2004

2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the:

International Year of Technology
International Year of Rice
International Year of Education by Sports
International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition

Elections are to be held in 73 countries during 2004.

Years:
2001 2002 2003 - 2004 - 2005 2006 2007

Decades:
1970s 1980s 1990s - 2000s - 2010s 2020s 2030s

Centuries:
20th century - 21st century - 22nd century

News by month:
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun
Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

2004 in aviation
2004 in film
2004 in literature
2004 in music
2004 in politics
2004 in science
2004 in sports
2004 in television
2004 state leaders
more

Summary of events

For more details see Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec

January

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January 1 - Pervez Musharraf gets the vote of confidence from Parliament and provincial assemblies to continue as President of Pakistan.
January 3 -
- Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
- NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars.
- Tony Blair makes an unannounced trip to Basra, Iraq to give a speech to British troops.
January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
January 5 - Britney Spears's surprise 55-hour marriage to childhood sweetheart Jason Allen Alexander is annulled by a Las Vegas court.
January 13 - An Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, killing 37.
January 22 - The European Union bans the import of poultry from Thailand, as bird flu spreads throughout Southeast Asia.
January 24 - NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars.
January 27 - A House of Commons vote on University tuition top-up fees is narrowly won by the British Government. It is, however, the worst voting result for Tony Blair since he came to power in 1997.
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.
- At a hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, it is revealed that the September 11, 2001, terrorists used Mace (a brand of tear gas) or pepper spray in overpowering the flight crew of American Airlines Flight 11.

February

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February 1 -
- Janet Jackson's right breast is exposed during the live Super Bowl XXXVIII half time show, sparking a controversy in the United States.
- A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
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 10 -
- At least 50 people killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
- The French National Assembly votes to pass a law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
February 12 - Same sex marriage in the United States: The 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 police and Aboriginal residents of Sydney suburb Redfern
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 Iranian parliament election.
February 24 - 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Morocco hits in the Rif mountains near the city of Al Hoceima - over 400 dead. Ait Kamara is destroyed. 517 dead.
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 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.

March

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March 2 -
- John Kerry effectively clinches the U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination, 2004 by winning 9 out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
- NASA announces that the Mars rover MER-B (Opportunity), has confirmed that the area of Mars they landed in was once drenched in water.
March 5 - CBS broadcasts tape recordings of Diana, Princess of Wales, as she describes suicide attempts while pregnant with HRH Prince William of Wales.
March 10 - Five British men released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay land at RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested by the Metropolitan Police and taken to Paddington Green high security police station in Central London for questioning.
March 11 - 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 Spanish cities against terrorism.
March 14 -
- Two suicide bombers kill eleven Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
- The Spanish parliamentary elections of 2004 take place. The incumbent government led by José María Aznar is defeated by the Socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
- Presidential elections in Russia are held. Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
March 15 -
- A trio of astronomers announce they have discovered a large trans-Neptunian object, the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930. Initially designated 2003 VB₁₂, it was named 90377 Sedna in late September.
- 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 corruption investigation due to the scandal over its Iraqi Oil for Food program.
March 20 -
- President Chen Shui-bian wins the 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 'peace referendum' opposed by the People's Republic of China is invalidated.
- Thousands protest at the 1-year anniversary of the start of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
March 21 -
- The 2004 Malaysian general election takes place. The incumbent Barisan Nasional party wins 198 out of 219 seats in the Malaysian Parliament.
- Tony Saca is elected President of El Salvador (inauguration June 1).
March 22 - Palestinians protest in the streets after an Israeli helicopter gunship fires a missile at the entourage of Ahmed Yassin in Gaza City, killing Yassin and 7 others.
March 25 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya's WMD program in December 2003. He becomes the first British PM to visit that country in over half a century.
March 28 - In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional elections.
March 29 - The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in restaurants, pubs and bars.
March 31 - Four American contractors are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Northern Iraq.

April

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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 8 -
- Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- Three Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq.
April 16 - India defeats Pakistan in their first cricket tour in 14 years
April 17 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vechiles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
April 21 -
- Mordechai Vanunu is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason.
- CBS broadcasts pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales, as she lay dying, moments after the car crash that killed her.
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.
- The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
April 25 - Referenda on a United Nations plan, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Greek and Turkish parts. Although the Turks vote in favour, the Greeks reject the proposal.
April 28 - Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.

May

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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. Advertisers pay $2 million for 30 second ads.
May 9 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.
May 11 - Explosion destroys a plastics factory in Glasgow, 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. They state it is retaliation for the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
May 13 - In India, the Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the Lok Sabha.
May 14 -
- The editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK, Piers Morgan, is sacked after the British army proves photographs in the newspaper, allegedly showing British soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees, to be fake.
- HRH Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, marries Australian Mary Donaldson in Copenhagen.
May 17 -
- Ezzedine Salim, holder of the rotating leadership of the Iraqi Governing Council, is killed in a bomb blast in Baghdad.
- Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in compliance with a ruling from the state's Supreme Judicial Court (Goodridge et al. v. Department of Public Health).
May 18 - The IOC announces the short list of candidates for the 2012 Summer Olympics: London, Madrid, Moscow, New York City, Paris. Unsuccessful cities are Havana, Istanbul, Leipzig and Rio de Janeiro.
May 19 -
- UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is hit with a purple flour bomb during a session of Prime Minister's Questions.
- Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty in a court-martial in connection with alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
May 23 -
- A section of the ceiling in Terminal 2E at Paris's Charles de Gaulle International Airport collapses, claiming at least six lives.
- 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 massacre.

June

June 1 - The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season begins.
June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is celebrated in Normandy.
June 7 - The Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League won the 2003-2004 Stanley Cup over the Calgary Flames in 7 games.
June 8 -
- The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs; the next one will occur in 2012.
- The G8 Summit takes place over the next 2 days on Sea Island, in Georgia, USA.
- The pickled heart of Louis XVII of France is buried in the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.
June 11 -
- The national funeral service for former U.S. president Ronald Reagan is held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
- The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft makes its closest approach to Phoebe, an outer moon of Saturn.
- Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, exactly three years after his co-defendant, Timothy McVeigh, was executed for his role in the bombing.
June 12 - The EURO 2004 European football (soccer) championships start in Portugal.
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 spaceflight.
June 28 -
- The U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq transfers sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
- 2004 Canadian election: The Liberal Party, led by Paul Martin, wins a plurality.
June 30 - The preliminary hearings begin in Iraq in the trial of former president Saddam Hussein for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

July

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July 1 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn.
July 4 -
- Groundbreaking of Freedom Tower in New York City.
- The EURO 2004 final between Portugal and Greece takes place in Lisbon, Portugal. Greece wins the match 1:0.
July 15 - 18 - The Open Championship in golf takes place in Troon, Scotland.
July 25 -
- Over 100,000 opponents to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Disengagement Plan participate in a human chain from Gush Katif, to the Western Wall, Jerusalem (90 kilometers).
- Lance Armstrong wins his 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title.
July 26 - The 2004 Democratic National Convention convenes in Boston, Massachusetts.
July 30 - Gas explosion in Ghislenghien, Belgium kills 21 people, more than 120 are injured.

August

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August 1 - Supermarket fire in Asuncion, Paraguay, kills about 400 people and leaves over 100 missing.
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 13 -
- The opening ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics takes place in Athens.
- Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in Florida after killing four in Cuba and one in Jamaica.
- Michael Pawluk and his wife Lynn Pawluk survive Hurricane Charley aboard a 37-foot sailboat anchored on the Caloosahatchee River in SW Florida.
August 14 and 15 - Pope John Paul II visits Lourdes, France.
August 15 - Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein transfers political powers to his son Alois.
August 20 - Democratic Party presidential nominee John Kerry files a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, accusing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of illegally coordinating their actions with the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign.
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 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 protestors demonstrate in New York City against President George W. Bush and his government, ahead of the Republican National Convention.
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.
- 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 Chechen rebels responsible.

September

September 1 - 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 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.
- Hurricane Frances makes landfall in Florida. After killing two people in the Bahamas, Hurricane Frances killed ten people in Florida, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
September 7 -
- The Scottish Parliament meets in the new Scottish Parliament Building for the first time.
- Hurricane Ivan passes through the Caribbean islands over the next to days, killing 5 people in Venezuela, 4 in the Dominican Republic, 1 in Tobago and at least 37 people in Grenada.
September 9 - A bomb blast outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, kills eleven people and injures up to 100 people.
September 14 - In London a man dressed as Batman breaches security at Buckingham Palace. Protest for Fathers for justice.
September 15 - The British House of Commons is stormed by a small group of protestors during a debate about fox hunting.
September 16 - Hurricane Ivan wreaks havoc in the United States, after having crossed the Caribbean in the days before.
September 17 -
- 2004 Summer Paralympics commences in Athens, Greece.
- Mexico and Japan finish the two year long negotiations and sign a Free Trade Agreement in Mexico City.
September 23 - Mount St. Helens became active again.
September 29 - First Ansari X-Prize flight of SpaceShipOne.

October

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October 4 - Two car bombs kill at least 16 people and injure dozens more in Baghdad.
October 5 - A fire breaks out on the Canadian submarine, 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.
- Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt, killing 34 people, mainly Israeli tourists and Egyptian workers.
October 9 -
- HM Queen Elizabeth II opens the new Scottish Parliament Building in a ceremony in Edinburgh
- 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.
- Direct elections for president held for the first time in Afghanistan.
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 17 - A referendum in Belarus approves the lifting of constitutional term limits for the presidency.
October 19 - General Khin Nyunt is replaced by Lieutenant-General Soe Win as Prime Minister of Myanmar.
October 20 -
- Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in Missouri, killing 13 people, and injuring 2
- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono becomes the first directly elected President of Indonesia.
October 21 -
- HRH Prince Harry of Wales is hit in the face by a camera during a scuffle with the paparazzi after leaving a nightclub in London.
- The 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 23 - A powerful earthquake strikes Japan, north of Tokyo.
October 24 -
- The bodies of 49 Iraqi soldiers discovered after being ambushed by insurgents.
- Brazil successfully launches its first rocket into space.
October 26 - The Cassini probe passes within 1,200km of 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.
- The Curse of the Bambino is struck out as the Boston Red Sox sweeps the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series championship for the first time since 1918.
- Last lunar eclipse until 2007 seen in the Western Hemisphere.
October 29 - A videotape of Osama Bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic TV, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the USA, and taunts the President, George W Bush, over the September 11 Terrorist attacks
October 30 - Closing of Tempelhof International Airport, Berlin.
October 31 - Tabare Vazquez is elected President of Uruguay, consolidating a general swing to the left in South America.

November

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November 2 - U.S. presidential election: Incumbent president George W. Bush defeats Senator John Kerry. Republicans make gains in the House and Senate.
November 6- The 1735 express train from London's Paddington Station to Plymouth crashes into a car deliberately parked on a level crossing in Berkshire and derails, killing seven people
November 7- US Forces launch a major assualt on the Iraqi town of Fallujah, in an effort to rid the area of insurgents before the Iraqi elections in January.
November 15- Colin Powell resigns as the United States Secretary of State.

Births

January 21 - HRH Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

Deaths

For more deaths see: Deaths in 2004

Nobel Prizes

Physics:
- David J. Gross, H. David Politzer, and Frank Wilczek "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction"
Chemistry:
- Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, and Irwin Rose "for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation"
Physiology or Medicine:
- Linda B. Buck and Richard Axel "for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system"
Literature:
- Elfriede Jelinek
Peace:
- Wangari Maathai "for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace"

Summary of events

Births

Deaths

January-February

March-May

June-July

August-September

October-November

Nobel Prizes