The following is a list of notable deaths in February 2003.
Entries for each day are listed alphabetically by surname. A typical entry lists information in the following sequence: Name, age, country of citizenship at birth, subsequent country of citizenship (if applicable), reason for notability, cause of death (if known), and reference.
February 2003
1
Anne Burr, 84, American actress (Native Son, The Hasty Heart, As the World Turns). Adalberto Ortiz, 88, Ecuadorian writer. Mongo Santamaría, 85, Cuban Latin jazz percussionist. Nancy Whiskey, 67, Scottish folk singer ("Freight Train"). Crew of STS-107 killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster: Michael P. Anderson, 43, American, payload commander. David M. Brown, 46, American, mission specialist. Kalpana Chawla, 40, American, mission specialist. Laurel Clark, 41, American, mission specialist. Rick Husband, 45, American, commander. William C. McCool, 41, American, pilot. Ilan Ramon, 48, Israeli, payload specialist.
2
Vincent "Randy" Chin, 65, Jamaican record producer. Lou Harrison, 85, American composer, noted for his microtonal works. Ronald Lawrence Hughes, 82, infantry officer in the Australian Army. Jack Lauterwasser, 98, English racing cyclist and cycling engineer, fall at home. Richard C. Lee, 86, American politician, Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut. Won Kuk Lee, 95, Korean martial artist, pneumonia. David C. Rowe, 53, American psychology professor. Marcello Truzzi, 67, American professor of sociology, cancer. Emerson Woelffer, 88, American abstract expressionist artist and teacher.
3
Natascha Artin Brunswick, 93, German-American mathematician and economist. Lana Clarkson, 40, American actress (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Scarface, Barbarian Queen), shot by record producer Phil Spector. Shadito Cruz, 88, Mexican professional wrestler, Alzheimer's disease. Trevor Morris, 82, Welsh footballer and World War II pilot. Peter Schat, 67, Dutch composer.
4
Charles McLaren, 3rd Baron Aberconway, 89, British industrialist and horticulturalist. Benyoucef Benkhedda, 82, Algerian politician, head of Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (1961–1962). Charlie Biddle, 76, American-Canadian jazz bassist, played with Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker. John Biolo, 86, American professional football player (Lake Forest College, Green Bay Packers). Jean Brossel, 84, French physicist, a key figure in the development of modern atomic physics and quantum optics. Jerome Hines, 81, American operatic bass. Jim Mertz, 86, American baseball player (Washington Senators). Qalandar Momand, 72, Pakistani poet and writer. Jim North, 83, American professional football player (Washington Redskins). André Noyelle, 71, Belgian road racing cyclist (1952 Olympic gold medals: individual road race, team road race). Dick Shatto, 89, Canadian football player.
5
Helge Boes, 32, American CIA operations officer, accident during live-fire training in Afghanistan. Manfred von Brauchitsch, 97, German auto racing driver, winner of three Grand Prix races in the 1930s. Guillermo González Calderoni, 54, Mexican Federal Judicial Police official (portrayed in 2018 Netflix drama, Narcos: Mexico). Micky Fenton, 89, England football player. Larry LeSueur, 93, American journalist, Parkinson's disease. Dale Roberts, 46, British football player, cancer. Werner Romberg, 93, German mathematician and physicist. Robert D. Schuck, 85, American politician. Joseph P. Vigorito, 84, American politician (U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 24th congressional district).
6
Eric Ashby, 85, English naturalist and wildlife cameraman. José Craveirinha, 80, Mozambican journalist, story writer and poet. Arthur Doherty, 71, Irish politician. Mark Freeman, 94, Austrian-born American visual artist. Robert St. John, 100, American author, broadcaster, and journalist. Sir Peter Saunders, 91, British theatre impresario. Landrum Shettles, 93, American biologist and a pioneer in the field of vitro fertilization. Alex Stokes, 83, British physicist.
7
Noriko Sawada Bridges Flynn, 79, American writer and civil rights activist. Edward Knapp-Fisher, 88, Anglican bishop and scholar. Augusto Monterroso, 81, Honduran writer, heart failure. Amalia Nieto, 95, Uruguayan painter, engraver and sculptor. John Reading, 85, American Mayor of Oakland, California from 1966 to 1977. Malcolm Roberts, 58, English pop singer, heart attack . Leader Stirling, 97, English missionary surgeon and Health Minister in Tanzania. Stephen Whittaker, 55, British actor and director (Nicholas Nickleby, Sons and Lovers).
