January 21, 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.

January 25, 2003 – 2003 Invasion of Iraq: A group of people left London, England, for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields to prevent the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations.

February 1, 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

April 7, 2003 – U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.

May 3, 2003 – New Hampshire’s famous Old Man of the Mountain collapses.

May 21, 2003 – An earthquake hits northern Algeria killing more than 2,000 people.

August 10, 2003 – The highest temperature ever recorded in the United Kingdom – 38.5 °C in Kent. It is the first time the United Kingdom has recorded a temperature over 100 °F.

September 21, 2003 – Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.

October 31, 2003 – A bankruptcy court approves MCI’s reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy.

April 16, 2003 – Alina Foley, American actress

June 24, 2003 – Marcus Fiesel, American murder victim (d. 2006)

October 1, 2003 – Charlotte Cleverley-Bisman, New Zealander quadruple amputee

October 16, 2003 – Princess Kritika of Nepal, daughter of Crown Prince Paras

November 8, 2003 – Lady Louise Windsor, British royal

December 7, 2003 – Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands