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2004
*** Shopping-Tip: 2004
{{yearbox|
in?= |
cp=20th century|
c=21st century |
cf=22nd century |
yp1=2001 |
yp2=2002 |
yp3=2003|
year=2004 |
ya1=2005 |
ya2=2006 |
ya3=2007 |
dp3=1970s |
dp2=1980s |
dp1=1990s |
d=2000s |
dn1=2010s |
dn2=2020s |
dn3=2030s |
}}
{{C21YearInTopic}}
{{Different calendars
| gregorian=2004
| auc=2757
| chinese=
Sexagesimal cycle 乙酉-丙戌(4700–4701)
| japanese=
Heisei 16
| hebrew=5764–5765
| shaka=1926–1927
| vikram=2059–2060
| shaka=1926–1927
| vikram=2059–2060
| hindu=5105–5106
| iranian=1382–1383
| islamic=1424–1425
| runic=2254
}}
2004 (
MMIV)
It has been designated the:
*''International Year of
Rice'' (by the
United Nations)
*''International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against
Slavery and its Abolition'' (by
UNESCO)
*''2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by
World Health Organization)
*''Year of the
Monkey'' (by the
Chinese calendar)
'''See
the world in 2004 for a description of the state of the world in this year.'''
See also
Current events#Past events by month 's almanac of events for this year.
Events
January 2004 January
{{Year D 1}}
*
January 1 -
Pervez Musharraf wins a
vote of confidence from an
Electoral College of Pakistan electoral college consisting of
Parliament of Pakistan Parliament and the provincial assemblies, confirming him as
President of Pakistan and de facto dictator until 2007.
*
January 3 -
Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the
Red Sea off the coast of
Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
*
January 4 -
Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in
Georgia (country) Georgia.
*
January 4 -
NASA's
MER-A (''Spirit'') lands on
Mars (planet) Mars at 04:35 UTC.
*
January 8 -
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II christens the ''
RMS Queen Mary 2'' cruise liner, currently the largest
ocean liner in the world.
*
January 13 - An
Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in
Uzbekistan's capital of
Tashkent, killing 37.{{noMention}}
*
January 18 - Premiere of
The L Word, first lesbian drama series.
*
January 19 -
ANIMAX Asia had been launched in South-East Asia.
*
January 22 - The
European Union :the import of
poultry from
Thailand, as
bird flu spreads throughout
Southeast Asia.{{noMention}}
*
January 24 -
NASA's
MER-B (''Opportunity'') lands on
Mars (planet) Mars at 05:05 UTC.
*
January 27 - The British government narrowly wins a
British House of Commons House of Commons vote on the proposed introduction of tuition top-up fees in British
university universities.{{noMention}}
*
January 28 - The findings of the
Hutton Inquiry are published in
London. The
British Government is found not to have falsified information in the "
sexed up dossier". The report criticises the
BBC's role in the death of
David Kelly, a weapons expert on
Iraq.
*
January 28 - At a hearing of the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, it is revealed that the
September 11, 2001 attacks September 11, 2001,
terrorism terrorists used
Mace (spray) Mace (a brand of
tear gas) or
pepper spray in overpowering the flight crew of
American Airlines Flight 11.
February 2004 February
{{Year DC 2}}
*
February 1 - A
hajj stampede in
Mina, Saudi Arabia Mina,
Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
*
February 2 - An 11-story apartment building collapses in
Konya,
Turkey killing more than 90 residents.
*
February 3 - The
CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from
weapons of mass destruction before the
2003 invasion of Iraq.
*
February 6 - A
suicide bomber kills 41 people on a
metro car in
Moscow.
*
February 7 - Several leaders of
Abnaa el-Balad arrested in
Israel.
*
February 10 - At least 50 people killed in a
car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of
Baghdad.
*
February 10 - The
French National Assembly votes to pass a
French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
*
February 12 -
Same sex marriage in the United States: The
San Francisco, California City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of
civil disobedience.
*
February 13 - Scientists in
South Korea announce the
cloning of 30 human embryos.
*
February 14 - Riots break out between
New South Wales Police and
Australian Aborigine Aboriginal residents of
Redfern, New South Wales Redfern, a suburb of
Sydney,
Australia.
*
February 14 - The roof of the
Transvaal Park Transvaal water park in
Moscow collapses killing 25 and injuring more than 100.
*
February 18 - A train carrying a convoy of
petrol,
fertiliser, and
sulfur derails and explodes in
Iran, killing 320 people.
*
February 20 - Conservatives win a majority in the
Iran Majlis election, 2004 Iranian parliament election.
*
February 24 - 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern
Morocco hits in the
Rif Rif mountains near the city of
Al Hoceima - over 400 dead.
Ait Kamara is destroyed. 517 dead.
*
February 25-
Ash Wednesday. Also, the
religious docudrama, ''
The Passion of the Christ'' was released.
*
February 26 - The
United States lifts a ban on travel to
Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years.
*
February 26 -
Republic of Macedonia Macedonian President
Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near
Mostar,
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
*
February 29 -
2004 Haiti rebellion:
Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president of
Haiti. The chief justice of the Haitian Supreme Court,
Boniface Alexandre, is sworn in as interim president.
*
February 29 - The film ''
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' directed by
Peter Jackson wins
Academy Awards in every category it was nominated, with 11 wins in total.
March 2004 March
{{Year C 3}}
*
March 2 -
John Kerry effectively clinches the
U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination, 2004 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination by winning nine out of 10 "
Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
*
March 2 -
NASA announces that the
Mars (planet) Mars rover
MER-B (Opportunity), has confirmed that the area of Mars they landed in was once drenched in water.
*
March 5 -
Priscilla Paris , singer(Paris Sisters) died from a fall in Paris, where she lived.
*
March 6 - The 26th
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held in
Australia.
*
March 8 - Löschi wurde 17
*
March 10 - Five British men released from detention at
Camp X-Ray Camp Delta,
Guantanamo Bay land at
RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested for questioning.
*
March 11 -
March 11, 2004 Madrid attacks Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in
Madrid kill 190 people.
*
March 12 - Following the terrorist attacks in Madrid on March 11, millions of protesters take to the streets of
Spain Spanish cities against terrorism.
*
March 14 - Two
suicide bombing suicide bombers kill eleven Israeli civilians in
Ashdod, Israel.
*
March 14 - The
Spanish legislative election, 2004 Spanish parliamentary elections of 2004 take place. The incumbent government led by
José MarÃa Aznar is defeated by the Socialist
José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero.
*
March 14 -
Russian presidential election, 2004 Presidential elections in Russia are held.
Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
*
March 15 - A trio of
astronomy astronomers announce they have discovered a large
trans-Neptunian object, the largest object found in the
solar system since
Pluto (planet) Pluto was discovered in
1930. Initially designated '''2003 VB
12''', it was named
90377 Sedna in late September.
*
March 15 - The new Spanish government announces that it will withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops in
Iraq.
*
March 17 - Organized violence breaks out over two days in
Kosovo. Nineteen people are killed, 139 Serbian homes are burned, schools and businesses are vandalized, and over 30 orthodox monasteries and churches are burned and destroyed.
*
March 19 - The
UN launches a
political corruption corruption investigation due to the
scandal over its
Iraqi
Oil for Food program.
*
March 20 - President
Chen Shui-bian wins the
ROC presidential election, 2004 Taiwanese presidential election by 0.2% of the vote. The day before, he and Vice President
Annette Lu were 'shot'.
Lien Chan refuses to concede and demands a recount. A controversial '
ROC referendum, 2004 peace referendum' opposed by the
People's Republic of China is invalidated.
*
March 21 - The
Malaysian general election, 2004 2004 Malaysian general election takes place. The incumbent
Barisan Nasional party wins 198 out of 219 seats in the
Malaysian Parliament.
*
March 21 -
Antonio Saca Tony Saca is
Salvadoran presidential election, 2004 elected President of
El Salvador (inauguration
June 1).
*
March 22 -
Palestinians protest in the streets after an
Israel Israeli helicopter gunship fires a missile at the entourage of
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Ahmed Yassin in
Gaza City, killing Yassin and 7 others.
*
March 25 - British
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair visits
Libyan leader Colonel
Muammar al-Qaddafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya's
WMD programme in
December 2003 - the first time a major western leader has visited the nation in several decades.
*
March 28 - In
France, the government of
Prime minister of France Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional
elections. The first ever South Atlantic
Hurricane makes landfall in South Brazil on the state of Santa Catarina, the Hurricane is dubbed
Hurricane Catarina.
*
March 29 - The
Republic of Ireland Smoking ban bans smoking in all enclosed work places including: restaurants, pubs and bars.
*
March 29 - Largest expansion of
NATO to date, allowing
Bulgaria,
Estonia,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Romania,
Slovakia and
Slovenia into the organization.
*
March 31 - Four American
private military contractors working for
Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in
Fallujah,
Iraq.
April 2004 April
{{Year C 4}}
*
April 1 -
Faroe Islands Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new
Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by
Faroe Islands Faroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the
Coat of Arms.
Image:Faroe Coat of Arms 4.png thumb|right|100x112px|Faroese Coat of Arms
*
April 3 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills a Spanish policeman and five terrorists suspected of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on
March 11.
*
April 4 - Serious fighting breaks out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra in
Iraq as Shia
insurgents supporting
Muqtada al-Sadr rise against coalition forces.
*
April 5 -
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to
France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
Entente Cordiale.
*
April 8 -
Darfur conflict: The
April 8 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the
Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
*
April 8 - Three
Japanese citizens are taken
hostage in
Iraq.
*
April 8 - Former
Japanese people Japanese famous economist,
professor at
Waseda University graduate school Kazuhide Uekusa was arrested on the
escalator of
Japan Railway JR Shinagawa Station because of trying to peep under
high school girl's
skirt and dress skirt with his hand
mirror.
*
April 16 -
India defeats
Pakistan in their first
cricket tour in 14 years.
*
April 17 -
Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the
Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of
Hamas,
Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
*
April 20 - In Iraq, 12 mortars were fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents. Twenty two detainees were killed and 92 wounded. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-20-iraq_x.htm]
*
April 21 -
Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from
prison in
Israel after an 18 year term for
treason.
*
April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the
North Korean town of
Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
*
April 22 - The last
coal mine in
France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
*
April 24 -
Cyprus reunification referendum, 2004 Referenda on a
Annan Plan United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of
Cyprus, take place in both the
Republic of Cyprus controlled and
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Turkish controlled parts. Although the
Turkish Cypriots vote in favour, the
Greek Cypriots reject the proposal.
*
April 28 -
Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse Abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in
Iraq is revealed on the television show
60 Minutes II.
*
April 29 - Last
Oldsmobile rolls off of the assembly line.
May 2004 May
{{Year C 5}}
*
May 1 - the largest expansion to date of the
European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states:
Poland,
Lithuania,
Latvia,
Estonia, the
Czech Republic,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Hungary,
Malta and
Cyprus.
*
May 6 - The final episode of ''
Friends'' airs on
NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers in
North America.
*
May 8 - Would-be "Saudi Princess" "
Antoinette Millard" surfaces in
New York City and claims that muggers had stolen jewels worth of $262.000 from her (she later proves to be an
impostor).
*
May 9 -
Chechnya Chechen president
Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by landmine placed under a VIP stage during a
World War II memorial parade in
Grozny.
*
May 9 - Team of
Canadian national men's hockey team Canada won the
2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships World Ice Hockey Championship in
Prague.
*
May 10 - The
Philippine general election, 2004 2004 Philippine presidential and legislative elections take place. Incumbent president
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wins the presidency.
*
May 11 - An
Stockline Plastics factory explosion explosion destroys a plastics factory in
Glasgow,
United Kingdom UK, killing nine people and injuring over a hundred.
*
May 12 - An American civilian contractor in Iraq,
Nick Berg, is shown being decapitated by a group allegedly linked to
al-Qaida on a web-distributed video.
*
May 13 - In India, the
Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the
Lok Sabha.
*
May 14 -
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, marries Australian
Mary Donaldson in
Copenhagen.
*
May 17 -
Ezzedine Salim, holder of the rotating leadership of the
Iraq Interim Governing Council Iraqi Governing Council, is killed in a bomb blast in
Baghdad.
*
May 17 -
Massachusetts legalizes
same-sex marriage in the United States same-sex marriage in compliance with a ruling from the state's
State supreme court Supreme Judicial Court (''
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'').
*
May 19 -
Tony Blair is
Fathers 4 Justice House of Commons protest#House of Commons protest hit with a purple flour bomb in the chamber of the
British House of Commons House of Commons during a session of
Prime Minister's Questions.
*
May 19 -
Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty in a court-martial in connection with alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners at
Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse Abu Ghraib prison in
Baghdad.
*
May 19 -
Angel (TV series) airs its final epidsode ending a 5 year run on
The WB Network.
*
May 23 - A section of the ceiling in Terminal 2E at
Paris's
Charles de Gaulle International Airport collapses, claiming at least six lives.
*
May 23 -
Japanese prime minister
Junichiro Koizumi visits
North Korea to secure the release of the families of the nine abducted Japanese citizens returned earlier.
*
May 26 -
Terry Nichols is convicted by an
Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the
1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
*
May 29 - Dedication of the
National World War II Memorial takes place in
Washington, DC.
*
May 30 - Thousands of people in
Hong Kong take to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
June 2004 June
{{Year C 6}}
*
June 1 - Twelve-year-old Satomi Mitarai, a
Japan Japanese schoolgirl attending Okubo Elementary School in
Sasebo, Nagasaki Sasebo, Japan is
murder murdered. Her killer, an 11-year-old classmate identified by Japanese authorities as "Girl A", becomes the basis for the
Nevada-tan Internet meme.
*
June 3- All outgoing
Aircraft flights from the
United Kingdom UK are temporarily grounded following an
air traffic control computer failure. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3772077.stm (BBC)]
*
June 3-
Central Intelligence Agency director
George Tenet tenders his resignation, citing "personal reasons". He will serve as CIA Director until mid-July.
John McLaughlin (CIA) John McLaughlin, the deputy director for the CIA will become the acting Director until a permanent Director is chosen and confirmed by Congress.
*
June 4 -
Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings with a home-made tank in
Granby, Colorado
*
June 5 - Former
President of the United States,
Ronald Reagan, dies at age 93.
*
June 6 - The 60th anniversary of
D-Day is remembered by world leaders.
*
June 7 - Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Calgary Flames in 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
*
June 8 - The first
transit of Venus since
1882 occurs; the next one will occur in
2012.
*
June 8 - The
G8 Summit takes place over the next 2 days on
Sea Island, in
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia,
United States USA.
*
June 8 - The pickled heart of
Louis XVII of France is buried in the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.
*
June 11 -
Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the
1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The decision came on the third anniversary of the execution of his co-defendant,
Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh, in
Terre Haute,
Indiana.
*
June 11 - After the first presidential state funeral since
1973, President
Ronald Wilson Reagan is laid to rest at
Simi Valley, California, at the site of the
Reagan Presidential Library.
*
June 12 - A 1.3
kilogram kg chondrite type
meteorite struck a house in
Ellerslie, New Zealand causing serious damage but no injuries.
Image:Saddam.jpg thumb|Imprisoned Saddam Hussein
*
June 15 - The
Detroit Pistons upset the heavily favored
Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2004 NBA Finals, four games to one.
*
June 16 - The
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or "9/11 Commission") issues an initial report of its findings.
*
June 21 -
SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately-funded
spaceplane to achieve
Human spaceflight spaceflight.
*
June 28 -
Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific and
BNSF Railway Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains collided in a rural area outside of
San Antonio,
Texas. Forty cars were derailed, including one
chlorine car, and three people died, another 50 people were hospitalized because of exposure to the gas.
*
June 28 - The U.S.-led
2003 occupation of Iraq coalition occupying Iraq transfers
sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
*
June 28 -
Canadian federal election, 2004 Canadian election: The
Liberal Party of Canada Liberal Party, led by
Paul Martin, is reduced to a minority government, after holding a majority since November
1993.
*
June 30 - The preliminary hearings begin in
Iraq in the trial of former president
Saddam Hussein, for
war crimes and crimes against
crimes against humanity humanity.
July 2004 July
{{Year C 7}}
*
July 1 - The
Cassini probe Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at
Saturn (planet) Saturn.
*
July 4 - Groundbreaking of
Freedom Tower at
World Trade Center site Ground Zero in
New York City.
*
July 22 - The
Stari most Old Bridge of
Mostar in
Bosnia-Herzegovina is reconstructed and reopened after being destroyed by
Bosnian Croat forces on
November 9,
1993.
*
July 25 - Over 100,000 opponents to
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 participate in a
human chain from
Gush Katif, to the
Western Wall,
Jerusalem (90 kilometers).
*
July 25 -
Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas wins an unprecedented 6th consecutive
Tour de France cycling title.
August 2004 August
{{Year C 8}}
*
August 1 - Supermarket fire in
Asunción,
Paraguay, kills about 400 people and leaves over 100 missing.
*
August 1 - A bomb attack in front of
Prague's Casino Royal.
*
August 2 -
Monday demonstrations, 2004 Monday demonstrations against social cutbacks began in
Germany
*
August 3 -
Statue of Liberty reopens after security improvements.
*
August 6 - A
United Nations report that blames the government of
Sudan for crimes against humanity in
Darfur is released.
*
August 12 -
Singapore's prime minister
Goh Chok Tong hands over his position to
Lee Hsien Loong.
*
August 12 -
New Jersey governor
James McGreevey announces that he is "a
gay American" and will resign effective November 15, 2004.
*
August 13 - The
2004 Summer Olympics begin in
Athens, Greece Athens. They end on
August 29.
*
August 13 -
Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in
Florida after killing four in
Cuba and one in
Jamaica. Charley made landfall near Cayo Costa, FL as a Category 4 hurricane. Charley was the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
*
August 16 - Severe
flooding in the
village of
Boscastle in
Cornwall.
*
August 18 - In
Dublin,
Republic of Ireland Ireland the
Dublin Port Tunnel excavation works were completed and the final
tunnel boring machine breakthrough ceremony took place.
*
August 20 -
Tsakhiagiyn Elbegdorj Elbegdorj Tsakhia - the peaceful democratic revolution leader of
Mongolia became the
Prime Minister of Mongolia for the second time.
*
August 21 - A series of blasts rocks a rally of an opposition party in
Dhaka,
Bangladesh, killing at least 13 people.
*
August 22 - Armed robbers steal
Edvard Munch's
The Scream,
Madonna (Edvard Munch) Madonna and other paintings from the Munch Museum in
Oslo,
Norway.
*
August 24 - Two airliners in
Russia, carrying a total of 89 passengers, crash within minutes of each other after flying out of
Domodedovo International Airport, leaving no survivors. Authorities suspect suicide attacks by rebels from
Chechnya to be the cause of the crashes.
*
August 29 - Around 200,000 protesters demonstrate in
New York City against
President of the United States President George W. Bush and his government, ahead of the
2004 Republican National Convention.
*
August 29 -
Michael Schumacher wins a record seventh
world championship title by finishing second in the
Belgian Grand Prix at
Spa-Francorchamps.
*
August 31 - Two suicide attacks on buses in
Beer Sheva,
Israel, kill at least 16 people and injure at least 60.
Hamas claims responsibility for the attacks.
*
August 31 - A woman commits a suicide attack near a subway station in northern
Moscow,
Russia, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 50. Authorities hold
Chechnya Chechen rebels responsible.
September 2004 September
{{Year C 9}}
*
September - The
Great Laxey Mine Railway of the
Isle of Man is re-opened.
*
September 1 -
Chechnya Chechen rebels take between 1,000 and 1,500 people hostage, mostly children, in a school in
Beslan,
Northern Ossetia. The hostage-takers demand the release of Chechen rebels imprisoned in neighbouring
Ingushetia and the independence of
Chechnya from
Russia.
*
September 2 - The
United Nations United Nations Security Council Security Council adopts
UN Security Council Resolution 1559 Resolution 1559 calling for the removal of all foreign troops from
Lebanon. This measure is largely aimed at
Syrian troops.
*
September 3 -
Russian forces end the siege at a school in
Beslan,
Northern Ossetia. At least 335 people (among which at least 32 of the approximately 40 hostage-takers) have been killed and at least 700 people have been injured.
*
September 3 -
Hurricane Frances makes landfall in
Florida. After killing two people in the
Bahamas,
Hurricane Frances killed ten people in
Florida, two in
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia and one in
South Carolina.
*
September 4 -
Hurricane Ivan formed.
*
September 7 - The
Scottish Parliament meets in the new
Scottish Parliament Building for the first time.
*
September 7 -
Hurricane Ivan passes directly over
Grenada, killing 37 people. It passes over other
Caribbean islands over the next two days, killing 5 people in
Venezuela, 4 in the
Dominican Republic, 1 in
Tobago and 20 in
Jamaica.
*
September 8 - In the
Killian documents "Rathergate" affair, the first
Internet posts appear pointing out that documents claimed by
CBS News to be typewritten memos from the early 1970s appear instead to have been produced using modern word processing systems.
*
September 9 - A
bomb blast outside the
Australian embassy in
Jakarta,
Indonesia, kills eleven people and injures up to 100 people.
*
September 13 - The
Assault Weapons Ban expires.
*
September 15 -
DavÃð Oddsson prime minister of Iceland steps down after serving as prime minister since April 30 1991. Oddson becomes foreign minister as his foreign minister Halldór Ã?sgrÃmsson becomes prime minister.
*
September 15 - Security at the
Palace of Westminster is compromised when the House of Commons is stormed by a small group of protestors during a debate about
fox hunting.
*
September 15 -
Nevada-tan "Girl A" is sentenced to be
involuntary commitment institutionalized due to the
murder of classmate Satomi Mitarai.
*
September 16 -
Hurricane Ivan strikes
Gulf Shores,
Alabama, as a Category 3 storm, killing 25 in
Alabama and
Florida becoming the 3rd costliest hurricane in American history (currently the 4th following the destruction of 2005's Hurricane Katrina).
*
September 17 -
2004 Summer Paralympics commences in
Athens,
Greece.
*
September 17 -
Mexico and
Japan finish the two year long negotiations and sign a Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City.
*
September 21 -
Green Day release blockbuster smash
American Idiot.
*
September 23 -
Mount St. Helens becomes
2004 volcanic activity of Mount St. Helens active again.
*
September 23 -
Hurricane Ivan Tropical Storm Ivan, having come around and reformed in the
Gulf of Mexico, makes its final landfall near
Cameron, Louisiana, to little effect. In total, the storm killed 92 people.
*
September 25 -
Hurricane Jeanne makes landfall near Hutchinson Island, FL. In all, Jeanne killed over 3,000, most in Haiti.
*
September 29 - First
Ansari X-Prize flight of
SpaceShipOne, which is competing with a number of spacecraft including Canada's
Da Vinci Project (claimed to be its closest rival) and will go on to win the prize on October 4th.
Phish Breaks up
October 2004 October
{{Year C 10}}
*
October 4 - Two
car bombs kill at least 16 people and injure dozens more in
Baghdad.
*
October 5 - A fire breaks out on the
Canada Canadian submarine HMCS Chicoutimi HMCS ''Chicoutimi'' leaving it stranded without power in the North Atlantic ocean, off the north coast of
Ireland. One crewmember is killed.
*
October 8 -
Kenneth Bigley, the British hostage held by
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Iraqi insurgent, is killed after a failed escape attempt.
*
October 8 - Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the
Red Sea resort of
Taba,
Egypt, killing 34 people, mainly Israeli tourists and Egyptian workers.
*
October 9 -
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II opens the new
Scottish Parliament Building in a ceremony in
Edinburgh
*
October 9 - Incumbent
Prime Minister of Australia John Howard leads the Liberal-National coalition to victory over the Labor Party led by
Mark Latham in federal elections.
*
October 9 -
Afghan presidential election, 2004 Direct elections for president held for the first time in
Afghanistan. Interim president
Hamid Karzai is eventually declared the winner.
*
October 10 -
Abdullahi Yusuf is chosen as the new transitional president of
Somalia.
*
October 14 - Prince
Norodom Sihamoni is chosen as the new king of
Cambodia.
*
October 16 - The
New York Yankees defeat the
Boston Red Sox, 19-8 in Game 3 of
Major League Baseball's
American League Championship Series. The game, which pushed the Yankees to a 3 games to none series lead, sets a record for longest nine
inning baseball game.
*
October 17 - A referendum in
Belarus approves the lifting of constitutional term limits for the presidency.
*
October 18 - Three men attack Greek journalist
Philippos Syrigos in
Athens and seriously wound him
*
October 19 - General
Khin Nyunt is replaced by Lieutenant-General
Soe Win as
Prime Minister of Myanmar.
*
October 20 - The
Boston Red Sox defeat the
New York Yankees in Game 7 of the
American League Championship Series, completing an unprecedented comeback from three games to none down.
*
October 20 -
Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in
Missouri, killing 13 people, and injuring 2.
*
October 20 -
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono becomes the first directly-elected
President of Indonesia.
*
October 21 - The
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Ministry of Defence approves the deployment of the
Black Watch regiment of the
British Army to
Baghdad,
Iraq after a request for assistance by the U.S. government.
*
October 24 - The bodies of 49 Iraqi soldiers discovered after being ambushed by insurgents.
*
October 24 -
Brazil successfully launches its first rocket into space.
*
October 25 - Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr and
Coretta Scott King receive
Congressional Gold Medal.
*
October 26 -
Image:Titan multi spectral overlay.jpg thumb|Titan shown in ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. Photo captured by the Cassini spacecraftThe
Cassini-Huygens Cassini probe passes within 1,200km of
Titan (moon) Titan
*
October 27 - Details of the discovery of a new, recent, species of fossil
hominid, ''
Homo floresiensis'', from the island of
Flores,
Indonesia are published.
*
October 27 - The
Boston Red Sox sweep the
St. Louis Cardinals to win the
World Series championship for the first time since
1918.
*
October 29 - A
2004 Osama bin Laden video videotape of
Osama Bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic TV, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the
United States, and taunts the
President of the United States president,
George W. Bush, over the
September 11 Terrorist attacks.
*
October 29 - European heads of state signed in
Rome the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first
European Constitution.
*
October 30 - A 163 metre high
Transmitter Peterborough radio mast in
Peterborough,
United Kingdom UK collapsed at a fire
*
October 31 -
Left-wing politics Leftist candidate
Tabaré Vázquez is elected President of
Uruguay.
November 2004 November
{{Year C 11}}
*
November 1 - a 16 year old
Palestinian, a
muslim, blew himself up in an outdoor market in
Tel Aviv, killing three
Israelis.
*
November 2 -
U.S. presidential election, 2004 U.S. presidential election:
President of the United States President George W. Bush narrowly defeats Senator
John Kerry.
United States Republican Party Republicans make gains in the
U.S. House election, 2004 House and
U.S. Senate election, 2004 Senate.
*
November 2 - Dutch film maker
Theo van Gogh (film director) Theo van Gogh is assassinated in
Amsterdam,
Netherlands by
Mohammed Bouyeri.
*
November 6 -
Ufton Nervet rail crash in
Berkshire,
England, kills 7 people.
*
November 6 - In
Côte d'Ivoire, National Army bombings kill nine people, including French UN soldiers. French UN forces retaliate by destroying the
Military of Côte d'Ivoire National Army's air force.
*
November 7 -
United States armed forces U.S. forces launch a major assault on the
Iraqi town of
Fallujah, in an effort to rid the area of insurgents before the Iraqi elections in January
*
November 9 - The Ireland High Court rules that Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan can sue the
Revenue Commissioner to have their
Vancouver, British Columbia Same-sex marriage in Ireland Same-sex marriage recognized for tax purposes.
*
November 9 - The highly-anticipated video games,
Halo 2 released. It set the stage by becoming the #1 first day best selling entertainment ever.
*
November 12 - Jury finds
Scott Peterson guilty of murder of his wife Laci and unborn son, Connor
*
November 13 - After six days of intense battles, Iraqi town of Fallujah fully occupied by U.S. forces.
*
November 14 -
United States of America American Secretary of State Colin Powell submits his resignation. He is replaced by
Condoleezza Rice after her confirmation from the
United States Congress.
*
November 16 - The
European Space Agency probe,
Smart 1 passes from orbit of the
Earth into orbit of the
The Moon Moon
*
November 16 - A train crash near
Bundaberg in
Queensland,
Australia, injures 150 people.
*
November 16 - The
People's Republic of China to invest $20 billion dollars in
Argentina, a deal signed days before the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum to be held in the City of
Santiago de Chile Santiago in
Chile.
*
November 16 -
NASA's
hypersonic jet ''ScramJet'' breaks a record by reaching a
velocity of about 7,000
Miles per hour mph in an unmanned experimental flight. It obtained a
speed of
Mach number Mach 9.6, almost 10 times the
speed of sound.
*
November 17-
November 21 -
APEC Summit is held in
Santiago,
Chile
*
November 21 - Final round of
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 presidential election in Ukraine. Official winner:
Viktor Yanukovych. International election observers express severe criticism, and large crowds gather in a protest rally in
Kiev. 12 days later, the Supreme Court annuls the result, and a new poll is scheduled.
*
November 26 - A group of Iraqi political leaders, primarily from
Sunni and
Kurdish people Kurdish parties, advocate a six-month delay in popular elections scheduled for
January 2005.
*
November 28 - Explosion in
Coal mining coal mine in
China. Death toll expected to be above 150.
*
November 28 -
Ricardo Lagos, President of
Chile promises economic compensation to 28000 victims of torture during
Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship.
*
November 28 - Male
Po'o-uli dies of avian
malaria in
Maui Bird Conservation Center in
Olinda, Hawaii Olinda before it could breed, making the species most in all probability
extinct.
December 2004 December
{{Year C 12}}
*
December 3 - The
Colombian government extradites
Gilberto RodrÃguez Orejuela, one of the most powerful drug dealers of the world, arrested in 1995 and 2003, to the
United States.
*
December 6 - Terrorists attack the
United States U.S. consulate in
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia, killing several people.
*
December 7 - Guitarist Darrell Lance "Dimebag Darell" Abbott, of Pantera and Damageplan fame, is gunned down during a performance in Columbus, OH.
*
December 8 - The biggest Chinese
Personal computer PC producer
Lenovo announces its plan to purchase
IBM's global PC business, making it the third largest world PC maker after
Dell, Inc. Dell and
Hewlett-Packard.
*
December 11 - Tests show that Ukrainian opposition presidential candidate
Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with a large dose of
dioxin.
*
December 13 - Software giants
Oracle Corporation and
PeopleSoft to merge in a $10.3 billion deal, creating the second largest maker of
business applications
computer software software.
*
Image:Millau2.jpg Millau bridge.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|The [[Millau bridge in
France..html" title="Meaning of 250px|The [[Millau bridge">thumb|250px|The [[Millau bridge in
France.">250px|The [[Millau bridge">thumb|250px|The [[Millau bridge in
France.
December 14 - The world's tallest bridge, the
Millau bridge over the
River Tarn in the Massif Central mountains,
France is opened by
President of France President Jacques Chirac.
*
December 15 -
Albanian terrorists take a bus and its passengers hostage in
Athens,
Greece and demand 1 million
euros in ransom money.
*
December 16 - The
House of Lords rules that the
British Government breaches
human rights legislation by detaining without trial foreign nationals suspected of being terrorists.
*
December 16 - IT security company
Symantec Corp signs a definitive agreement to merge with
Veritas Software Corp valued at $13.5 billion in an all-stock transaction.
*
December 21 - Iraqi insurgents attack a U.S. military base in the city of
Mosul and kill 22 people.
*
December 22 - Armed robbers in
Northern Ireland steal over £22 million from the headquarters of the
Northern Bank.
Irish unionism Unionist politicians and the
PSNI blame the
PIRA, and stall the
Northern Ireland peace process peace process.
*
December 26 -
Image:Sumatra devastation1.jpg thumb|300px|right|A village near the coast of Sumatra lies in ruins after the December 26 tsunami. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake The strongest earthquake in 40 years originates from the
Indian Ocean off the west coast of
Sumatra island in Indonesia, measuring 9.3 on the
Richter Scale and creating
tsunami waves that sweep across much of the coastlines of
Sri Lanka,
India,
Bangladesh, the
Maldives,
Burma,
Thailand,
Malaysia and
Indonesia. At least 290,000 people are confirmed to have died from
South Asia to as far as
Countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake#Countries suffering some casualties and damage South Africa.
*
December 26 - The re-run of the second round of the
Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 Ukrainian presidential election takes place. Opposition candidate
Viktor Yushchenko is declared the victor.
*
December 28 - The Ukrainian transport minister,
Heorhiy Kyrpa is found shot dead, in a suspected suicide.
*
December 30 - A fire in a
Buenos Aires night club República Cromagnon kills 194 people during rock concert.
*
December 31 -
Simón Trinidad, high-profiled
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC leader, was extradited to the
United States, following the second extradition of a high drug dealer in a month and in 2004.
*
December 31 - Ukrainian Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovich resigns.
*
December 31 - The official opening of
Taipei 101, the current
World's tallest structures tallest skyscraper in the world, standing at a height of 508
metres or 1,676
Foot (unit of length) feet.
Births
*
January 21 -
Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
*
November 20 - HRH
Princess 'M'aSeeiso of
Lesotho
Deaths
'''For more deaths, see:
Deaths in 2004'''
January
*
January 2 -
Lynn Cartwright, American actress (b.
1927)
*
January 4 -
Joan Aiken, English author (b.
1924)
*
January 6 -
Tug McGraw, Baseball player (b.
1944)
*
January 6 -
Pierre Charles,
Prime Minister of Dominica (b.
1954)
*
January 11 -
MairtÃn Crawford, Northern Irish poet (b.
1967)
*
January 12 -
Randy Van Warmer, Singer and songwriter (b.
1955)
*
January 14 -
Uta Hagen, German Actress (b.
1919)
*
January 22 -
Ann Miller, dancer and actress (b.
1923)
*
January 27 -
Jack Paar, American television show host (b.
1918)
*
January 29 -
M. M. Kaye, British writer (b.
1908)
February
*
February 14 -
Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (b.
1970)
*
February 17 -
José López Portillo,
President of Mexico (b.
1920)
*
February 23 -
Carl Anderson, American singer and actor (b.
1945)
*
February 24 -
John Randolph (actor) John Randolph, American actor (b.
1915)
*
February 26 -
Boris Trajkovski,
President of the Republic of Macedonia (b.
1956)
*
February 27 -
Paul Sweezy, American economist and editor (b.
1910)
*
February 28 -
Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and
Librarian of Congress (b.
1914)
March
*
March 2 -
Cormac McAnallen, Northern Irish Gaelic footballer (b.
1980)
*
March 2 -
Mercedes McCambridge, Actress (b.
1918)
*
March 2 -
Marge Schott, baseball team owner (b.
1928)
*
March 4 -
Claude Nougaro, French singer (b.
1929)
*
March 4 -
Stephen Sprouse, Fashion designer, artist, and photographer (b.
1953)
*
March 5 -
Priscilla Paris, singer, the Paris Sister (b.
1953)
*
March 7 -
Paul Winfield, American actor (heart attack) (b.
1941)
*
March 8 -
Robert Pastorelli, Actor (b.
1954)
*
March 8 -
Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestine Liberation Front (b.
1948)
*
March 15 -
John Pople, English chemist,
Nobel Prize in Chemistry Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1925)
*
March 20 -
Juliana of the Netherlands (b.
1909)
*
March 22 -
Ahmed Yassin, Palestinian co-founder of Hamas
*
March 26 -
Jan Berry, singer (b.
1941)
*
