1903

1903 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar	1903; MCMIII
Ab urbe condita	2656
Armenian calendar	1352; ԹՎ ՌՅԾԲ
Assyrian calendar	6653
Baháʼí calendar	59–60
Balinese saka calendar	1824–1825
Bengali calendar	1309–1310
Berber calendar	2853
British Regnal year	2 Edw. 7 – 3 Edw. 7
Buddhist calendar	2447
Burmese calendar	1265
Byzantine calendar	7411–7412
Chinese calendar	壬寅年 (Water Tiger); 4600 or 4393; — to —; 癸卯年 (Water Rabbit); 4601 or 4394
Coptic calendar	1619–1620
Discordian calendar	3069
Ethiopian calendar	1895–1896
Hebrew calendar	5663–5664
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1959–1960
- Shaka Samvat	1824–1825
- Kali Yuga	5003–5004
Holocene calendar	11903
Igbo calendar	903–904
Iranian calendar	1281–1282
Islamic calendar	1320–1321
Japanese calendar	Meiji 36; (明治３６年)
Javanese calendar	1832–1833
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4236
Minguo calendar	9 before ROC ; 民前9年
Nanakshahi calendar	435
Thai solar calendar	2445–2446
Tibetan calendar	ཆུ་ཕོ་སྟག་ལོ་; (male Water-Tiger); 2029 or 1648 or 876; — to —; ཆུ་མོ་ཡོས་ལོ་; (female Water-Hare); 2030 or 1649 or 877

Last updated January 31, 2026

From top to bottom, left to right: the Wright Flyer makes the first powered, controlled flight at Kitty Hawk, as the Wright brothers launch the era of aviation; the inaugural 1903 World Series sees the Boston Americans defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates, establishing baseball’s championship tradition; the Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago kills over 600, becoming the deadliest U.S. theater fire and driving new safety reforms; the May Coup results in the assassination of King Alexander I and Queen Draga, reshaping Balkan politics; the Paris Métro train fire claims more than 80 lives, one of France’s worst transit disasters; and The Great Train Robbery premieres, revolutionizing cinema with innovative storytelling.

1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1903rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 903rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 3rd year of the 20th century, and the 4th year of the 1900s decade. As of the start of 1903, the Gregorian calendar was 13days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

Events

January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for almost 30 years.
January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been made in 1901).

February 13 – Venezuelan crisis: After agreeing to arbitration in Washington, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy reach a settlement with Venezuela resulting in the Washington Protocols. The naval blockade that began in 1902 ends.
February 23 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".^[1]

March 2 – In New York City, the Martha Washington Hotel, the first hotel exclusively for women, opens.
March 3 – The British Admiralty announces plans to build the Rosyth Dockyard as a naval base at Rosyth in Scotland.
March 5 – The Ottoman Empire and the German Empire sign an agreement to build the Constantinople–Baghdad Railway.
March 12 – The University of Puerto Rico is founded.^[2]
March 13 – Having abolished the Sokoto Caliphate in West Africa, the new British administration accepts the concession of its last vizier.^[3]
March 14 – The Hay–Herrán Treaty, granting the United States the right to build the Panama Canal, is ratified by the United States Senate. The Colombian senate later rejects the treaty.

April 19–21 (April 6–8 O.S.) – The first Kishinev pogrom, beginning on Easter Day, takes place in Kishinev, capital of the Bessarabia Governorate of the Russian Empire. At least 47 Jews are killed during mob rioting encouraged by blood libel articles in the press and led by priests.^[4]
April 26 – Atlético Madrid is founded as a professional association football club in Spain.^[5]
April 29
- The 30-million-m³ Frank Slide rockslide kills 70–90 in Frank, Alberta.
- The 7.0 M_s  Manzikert earthquake affects eastern Turkey, leaving 3,500 dead.

May 4 – Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary Gotse Delchev is killed in a skirmish with the Ottoman army.
May 18 – The port of Burgas, Bulgaria opens.
May 24 – The Paris–Madrid race for automobiles begins, during which at least eight people are killed; the French government stops the event at Bordeaux and impounds all of the competitors' cars.^[6]
May 26 – Românul de la Pind , the longest-running newspaper by and about Aromanians until World War II, is founded.^[7]

June 11 (May 29 O.S.) – King Alexander Obrenović and Queen Draga of Serbia are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
June 14 – The town of Heppner, Oregon is nearly destroyed by a cloud burst that results in a flash flood that kills about 238 people.
June 16 – The Ford Motor Company is founded.^[8]
June 27 – American socialite Aida de Acosta, 19, becomes the first woman to fly a powered aircraft solo when she pilots Santos-Dumont's motorized dirigible, "No. 9", from Paris to Château de Bagatelle in France.^[9]

November 3 – Separation of Panama from Colombia: With the encouragement of the United States, Panama proclaims itself independent of Colombia.^[14]
November 6 – The English-language South China Morning Post newspaper is first published in Hong Kong.^[15]
November 13 – The United States recognizes the independence of Panama.^[16]
November 17 – The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: the Bolsheviks (Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority").^[17]
November 18 – The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama, giving the U.S. exclusive rights over the Panama Canal Zone.^[14]
November 28 – SS Petriana is wrecked on a reef outside Melbourne, Australia, causing one of the world's first major oil spills.^[18]

The first box of Crayola crayons is made and sold for five cents. It contains eight colors; brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and black.
American motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson is founded in Wisconsin.^[22]
Compression Rheostat, the predecessor of industrial automation and industrial equipment parts brand Rockwell Automation, is founded in Wisconsin.^[23]