istoryworld
All Events
The US space shuttle Columbia disintegrates, with seven on board, when re-entering the earth's atmosphere
Around the world millions of people march in protest against the war planned by the USA and UK against Iraq
The two remaining regions of the unravelled Yugoslavia unite as a new nation, Serbia and Montenegro
Civil war breaks out in the Darfur region of the Sudan, resulting in large numbers of civilian deaths and accusations of government-sponsored genocide
A deadly new form of pneumonia, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is first reported in Hanoi and soon spreads globally
Zoran Dindić, the prime minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade
Hu Jintao succeeds Jiang Zemin as president of the People's Republic of China
US, British, Australian and Polish forces invade Iraq
US forces are in control of Baghdad and an excited crowd topples from its plinth a massive statue of Saddam Hussein
President Bush prematurely celebrates his Iraq achievement with a speech on a US aircraft carrier in front of a banner declaring 'Mission Accomplished'
Finding Nemo, following the adventures of a clownfish, wins an Oscar for Pixar Animation as the Best Animated Feature
The UN Security Council and the Polisario accept a plan for the future of Western Sahara, proposed by James Baker, but it is rejected by Morocco
The Public Records Office and the Historic Manuscripts Commission come together to form The National Archives
UK scientist David Kelly commits suicide, apparently for reasons linked with the Iraq War
US tennis player Pete Sampras retires with a record total of 14 Grand Slam titles
Lost in Translation, a film directed by Sofia Coppola, depicts the culture shock of an American couple in modern Japan
Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anna Lindh, is stabbed in a Stockholm department store and dies the following day
Californians vote to remove governor Gray Davis from office in a 'recall' election and to replace him with Arnold Schwarzenegger
The last three Concorde airliners to carry fare-paying passengers land within a space of five minutes at Heathrow
US singer Britney Spears creates a new record when she has a fourth successive album (In the Zone) go straight to the top of Billboard 200
The 'Rose Revolution' in Georgia forces the resignation of president Eduard Shevardnadze after rigged elections
Ian Paisley's hard-line Democratic Unionist Party wins in elections to the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly
The Alexandria National Museum, with a rich collection telling the story of Alexandria and Egypt, is opened by Hosni Mubarak
The Human Genome Project, mapping the entire sequence of chemical base pairs in human DNA, is completed two years ahead of schedule
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is found hiding in a subterranean hole in a farmyard near Tikrit
