 |
|
 |
| |
Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar.
The year 2004 has been designated the:
Also see: Wikipedia\'s almanac of events for this year.
Events of 2004
- January 4 - Mikhail Saakashvili wins the presidential elections in Georgia.
- January 4 - NASA\'s MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
- January 4 - Leicester City footballers Paul Dickov, Keith Gillespie and Frank Sinclair are arrested in Spain over sexual assault charges. The charges are later dropped.
- January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II christens the RMS Queen Mary 2 cruise liner, currently the largest ocean liner in the world.
- January 13 - Serial killer Harold Shipman is found hanged in his cell at Wakefield Prison, 4 years after being convicted of murdering 15 patients in Cheshire, England. Shipman, who would have been 58 the next day, was blamed for the deaths of a further 200 patients at an inquest 18 months ago and some reports claimed that he may have murdered as many as 400 or 500 people.
- January 14 - The Sun newspaper causes controversy within the British media and public for its reporting on Harold Shipman\'s suicide. It runs the front page headline "SHIP SHIP HOORAY" and names another prisoner that it would like to see following Shipman\'s example.
- January 15 - Carol Moseley Braun drops out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, and endorses Howard Dean.
- January 19 - U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) wins the Iowa Democratic caucus. Vermont Governor Howard Dean\'s concession speech ends with a lively but controversial scream.
- January 24 - NASA\'s MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars at 05:05 UTC.
- January 26 - A whale explodes (already dead, which the initial author of this entry didn\'t bother to point out) in Tainan City, Taiwan, while being transported through the town to a University for a necropsy.
[Pan, Jason. "Sperm whale explodes in Tainan City". eTaiwanNews.com, January 27, 2004. Accessed January 8, 2007. ]
- January 27 - John Kerry wins the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
- January 27 - The British government narrowly wins a House of Commons vote on the proposed introduction of tuition top-up fees in British universities.
[Blair wins key top-up fees vote (html). BBC (2004-01-27). Retrieved on 2008-01-24.]
- 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 criticizes the BBC\'s role in the death of David Kelly, a weapons expert on Iraq.
- February 1 - A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
- February 1 - The New England Patriots win Super Bowl XXXVIII, as Adam Vinatieri kicks the game-winning field goal with 4 seconds left, defeating the Carolina Panthers 32-29.
- February 2 - An 11-story apartment building collapses in Konya, Turkey, killing more than 90 residents.
- February 3 - The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- February 3 - Jóannes Eidesgaard becomes Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands.
- February 6 - A suicide bomber kills 41 people on a metro car in Moscow.
- February 7 - Several leaders of Abnaa el-Balad are arrested in Israel.
- February 10 - At least 50 people are killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
- February 10 - 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: San Francisco, California begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of civil disobedience.
- February 13 - Athens gets hit by a major blizzard which blankets the entire city for days, causing widespread havoc.
- February 13 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
- February 14 - Riots break out between New South Wales Police and Aboriginal residents of Redfern, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
- February 14 - The roof of the Transvaal water park in Moscow collapses, killing 25 and injuring more than 100.
- February 14 - Vamoose Bus starts a new bus line between NYC and Washington, DC.
- February 15 - Eddie Guerrero wins the WWE Championship by defeating Brock Lesnar at WWE No Way Out at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California.
- February 15 - 3 years after his dad Dale Earnhardt was killed at the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first Daytona 500 in one of stock car racing\'s most emotional moments ever.
- February 17-20 - A nor\'easter blizzard devastates Atlantic Canada, dumping more than 95 centimeters on some areas.
- 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 - A 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Northern Morocco hits in the Rif mountains near the city of Al Hoceima, killing 400. Ait Kamara is destroyed; 517 are killed.
- February 26 - The United States lifts a 23-year travel ban against Libya.
- February 26 - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- February 28 - Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947.
- February 29 - 2004 Haiti rebellion: Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as president of Haiti. The chief justice of the Haitian Supreme Court, Boniface Alexandre, is sworn in as interim president.
- February 29 - The 76th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King directed by Peter Jackson, winning a record-tying 11 Oscars (all its nominations), including Best Picture and Best Director.
 John Kerry - March 2 - John Kerry effectively clinches the 2004 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination by winning 9 out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
- March 2 - NASA announces that the Mars rover MER-B (Opportunity) has confirmed that its landing area was once drenched in water.
- March 10 - Five British men are released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. After they land at RAF Brize Norton, 4 of them are immediately arrested for questioning.
- March 11 - Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people.
- March 12 - Following the March 11 terrorist attacks in Madrid, millions of protesters take to the streets of Spanish cities against terrorism.
- March 14 - Two suicide bombers kill 11 Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
- March 14 - Spanish legislative election, 2004: The incumbent government led by José MarÃa Aznar is defeated by the Socialist José Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero.
- March 14 - Russian presidential election, 2004: Vladimir Putin easily wins a second term.
- March 15 - The new Spanish Government announces that it will withdraw Spain\'s 1,300 troops in Iraq.
- March 17 - A pogrom-like organized violence breaks out over 2 days in Kosovo. Nineteen people are killed, 139 Serbian homes burned, schools and businesses vandalized, and over 30 Orthodox monasteries and churches burned and destroyed.
- March 19 - The United Nations launches a political 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 - Malaysian general election, 2004: The incumbent Barisan Nasional party wins 198 out of 219 seats in the Parliament of Malaysia.
- March 21 - Salvadoran presidential election, 2004: Antonio Saca is elected President of El Salvador (inaugurated June 1).
- March 22 - Palestinians protest in the streets after an Israeli helicopter gunship fires a missile at the entourage of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza City, killing him and 7 others.
- March 25 - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Libyan leader Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya\'s Weapons of mass destruction programme in December 2003 - the first time a major western leader has visited the nation in several decades.
- March 28 - In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in regional elections.
- March 28 - The first ever South Atlantic hurricane makes landfall in South Brazil on the state of Santa Catarina - the hurricane is dubbed Hurricane Catarina.
- March 29 - The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in all enclosed work places, including restaurants, pubs and bars.
- March 29 - The largest expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization to date takes place, allowing Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the organization.
- March 31 - Four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA are killed, and their bodies mutilated, after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq.
- April 1 - The Faroese Prime Minister\'s Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister\'s Office will use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms. The colours were inspired from the Merkið (flag) and yellow/gold was added. The new Coat of Arms depicts a Ram on a blue shield ready to defend. It can be used by the Government Ministries and by Faroese embassies, but some still use older versions of the Coat of Arms.
- 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 2 rebel groups.
- April 11 - Phil Mickelson wins The Masters Tournament, his first Men\'s major golf championship.
- April 16 - India defeats Pakistan in their first cricket tour in 14 years.
- April 17 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing the Gaza leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.
- April 20 - In Iraq, 12 mortars are fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents; 22 detainees are killed and 92 wounded. [1]
- April 21 - Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after serving 18 years for treason.
- April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the Ryongchon disaster, in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
- April 22 - The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
- April 24 - Referendums on the Annan Plan for Cyprus, which proposes to re-unite the island of Cyprus, take place in both the Republic of Cyprus controlled and the Turkish controlled parts. Although the Turkish Cypriots vote in favour, the Greek Cypriots reject the proposal.
- April 28 - Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse in Iraq is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
- April 29 - The last Oldsmobile rolls off of the assembly line.
 European Union flag - 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 4 - A WNBC helicopter crashes in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. This event is covered by rival station WABC-TV.
- May 8 - Would-be "Saudi Princess" "Antoinette Millard" surfaces in New York City claiming that muggers had stolen jewels worth of $262,000 from her (she later proves to be an impostor).
- May 9 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by a landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.
- May 9 - Canada wins the World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague.
- May 10 - Philippine general election, 2004: Incumbent president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is elected for 6-year term.
- 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.
- June 1 - Twelve-year-old Satomi Mitarai, a Japanese schoolgirl attending Okubo Elementary School in Sasebo, Japan is murdered. Her killer, an 11-year-old classmate identified by Japanese authorities as "Girl A", becomes the basis for the Nevada-tan Internet phenomenon.
- June 3 - All outgoing flights from the UK are temporarily grounded following an air traffic control computer failure. (BBC)
- June 3 - Central Intelligence Agency director George Tenet tenders his resignation, citing "personal reasons". John E. McLaughlin, CIA Deputy Director, becomes the acting Director until a permanent Director is chosen and confirmed by Congress.
- June 4 - Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings with a home-made tank in Granby, Colorado.
- June 5 - Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, dies at his home in Bel-Air, California at the age of 93. A six-day state funeral follows after his death.
- June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is remembered by world leaders.
- June 6 - At the 58th Annual Tony Awards, Avenue Q upsets front-runner
[Tony Finds a Home on ‘Avenue Q’ (html) (2004-06-06). Retrieved on 2008-01-24.] Wicked to win the award for Best Musical
- June 7 - Tampa Bay Lightning defeats Calgary Flames in 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 8 - The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs; the next one will occur in 2012.
- June 8 - The 30th G8 summit takes place over the next 2 days on Sea Island, in Georgia, USA.
- June 8 - The pickled heart of Louis XVII of France is buried in the royal crypt at Saint-Denis.
- June 11 - Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The decision comes on the third anniversary of the execution of his co-defendant, Timothy McVeigh, in Terre Haute, Indiana.
- June 11 - Food fight at Monroe-Woodbury High School escalates into a near-riot.
- June 12 - A 1.3 kg chondrite type meteorite strikes a house in Ellerslie, New Zealand, causing serious damage but no injuries.
- June 14 - Cartoon Network relaunches itself, thus ending its renaissance.
- June 15 - The Detroit Pistons upset the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2004 NBA Finals, 4 games to 1.
| | | | |
