On this day

December 17, 2003

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from December 17, 2003

Milosevic Trial Helps Clark Try To Gain Notice

By Elaine Sciolino

Gen Wesley K Clark, former NATO supreme commander and candidate for Democratic presidential nomination, seeks to burnish own credentials as potential commander in chief as he testifies at former Yugoslav Pres Slobodan Milosevic's war crimes trial, Hague; has maximized media value of his court appearance and official break from campaigning; comments on having faced down and testified against dictator, interview; ex-Pres Bill Clinton reportedly sends letter to court lauding Clark's role in halting ethnic cleansing in Kosovo after Milosevic reportedly attacked Clark by citing former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen Hugh Shelton's stand that Clark was asked to resign early from NATO post because of 'integrity and character issues' (M)

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For Some, It's a Very Moo Shu Christmas

By Alex Witchel

Thousands of New York diners, most of them Jewish, go to Chinese restaurants on Christmas; at Shun Lee West, and adjoining Shun Lee Cafe, Christmas is busiest day of year; photos (L)

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New Intel Chip For Digital TV Could Remake The Market

By John Markoff

Intel Corp is expected to disclose development of class of advanced semiconductors that technologists and analysts say will improve quality of large-screen digital televisions and substantially lower their price; will unveil chip at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, which opens Jan 8, 2004; low-cost display technology, which can be incorporated into traditional rear-projection television sets, could lead to lightweight 50-inch screens only 7 inches thick for about $1,000, perhaps as early as 2004 holiday season; similar sets sell for $3,000 to $10,000 (M)

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 17, 2003, covering December 17, 2003.

  1. 1
    Album cover for The Diary Of Alicia Keys by Alicia Keys

    The Diary Of Alicia Keys

    Alicia Keys

    Last week
    —
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    1
  2. 2
    Album cover for Shock'n Y'All by Toby Keith

    Shock'n Y'All

    Toby Keith

    Last week
    6
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    5
  3. 3
    Album cover for Closer by Josh Groban

    Closer

    Josh Groban

    Last week
    7
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    4
  4. 4
    Album cover for Now 14 by Various Artists

    Now 14

    Various Artists

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    5
  5. 5
    Album cover for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by OutKast

    Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

    OutKast

    Last week
    10
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    11

Notable Deaths

Otto Graham

2003Otto Graham, American football player and coach (born 1921)[†]

Otto Everett Graham Jr. was an American professional football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. Graham is regarded by critics as one of the most dominant players of his era and one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, having taken the Browns to league championship games every year between 1946 and 1955, making ten championship appearances, and winning seven of them. With Graham at quarterback, the Browns posted a record of 105 wins, 17 losses, and 4 ties, including a 9–3 win–loss record in the AAFC and NFL playoffs. He holds the NFL record for career average yards gained per pass attempt, with 8.63. He also holds the record for the highest career winning percentage for an NFL starting quarterback, at 81.0%. Long-time New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a friend of Graham's, once called him "as great of a quarterback as there ever was."

Historical Events

Soham murders

2003The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.[†]

The Soham murders were a double child murder committed in Soham, Cambridge­shire, England, on 4 August 2002. The victims were two 10-year-old girls, Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Amiee Chapman, who were lured into the home of a local resident and school caretaker, Ian Kevin Huntley, who murdered them – likely via asphyxiation – and disposed of their bodies in an irrigation ditch close to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. The bodies were discovered on 17 August 2002.

SpaceShipOne

2003SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.[†]

SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (2,000 mph) / 910 m/s (3,300 km/h) using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" atmospheric reentry system where the rear half of the wing and the twin tail booms folds 70 degrees upward along a hinge running the length of the wing; this increases drag while retaining stability. SpaceShipOne completed the first crewed private spaceflight in 2004. That same year, it won the US$10 million Ansari X Prize and was immediately retired from active service. Its mother ship was named "White Knight". Both craft were developed and flown by Mojave Aerospace Ventures, which was a joint venture between Paul Allen and Scaled Composites, Burt Rutan's aviation company. Allen provided the funding of approximately US$25 million.

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

2003Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.[†]

The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is observed annually on 17 December by sex workers, their clientele, friends, families and allies. Originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington, US, it has evolved into an annual international event. The day calls attention to hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide, as well as the need to remove the social stigma and discrimination that have contributed to violence against sex workers and indifference from the communities they are part of. Sex worker activists also claim that custom and prohibitionist laws perpetuate such violence.

Historical Context for December 17, 2003

In 2003, the world population was approximately 6,420,361,634 people[†]