About the day » Thursday December 18, 2003Calender converter

• Betty Lou Hawkins (70)
• Antoon VAN DEN BERGH (97)
• Anthonius Adrianus Ganzevles (73), Loenen aan de Vecht
• * Johannes Hendrikus Hubertus Meijs (90), Vught
• Adriana Cornelia Robben (88), Whittier, Californie, Verenigde Staten
• Christina Elisabeth Beerling (85)
• Arendina Guichelaar (83), Zuidwolde, Drenthe, Nederland
• Casper Meijns (85), zaandam
• Arnoldina Johanna van Hoof (78), Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Nederland
• Arendina Guichelaar (83), Zuidwolde, Drenthe, Nederland

• 1990 » Sierra Kay, American singer-songwriter
• 1991 » Marcus Butler, English internet celebrity
• 1992 » Bridgit Mendler, American singer, songwriter and actress
• 1992 » Ryan Crouser, American shot putter
• 1993 » Ana Porgras, Romanian former artistic gymnast
• 1993 » Byron Buxton, American baseball player
• 1993 » Thomas Lam, Finnish professional football defender
• 1994 » Gerard Gumbau, Spanish professional footballer
• 1994 » Natália Kelly, American-Austrian singer
• 2001 » Billie Eilish, American singer

• 2000 » Stan Fox, American race car driver (b. 1952)
• 2001 » Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek violinist and composer (b. 1914)
• 2001 » Gilbert Bécaud, French singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1927)
• 2001 » Marcel Mule, French saxophonist and educator (b. 1901)
• 2002 » Lucy Grealy, Irish-American author (b. 1963)
• 2002 » Necip Hablemitoğlu, Turkish historian and academic (b. 1954)
• 2002 » Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Governor General of Canada (b. 1934)
• 2002 » Wayne Owens, American lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
• 2004 » Anthony Sampson, English journalist and author (b. 1926)
• 2005 » Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922)

• Koningin Beatrix (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from April 30, 1980 till April 30, 2013 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, July 22, 2002 to Tuesday, May 27, 2003 the cabinet Balkenende I, with Mr.dr. J.P. Balkenende (CDA) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from Tuesday, May 27, 2003 to Friday, July 7, 2006 the cabinet Balkenende II, with Mr.dr. J.P. Balkenende (CDA) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 16.2 million citizens.
• February 1 » Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
• April 14 » U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the MSAchille Lauro in 1985.
• August 11 » NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
• August 26 » A Beechcraft 1900 operating as Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, killing both pilots on board.
• August 29 » Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the Shia Muslim leader in Iraq, is assassinated in a terrorist bombing, along with nearly 100 worshippers as they leave a mosque in Najaf.
• December 13 » Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.

The temperature on December 18, 2003 was between -2.6 °C and 5.8 °C and averaged 1.4 °C. There was 6.3 hours of sunshine (81%). The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the south-southeast.