1903 - What happened in 1903 ?

January 1903

Friday 09:

Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, son of the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia

February 1903

Wednesday 11:

Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna.

Saturday 14:

The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into Dept. of Commerce and Dept. of Labor).

Sunday 15:

Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in America.

Monday 23:

Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".

March 1903

Monday 02:

In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.

Saturday 14:

Theodore Roosevelt issues an executive order making Pelican Island, in Florida, a “preserve and breeding ground for native birds,” marking the birth of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Monday 23:

The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes after much hard work.

Tuesday 31:

Richard Pearse reportedly flies a heavier-than-air machine in powered flight near Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, New Zealand; some claim 1902

April 1903

Monday 06:

The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) began, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and the west.

Wednesday 29:

A 30 million cubic-metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta, Canada.

June 1903

Thursday 11:

Alexander Obrenovic, king of Serbia, was assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.

Tuesday 16:

Roald Amundsen commences first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage by leaving Oslo, Norway.

July 1903

Thursday 23:

Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois becomes the first owner of a Ford Model A.

August 1903

Sunday 02:

Fall of the Ottoman Empire: Unsuccessful uprising of the Bulgarians against Ottoman Turkey, also known as the Ilinden uprising.

Tuesday 18:

German engineer Karl Jatho allegedly flies his self-made, motored gliding airplane four months before the first flight of the Wright Brothers.

September 1903

Thursday 24:

Edmund Barton steps down as Prime Minister of Australia and is succeded by Alfred Deakin.

Sunday 27:

Wreck of the Old 97, a train crash made famous by the song of the same name.

October 1903

Thursday 01:

Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.

Tuesday 06:

The High Court of Australia sits for the first time.

November 1903

Tuesday 03:

With the encouragement of the United States, Panama proclaims itself independent from Colombia. US President Theodore Roosevelt wanted the United States to build the Panama Canal but were blocked by Colombia.

Wednesday 18:

The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the Americans exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.

Monday 23:

Colorado Governor James Peabody sends the state militia into the town of Cripple Creek to break up a miners' strike.

December 1903

Saturday 12:

The City of Fairfield,California is incorporated.

Thursday 17:

First powered flight, by the Wright Brothers.

Wednesday 30:

A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills 600.