1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). It also had the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar has not had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. See 1696.
Events
- January 1 - Edward VII of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Emperor of India
- January 6 - Mileva Maric married Albert Einstein.
- January 19 - First transatlantic radio broadcast between United States and England.
- February 11 - The Oxnard Strike of 1903 represents the first time in U.S. history that a labor union was formed from members of different races.
- February 15 - Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in America.
- February 23 - Cuba leases Guantanamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity"
- March 1 -Beşiktaş JK is founded in Istanbul, becoming the first sports club in the Ottoman Empire.
- March 2 - In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
- March 3 – British admiralty announces plans to build naval base at Rosyth
- March 5 – Turkey and Germany signs an agreement to build the Constantinople-Baghdad Railway
- March 14 - The Hay-Herran Treaty, granting the United States the right to build the Panama Canal, is ratified by the United States Senate. The Colombian Senate would later reject the treaty.
- March 22 - the US side of the Niagara Falls runs short of water
- March 31 - Possible first powered heavier-than-air flight, Richard Pearse, New Zealand (some date it to 1902)
- May 18 - Opening of Port of Burgas, Bulgaria.
- June 10-11 – Assassination of Serbian King Alexander Obrenović and Queen Draga
- June 12 - Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity is founded at the University of Michigan School of Music.
- July 1-19 - First Tour de France – Maurice Garin wins
- July 7 - British take over the Fulani empire
- July 23 - Dr. Ernst Pfenning of Chicago, Illinois becomes the first owner of a Ford Model A.
- April 29 - 30,000,000 cubic metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta
- August 2 - The Ilinden Uprising of the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire breaks out