Historical Events in June 2003

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.

Historic Publication

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
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

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 57th Tony Awards: Hairspray & Take Me Out win
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
Jun 8 Senior PGA Championship Men’s Golf, 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

Spirit Rover Begins Mars Mission

Jun 10 The Spirit Rover is launched, beginning NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission

The first color image compiled by photos from the Spirit rover - at the time the highest quality photo taken on another planet

Film Release

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

Cricket's T20 is Born. Howzat!?

Jun 13 English county cricket teams play the 1st official Twenty20 matches

Legendary cricketer WG Grace plays forward with his typical straight bat in 1878

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

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

Historic Publication

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

Film & TV History

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

Historic Publication

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

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

Sports History

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

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.
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

Film Premiere

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

Sports History

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