2004

2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar), and is also:

International Year of Technology
International Year of Rice
International Year of Education by Sports

Elections are to be held in 73 countries in 2004.

Years:
2001 2002 2003 - 2004 - 2005 2006 2007

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

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

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

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

Events

January

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January 1 - Joseph Deiss becomes President of the Confederation in Switzerland
January 1 - Pervez Musharraf gets the vote of confidence from Parliament and provincial assemblies to continue as President of Pakistan.
January 2 - Several British Airways flights from London Heathrow Airport to Washington D.C. and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia are cancelled due to security fears.
January 3 - Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard.
January 3 - NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars.
January 3 - Tony Blair makes an unannounced trip to Basra, Iraq to give a speech to British troops.
January 4 - Dr. Mikhail Saakashvili won Presidential Elections in the Republic of Georgia.
January 5 - Britney Spears's surprise 55-hour marriage to childhood sweetheart Jason Allen Alexander is annulled by a Las Vegas court.
January 6 - An inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales opens in London held by Michael Burgess, the coroner of The Queen's Household.
January 8 - Queen Elizabeth II officially names the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner.
January 13 - An Uzbekistan Airways plane crashes in Uzbekistan's capital of Tashkent, killing 37.
January 14 - The shock site Goatse.cx was placed on registry lock for violating the AUP
January 15- The South Korean Foreign Minister, Yoon Young-kwan resigns following his support for American policy towards North Korea.
January 16 - Goatse.cx is shut down by the Christmas Island Registry
January 20 - India signs a $1.5 billion deal with Russia to buy the 45,000 tonne aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov along with 28 MiG-29k fighters.
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.
January 28 - 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
January 29 - A whale explodes in Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing 56-foot long Sperm whale is what is claimed to have caused the explosion.

February

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February 1 - Janet Jackson's right breast is exposed during the live Super Bowl XXXVIII half time show, sparking a controversy in the United States.
February 1 A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia kills 251 pilgrims.
February 2 - An apartment building collapses in Konya, Turkey, killing 92.
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 subway train in Moscow.
February 7- The Prince of Wales begins a tour of the Middle East, visiting troops in Iraq, the Iranian earthquake zone at Bam and Saudi Arabia.
February 10 - At least 50 people killed in a car bomb attack on a police recruitment centre south of Baghdad.
February 10 - The French National Assembly votes to pass a law banning religious items and clothing from schools.
February 11 - Up to 47 people are killed in a car bomb attack on an army recruiting centre in Baghdad.
February 12 - Same sex marriage in the United States: The City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to homosexual couples as an act of civil disobedience.
February 13 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
February 18 - A train carrying a convoy of petrol, fertiliser and sulphur derails and explodes in Iran, killing 320 people.
February 20 - Iranian parliament election was held, with many reformist candidates banned from running, resulting in a win by conservatives.
February 22 - A suicide bomber kills eight bus passengers in Jerusalem.
February 22 - Rebels capture Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien.
February 24 - An earthquake in Morocco kills 571 people.
February 26- Former British cabinet minister, Clare Short reveals that British Intelligence bugged the phonecalls of United Nations officials, including Kofi Annan.
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. Aristide later announces that his resignation was forced and that he was abducted by U.S. soldiers who forced him to leave the country against his will.

March

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March 1 - Britney Spears releases In The Zone single, "Toxic"
March 1 - The Price is Right airs its 6,000th episode
March 1 - Terry Nichols convicted of state murder charges and accomplice to the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh has his trial started in McAlester, Oklahoma
March 1 - Vladimir Putin nominates Mikhail Fradkov for the position of prime minister of Russia.
March 1 - The Bush Administration officially admits to the implementation of a Continuity of Operations plan following the September 11, 2001 attacks
March 1 - notorious convicted criminal Marc Dutroux starts trial in Belgium
March 1 - Tauranga, New Zealand officially becomes a city, for the second time
March 1 - Gerry Doherty begins office as General Secretary for the trade union the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
March 1 - Yahoo! announces that it will practice paid inclusion for its search service.
March 1 - SCO Group announces it has reached a license agreement with EV1Servers.net, which allows EV1Servers to use some of SCO's "intellectual property". See also SCO v. IBM.
March 1 - Punycode adopted by the national registrars of Germany, Austria and Switzerland
March 1 - Canadian Jean Pelletier fired as head of VIA Rail
March 1 - Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum becomes President of Iraq
March 1 - the 6 towns on the Japanese island of Tsushima are unified to create Tsushima city
March 2 - John Kerry effectively clinches the U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination, 2004 by winning 9 out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
March 4 - a series of devastating bomb blasts in Iraq threaten to de-stabilise the country.
March 5 - CBS broadcasts tape recordings of Diana, Princess of Wales as she describes suicide attempts while pregnant with Prince William of Wales.
March 10 - Five British men released from detention at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay land at RAF Brize Norton. Four are immediately arrested by the Metropolitan Police and taken to Paddington Green high security police station in Central London for questioning.
March 11 - Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 190 people.
March 12 - Following the terrorist attacks in Madrid on March 11, millions of protesters take to the streets of Spanish cities against terrorism.
March 14 - Two suicide bombers kill eleven Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
March 14 - 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.
March 14 - 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, unofficially named Sedna, the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930.
March 15 - The new Spanish government announces that it will withdraw Spain's 1,300 troops in Iraq.
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 20 - Thousands protest at the 1-year anniversary of the start of the War in Iraq.
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 Yassin and 7 others.
March 25 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Libyan leader Muammar Gadafi, in return for the dismantling of Libya's WMD program in December 2003. He becomes the first PM to visit that country in over half a century.
March 25 - Rusty Foster closes off new user accounts to Kuro5hin as a result of a particularly offensive troll that attacked his wife by photoshopping her face onto a pornographic image [1].
March 28 - In France, the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin suffers a stunning and unprecedented defeat in the regional elections, leading to Raffarin's resignation on March 30.
March 29 - The Republic of Ireland bans smoking in restaurants, pubs and bars.
March 31- Four American contractors are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Northern Iraq.

April

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April 2 - A bomb found on the Madrid to Seville train line is defused by Spanish police.
April 3 - A bomb explosion in a Madrid flat kills five suspected terrorists responsible for the Madrid train bombings on March 11, and a Spanish policeman.
April 5 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II begins a state visit to France to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale
April 8 - Three Japanese citizens are taken hostage in Iraq.
April 16 - India defeats Pakistan in their historic first cricket tour in 14 years.
April 17 - Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vechiles in the Gaza Strip, killing the leader of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
April 20 - Tony Blair announces that the UK will hold a referendum on the European constitution.
April 21 - Mordechai Vanunu is released from prison in Israel after an 18 year term for treason.
April 21 - CBS broadcasts pictures of Diana, Princess of Wales as she lay dying moments after the fatal car crash that killed her.
April 22 - Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.
April 22 - The last coal mine in France closes, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining.
April 24 - The christening of Lady Louise Windsor takes place at Windsor Castle.
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 Turkish vote in favour, the Greeks reject the proposal.

May

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May 1 - An enlargement of the European Union takes place, expanding the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
May 6 - The final episode of Friends airs on NBC. Advertisers pay $2 million for 30 second ads.
May 9 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed by landmine placed under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial parade in Grozny.
May 11 - Explosion destroys a plastics factory in Glasgow, UK, killing nine people and injuring over a hundred.
May 12 - An American civilian contractor in Iraq, Nick Berg, is shown being decapitated by a group allegedly linked to al-Qaida on a web-distributed video. They state it is retaliation for the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
May 13 - In India, the Congress Party wins a surprise victory in the elections to the Lok Sabha.
May 14 - The editor of the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK, Piers Morgan, is sacked after the British army proves photographs in the newspaper, allegedly showing British soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees, to be fake.
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.
May 17 - 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, London, England.
May 19 - the movie Shrek 2 is released
May 19 - 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.
May 23 - Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea to secure the release of the families of the nine abducted Japanese citizens returned earlier, but Charles Robert Jenkins and his daughters refuse to leave.
May 26 - Terry Nichols is convicted by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
May 27- Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent is accused of racism by the New York Post after telling off rowdy diners at a New York restaurant.
May 29 - Dedication of the National World War II Memorial takes place in Washington, DC.
May 30 - Thousands of people in Hong Kong take to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

June

June 1 - The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season begins.
June 6 - The 60th anniversary of D-Day is celebrated in Normandy.
June 8 - The first transit of Venus since 1882 occurs; the next one will occur in 2012.
June 8 - The Tampa Bay Lightning win their first Stanley Cup championship.
June 8 - June 10 - The G8 Summit takes place in Georgia, USA.
June 10 - Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan lies in state at Capitol Hill in Washington.
June 10 to June 13 - Elections to the European Parliament take place throughout the European Union.
June 11 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft makes its closest approach to Phoebe, an outer moon of Saturn.
June 12 - The EURO 2004 European football (soccer) championships start in Portugal.
June 16 - The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (or "9/11 Commission") issues an initial report of its findings.
June 21 - SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
June 21 - July 4 - Wimbledon tennis tournament takes place in London.
June 28 - The US-led coalition occupying Iraq transfers sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
June 28 - 2004 Canadian election: The Liberal Party, led by Paul Martin, wins a minority government.
June 30 - The preliminary hearings begins in Iraq of former president Saddam Hussein for war crimes and crimes against humanity

July

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July 1 - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn.
July 1 - Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell becomes Governor of Connecticut following John G. Rowland's resignation.
July 4 - Groundbreaking of Freedom Tower in New York City.
July 4 - The EURO 2004 final between Portugal and Greece takes place in Lisbon, Portugal. Greece win 1:0.
July 4 - July 18 - The 2004 International Mathematics Olympiad takes place in Athens, Greece.
July 6 - United States Democratic Party presumptive presidential nominee Senator John Kerry chooses Senator John Edwards as his running mate on the Democratic Party ticket in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
July 7 - The last patent on the LZW compression algorithm, in Canada, expires.
July 10 - By-election in New Zealand: former New Zealand Labour Party cabinet minister, Tariana Turia, wins back her Te Tai Hauauru seat for new Maori Party.
July 12 - Pedro Santana Lopes is officially appointed Prime Minister of Portugal.
July 13 - The American League wins The Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Houston.
July 13 - Ken Jennings wins for his 30th time on Jeopardy!, breaking the $1,000,000 mark.
July 15 - Monorail service begins in Las Vegas.
July 15 - 18 - The Open Championship in golf, known in North America as the British Open, takes place in Troon, Scotland.
July 15 - The BBC airs the documentary "The Secret Agent", exposing racism by members of the British National Party.
July 16 - Millennium Park, considered the first and most ambitious architectural project in the early 21st century for Chicago, is opened to the public by Mayor Daley.
July 16 - Barclays Bank freezes the bank accounts of the British National Party
July 25 - Lance Armstrong makes history, winning his 6th (consecutive) Tour de France.
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).
July 26 - The 2004 Democratic National Convention convenes in Boston, Massachusetts.
July 30 - Gas blast kills 16 people in Belgium, more than 200 are injured.

August

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August 1 - Shop fire in Asuncion, Paraguay, kills more than 300 people.
August 1 - Department of Homeland Security raises terror alert in Washington, DC, New York City and Newark from yellow to orange.
August 3 - Statue of Liberty reopens after security improvements.

Predicted and scheduled events

August-November

August 12 - August 15 - The United States PGA Championship, the last of golf's four Grand Slam events for men, takes place in Kohler, Wisconsin.
August 13 - The 2004 Summer Olympics start in Athens.
August 15 - Recall vote on Hugo Chávez's mandate in Venezuela.
August 30 - The 2004 Republican National Convention convenes in New York City. Massive protests are expected.
August 30 - The U.S. Open tennis tournament opening service expected in New York City.
September 12 - The U.S. Open tennis tournament expected to conclude.
September 29 - The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within 4 lunar distances of Earth.
October 30 - Closing of Tempelhof International Airport, Berlin
November - The Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center opens in Tacoma, Washington, USA and the Central City highway opens in Colorado.
November 2 - U.S. presidential election. Presidential candidates will be nominated during the party conventions held from May through September.
November 4 - Referenda to be held in 3 English regions on whether to establish Regional Assemblies.

Births

January 21 - Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

Deaths

For more deaths see: Deaths in 2004