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 Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 countries during 2004. Events For more details see Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec January events 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. January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia. January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II officially names the RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner - the largest cruise liner in the world today. 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 events February 1 - 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 events March 2 - John Kerry effectively clinches the U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination, 2004 by winning nine 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 10 - Five British men released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay land at RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested 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. 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 - the first time a major western leader has visted the nation in several decades. 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 private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq. April events April 3 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills a Spanish policeman and five terrorists suspected of responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on March 11. April 4 - Serious fighting breaks out in Najaf, Sadr City, and Basra in Iraq as Shia insurgents supporting Muqtada al-Sadr rise against coalition forces. April 5 - Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale 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, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason. April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes. 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 - Abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II. May events May 1 - the largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus. May 6 - The final episode of Friends airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 52 million viewers in North America. May 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 - An 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. May 13 - In India, the Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the Lok Sabha. May 14 - Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, marries Australian Mary Donaldson in Copenhagen. May 17 - Ezzedine Salim, holder of the rotating leadership of the 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, 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 events June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is remembered in Normandy. 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 "the United States of America carried out the severest sentence for the gravest of crimes," in which his co-defendant, Timothy McVeigh, was "executed by lethal injection" for his role in the bombing. 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 events July 1 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn. July 4 - Groundbreaking of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero 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 an unprecedented 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title. July 30 - Gas explosion in Ghislenghien, Belgium kills 21 people, more than 120 are injured. August events August 1 - Supermarket fire in Asunción, 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 - August 29 - The 2004 Summer Olympics takes place in Athens. August 13 - Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in Florida after killing four in Cuba and one in Jamaica. 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 events 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 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 events 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 - 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. Interim president Hamid Karzai is eventually declared the winner. October 10 - Abdullahi Yusuf is chosen as the new transitional president of Somalia. October 14 - Prince Norodom Sihamoni is chosen as the new king of Cambodia. October 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 - 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 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 Boston Red Sox sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series championship for the first time since 1918. 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 31 - Leftist candidate Tabaré Vázquez is elected President of Uruguay. November events 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 - Ufton Nervet rail crash in Berkshire, England, kills 7 people. In Côte d'Ivoire, National Army bombings kill nine people, including French UN soldiers. French UN forces retaliate by destroying the National Army's air force. November 7 - U.S. 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 9 - The Ireland High Court rules that Katherine Zappone and Ann Louise Gilligan can sue the Revenue Commissioner to have their Vancouver, British Columbia Same-sex marriage recognized for tax purposes. November 13 - After six days of intense battles, Iraqi town of Fallujah fully occupied by U.S. forces. November 14 - American Secretary of State, Colin Powell resigns, to be replaced by Condoleezza Rice. November 16 The European Space Agency probe, Smart 1 passes from orbit of the Earth into orbit of the Moon A train crash near Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, injures 150 people. NASA's hypersonic jet ScramJet breaks a record by reaching a velocity of about 7,000 mph in an unmanned experimental flight. It obtained a speed of Mach 9.6, almost 10 times the speed of sound. November 21 - Final round of presidential election in Ukraine. Official winner: Viktor Yanukovych. International election observers express severe criticism, and large crowds gather in a protest rally in Kiev. 12 days later, the Supreme Court annulls the result, and a new poll is scheduled. November 26 - A group of Iraqi political leaders, primarily from Sunni and Kurdish parties, advocate a six-month delay in popular elections scheduled for January 2005. November 28 Explosion in coal mine in China. Death toll expected to be above 150. The president of Chile promises economic compensation to 28000 victims of torture during Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. December events December 6 - Terrorists attack the American consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing several people. Births January 21 - Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway Deaths For more deaths see: Deaths in 2004 January deaths January 5 - Tug McGraw, major league pitcher, January 13 - Harold Shipman, the United Kingdom's most prolific serial killer (by suicide) January 25 - Fanny Blankers-Koen, 4-time Olympic champion athletics January 28 - Elroy Hirsch, football player January 28 - George Duffy, American television pioneer January 29 - Joe Viterelli, American actor February deaths February 13 - Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, president of Chechnya February 14 - Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist February 17 - José López Portillo, former president of Mexico February 26 - Boris Trajkovski, president of Macedonia March deaths March 15 - John Pople, Nobel Prize winning chemist March 18 - Harrison McCain, Canadian billionaire March 20 - Princess Juliana, former queen of the Netherlands March 21 - Ahmed Yassin, Hamas founder March 28 - Peter Ustinov, actor April deaths April 21 – Karl Hass, convicted Nazi war criminal April 22 - Pat Tillman, former noted NFL Safety with the Arizona Cardinals. (b. 1976) April 24 - Estée Lauder, cosmetics pioneer (b. 1906) May deaths May 9 - Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen president May 17 - Tony Randall, actor May 22 - Richard Biggs, actor May 28 - Umberto Agnelli, chairman of Fiat (b. 1934) June deaths June 3- Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales June 5 - Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States (b. 1911) June 10 - Ray Charles, musician (b. 1930) June 10 - Xenophon Zolotas, former Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1904) June 20 - Jim Bacon, former Premier of Tasmania (b. 1950) July deaths July 1 - Marlon Brando, American actor (b. 1924) July 6 - Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (b. 1932) July 28 - Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (b. 1916) July 28 - Sam Edwards, American actor (b. 1915) August deaths August 1 - Philip Hauge Abelson, physicist, co-discoverer of Neptunium (b. 1913) August 3 - Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer (b. 1908) August 6 - Rick James, singer ("Super Freak") (b. 1948) August 8 - Fay Wray, actress ("King Kong") (b. 1907) August 17 - Gérard Souzay, French tenor (b. 1918) September 11 - Peter VII, Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 1949) September 15 - Johnny Ramone, bandmember of The Ramones (b. 1948) September 20 - Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (b. 1935) October deaths October 5 - Rodney Dangerfield, actor, comedian (b. 1921) October 8 - Jacques Derrida, philosopher, founder of deconstruction (b. 1930) October 10 - Christopher Reeve, American actor, portrayed "Superman" (b. 1952) October 25 - John Peel, UK radio broadcaster (b. 1939) October 29 - Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, aunt of Queen Elizabeth II November deaths November 2 - Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, president of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1918) November 2 - Theo van Gogh, Dutch filmmaker (b. 1957) November 9 - Emlyn Hughes, English footballer (b. 1947) November 11 - Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Leader (President of Palestinian National Authority 1996-2004 (b. 1929) November 24 - Arthur Hailey, author (b. 1920) November 29 - John Drew Barrymore, actor (b. 1932) November 29 - Harry Danning, MLB All-Star catcher (b. 1911) December deaths December 1 - Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (b. 1911) December 8 - Dimebag Darrell, member of Pantera and Damageplan (b. 1966) 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" Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Finn E. Kydland, Edward C. Prescott zh-min-nan:2004 nî roa-rup:2004 ast:2004 nds:2004 simple:2004 Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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