What Happened in June 2003

Historical Events

  • Jun 1 The People's Republic of China begins filling the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam
  • Jun 2 Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency's Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.

Sunset in St. Tropez

Jun 3 Danielle Steel’s novel “Sunset in St. Tropez” is published

  • Jun 5 A severe heat wave across Pakistan and India reaches its peak, as temperatures exceed 50°C (122°F) in the region
  • Jun 7 135th Belmont: Jerry Bailey aboard Empire Maker wins in 2:28.26

French Open Women's Tennis

Jun 7 French Open Women's Tennis: In an all-Belgian final, Justine Henin-Hardenne outclasses Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-4 for her 1st of 7 Grand Slam singles titles

  • Jun 8 57th Tony Awards: "Hairspray" (musical) & "Take Me Out" (play) win

French Open Men's Tennis

Jun 8 French Open Men's Tennis: Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero claims his lone major title; beats Dutchman Martin Verkerk 6-1, 6-3, 6-2

LPGA Championship

Jun 8 LPGA Championship Women's Golf, DuPont CC: Sweden's Annika Sörenstam wins in a playoff over Grace Park of South Korea with a par on the first sudden death hole

  • Jun 8 Senior PGA Championship, Aronimink GC, PA: John Jacobs wins his only Champions Tour major title with a 2 stroke margin to runner-up Bobby Wadkins
  • Jun 9 Stanley Cup Final, Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, NJ: New Jersey Devils beat Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 3-0 for 4-3 series win

Wicked

Jun 10 Musical "Wicked", starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, officially opens at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco

  • Jun 14 WLAF World Bowl 11, Hampden Park, Glasgow: Frankfurt Galaxy beats Rhein Fire, 35-16

NBA Finals

Jun 15 NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs beat New Jersey Nets, 88-77 in Game 6 for franchise's second title; MVP: Tim Duncan

US Golf Open

Jun 15 US Open Men's Golf, Olympia Fields CC: American Jim Furyk wins his only major title by 3 from Stephen Leaney of Australia

Moneyball

Jun 17 "Moneyball", a book about the 2003 Oakland Athletics baseball team and GM Billy Beane's sabermetric approach, inspired by Bill James, is published

AdSense Launched

Jun 18 Google launches AdSense, a program that enables website publishers to serve ads targeted to the specific content of their individual web pages, many of which like On This Day (then HistoryOrb.com) go on to start their own publishing businesses

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Jun 21 "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" the 5th book of the series by J. K. Rowling is published worldwide in English

Baseball Record

Jun 23 Barry Bonds steals second base against the LA Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to have 500 career homers and 500 steals

NBA Draft

Jun 26 NBA Draft: St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (Akron, Ohio) small forward LeBron James first pick by Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Jun 26 The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Lawrence v. Texas that gender-based sodomy laws are unconstitutional.

Glastonbury Festival

Jun 27 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, England opens: Radiohead, Moby, and R.E.M. headline; other performers include David Gray, The Polyphonic Spree; Jimmy Cliff, Sigur Rós, Los Lobos, and Yes

  • Jun 27 The United States National Do Not Call Registry, formed to combat unwanted telemarketing calls and administered by the Federal Trade Commission, enrolls almost three-quarters of a million phone numbers on its first day.

Pirates of the Caribbean

Jun 28 "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", directed by Gore Verbinski, starring Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, premieres at Disneyland

US Senior Golf Open

Jun 29 US Senior Open Men's Golf, Inverness Club: Bruce Lietzke wins by 2 strokes from Tom Watson


2003 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jun 16 Anna Cathcart, Canadian actress (Odd Squad; To All the Boys I've Loved Before), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Jun 25 Joey Alexander [Josiah Alexander Sila], Indonesian jazz pianist, born in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
  • Jun 29 Jude Bellingham, English footballer (Real Madrid), born in Stourbridge, England
Born in 2003

Famous Weddings

  • Jun 7 "Dawson's Creek" actor Kerr Smith (31) weds actress Harmoni Everett (28) at The La Quinta Resort and Club in Palm Springs, California

Christy Turlington

Jun 7 "Sidewalks of New York" actor-director Edward Burns (34) weds Calvin Klein model Christy Turlington (32) at St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in San Francisco, California

  • Jun 8 "The Sopranos" actor Dominic Chianese (72) weds United Nations conference planner Jane Pittson (56) in Manhattan

Adam Sandler

Jun 22 Actor Adam Sandler (36) weds actress-model Jackie Titone (28) at Dick Clark's oceanfront in Malibu, California

John Leguizamo

Jun 28 Colombian American actor John Leguizamo (42) weds estate planner Justine Maurer (35) on a Catholic-Jewish ceremony in New York


Famous Deaths

  • Jun 1 Johnny Hopp, American baseball outfielder, first baseman (MLB All-Star 1946; World Series 1942, 44, 50, 51; St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 86
  • Jun 2 Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (b. 1918)
  • Jun 2 John Robin Stephenson, British military officer and cricket administrator (Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), 1987-94), dies at 72
  • Jun 2 Július Kowalski, Slovak composer, dies at 91
  • Jun 3 Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor (Marine Corps War Memorial), dies at 96
  • Jun 5 Jürgen Möllemann, German politician, German Vice Chancellor (1992-3), dies in a parachuting accident at 57
  • Jun 5 Manuel Rosenthal, French composer and conductor, dies at 98
  • Jun 6 Dave Rowberry, English rocker (The Animals -"House of the Rising Sun"), dies at 62
  • Jun 6 Ken Grimwood, American writer (b. 1944)
  • Jun 6 Tom Jackson, British union leader (Post Office), dies at 78
  • Jun 7 Trevor Goddard, English actor (b. 1962)
  • Jun 8 Leighton Rees, Welsh darts player (BDO World Champion 1978), dies at 63
  • Jun 10 Bernard Williams, English moral philosopher, dies at 73
  • Jun 10 Donald Regan, US Secretary of the Treasury (1981-85) and White House Chief of Staff (1985-87), dies at 84
  • Jun 10 Phil Williams, Welsh politician and scientist (b. 1939)
  • Jun 10 Sylvius Gerald Marie Rozendal, Premier of Netherlands Antilles, dies at 74

David Brinkley (1920-2003)

Jun 11 American NBC news anchor (The Huntley-Brinkley Report), dies at 82

  • Jun 11 William Marshall, American stage and screen actor, director, and operatic singer (Frederick Douglass: Slave and Statesman; Blacula; Scream Blacula Scream), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 78

Gregory Peck (1916-2003)

Jun 12 American actor (To Kill a Mockingbird, MacArthur), dies of bronchopneumonia at 87

  • Jun 13 Harold Ashby, American jazz tenor saxophonist (Willie Dixon; Duke Ellington, 1968-75), dies at 78
  • Jun 13 Malik Meraj Khalid, Former caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1916)
  • Jun 13 Robin Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford, English peer (Woburn Abbey, Country House TV series), dies at 63
  • Jun 15 Hume Cronyn, Canadian stage and screen Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor (Lifeboat; Cocoon; To Dance with the White Dog), and screenwriter, dies of prostate cancer at 91
  • Jun 15 Momo "Wandel" Soumah, Guinean jazz and world music saxophonist and singer (Matchowé; Circus Baobob), dies at about 77 [b. 1926, exact birthday undocumented]
  • Jun 16 Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish-Swedish philosopher (b. 1916)
  • Jun 16 Pierre Bourgault, French Canadian politician (b. 1934)

Larry Doby (1924-2003)

Jun 18 American Baseball HOF outfielder (MLB All-Star 1949–55; World Series 1948; AL HR leader 1952, 54; 1st African-American in AL; Cleveland Indians), dies of cancer at 79

  • Jun 19 Laura Sadler, English actress (b. 1980)
  • Jun 19 Michael "Peanuts" Hucko, American big band jazz and session clarinetist (Glenn Miller's Army-Air Force Band; Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 85
  • Jun 20 Bob Stump, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona, dies at 76
  • Jun 21 Jason Moran, Australian criminal (Melbourne gangland killings), murdered in prison at 35
  • Jun 21 Leon Uris, American novelist (Exodus; Topaz; QB VII), dies of kidney failure at 78
  • Jun 21 Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey coach (b. 1934)
  • Jun 22 John Stokes, British MP (C), dies at 85
  • Jun 22 Wassil Bykau, Belarusian writer, dies at 79
  • Jun 23 Doug Ring, Australian cricketer (Australian leggie of the late 40's early 50's), dies at 84
  • Jun 23 Maynard Jackson, Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (b. 1938)
  • Jun 24 Vladimir Garin, Russian actor (b. 1987)
  • Jun 25 Lester Maddox, American businessman, one-time segregationist and Governor of Georgia (1967-71), dies at 87
  • Jun 26 Denver Randleman, U.S. Army Seargent (b. 1920)
  • Jun 26 Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroon soccer midfielder (62 caps; collapsed during international match, died; Lens, West Ham, Lyon), dies of heart failure at 28
  • Jun 26 Sir Dennis Thatcher MBE, husband of Margaret Thatcher (b. 1915)

Strom Thurmond (1902-2003)

Jun 26 U.S. Senator (Sen-D/R-SC), dies at 100

  • Jun 27 David Newman, American filmmaker (b. 1937)
  • Jun 28 Russell Endean, South African cricket wicketkeeper (28 Tests, 3 x 100, HS 162no, 41 dismissals; Transvaal, MCC), dies at 79
  • Jun 28 Wim Slijkhuis, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)

Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003)

Jun 29 American actress (Adam's Rib, On Golden Pond), dies of natural causes at 96

  • Jun 30 Buddy Hackett [Leonard Hacker], American comedian and actor (God's Little Acre; The Music Man; The Love Bug), dies of heart disease at 78
  • Jun 30 Robert McCloskey, American children's book writer and illustrator (Make Way For Ducklings), dies at 88