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2004

A leap year, 2004 was the international year of rice, international year to commemorate the struggle against slavery and its abolition. The World Health Day topic was road safety.

This year saw the release of sequels to popular blockbuster films with Shrek 2 being the highest grossing film of the year. Usher’s Confessions was the highest selling album of the year.

On May 17, Marcia Kadish 56 married Tanya McCloskey 52, in the first ever and legal same-sex marriage in Cambridge Hall Massachusetts. On that day, over 77 same-sex couples got married while hundreds of other same-sex couples requested for marriage certificates. Many of the protests planned for May 17 did not happen, as it was a day of celebration. On November 18, 2003, the Supreme Court in Massachusetts ruled that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

The famous American TV personality Oprah Winfrey, on September 13, awarded each member of her audience a brand-new Pontiac G-6 sedan worth $28,500. In total, she gave away 276 cars. It was one of the greatest and biggest promotional stunts in the history of television as her audience cried, screamed, fainted, and were in delirium as Oprah jumped up and down saying, “Everybody gets a car!” Pontiac had donated the cars to Oprah and paid for each car plus the state’s sales tax for each car out of their advertising budget.

On Boxing Day of 2004, a tsunami in the Indian Ocean crashed into the East African Coast and South East Asia. A 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia caused the tsunami that wrecked havoc on the entire coastline of the Indian Ocean and a record 230,000 died. Estimates suggest that the tsunami had twice the energy of all the bombs used in WWII.

The Nobel Peace Prize went to Wangari Maathai from Kenya for her contributions to sustainable development, peace, and democracy. The revolutionary Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat passed away on November 11. He was also a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1994 along with Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres.

Discover how the world looked like in 2004

Looking for 2004 Calendar ? Here it is: January 2004, February 2004, March 2004, April 2004, May 2004, June 2004, July 2004, August 2004, September 2004, October 2004, November 2004, December 2004

Oscar Winners

All Academy Awards Prize winners of the 77th edition of the Oscar ceremony

Best picture

Million Dollar Baby

Best director

Clint Eastwood

Best actor

Jamie Foxx

Best actress

Hilary Swank

Best supporting actor

Morgan Freeman

Best supporting actress

Cate Blanchett

Time Person of the Year

Who was the person of the year of 2004?

George W. Bush (2)

In 2004, Bush was re-elected President of the United States, overseeing U.S. involvement in the Iraq War.

Books

Which were the most popular books released in 2004 ?
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Nobel Prizes

All Nobel Prize winners of 2004

Peace Prize

Wangari Maathai

Literature

Elfriede Jelinek

Physics

David Gross
Hugh David Politzer
Frank Wilczek

Economic Sciences

Finn E. Kydland
Edward C. Prescott

Chemistry

Aaron Ciechanover
Avram Hershko
Irwin Rose

Physiology or Medicine

Richard Axel
Linda B. Buck

Music charts

Which were the top hits of 2004?

Top #1 songs in the USA

Usher - Yeah!
Alicia Keys - If I Ain't Got You
Usher - Burn
Terror Squad - Lean Back
Ciara - Goodies
Usher - My Boo
Hoobastank - The Reason
Mario Winans - I Don't Wanna Know
Maroon5 - This Love
OutKast - The Way You Move

Top #1 songs in the UK

Eamon - F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)
Eric Prydz - Call On Me
Destiny's Child - Lose My Breath
3 Of A Kind - Baby Cakes
DJ Casper - Cha Cha Slide
Anastacia - Left Outside Alone
Mario Winans featuring Enya & P Diddy - I Don't Wanna Know
The Shapeshifters - Lola's Theme
Natasha Bedingfield - These Words
Nelly - My Place / Flap Your Wings

Movies

Which were the most popular Movies released in those months?
Watch popular movies, TV series and live events, start your 30-day free trial

Popular names

Which were the top popular names given to babies born in 2004 in the USA ?

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

World Population

Demographic statistics of the year 2004

Population statistics

Total population: 6.5 billion (6,461,159,389 to be precise!)
Urban population: 3.2 billion, that is 49.0% of the total population of 2004 lives in cities
Yearly change: +79.8 million, corresponding to a percentage increase of +1.25%
Average density: 43.0 persons per km²

Historical Events

Which were the important events of 2004?

Events

01 Jan 2004 A vote of confidence was cast for General Pervez Musharraf, who wins 658 of 1,170 votes in Electoral College of Pakistan. According to Article 41(8) of Constitution of Pakistan, he is ''deemed elected'' to the office of President, until October 2007.
02 Jan 2004 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is made up of seven foreign ministers representing seven countries in South Asia (Pakistan (India, Bangladesh), Sri Lanka (Nepal, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives), who met in Islamabad to agree to establish the South Asian Free Trade Area. (SAFTA).
03 Jan 2004 Flash Airlines' Boeing 737-737 aircraft, Flight 604, crashes into the Red Sea killing all 148 passengers.
04 Jan 2004 At 04:35 UTC, Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover successfully lands on Mars.
05 Jan 2004 Both a British and German Member of European Parliament receive letter bombs by post. This follows a letter bomb that was sent to Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission.
06 Jan 2004 Through his lawyer, the defence lawyer asks for an interrogation of the man accused in the murder of Sweden's FM Anna Lindh (September 10), to get critical details about the stabbing. Mijailovic appears to have confessed the attack.
07 Jan 2004 The Bush administration in the United States proposes major immigration reform, including the creation of a temporary worker program, and the legalization of both illegal and non-immigrant workers for renewable three year periods.
08 Jan 2004 Queen Elizabeth II, her granddaughter, christens the RMS Queen Mary 2, which is the largest passenger vessel ever built.
09 Jan 2004 Education in Greece: George Papandreou talks junior about the possibility of private universities being established in Greece.
10 Jan 2004 General Motors' next-generation C6 2005 Corvette is unveiled at the Detroit Opera House, Michigan. It comes with a 400-hp engine and fixed headlights.
11 Jan 2004 Exploration of Mars: NASA's Spirit Rover now has its arm free and all six of it wheels. Only one cable needs to be cut before the rover can turn and roll onto Mars soil. Scientists are now taking advantage of the opportunity to collect additional data and take more pictures as this milestone is reached.
12 Jan 2004 RMS Queen Mary 2, the world's largest ocean-liner, makes its maiden voyage.
13 Jan 2004 Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Tom Hurndall, a British peace activist and member of the International Solidarity Movement, is killed after being shot in his head by an Israeli soldier. According to the Israeli government, they might consider bringing charges of manslaughter against the soldier. However, the family of the victim claims that he should be tried as a murderer.
14 Jan 2004 After a 500-year hiatus, the Georgian national flag, also known as the "five cross flag", is now back in official use.
15 Jan 2004 Carol Moseley Braun, a US Democrat presidential nominee, has withdrawn from the race and endorsed Howard Dean.
16 Jan 2004 Chen Shui-bian gives a televised speech in which he reiterates the Four Noes pledge and One Without promise and announces the two questions that will be asked for a referendum to coincide the 2004 ROC presidential election on March 20.
17 Jan 2004 NASA servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope that were planned have been cancelled. Safety concerns were the primary reason for the decision.
18 Jan 2004 Occupation in Iraq: An insurgent suicide bomber drove a car full of explosives and blew himself up as he tried to enter "Assassin’s Gate" in Baghdad, Iraq. Early reports indicated that 18 people were killed, including two US Department of Defense personnel and 16 civilians from Iraq. Another 56 civilians were also injured.
19 Jan 2004 U.S. Senator John Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts) wins the Iowa Democratic caucus. The Vermont Governor Howard Dean's concession speech ended with a loud, but controversial, scream.
20 Jan 2004 2004 Canadian Federal Election: Belinda Stronach officially declares her candidacy for the leadership of Conservative Party of Canada.
21 Jan 2004 NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit), loses contact with mission control. Its flash memory management is the problem. This issue was fixed remotely from Earth on Feb 6.
22 Jan 2004 Mars Exploration Rover Mission: The MER-A Spirit Rover stops sending meaningful data. It is believed to have entered safe mode. Although the cause is not known, the rover can still send an acknowledgement tone.
23 Jan 2004 David Kay leaves the Iraq Survey Group. George Tenet names Charles Duelfer, former UN weapons inspector, to succeed Kay.
24 Jan 2004 At 05:05 UTC NASA's MERB (Opportunity rover) lands on Mars.
25 Jan 2004 Opportunity rover (MERB) lands on Mars' surface
26 Jan 2004 In Tainan (Taiwan), a whale explodes. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a buildup of gas in the sperm whale's decomposing body.
27 Jan 2004 John Kerry wins New Hampshire's Democratic primary in the USA.
28 Jan 2004 Milan Babic, the ex-leader of the separatist Republic of Serbian Krajina (now reincorporated into Croatia), pleads guilty at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to crimes against humanity.
29 Jan 2004 Las Vegas' Castaways Hotel and Casino closes.
30 Jan 2004 Hutton Inquiry. Reporter Andrew Gilligan quits the BBC following Lord Hutton's ongoing fallout from his report into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly. This resignation follows that of Greg Dyke, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Governors Gavyn Davis.
31 Jan 2004 According to Pentagon budget proposals accidentally posted online, the US defense budget will exceed US$400 billion next fiscal year. This is almost 7% more than it was last year.
01 Feb 2004 Janet Jackson's breasts are exposed during Super Bowl XXXVIII's half-time broadcast. This led to US broadcasters adhering more strictly to Federal Communications Commission censorship guidelines.
02 Feb 2004 Roger Federer, a Swiss tennis player, becomes the No. Roger Federer, a Swiss tennis player, is now the No. 1 singles player. This record-breaking position will be his for 237 weeks.
03 Feb 2004 According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, there was no imminent threat of weapons of mass destruction prior to 2003's invasion of Iraq.
04 Feb 2004 Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook, the most popular online social network.
05 Feb 2004 John Hench dies, at age 95. Hench was the longest-serving Disney employee for 64 years. He was an animator and participated in the creation all Disney parks.
06 Feb 2004 41 people are killed by a suicide bomber in Moscow's metro.
07 Feb 2004 A car bomb attack on a south-facing police station in Baghdad results in at least 50 deaths.
08 Feb 2004 2004 Democratic presidential primaries. John Kerry wins the Democratic caucus of Maine with 45 percent. Howard Dean is second with 27 percent. John Edwards (8%) and Dennis Kucinich (16%) are close behind. Wesley Clark (4%) is in the last.
09 Feb 2004 Some Swedes are offended by Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden's, praises for Sultan and Yang di Pertuan Negara Brunai Hassanal Bolkiah.
10 Feb 2004 The United States' legalization of same-sex marriage: Two-thirds of Americans (two-to-one margin) say they don't want laws in their state that would allow for such marriages. This poll was taken following the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling.
11 Feb 2004 Comcast USA launches a hostile takeover bid of US$54 billion for Walt Disney Company. On April 28, the bid was withdrawn.
12 Feb 2004 In response to Mayor Gavin Newsom's directive, San Francisco, California issues marriage licenses for same-sex couples.
13 Feb 2004 The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces that the universe's largest known single-diamond has been discovered, BPM 37093, a white dwarf star. Astronomers named the star "Lucy" after The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
14 Feb 2004 The Transvaal waterpark's roof collapses in a Moscow suburb, killing over 25 people and injuring over 100 more.
15 Feb 2004 Lawyers in Iraq say Saddam Hussein will not be tried for another two years.
16 Feb 2004 Temple in Jerusalem: A wall that was built around 800 years ago and holding back a portion of the hill that juts out from the Western Wall, leading to the Mughrabim Gate, partially collapses. According to authorities, the earthquake could be to blame.
17 Feb 2004 Bishop Thomas O'Brien is the former head Arizona's largest Roman Catholic diocesan. He was convicted for a hit-and-run and becomes the first Catholic bishop to be convicted in the United States of a felony.
18 Feb 2004 A train carrying petrol, fertiliser and sulphur explodes in Iran killing 320 people.
19 Feb 2004 According to Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, one Dane and five Britons, who were held at Guantanamo bay as terror suspects, will be released within the next two week. These soon-to-be-released prisoners were among the 660 detainees held at the US base in Cuba for the past two decades as suspected Al-Qaida and Taliban 'combatants.
20 Feb 2004 Stanislaw Ryniak (88), who was the first to be imprisoned in the Nazi death camp Auschwitz, is buried at Wroclaw, Poland.
21 Feb 2004 Rome is home to the European Greens, the first European political party organization.
22 Feb 2004 Zvi Mazel is the ambassador of Israel to Sweden and calls Sten Andersson, former foreign minister, and Pierre Schori, Sweden's UN ambassador, "professional anti-Israelis".
23 Feb 2004 Rod Paige, United States Secretary for Education, calls the National Education Association (the nation's largest teachers union) a "terrorist organization." He later apologized, calling his remarks an "inappropriate choice of words" to describe the obstructionist scare tactics Washington lobbyists used against No Child Left Behind's historical education reforms.
24 Feb 2004 The United States lifts its 23-year-old travel ban against Libya.
25 Feb 2004 Abdulrahman Shalgam (Libya's Foreign Minister) issues a statement reaffirming that it accepts responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988. This comes after Shukri Ghanem claimed that Libya had ampquotbought Peaceampquot with $2.7bn in compensation payments but did not admit guilt.
26 Feb 2004 Two IDF soldiers were killed and 20 injured by protestors against the Israeli West Bank wall.
27 Feb 2004 2004 SuperFerry 14 Bombing: The Abu Sayyaf terrorist group is responsible for the most deadly terrorist attack at sea in history. It claimed the lives of 116 Filipinos.
28 Feb 2004 2004 in film: The 2004 Golden Raspberries were presented to commemorate the low points in the motion picture industry last year.
29 Feb 2004 Occupation in Iraq
01 Mar 2004 Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum is elected President of Iraq
02 Mar 2004 In its monthly statistical report, the Palestinian Authority's prisoner's affairs ministry stated that there are now approximately 7,500 Palestinian prisoners. There are 336 children among them, 75 of which are girls and 943 who need medical attention. 41% of the 166 prisoner who died were victims of medical negligence and 18% succumbed to torture.
03 Mar 2004 On CBC national television, Abdurahman Khadr and his family admitted to being a terrorist suspect and that they were an al-Qaeda family. They also confessed that they had lived in Afghanistan with Osama Bin Laden.
04 Mar 2004 Three American Muslims were found guilty of conspiring to use paintball games as a training tool for holy war (jihad) in America.
05 Mar 2004 U.S. Republican National Committee issues a warning to television stations regarding anti-Bush ads sponsored by MoveOn.org. The letter warns against the possibility that ads could be funded with money raised in contravention of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign reform Act.
06 Mar 2004 Tens of thousands protest in Caracas (Venezuela) against the fraud of the National Electoral Council in relation to the implementation of a presidential referendum mid-2004.
07 Mar 2004 New York City's medical examiner has confirmed that Spalding Gray is dead. Spalding Gray had been missing since January.
08 Mar 2004 The Iraqi Governing Council signs a new constitution.
09 Mar 2004 Two Islamic suicide bombers attacked Istanbul restaurant in Turkey on March 9, 2004, killing one and injuring five others.
10 Mar 2004 2004 ROC presidential election: Wei Chueh is one of the four Buddhist masters in Taiwan who controversially endorses Lien Cha.
11 Mar 2004 Madrid train bombings: 191 people were killed in simultaneous explosions at Madrid's rush hour trains, Spain.
12 Mar 2004 Its national assembly impeaches the President of South Korea, Roh Moo–hyun. This is the first such impeachment in nation's history.
13 Mar 2004 2004 ROC presidential election: 24 demonstrations held across Taiwan to support Lien Chan's bid.
14 Mar 2004 Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), wins Spanish Legislative Elections. Socialists have 43% plurality due to their support for the US-led invasion in Iraq by the outgoing government.
15 Mar 2004 French President Jacques Chirac signs the law regarding secularity and conspicuous religious symbolism in schools, also known as the headscarf banning.
16 Mar 2004 Kriss Donald, a fifteen-year-old Scottish boy, was abducted by a Pakistani gang and tortured to death in an attack on Glasgow racially motivated.
17 Mar 2004 Unrest in Kosovo: More then 22 people are killed and 200 others are injured. 35 Serbian Orthodox shrines and two mosques in Belgrade, Nis and Kosovo are destroyed.
18 Mar 2004 Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani President, reports that his troops have attacked a group of Al-Qaida soldiers located in Waziristan (Pakistan), that were protecting Ayman al-Zawahiri.
19 Mar 2004 After years of hard work, a Swedish DC-3 that was shot down by a Russian MiG-15 over the Baltic Sea in 1952 has been finally recovered. In the meantime, the remains of three crewmen have been left behind to allow for further investigation.
20 Mar 2004 ROC presidential election: Chen Shuibian is declared the winner by less than 30,000 votes out of almost 13,000,000 cast (0.25%). Lien claims the result is unfair and asks for it to be void. Low turnout invalidates a controversial referendum.
21 Mar 2004 Jimmy Carter, former US president, and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, strongly condemns George W. Bush's and Tony Blair's inordinate war on Saddam Hussein. Blair, he claims, allowed his better judgement to be influenced by Bush's desire for a successful end to a war his father had begun.
22 Mar 2004 Ahmed Yassin is the founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist Group Hamas. Two bodyguards and nine civilians are killed when Israeli Air Force AH 64 Apache fired Hellfire missiles hit the Gaza Strip.
23 Mar 2004 Unrest in Kosovo: A UNMIK patrol is attacked along the Pristina–Podujevo highway. One UN officer from Ghana is shot and killed. A second local officer is later killed by his wounds. Their translator is also injured but is stable.
24 Mar 2004 The European Competition Commission has labeled Microsoft an abusive monopolist. The Commission demands that Microsoft offer European computer manufacturers two versions of Windows with and without Windows Media Player. It also requires that rivals share technical information about server software.
25 Mar 2004 France's prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is defeated in a shocking and unprecedented regional election.
26 Mar 2004 The United States Congress is currently preparing legislation to combat peer-to-peer technology from multiple angles.
27 Mar 2004 HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander class frigate (F71), is being sunk off Cornwall as an artificial reef. This is the first European vessel of this type.
28 Mar 2004 Leader of Hamas Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi states that God has declared war against the United States.
29 Mar 2004 The Republic of Ireland is the first country to ban smoking at work, bars, restaurants and in public places.
30 Mar 2004 A small explosion is set off by a suicide bomber inside the Bolivian Congress. The suicide bomber, a miner protesting unpaid pensions, and the chief congressional security officer are both killed. Several bystanders are also wounded.
31 Mar 2004 After being ambushed in Fallujah (Iraq), four American private military contractors who work for Blackwater USA were killed and their bodies left mutilated.
01 Apr 2004 The Unborn Victims of Violence Act is signed by President George W. Bush. This law, also known as Laci and Conner's Law states that an act of violence that causes the death of a pregnant woman and her child can count as two offenses.
02 Apr 2004 Islamist terrorists plotting to bomb the Spanish high speed train AVE near Madrid in the Madrid attacks of 11 March 2004 attempt to attack the high-speed train. They are stopped.
03 Apr 2004 NASA has announced that the Gravity Probe B will be launched on April 17th.
04 Apr 2004 Iran requests EU members (France and Britain) to honor their commitments in the framework of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, (NPT), and the Tehran Declaration.
05 Apr 2004 Paul Bremer asserts that militant Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr was an outlaw, and warns that there will be no tolerance for uprisings led by him and his followers.
06 Apr 2004 The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ruled that the National People's Congress has the right to amend the Basic Law of Hong Kong. The Standing Committee also issued an "interpretation" of the Basic Law, effectively an amendment. This added step is required to make any changes to Hong Kong's political structure.
07 Apr 2004 The study provides estimates on how long it took to reverse the Earth's magnet field four times. The study also shows that turnarounds are more rapid at the equator, than at higher latitudes near the poles.
08 Apr 2004 Conflict in Darfur: Two rebel groups and the Sudanese government sign the Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement.
09 Apr 2004 Henry C. Lee arrives at Taipei to investigate an assassination attempt on Taiwan's March 19, 2004.
10 Apr 2004 Iraq Occupation & Insurgency: Iraq celebrates the anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s fall with bloodshed and fighting. The relatively stable north celebrates the fall of Saddam Hussein with parties and the melting ice statue. Al Jazeera reports that a rebel group from Iraq threatens Christians and to assassinate, kidnap, or kidnap priests. They also plan to destroy churches. Saraya wal Mujahideen calls upon the Pope and United Nations to end the siege of the town.
11 Apr 2004 Over 2500 Nepalese protestors against the suspension democracy were arrested in Nepal last week and denied food and sanitation.
12 Apr 2004 Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez stated that the U.S. forces' mission is to kill or capture Muqtada Al-Sadr.
13 Apr 2004 Limited public trials are available at the Bangkok Subway.
14 Apr 2004 2004 South African legislative elections: President Thabo Mbeki's African National Congress (ANC), which has been at power since 1994's end of apartheid, is reelected with a larger majority.
15 Apr 2004 In Nepal, 2000 more pro-democracy protesters were arrested; 22 of them were later freed.
16 Apr 2004 The People's Republic of China lauds the United Nations Commission on Human Rights' refusal to condemn Beijing's record in human rights violations.
17 Apr 2004 His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, begins a trip to Canada.
18 Apr 2004 Behzad Nabavi (Iran Vice Speaker of Parliament) resigns due to "violation of public Rights".
19 Apr 2004 The UK police have arrested ten North Africans and Iraqi Kurds for violating the Terrorism Act 2000. These arrests were made during dawn raids in Greater Manchester, the North and Midlands.
20 Apr 2004 Two people were killed when a Circle MRT Line Tunnel was dug beneath the Nicoll Highway in Singapore. Two more people are still missing and believed dead.
21 Apr 2004 Five suicide car bombers targeted police stations in Basra and surrounding areas, killing 74 and injuring 160.
22 Apr 2004 Two fuel trains collide at Ryongchon in North Korea, killing as many as 150 people.
23 Apr 2004 DaimlerChrysler announced it will no longer financially support Mitsubishi Motors, and will sell its existing stake.
24 Apr 2004 Two oil tankers and a boat coalition are also targeted by suicide bombers as suicide bombers set off boats in the Persian Gulf.
25 Apr 2004 Cairo is the starting point for the Arab League Conference.
26 Apr 2004 The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing has introduced new Federal Reserve Notes in the amount of US$50. They include color and other security elements.
27 Apr 2004 U.S. forces killed 64 insurgents during heavy fighting outside Najaf (Iraq), and destroyed an anti-aircraft gun.
28 Apr 2004 The abuse of Abu Ghraib prisoners in Iraq is exposed on 60 Minutes II, a US television program.
29 Apr 2004 After 107 years of production, the last Oldsmobile car is finally taken off the USA assembly line.
30 Apr 2004 U.S. media publish graphic photos showing American soldiers sexually harassing and abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison.
01 May 2004 The European Union is now open to the Czech Republic, Estonia and Hungary. It was celebrated in Dublin at the residence the Irish President.
02 May 2004 Yelwa massacre by Christians in Nigeria of more than 630 nomad Muslims
03 May 2004 The US is losing its leadership in science and technology; John E. Jankowski, National Science Foundation, says that "the rest is catching up". New York Times, p.A1.
04 May 2004 WNBC helicopter crashes in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. WABC-TV, a rival station, covers the event.
05 May 2004 15,000 protestors are currently occupying New Zealand's Parliament grounds and adjacent footpaths. Many of them have taken part in multiple days of route march (aka "hikoi"), in protest of the proposed law which would change the ownership of the foreshore and seabed.
06 May 2004 After months of interminable negotiations with the central authorities and public protests, Aslan Abashidze, the leader of Georgia's autonomous republic Adjara, resigns.
07 May 2004 American businessman Nick Berg is executed by Islamic militants. The videotape recording of the act is made and then released online.
08 May 2004 Antoinette Millard, a quotSaudi Princessquot, claims that muggers stole jewels worth $262,000 from her. She later proves to have been a fraud.
09 May 2004 The New Yorker reports that guards set dogs on naked prisoners as part of the scandal surrounding U.S. torture in Iraq.
10 May 2004 Turkey starts construction of a tunnel beneath the Bosporus.
11 May 2004 Nine factory workers were killed in an explosion at Stockline Plastics in Glasgow, Scotland.
12 May 2004 Nick Berg, an American contractor serving in Iraq, is seen being killed by a group linked to al Qaida in a video distributed online.
13 May 2004 Scaled Composites set a new civilian altitude record at 60 kms with a craft called SpaceShipOne in a test flight over California's Mojave Desert. This was in preparation for the X-Prize.
14 May 2004 Two US Marines were sentenced for the electrocution of an Iraqi prisoner one month prior to their sentencing.
15 May 2004 An improvised bomb is created using a 145mm artillery shell to attack US troops in Iraq. Two soldiers are exposed to mild nerve agents after the shell explodes.
16 May 2004 Ezzedine Salam, the Iraq Interim Governing Council's rotating leader, was killed in a blast in Baghdad.
17 May 2004 Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriages in accordance with a ruling by the state's Supreme Judicial Court ("Goodridge v. Department of Public Health").
18 May 2004 Sonia Gandhi resigns as Prime Minister of India.
19 May 2004 US Federal Judge Adalberto Jordan exonerated Greenpeace from charges under the "sailormongering” statute, citing "insufficient evidence". More than 100,000 protesters worldwide demanded that the case be dropped.
20 May 2004 $3 million was paid for the Olsen piece of the US 1913 Liberty Head 5-cent Piece (Proof 64 NCGC).
21 May 2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia will seek ratification of Kyoto Protocol. The protocol will take effect upon ratification and trade restrictions will be imposed on countries that are not parties, like Australia and the United States.
22 May 2004 Hallam, Nebraska is destroyed by an F4 tornado. This tornado was part of the May 2004 tornado outbreak series. It broke a record for width at 2.5 miles (4.0 km). One person is killed.
23 May 2004 56 civilians were killed by the janjaweed militia in Abga Rajil in western Sudan. According to the UN, conflict in Darfur has caused around one million displacements.
24 May 2004 North Korea bans mobile phones in communications
25 May 2004 Floods in Haiti and Dominican Republic can kill up to 1,000 people.
26 May 2004 The New York Times admits to journalistic failures. It claims that the flawed reporting of the Times and lack of skepticism toward sources during the war in Iraq 2003 helped foster the belief that Iraq had large stocks of weapons of mass destruction.
27 May 2004 NASA announces its first Spitzer Space Telescope discovery: A planet less than one million years old.
28 May 2004 Ayad allawi, a long-time anti-Saddam Hussein exile is elected by the Iraqi Governing Council to be the interim government's prime minister.
29 May 2004 The U.S. President George W. Bush officially dedicates the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
30 May 2004 Sasebo slashing - Satomi Mitarai (12 years old) is a Japanese schoolgirl at Okubo Elementary School, Sasebo. She was murdered. Japanese authorities have identified her killer as an 11-year old classmate, ampquotGirlAampquot.
31 May 2004 Memorial Day: President Bush pays tribute to the war dead from past conflicts and declares that "two terror regimes" are gone in Iraq and Afghanistan, as US casualties rise to over 1,000.
01 Jun 2004 RoC Premier Yu Shyikun was prevented from delivering a crucial government report to the Legislative Yuan for six hours after opposition lawmakers refused to recognize President Chen Shuibian's narrow reelection victory on March 20. They tore up the report and unfurled banners, placards, and signs with the words "no truth", "bogus regime" and "no president".
02 Jun 2004 Ken Jennings starts his 74-game winning streak with syndicated game show Jeopardy!
03 Jun 2004 George Tenet, Central Intelligence Agency Director, has resigned citing "personal reasons". John E. McLaughlin (US Central Intelligence Agency Deputy director) becomes acting Director until a permanent director is elected and confirmed by Congress.
04 Jun 2004 Marvin Heemeyer demolishes many buildings in Granby, Colorado using a homemade tank.
05 Jun 2004 Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States, has died at the age 93 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.
06 Jun 2004 The President of India, Dr. A.P.J., has declared Tamil a Classical Language. Abdul Kalam at a joint sitting of both houses of the Indian parliament.
07 Jun 2004 Geneva, Switzerland - The two-day conference entitled Humanitarian Needs of Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), is being opened by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Only invitations are accepted to participate in the conference. Israel is not permitted to participate in the conference.
08 Jun 2004 Over the next two-days, the 30th G8 summit will be held on Sea Island in Georgia, USA.
09 Jun 2004 Kurdish leaders in Iraq declare that they will "refrain" from participating in the central governments if the interim constitution is modified or replaced by a constitution that lessens the Kurdish political position in the central governments.
10 Jun 2004 Super Thursday is the day that votes are counted in the UK. This Super Thursday marks the start of elections for the European Parliament and local council elections. Labour attributed major losses to the Labour Party in the local council elections, which were held to protest the 2003 invasion.
11 Jun 2004 An Oklahoma state court spares Terry Nichols from death row on murder charges stemming out of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. This decision is made on the third anniversary from the execution of Timothy McVeigh in Terre Haute (Indiana).
12 Jun 2004 On Saturday afternoon, a meteorite landed in the living room of a family in Ellerslie, Auckland, New Zealand. Nobody is injured. It weighed 1.3 kg (2.9 pounds) and is the ninth meteorite ever to be discovered in the country.
13 Jun 2004 The results of the Serbian presidential election show that Tomislav Nikolic has 30.1% and Boris Tadic 27.3% respectively. However, it is surprising that Bogoljub Karaic has 19.3% more votes than Dragan Marsicanin (13%). The second round will take place on Sunday 27 June.
14 Jun 2004 Cartoon Network launches a new logo, slogan and website "This Is Cartoon Network."
15 Jun 2004 Tim Berners-Lee is awarded the Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki
16 Jun 2004 The initial report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or quot9/11 Commissionquot), is issued by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or quot9/11 Commissionquot).
17 Jun 2004 The Pentagon confirmed a report in The New York Times stating that CIA chief George Tenet - who will be stepping down next month - was permitted by Donald Rumsfeld, the U.S Secretary of Defense, to secretly have an Iraqi prisoner held in violation of the Geneva Convention.
18 Jun 2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia had warned the United States many times about Saddam Hussein's plans to launch terrorist attacks on the United States.
19 Jun 2004 Witnesses and hospital officials claim that 22 Iraqis were killed in an American air strike on a Fallujah residential area. Officials from the United States claim that they attacked an Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi safehouse. (Reuters) (CBC). Iraqi residents dispute the American account.
20 Jun 2004 India and Pakistan reached an agreement in Qingdao (China) to lift a ban on nuclear testing and establish a hotline between foreign secretaries to prevent any misinterpretations that could lead to a nuclear conflict.
21 Jun 2004 SpaceShipOne is the first privately-funded spaceplane to reach spaceflight.
22 Jun 2004 The United States Supreme Court ruled that Health Maintenance Organizations can not be sued in state court under the malpractice laws.
23 Jun 2004 The White House released a February 7, 2002 memo by President George W. Bush in which he ordered humane treatment for captured Taliban and al Qaeda fighters despite a Justice Department legal opinion that it does not apply to the Geneva Convention. The Senate Democrats requested 21 other memos, but none have been released. No memos regarding Iraq or Abu-Ghraib Prison has been released.
24 Jun 2004 Capital punishment in New York is unconstitutional.
25 Jun 2004 Siemens AG threatened to shift thousands of jobs from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany to Hungary. IG Metall (a trade association) agreed to a 40-hour week for the same wages they receive for working 35. Each Siemens mobile phone produced under the new agreement will be reduced by EUR5 Since 1984, IG Metall employees had enjoyed a 35-hour workweek.
26 Jun 2004 Pakistan's Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigns.
27 Jun 2004 Fahrenheit 9/11 sets the record for highest US opening weekend earnings for a documentary with US$23.9 Million. (Box Office Mojo).
28 Jun 2004 The Coalition Provisional Authority gives the Iraqi interim government sovereign power, ending U.S.-led control of the country.
29 Jun 2004 After Zafarullah Khan Jamali's resignation, Chaudhry Shujaat, the head of Pakistan's ruling party, was elected interim Prime Minister.
30 Jun 2004 Saturn receives the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft.
01 Jul 2004 Saturn orbit insertion by Cassini-Huygens starts at 01:12 UTC, and ends at 02:48.
02 Jul 2004 Conflict in Darfur: Sudanese President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir meets with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Ann to make a commitment "to ensure security for the civilian population through deployment of civilian police and disarming militias."
03 Jul 2004 Maria Sharapova, just 17 years old and 75 days, becomes the second youngest Wimbledon winner, defeating Serena Williams.
04 Jul 2004 Ground Zero is where the groundbreaking ceremony for Freedom Tower takes place in New York City.
05 Jul 2004 Australia and Thailand sign a Free Trade Agreement.
06 Jul 2004 Major Harry Schmidt, United States Air Force, is found guilty in an "friendly fire" attack that killed four Canadian soldiers and severely wounded eight others in Afghanistan in 2002. He was given an official reprimand. The US Air Force will pay US$2,836 monthly.
07 Jul 2004 A grand jury in Houston has indicted Kenneth Lay, former chairman of Enron. Enron filed for bankruptcy December 2, 2001 after investigators found that the company had more to hide than just in debt and inflated profits.
08 Jul 2004 The auction of Jim Gray's North Carolina Collection is conducted by Merena Auctions and Bowers (july 9th).
09 Jul 2004 The International Court of Justice, in an advisory opinion requested by the United Nations General Assembly, stated that the Israeli West Bank Barrier is illegal and called for the Security Council and the General Assembly to correct the situation.
10 Jul 2004 According to the World Health Organisation, 440,000 people have been given antiretroviral medication in six months of its AIDS project. The organization says that despite being 60,000 shy of its target, it still believes it can reach its goal of reaching 3,000,000 people by 2005.
11 Jul 2004 Kofi Annan has nominated Ashraf JehangirQazi to be UN's new envoy for Iraq.
12 Jul 2004 Montenegro adopts state symbols, including a red flag with King Nikola's coat-of-arms.
13 Jul 2004 Khaled al-Harbi is a Saudi militant sheikh who was disabled and linked to al-Qaeda as well as Osama Bin Laden. He surrendered to Tehran Saudi authorities under an amnesty program by the Saudi King.
14 Jul 2004 Stephen Hawking changed his position on Hawking radiation and black holes, declaring that information can escape. This reinforces a fundamental principle of quantum physics.
15 Jul 2004 Canada recalls its ambassador in Iran to protest Iran's refusal of Canadians to attend the trial for an Iranian intelligence agent accused in the death Zahra Kazemi, a Montreal-based journalist and photographer.
16 Jul 2004 A kitchen fire that engulfs a school with a thatched roof in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India causes at least 88 deaths and many more injuries. Five people have been arrested.
17 Jul 2004 There are rumors that Iyad allawi executed six inmates at a Baghdad station to send a message to the police about how to deal with insurgents. His office denies any involvement in the incident.
18 Jul 2004 The second day of proceedings saw the abrupt end of the trial in Iran for the murder of Canadian journalist Zahra Kasemi. Kazemi's lawyers argued that there was not enough time for witnesses and proofs, or to identify the murderer.
19 Jul 2004 Four unidentified men attempt to "infiltrate into the western side" of the Jordan River (Israel) are intercepted by Jordanian troops. Three of the four are killed, and the fourth is arrested.
20 Jul 2004 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a video of horrific cruelty to chickens at Pilgrim's Pride in West Virginia. The supplier will investigate.
21 Jul 2004 After returning from a television interview where he criticised Yasser Arafat, Nabil Amr, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, was shot twice in the right leg.
22 Jul 2004 The production of the 2004 Corvette model Corvette has been halted. Also, the C5 Corvette model Corvette has been discontinued. Since 1997, nearly 250,000 units were produced.
23 Jul 2004 The United States Senate passes a joint resolution declaring that the armed conflict in Darfur is genocide.
24 Jul 2004 Iranian courts have cleared Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, an intelligence agent, of the charges of "semiintentional murder". They also stated that the blood money should come from the state's Treasury.
25 Jul 2004 Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades seizes Khan Yunis' governor's office, demanding that Yasser Afat's cousin Moussa be fired from his position as Gaza's security chief. Unidentified individuals stormed a police station to set it on fire.
26 Jul 2004 To July 29, John Kerry and John Edwards were nominated by the Democratic National Convention in Boston Massachusetts for President and Vice President, respectively.
27 Jul 2004 Barack Obama delivers the Keynote Speech at the Democratic National Convention. This is where he launches his career on the national stage.
28 Jul 2004 According to the Catholic Church, a "weeping" statue at a Vietnamese Catholic Centre near Brisbane is not a miracle.
29 Jul 2004 United States Senator John Kerry officially accepts the nomination for Democratic Presidential Candidate 2004. He promises to "restore trust in the White House" and to do so by delivering an acceptance speech.
30 Jul 2004 The United Nations Security Council approves a resolution 1556, US-drafted, requesting that the Sudanese government cease atrocities in Darfur. However, aid groups have criticised the weakening resolution at the insistence by China, Pakistan, Russia.
31 Jul 2004 An American court has reached a plea deal that reveals details about an alleged plot by Libya to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah. Abdurahman Alamoudi (a leading US Muslim activist) pleads guilty in a plea bargain to three charges related to illegal dealings with Libya. The case provided critical intelligence for the war against terror, according to John Ashcroft, the US Attorney General.
01 Aug 2004 Lawyers say that Eastman Kodak Co. is planning to sue African American workers, claiming that they were paid less and promoted less frequently than their white counterparts.
02 Aug 2004 After security improvements, the Statue of Liberty is reopened.
03 Aug 2004 After security improvements, the Statue Of Liberty in the USA reopens.
04 Aug 2004 Despite claims of price gouging from some members of Congress, the National Institutes of Health has decided not to override patents on drug production to allow generic production of antiAIDS drug Norvir in America.
05 Aug 2004 At least seven Iraqis are killed and one U.S. soldier is wounded in clashes. A U.S. helicopter was also shot down and two others were injured.
06 Aug 2004 Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum call for Nauru's assistance to stop another "failed state" from arising.
07 Aug 2004 Japan beats China 3-1 in the Asian Cup soccer final. This prompted clashes between Beijing police and Chinese fans. The car of a Japanese diplomat is attacked, and Japanese players and supporters are taken out of Workers' Stadium under guard.
08 Aug 2004 Non-governmental experts and intelligence officials from the United States conclude that diplomatic efforts have not been successful in slowing down their weapon development programs.
09 Aug 2004 Disney's Donald Duck cartoon character gets a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
10 Aug 2004 South Korea's government has announced that the country's capital will be relocated from Seoul to Gongju in South Chungcheong.
11 Aug 2004 After a relay through 26 countries, the Olympic flame arrives in Greece.
12 Aug 2004 James McGreevey, the Governor of New Jersey, has announced that he is a "gay American" and will be resigning effective November 15, 2004.
13 Aug 2004 After killing four people in Cuba and one in Jamaica, Hurricane Charley leaves behind 27 victims in Florida. Charley, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall near Cayo Coast in Florida. Charley is the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Andrew, 1992.
14 Aug 2004 According to the UN, gunmen killed at least 156 people in an overnight raid in Burundi's Gatumba camp for Congolese Tutsi refugees.
15 Aug 2004 Chavez recall: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez defeats a recall vote with 58% support. Some members of the opposition claim fraud in the election, but Carter Center monitors and OAS monitors endorse the official result.
16 Aug 2004 In just two hours, 60mm (2.4 inches) of rain fell on Boscastle, Cornwall, UK. This flash flooding results in over 50 vehicles being swept away by the flood waters. Flood waters rush through the town at speeds of up to 65 km/h (30 mph). Many people have to flee their homes. Helicopters can fly 150 people to safety.
17 Aug 2004 The Serbian National Assembly unanimously adopted new state symbols: Boze Pravde is now the national anthem, and the entire country has the coat of arms.
18 Aug 2004 A statement was made from Al-Sadr's Baghdad office by the Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, in which he agrees to direct his militia to leave Imam Ali Mosque, Najaf, Iraq after Prime Minister Iyad allawi threatened to "liberate" it. Al-Sadr also agrees to disband the Jaish-i-Mahdi militia and join the "mainstream" political process. It is not clear when withdrawal will take place.
19 Aug 2004 A battle is ongoing between U.S. forces and Iraqi forces and the al-Mahdi Army Muqtada al-Sadr. It damages two minarets at the Imam Ali Mosque, Najaf, Iraq.
20 Aug 2004 US Airways is trying to avoid another bankruptcy and asks its pilots to take a 16.5% pay cut.
21 Aug 2004 California's West Nile virus has caused six deaths. The virus currently infects 249.
22 Aug 2004 Two paintings by Edvard Munch, The Scream and Madonna were taken at gunpoint from an Oslo museum.
23 Aug 2004 Politics in Taiwan: The Legislative Yuan proposes an amendment package by 217-1, which includes halving legislators and dissolving the National Assembly.
24 Aug 2004 Two airliners that were flying out of Domodedovo International Airport near Moscow explode, killing 89 passengers. Suicide bombers (reportedly female) from Russia caused the explosions.
25 Aug 2004 Astronomers have discovered a third extrasolar world orbiting Mu Arae. This planet could be the first to orbit a star other then the Sun.
26 Aug 2004 Chile's Supreme Court has removed Augusto Pinochet, the former military ruler of Chile, from immunity. He can now be charged with crimes such as murder and torture.
27 Aug 2004 As part of the 2004 Republican National Convention protest activities, between 5,000 and 6000 participants participate in the Critical Mass bicycle ride. About 1500 people usually ride the monthly NYC Critical Mass ride. Police arrested 264 people who had blocked roads during the Critical Mass ride. The NYPD has never made significant arrests in relation to Critical Mass participants.
28 Aug 2004 A video circulating on the Internet shows Ben F. Barnes, former Texas lieutenant governor, apologizing for his role in the entry of George W. Bush into Texas' Air National Guard in 1968.
29 Aug 2004 New York City is witness to around 200,000 protestors against President George W. Bush's government ahead of the 2004 Republican National Convention.
30 Aug 2004 U.S. President George W. Bush (to September 2) and Vice President Dick Cheney were re-nominated by the Republican National Convention in New York City.
31 Aug 2004 For persistent violations of global trade laws, the WTO allows sanctions to be imposed against the United States.
01 Sep 2004 The Beslan school hostage crisis begins when terrorists kidnap children and adults in Beslan, North Ossetia.
02 Sep 2004 U.S. presidential elections: George W. Bush accepts Republican nomination for a second term as party's National Convention ends. This signals the start of intense campaigning by Bush (and Senator John Kerry).
03 Sep 2004 Florida is hit by Hurricane Frances. After two deaths in the Bahamas, Hurricane Frances leaves behind ten victims in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
04 Sep 2004 2.25 million Florida residents have been ordered to evacuate their homes due to Hurricane Frances. It has already struck the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. Frances, a Category Two hurricane of strong strength, will be close to Florida's east coast by late tonight or early tomorrow morning.
05 Sep 2004 Two earthquakes of great magnitude struck western Japan. The first was 6.9 on the Richter scale, and the second was 7.3. The Pacific coast is expected to be hit by Tsunamis 1 (3-7 ft).
06 Sep 2004 Conflict in Iraq: Seven U.S. Marines are killed and three Iraqi soldiers are wounded in an ambush near Fallujah. U.S. troops, supported by U.S. aircraft and Iraqi forces raid Najaf. Residents are told to flee by the U.S. military. They then mount a pincer movement in order to capture the Mahdi army at the city's center and raid Moqtada al-Sadr again.
07 Sep 2004 The United States Congress has returned from summer vacation. In response to the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, several new pieces of legislation are being developed, including a major intelligence-reform bill.
08 Sep 2004 The first Internet posts in the "Rathergate" scandal point out that the documents CBS News claimed to be typewritten memos dating back to the 1970s are actually produced using modern word processing software.
09 Sep 2004 Bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta (2004): Ten people are killed when a bomb explodes near the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.
10 Sep 2004 Habib Akdas was reportedly killed in an air strike in Iraq. He is believed to have been the leader of the terrorist cell that carried out the November 2003 bombings at two synagogues in Istanbul, a bank and an embassy. After the 2003 bombings, Akdas fled Turkey to Iraq to escape authorities.
11 Sep 2004 A helicopter crashes into the Aegean Sea killing all passengers. The passengers include Patriarch Peter VII of Alexandria, 16 other passengers (including journalists and bishops of Alexandria's Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria).
12 Sep 2004 Record turnout at the 2004 Hong Kong Legislative Council elections. The direct election saw the pro-democracy party win one seat and get 60 percent of votes, while the progovernment parties gained seven seats unexpectedly.
13 Sep 2004 The U.S. Assault Weapons Ban expires.
14 Sep 2004 According to The China Times, the People's Republic of China deployed heavily armed troops in order to protect the Three Gorges Dam against a terrorist attack.
15 Sep 2004 Gary Bettman, commissioner of National Hockey League, announces lockout of players union and cessation operations by NHL head office.
16 Sep 2004 Hurricane Ivan hits Gulf Shores, Alabama as a Category-3 storm. It kills 25 people in Alabama and Florida. It is the third most expensive hurricane in American history.
17 Sep 2004 India's government announced that Tamil would be the first language to be recognized as a "classical" language in India. Ministers from the government said that Sanskrit, along with other languages, could be given this status depending on their "heritage" and "legacy". Indian officials plan to establish a center for studying these languages.
18 Sep 2004 23 people are killed in a suicide bombing attack on Kirkuk's Iraqi National Guard Headquarters. A prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Kadhim Al-Hany, is also ambushed and killed.
19 Sep 2004 Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of China Communist Party of China, has resigned from his last post as Chairman of the Central Military Commission and is being replaced by Hu Jintao.
20 Sep 2004 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. Massive flooding in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Jeanne's passing over the island Hispaniola has left large areas submerged. At least 556 people have been killed, and that number is expected to rise.
21 Sep 2004 Construction on the Burj Khalifa has begun.
22 Sep 2004 The premiere episode of Lost airs on ABC in the USA.
23 Sep 2004 Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA, is activated again.
24 Sep 2004 Major League Baseball has announced that the Montreal Expos will be moving to Washington D.C. in 2005.
25 Sep 2004 Hurricane Jeanne hits Florida near Port Saint Lucie. This is the same area Hurricane Frances struck two weeks ago. Jeanne kills more than 3,030 people, mostly in Haiti.
26 Sep 2004 Conflict in Iraq: U.S. Secretary Of State Colin Powell stated that the situation in Iraq is getting worse and that they are trying to disrupt the forthcoming elections.
27 Sep 2004 The Israeli army closed the only road to Gaza from the north by closing it down because of Jewish settlers living in Gaza.
28 Sep 2004 The 2004 Summer Paralympics will be closed in Athens (Greece) on July 31st. Canada, Great Britain, and China have taken home the most gold medals.
29 Sep 2004 The asteroid 4179 Toutatis is within four lunar distances from Earth.
30 Sep 2004 600 miles south from Tokyo, the first photographs of a giant squid living in its natural habitat were taken.
01 Oct 2004 The merger of UMIST and Victoria University of Manchester created the University of Manchester. It is the UK's largest university outside of London.
02 Oct 2004 American Samoa joins North American Numbering Plan
03 Oct 2004 Conflict in Iraq: Officials from the U.S. government and the Iraqi government claim that they have secured 70% of Samarra on the third day of the attack, which left 125 civilians and 125 insurgents dead.
04 Oct 2004 SpaceShipOne is the first private craft that has flown into space and won the Ansari X Prize in private spaceflight.
05 Oct 2004 An outbreak of bacteria has led to the suspension of the manufacturing license for Chiron, a major British flu vaccine company. Chiron was expected to supply half the flu vaccines for this season in the United States.
06 Oct 2004 Charles Duelfer, the head of the Iraq Survey Group, announces before the US Senate Armed Services Committee that the group did not find any evidence that Saddam Hussein's Iraq had produced weapons of mass destruction after 1991 when UN sanctions were implemented. This is directly contrary to the main argument that George W. Bush used for his 2003 invasion of Iraq.
07 Oct 2004 King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates.
08 Oct 2004 Martha Stewart starts a five month sentence for insider trading at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp, West Virginia.
09 Oct 2004 Israeli troops kill Abed Rauf Nabhan (a Hamas leader) in the northern Gaza Strip as he prepares for firing an anti-tank missile on Israeli tanks in Jebaliya. According to the Israeli military, Nabhan is responsible for the rocket attack that resulted in the deaths of two children from Israel in Sderot on Sukkot eve.
10 Oct 2004 Six people are killed by Typhoon Maon in Tokyo, which is the strongest storm to hit eastern Japan in a decade.
11 Oct 2004 Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry asks that non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia stop smoking, eating or drinking in public. "Authorities will take preventive measures such as deporting and terminating work contracts for violators."
12 Oct 2004 Federal, state and local officials from the US state Nevada are looking for information about allegations that Voters Outreach of America, a private voter registration company, destroyed voter registration forms from Democratic voters, while submitting those from Republican voters.
13 Oct 2004 The People's Republic of China rejected a Taiwanese President Chen Shuibian's offer to start a peace dialog. Chen denies the offer is "meaningless" and accuses Chen of making an "open and audacious expression of Taiwan independence" in explicitly stating that Taiwan is Taiwan and the Republic of China.
14 Oct 2004 In Game 3 of Major League Baseball’s American League Championship Series, the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox by 19-8. This game pushes the Yankees into a 3 games-to-0 series lead and sets a new record for longest nine-inning baseball game.
15 Oct 2004 The elections for the presidency in Burundi, a war-torn country, have been postponed to April 2005.
16 Oct 2004 Under the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Health Conditions concluded in a report that "a significant proportion of Gulf War Veterans are ill with multisymptom condition not explained by wartime stresses or psychiatric illnesses" and that there is a "probable connection" to neurotoxins.
17 Oct 2004 Belarus's referendum approves the lifting the constitutional term limit for the presidency.
18 Oct 2004 After having evaded capture for over 20 years, Veerappan is now the most wanted Indian bandit. He was a sandalwood smuggler, elephant poacher and sandalwood smuggler.
19 Oct 2004 The State Peace and Development Council places Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's prime minister, under house arrest for corruption charges.
20 Oct 2004 Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes into Missouri killing 13 and injuring 2.
21 Oct 2004 Thomas DeMarse from the University of Florida announces that he's created a brain of rats neurons that can fly in an airplane simulator. This "brain", as it is called, could be used to study the way that actual brains process information, and possibly even as a living computer.
22 Oct 2004 Saskatchewan's Canadian Light Source synchrotron is now open for atomic research at Saskatoon.
23 Oct 2004 The powerful earthquake and its aftermaths struck Niigata Prefecture in northern Japan. It killed 35 people and injured 2,200. 85,000 were left homeless or evacuated.
24 Oct 2004 Iran rejects the proposal of the European Union to supply civilian nuclear technology to Iran in return for Iran's scrapping of its uranium enrichment programme. This calls for further negotiations. On November 25, 2004, the International Atomic Energy Agency will refer matter to the United Nations Security Council.
25 Oct 2004 The US Congressional Gold Medal goes to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King.
26 Oct 2004 For the first time since 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series.
27 Oct 2004 The Boston Red Sox won their first World Series title in 1918, and broke the "Curse of the Bambino", by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in the fourth game of the 2004 World Series of Baseball.
28 Oct 2004 In Latvia, Indulis Emus, the first Green Party prime Minister, resigns when the minority coalition government is disintegrated after the parliament rejects the 2005 budget.
29 Oct 2004 The Treaty and Final Act, which establishes the first European Constitution, are signed in Rome by the heads of European states.
30 Oct 2004 Conflict in Iraq: Officials from the United States Armed Forces say that eight Marines were killed and nine others were injured near Falluja. (BBC, Reuters) A car bomb explodes outside the office of Al-Arabiya TV station in Baghdad. It kills seven people and injures 19.
31 Oct 2004 One hundred and eleven states in America ban gay marriage.
01 Nov 2004 Erupts the Grimsvotn volcano, located under the Vatnajokull glacier.
02 Nov 2004 U.S. presidential election: Senator John Kerry is defeated by President George W. Bush. Republicans gain in the Senate and House.
03 Nov 2004 Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the son of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and who died yesterday. He has been elected President by United Arab Emirates' federal Council.
04 Nov 2004 A turbine failure causes the shutdown of the nuclear reactor Number 2 Balakovo in Saratov, Russia. This panic creates widespread panic. The local pharmacies run out of iodine and residents flee the area, encouraging each other to drink vodka instead. The plant's engineers find no radiation leakage. Many people are admitted to hospital for iodine poisoning. The government and media have been criticized for their poor coordination.
05 Nov 2004 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Two Palestinian children were killed in an explosion at Khan Yonis, a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Officials at the hospital believe it was caused by a tank shell hitting a house. According to Israeli spokespersons, there was no army fire in that area. According to them, it was caused by a misfired mortar from the Palestinians or by the explosion of a roadside bomb.
06 Nov 2004 A train express collided with a stationary car near Ufton Nervet in England. It killed 7 people and injured 150.
07 Nov 2004 War in Iraq: As U.S. forces attack the stronghold of Fallujah, the interim government of Iraq has called for a 60-day "state of emergency" to end the insurgent rebellion.
08 Nov 2004 War in Iraq: More Than 10,000 U.S. troops, along with a few Iraqi army units, participate in a siege of Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold.
09 Nov 2004 The President of the Republic of China Chen Shuibian called for a ban of the use of weapons of destruction in the Taiwan Strait. He also asked the People's Republic of China the same.
10 Nov 2004 Iris Chang (famous author of The Rape of Nanking) was found dead at the Los Gatos freeway. According to authorities, her death was caused by a gunshot wound she received herself.
11 Nov 2004 The New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, Wellington is dedicated to the National War Memorial.
12 Nov 2004 A jury in Redwood City, California finds Scott Peterson guilty for the murders of Laci Peterson and Conner Peterson.
13 Nov 2004 US Troops have prevented a Red Crescent aid convoy entering Falluja. This is reportedly to protect the troops.
14 Nov 2004 Colin Powell, U.S. Secretary Of State, resigns.
15 Nov 2004 China and the United Nations. The President of China Chen Shuibian declared that he would push for the inclusion of the ROC under the United Nations name Taiwan. The People's Republic of China denounces this move as a political tactic to create an independent Taiwan.
16 Nov 2004 The Pentagon has announced that Dr. James G. Roche (Secretary of the Air Force) has resigned.
17 Nov 2004 Kmart Corp. announced that it will buy Sears, Roebuck and Co. at $11 billion USD and will rename the company Sears Holdings Corporation.
18 Nov 2004 2004 U.S. Presidential Election Controversy: According to The Effect of Electronic Voting Machines On Change in Support For Bush in 2004 Florida Elections, George W. Bush received between 130,000 - 260,000 faulty ballots in Florida.
19 Nov 2004 Research by the Medical Research Council has shown that co-trimoxazole, an antibiotic, can reduce the death rate of HIV-positive children living in Zambia.
20 Nov 2004 Maria Isabel, from Spain, wins the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004.
21 Nov 2004 Conflict in Iraq: Nineteen members of the Paris Club agree to forgive 80% of Iraqi debt in three stages: 20% now; 30% in 2005; 20% in 2008, as part of Iraq's implementation a Monetary Fund economic program. indebtedness to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other countries will not be reduced.
22 Nov 2004 In Ukraine, the president elections result in the Orange Revolution.
23 Nov 2004 CBS News anchor Dan Rather resigned from CBS Evening News in March 2005. He will continue to be a correspondent for 60 Minutes and other assignments.
24 Nov 2004 Ohio law requires that state officials perform a recount when requested by candidates. However, a federal judge has declared that the results may be declared final before the recount takes place.
25 Nov 2004 India suggests to Pakistan that India give Kashmir large autonomy in order to end the war between the two nations. However, the border cannot be altered. Recently, Pakistan proposed that Kashmir be demilitarized and divided along ethnic/religious lines. It would then be granted independence or transferred under United Nations control.
26 Nov 2004 A tanker transports up to 1.8 million litres crude oil between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey into the Delaware River.
27 Nov 2004 Pope John Paul II has returned the relics Saint John Chrysostom's to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
28 Nov 2004 The overwhelming approval of Swiss voters for government proposals to allow stem cell research on human embryos is a sign of their support.
29 Nov 2004 The People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) sign a trade agreement that could eventually unify a quarter of the global population in a free-trade zone.
30 Nov 2004 26 people are killed when Lion Air Flight 538 crashes in Surakarta (Central Java, Indonesia), killing 26.
01 Dec 2004 French officials admit troops killed 20 people in clashes with anti French protestors. However, they maintain that the French troops were acting in self-defense and fired warning shots. This is contrary to claims by Ivoirian police.
02 Dec 2004 David Bieber (38-year-old ex-marine) is sentenced to life imprisonment following the December 26, 2003 incident. He was convicted of the murder of a Leeds officer and attempted murder of two other officers. The trial judge recommended that he not be released from prison.
03 Dec 2004 Dragomir_Milosevic surrenders to the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal For the Former Yugoslavia. He was the general who occupied Sarajevo for three consecutive years during the Bosnian Civil War. 12,000 people were killed during the siege. (AFP) (Link dead at 04:01 (UTC)).
04 Dec 2004 According to preliminary results, the Mozambique presidential election vote counts continue in all parts of the country with Frelimo leading its candidate Armando Guiebuza, especially in Maputo Gaza and Inhambane which are traditional areas of influence for the party.
05 Dec 2004 Rallyes are held in Taiwan to support candidates for the Legislative Yuan. According to party sources, the Kuomintang's Taipei rally and Taiwan Solidarity Union's Taipei rally drew approximately 100,000 people each.
06 Dec 2004 Terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia killing many people.
07 Dec 2004 For its services in Afghanistan, the United States Presidential Unit Citation is given to the New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS).
08 Dec 2004 Nathan Gale kills Dimebag Darrell, guitarist on stage in Colombus (Ohio)
09 Dec 2004 As Secretary of Veterans Affairs, President George W. Bush nominated Jim Nicholson (United States Ambassador to Holy See) to replace outgoing Secretary Anthony Principi.
10 Dec 2004 Malaysian freighter Selendang Ayu, carrying 1.8 Million litres fuel oil, snaps in two off Unalaska Island (Alaska), USA, releasing thousands litres.
11 Dec 2004 In a vote against confidence, Serge Vohor, the Vanuatu Prime minister is reelected and replaced by Ham Lini. Vohor was out of favor in his cabinet, having unilaterally traveled to Taipei and established diplomatic relationships with Taiwan. The Vanuatu Council of Ministers voted against the decision and continued relations with China's People's Republic of China.
12 Dec 2004 The Washington Post reports that the Bush administration used wire tapping to intercept phone conversations of Mohamed ElBaradei (Director General of United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency), in an attempt to find information that could help ElBaradei be removed from his position.
13 Dec 2004 After being accused of 9 kidnapping and manslaughter charges, former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet was placed under house arrest. The house arrest was lifted on appeal the following day.
14 Dec 2004 Cuba and Venezuela created the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.
15 Dec 2004 The House of Lords ruled that the British Government violates human rights legislation by detaining foreign nationals suspected of being terrorists without trial.
16 Dec 2004 Marc Dutroux, a Belgian child killer, loses his appeal against his sentence of life imprisonment
17 Dec 2004 Donald Rumsfeld, United States Secretary Of Defense, is facing criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike after he dismissed a soldier in Iraq who was being questioned about vehicle armour.
18 Dec 2004 A large number of Sikh protestors demonstrate outside a Birmingham theatre, England against a play (Behzti), which depicts sex abuse in a Sikh temple and murder. Theatre stormed and occupied by a few protestors.
19 Dec 2004 Conflict in Iraq: Up to 60 people were killed and 120 injured in bomb blasts in Najaf and Karbala, both Shia cities in Iraq.
20 Dec 2004 The Donegall Square West headquarters for Northern Bank in Belfast was robbed by a gang of thieves. This is one of the most significant bank robberies in UK History.
21 Dec 2004 Iraq War: 22 were killed by a suicide bomber at the forward operational base near the main U.S. military aircraft at Mosul. This was the single most deadly suicide attack on American soldiers.
22 Dec 2004 The worst natural disasters of recorded history hit Southeast Asia when the largest earthquake in 40 years strikes the entire Indian Ocean region. The tsunami waves from the 9.3 magnitude earthquake that struck just off Sumatra Island, Indonesia, create huge tsunami waves that hit the coasts of many countries, including India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Official death toll from the affected areas is
23 Dec 2004 At 14:59 UTC an earthquake measuring magnitude 8.1 takes place, approximately 305 miles (491km) north of Macquarie Island.
24 Dec 2004 400 m asteroid 2004 N4 (later 99942 Apophis) has a one-in-forty chance to collide with Earth in 2029. It has a rating of 4.
25 Dec 2004 During the early hours of the morning, a historic and unprecedented snowfall is recorded in parts of southern Texas. Daily snowfalls include 1.5 inches in Brownsville, McAllen, McAllen, McAllen, McAllen, 4.4 Inches at Corpus Christi and Victoria.
26 Dec 2004 A tsunami of 9.3 magnitude causes devastation in Sri Lanka and other parts of the Indian Ocean. It also kills over 230,000 people, including 1700 passengers on a moving train.
27 Dec 2004 Radiation from the explosion of the magnetar SGR1806-20 reaches Earth. It is the most visible extrasolar event to be witnessed on Earth.
28 Dec 2004 Heorhiy Kirpa (Ukraine's transport minister) is believed to have committed suicide.
29 Dec 2004 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announces support for Mustafa Al-Barghouti during the 2005 Palestinian presidential elections.
30 Dec 2004 Official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper in the World at 1,670 feet (509m) high, is held.
31 Dec 2004 Official opening of Taipei 101 at 509m (1,670ft) high.

2004

Your place in the Universe on 2004

Find out more about your Moon Sign

Oscar Winners

Best picture

Million Dollar Baby

Million Dollar Baby

Best director

Clint Eastwood

Million Dollar Baby

Best actor

Jamie Foxx

Ray

Best actress

Hilary Swank

Million Dollar Baby

Best supporting actor

Morgan Freeman

Million Dollar Baby

Best supporting actress

Cate Blanchett

The Aviator

Time Person of the Year

Books

The Da Vinci Code

The South Beach Diet

The Last Juror

Angels & Demons

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

Have a look at the old UK newspapers from 2004 and get them!

Do you remember those beautiful old magazines?

Nobel Prizes

Peace Prize

Literature

Physics

Economic Sciences

Chemistry

Physiology or Medicine

Music charts

Top #1 songs in the USA

Top #1 songs in the UK

Movies

Deadwood

Battlestar Galactica

Entourage

Veronica Mars

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2004 Chinese Zodiac and Horoscope

Popular names

Top #10 male names

Top #10 female names

World Population

Population statistics

Historical Events

Events