robbins, pediatrician and virologist, Nobel PrizeNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
laureate (born 1916) - August 9 - Gregory HinesGregory HinesGregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
, dancer and actor (born 1946) - August 23 - Bobby BondsBobby BondsBobby Lee Bonds was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from to , primarily with the San Francisco Giants...
, baseball player (born 1946) - August 28 - Brian Douglas Wells, criminal (born 1956)
- August 30 - Charles BronsonCharles BronsonCharles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
, actor (born 1921) - September 1 - John GouldJohn Gould (columnist)John Thomas Gould was an American humorist, essayist, and columnist who wrote a column for the Christian Science Monitor for over sixty years from a farm in Lisbon Falls, Maine...
, humorist, essayist, and columnist (born 1908) - September 3 - Ma Dunjing, prominent General in China during the Republic of China era (born 1910)
- September 6 - Harry GozHarry GozHarry Goz was an American musical theater actor and voice actor.He debuted in the 1964 Broadway production of Bajour, co-starring Chita Rivera and Nancy Dussault. Goz played Tevye in the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof from 1966 to 1968, both as understudy and lead actor...
, actor (born 1932) - September 7 - Warren ZevonWarren ZevonWarren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...
, singer (born 1947) - September 9 - Larry HovisLarry HovisLarry Hovis was an American singer and actor best known for playing a fictional prisoner of war on the 1960s television sitcom Hogan's Heroes.-Early life and career:...
, actor (born 1936) - September 11 - John RitterJohn RitterJonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
, actor (born 1948) - September 12 - Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, singer and guitarist (born 1932) - September 13 - Frank O'BannonFrank O'BannonFrank Lewis O'Bannon was an American politician who was the 47th Governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003.-Background:...
, politician (born 1930) - September 14 - John Serry, Sr.John Serry, Sr.John Serry, Sr. was an accomplished concert accordionist virtuoso, arranger, composer, organist and educator who performed on the CBS Radio and CBS Television networks...
, musician (born 1915) - September 17 - Sheb WooleySheb WooleyShelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
, actor and singer (born 1921) - September 22 - Gordon JumpGordon JumpAlexander Gordon Jump was an American actor best known as the clueless radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati and the incompetent "Chief of Police Tinkler" in the sitcom Soap...
, actor (born 1932) - September 25 - George PlimptonGeorge PlimptonGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
, writer and actor (born 1927) - September 27 - Donald O'ConnorDonald O'ConnorDonald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
, actor, singer, and dancer (born 1925) - September 28 - Althea GibsonAlthea GibsonAlthea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
, tennis player (born 1927) - October 3
- William SteigWilliam SteigWilliam Steig was a prolific American cartoonist, sculptor and, later in life, an author of popular children's literature...
, cartoonist (born 1907) - Timothy TreadwellTimothy TreadwellTimothy Treadwell was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, amateur naturalist, eco-warrior and documentary film maker. He lived among the coastal grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska, USA, for approximately 13 summers...
, Environmentalist
- William Steig
- October 5 - Neil PostmanNeil PostmanNeil Postman was an American author, media theorist and cultural critic, who is best known by the general public for his 1985 book about television, Amusing Ourselves to Death. For more than forty years, he was associated with New York University...
, educator, media theorist, and cultural critic (born 1931) - October 7 - Ellen Cannon ReedEllen Cannon ReedEllen Cannon Reed was the most widely known priestess of the Isian Tradition of Witchcraft. She lived in Southern California and wrote widely ....
, witch and author (born 1943) - October 10 - Eugene IstominEugene IstominEugene George Istomin was an American pianist.Istomin was born in New York City of Russian parents. He was famous for his work in a piano trio, in which he collaborated with Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose. Known as the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio, the group made many recordings, particularly of music by...
, pianist (born 1925) - October 12 - Willie ShoemakerWillie ShoemakerWilliam Lee Shoemaker was an American jockey.Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2.5 pounds , Shoemaker was so small at birth that he was not expected to survive the night...
, jockey (born 1931) - October 20 - Jack ElamJack ElamWilliam Scott "Jack" Elam was an American film actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies .-Early life:...
, actor (born 1918) - October 21
- Fred BerryFred BerryFred "Rerun" Berry was an American actor best known for the role of Fred "Rerun" Stubbs on the popular 1970s television show What's Happening!!.-Career:Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri...
, actor (born 1951) - Elliott SmithElliott SmithSteven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
, musician (born 1969)
- Fred Berry
- October 22 - Tony RennaTony RennaTony Renna was an American race car driver from DeLand, Florida who raced in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. He made seven starts for Kelley Racing in 2002 and 2003 including the 2003 Indianapolis 500. His best finish was fourth place at Michigan International Speedway in 2002...
, race car driver (born 1976) - October 25 - Robert StrassburgRobert StrassburgRobert Strassburg was aleading American conductor, composer, musicologist and music educator of the twentieth century. His studies in music were completed under the supervision of such leading composers as Igor Stravinsky, Walter Piston and Paul Hindemith, with whom he studied at Tanglewood...
, composer (born 1915) - October 29 - Hal ClementHal ClementHarry Clement Stubbs better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre.-Biography:...
, writer (born 1922) - October 31 - Richard NeustadtRichard NeustadtRichard Elliott Neustadt was an American political scientist specializing in the United States presidency. He also served as advisor to several presidents.-Biography:...
, political historian (born 1919) - November 3 - Spider Jorgensen, baseball player and coach (born 1919)
- November 5
- Bobby HatfieldBobby HatfieldRobert Lee "Bobby" Hatfield was an American singer, best known as one half of the Righteous Brothers.-Early life:...
, singer (The Righteous BrothersThe Righteous BrothersThe Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...
) (born 1940) - Dorothy FayDorothy FayDorothy Fay was an American actress.-Early life and career:She was born Dorothy Fay Southworth in Prescott, Arizona, the daughter of Harry T. Southworth and Harriet Fay Fox. Her father was a medical doctor...
, actress (born 1915)
- Bobby Hatfield
- November 9 - Art CarneyArt CarneyArthur William Matthew “Art” Carney was an American actor in film, stage, television and radio. He is best known for playing Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden in the situation comedy The Honeymooners....
, actor (born 1918) - November 10 - Irv KupcinetIrv KupcinetIrv Kupcinet was an American newspaper columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a broadcast personality based in Chicago, Illinois...
, columnist and television personality (murdered) (born 1912) - November 12
- Jonathan BrandisJonathan BrandisJonathan Gregory Brandis was an American actor, director, and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Brandis was born in Danbury, Connecticut, the only child of Mary, a teacher and personal manager, and Gregory Brandis, a food distributor and firefighter. He began his career as a child model and...
, actor (suicide) (born 1976) - Penny SingletonPenny SingletonPenny Singleton was an American film actress. Born Marianna Dorothy Agnes Letitia McNulty in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania she was the daughter of an Irish-American newspaperman Benny McNulty — from whom she received the nickname "Penny" because she was "as bright as a penny".During her sixty...
, actress (born 1908)
- Jonathan Brandis
- November 13 - Kellie WaymireKellie WaymireSuzanne Kellie Waymire was an American actress.Waymire was born in Columbus, Ohio. She attended Southern Methodist University , graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater, and later earned a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego in 1993.Waymire died on...
, actress (born 1967) - November 14 - Gene Anthony RayGene Anthony RayGene Anthony Ray was an American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He was best known for his portrayal of dancer Leroy Johnson in both the 1980 film Fame and the 1982–1987 Fame television series based upon the film.-Early life and career:Born in Harlem, New York, Ray grew up in the...
, actor (born 1962) - November 15 - Dorothy LoudonDorothy LoudonDorothy Loudon was an American comedy actress and singer. She won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan in Annie.-Early life and career:Loudon was born in...
, actress (born 1933) - November 18 - Michael KamenMichael KamenMichael Arnold Kamen was an American composer , orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician.-Background:...
, composer (born 1948) - November 20 - Jim SiedowJim SiedowJim Nash Siedow was an American actor, best known for his role of Drayton "The Cook" Sawyer in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.-Life and career:Siedow was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming...
, actor (born 1920) - November 26 - Soulja SlimSoulja SlimJames Tapp, Jr. , better known by his stage name Soulja Slim, was an American rapper who achieved massive success on Master P's No Limit record label. He also achieved fame throughout New Orleans and Nation Wide from his work done with B.G., UNLV, and other local artists. He is known for writing...
, rapper (born 1977) - November 30 - Gertrude EderleGertrude EderleGertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...
, swimmer (born 1906) - December 4 - Iggy KatonaIggy KatonaEgnatius "Iggy" Katona was an American stock car racer from Willis, Michigan. He is most famous for his performance in the ARCA series in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, where he won six championships and a series record 79 races...
, race car driver (born 1916) - December 7
- Carl F. H. HenryCarl F. H. HenryCarl Ferdinand Howard Henry was an American evangelical Christian theologian who served as the first editor-in-chief of the magazine Christianity Today, established to serve as a scholarly voice for evangelical Christianity and a challenge to the liberal Christian Century.-Early Years and...
, theologian and publisher (born 1913) - Azie Taylor MortonAzie Taylor MortonAzie Taylor Morton served as Treasurer of the United States during the Carter administration . She remains the only African American to hold that office. Her signature was printed on U.S. currency during her tenure; this is an honor she shared with four African American men...
, U.S. Treasurer (born 1936)
- Carl F. H. Henry
- December 9 - Paul SimonPaul Simon (politician)Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
, U.S. Senator from Illinois (born 1928) - December 13 - William RothWilliam V. Roth, Jr.William Victor "Bill" Roth, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Representative and U.S...
, U.S. Senator from Delaware (born 1921) - December 14 - Jeanne CrainJeanne CrainJeanne Elizabeth Crain was an American actress.-Early life:Crain was born in Barstow, California, to George A. Crain, a school teacher, and Loretta Carr; she was of Irish heritage on her mother's side, and of English and distant French descent on her father's...
, actress (born 1925) - December 15 - George FisherGeorge Fisher (cartoonist)George Fisher was an acclaimed American political cartoonist.-Early life:George Fisher was born at Beebe, Arkansas on 8 April 1923, the son of Charles W. and Gladys Fisher. George's father was born in Tennessee and was a home builder and business owner. Fisher's mother died when he was 5 years...
, political cartoonist (born 1923) - December 16 - Gary StewartGary Stewart (singer)Gary Stewart was a country musician and songwriter known for his distinctive vibrato voice and his southern rock influenced, outlaw country sound...
, singer (suicide) (born 1945) - December 17 - Otto GrahamOtto GrahamOtto Everett Graham, Jr. was a professional American football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League, as well as the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League.-Early life:Born in Waukegan,...
, football player (born 1921) - December 19 - Hope LangeHope LangeHope Elise Ross Lange was an American stage, film, and television actress.- Early life :Lange was born into a theatrical family in Redding, Connecticut...
, actress (born 1933) - December 22 - Dave DudleyDave DudleyDave Dudley , born David Darwin Pedruska, was an American country music singer best-known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred baritone. His signature song was "Six Days on the Road," and he is also remembered for "Vietnam Blues," "Truck Drivin'...
, singer (born 1928) - December 29 - Earl HindmanEarl HindmanEarl John Hindman was an American actor, best-known for his role as the kindly neighbor Wilson W. Wilson Jr...
, actor (born 1942) - December 30 - John Gregory DunneJohn Gregory DunneJohn Gregory Dunne was an American novelist, screenwriter and literary critic.-Life:He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and was a younger brother of author Dominick Dunne. He suffered from a severe stutter and took up writing to express himself. Eventually he learned to speak normally by...
, writer (born 1932)
- February 2 - Lou Harrison