2004

• 2004 in film
• 2004 in literature
• 2004 in music
• 2004 in politics
• 2004 in science
• 2004 in sports
• 2004 in television
• more

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

• January 1 - Joseph Deiss becomes President of the Confederation in Switzerland
• 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 marriage to childhood sweetheart Jason Allen Alexander is annulled by a Las Vegas court following a surprise 55-hour marriage.
• 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 15- The South Korean Foreign Minister, Yoon Young-kwan resigns following his support for American policy towards North Korea.
• 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 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 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- His Royal Highness 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 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-Haďtien.
• 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 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 13- His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester and the Spanish Ambassador to the United Kingdom attend the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace where the Spanish national anthem is played to honour the victims of the Madrid train bombings.
• March 14 - 2 suicide bombers kill 11 Israeli civilians in Ashdod, Israel.
• March 14 - The Spanish parliamentary elections of 2004 take place. The incumbent government led by Jose Maria 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 less than 0.25% of the votes. The day before, he and Vice President Annette Lu were shot. Lien Chan refuses to concede and demands a recount.
• 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 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 2- A bomb is found on the Madrid to Seville train lineis 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. Their captors demand the removal of Japanese troops from Iraq.

• May - 2004 Canadian election expected to be held.
• May 1 - An enlargement of the European Union takes place, expected to include admission of further 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
• May 6 - Last episode of Friends airs on NBC.
• May 10 - National election takes place in the Philippines for the presidency and almost all other elective positions. Final Phase of Lok Sabha elections in India.
• May 12 and May 15 - Eurovision Song Contest 2004 will be held in Turkey.
• May 17 - As of this date same-sex marriage will be legal in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in compliance with a ruling from the state's Supreme Judicial Court (Goodridge et al. v. Department of Public Health.)
• May 18 - European Festival of Youth Choirs (EJCF) in Basel expected to start.
• May 24 - The French Open tennis tournament expected to start.
• May 29 - Dedication of National World War II Memorial to take place in Washington DC.
• May 30 - The Indianapolis 500 takes place in Indianapolis.

• June 4 - The movie version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is scheduled to be released.
• June 8 - The first solar transit of the planet Venus since 1882; the next one will occur in 2012.
• June 10 to June 13 - European Parliament election takes place throughout the European Union.
• June 10 - Elections take place in the United Kingdom for the European parliament, the Greater London Assembly, Mayor of London, and English local councils.
• June 12 - The EURO 2004 European football (soccer) championships start in Portugal.
• June 17 - June 20 - The U.S. Open golf tournament takes place on Long Island.
• June 30 - Control and sovereignty of Iraq is expected to be handed over from the United States to an interim Iraqi government.

• July - The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrives at Saturn.
• July 7 - The last patent on the LZW compression algorithm, in Canada, expires.
• July 13 - The major league baseball All-Star Game takes place in Houston.
• July 15 - July 18 - The British Open golf tournament takes place in Scotland.
• July 26 - The United States Democratic Party national convention convenes in Boston, Massachusetts.
• August 13 - The 2004 Summer Olympics starts in Athens.
• August 30 - The United States Republican Party national convention convenes in New York City. Massive protests are expected.
• August 30 - The U.S. Open tennis tournament expected to kick off 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.

• 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.

• January 21 - Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

• January 5 - Dorota Terakowska, Polish writer
• January 5 - Tug McGraw, major league pitcher, aged 59
• January 6 - Charles Dumas, American high jumper
• January 7 - Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress
• January 10 - Spalding Gray, actor, screenwriter, and monologue artist (b. 1941)
• January 13 - Doctor Harold Shipman, the United Kingdom's most prolific serial killer (by suicide)
• January 16 - Kalevi Sorsa, Finnish politician
• January 19 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer
• January 20 - Guinn Smith, American athlete
• January 23 - Bob Keeshan, famous as Captain Kangaroo
• January 24 - Leonidas da Silva, Brazilian football player
• January 27 - Jack Paar, television show host
• January 28 - Rikki Fulton, a Scottish comedian and actor
• January 28 - Elroy Hirsch, football player
• January 29 - Janet Frame, New Zealand writer
• January 29 - Mary Margaret Kaye, British writer
• January 29 - Joe Viterelli, American actor.
• January 31 - Eleanor Holm - American swimmer

• February 1 - Bob Stokoe, F.A. Cup winning footballer and manager
• February 2 - Alan Bullock, British historian
• February 13 - Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, President of Chechnya
• February 14 - Marco Pantani, Italian bicyclist and Giro d'Italia and Tour de France winner
• February 15 - Jan Miner, American actress
• February 17 - José López Portillo, former president of Mexico
• February 23 - Sikander Bakht, Governor of Kerala
• February 26 - Shankarrao Chavan, Chief Minister of Maharashtra
• February 26 - Boris Trajkovski, president of Macedonia
• March 2 - Marge Schott, former owner of the Cincinnati Reds
• March 15 - Sir John Pople, Nobel Prize winning Chemist
• March 20 - Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen
• March 21 - Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Hamas founder
• March 23 - Rupert Hamer, Australian politician
• March 28 - Sir Peter Ustinov, Actor
• March 28 - Robert Merle, novelist
• March 29 - Alistair Cooke, television and radio broadcaster

• April 4 - George Bamberger, former major league manager and player, aged 80
• April 8 - Bruce Edwards, longtime caddy for golfer Tom Watson, aged 49