1803

Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century

Decades: 1750s 1760s 1770s 1780s 1790s - 1800s - 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s

Years: 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 - 1803 - 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808

Events

• William Osgoode[?], Chief Justice of Lower Canada, ruled that slavery was inconsistent with British Law.
• January 30 - Monroe and Livingston sail for Paris to discuss, and possibly buy, New Orleans. They end completing the Lousiana Purchase.
• February 24 - The Supreme Court of the United States, in Marbury v. Madison, establishes the principle of judicial review.
• March 1 - Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.
• April 30 - Louisiana Purchase made by the United States from France.
• May 18 - The United Kingdom declares war on France after France refused to withdraw from Dutch territory.
• July 4 - The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
• July 5 - The convention of Artlenburg[?] leads to the French occupation of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
• July 26 - The wagonway between Wandsworth and Croydon is opened, being the first public railway line of the world.
• September 23 - British troops defeat an Indian army in the Battle of Assaye[?]
• Argovia, Grisons, St. Gallen[?], Thurgau[?], the Ticino, Vaud[?] become Swiss cantons.

Art, Culture and Fashion

• 1803 in literature

Births

• February 2 - Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate general (+ 1862)
• February 15 - John Sutter, California pioneer (+ 1880)
• May 12 - Justus von Liebig, German chemist
• May 24 - Charles Bonaparte[?]
• May 25 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, essayist (+ 1882)
• May 25 - Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, novelist and playwright (+ 1873)
• June 24 - George James Webb[?], composer
• July 31 - John Ericsson - Swedish inventor and engineer
• November 14 - Jacob Abbott, writer
• November 29 - Christian Doppler (Doppler effect)
• December 11 - Hector Berlioz, French composer

Deaths

• Jacques-Donatien Le Ray -- a "Father of the American Revolution"
• September 27 - Samuel Adams, American patriot
• October 18 - Choderlos de Laclos[?], author (+ 1803