2004

Facts and Events That Happened in This Year

Dec 27

Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reached Earth.

Dec 26

A devastating tsunami and earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean.

Dec 25

Cassini orbiter released the Huygens probe, which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan.

Dec 15

Million Dollar Baby, directed by Clint Eastwood, was released. It went on to win Best Picture.

Nov 23

Blizzard released World of Warcraft for PC and Mac, changing the MMORPG scene forever.

Nov 16

American singer Mario released his hit single 'Let Me Love You.'

Nov 8

Canadian country singer Shania Twain released her Greatest Hits album and later received Billboard's 2004 Album of the Year.

Nov 4

Physicists in New Zealand observed a record-breaking solar flair.

Nov 3

George W Bush secured his second term as President of the United States.

Oct 8

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai became the first African female to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sep 30

For the first time, scientists captured images of a live giant squid in its natural environment.

Sep 29

At just 0.010AU from Earth, 4179 Toutatis became the closest asteroid to Earth in the last century.

Sep 26

Ed Whitlock became the world's first person over the age of 70 to run a marathon in under 3 hours.

Sep 22

The American drama TV series 'Lost' premiered on ABC.

Sep 21

Rockband Green Day released their seventh album, 'American Idiot.'

Aug 22

Two gunmen stole Edvard Munch's paintings 'The Scream' and 'Madonna' from Much Museum in Oslo, Norway.

Aug 3

The Statue of Liberty pedestal reopened after the 9/11 disaster that occurred in 2001.

Aug 3

NASA's Messenger probe launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Jul 4

Greece won its first UEFA Euro Cup after beating Portugal in the final 1-0.

Jul 3

Maria Sharapova became the first Russian to win Wimbledon.

Jul 1

The Cassini–Huygens spacecraft became the first to enter Saturn's orbit.

May 31

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the 3rd film based on the books by J. K. Rowling, was released in UK cinemas.

May 29

The World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C, dedicated by President George W. Bush.

May 17

Massachusetts became the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage.

May 6

The final episode of 'Friends' aired.

Apr 24

Businesswoman Estée Lauder, famous for her American cosmetics line, died at the age of 97.

Mar 29

Ireland became the first in the world to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants, and workplaces.

Mar 13

Luciano Pavarotti's final opera took place at New York Metropolitan Opera.

Feb 5

The Morecambe Bay cockling disaster killed twenty-three people.

Feb 4

Mark Zuckerberg founded the social networking website Facebook.

Jan 26

A 60-ton decomposing whale exploded onto the busy streets of Taipei, Taiwan.

Jan 14

The country of Georgia officially adopted the Five Cross Flag after more than five hundred years since its last use.

Jan 2

The Stardust space probe collected a sample of comet dust.