2000s2004

2004: Facts & Events That Happened in This Year

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
20052006200720082009
2004: Facts & Historical Events That Happened in This Year

Share:

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
20052006200720082009

Share

The year 2004 was marked by both remarkable achievements and significant losses.

NASA made history by landing its first rover on Mars, and Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. 2004 was also the year that Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, and Kanye West debuted his groundbreaking album, “The College Dropout.”

Unfortunately, the year was also defined by tragedy when a 9.3 magnitude earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami, claiming over 230,000 lives across Southeast Asia.

On a lighter note, although “Friends” aired its final episode, new TV favorites like “House” and “Lost” quickly emerged.

Continue reading to explore the key events, impactful news stories, notable music releases, and inspirational quotes that shaped the year 2004.

Events

Explore the incredible moments that shaped 2004, a year filled with captivating events you won’t want to miss!

Jan 2

The Stardust space probe collected a sample of comet dust.

The probe flew within 147 miles (237km) of the Wild 2 comet to collect the samples of dust. On January 15, 2006, a capsule containing the sample was returned to Earth. On August 14, 2014, interstellar dust particles were identified within the sample.

Jan 14

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

OTD in 2004: The country of Georgia officially adopted the Five Cross Flag after more than five hundred years since its last use.

The last time the Five Cross Flag, Georgia’s current national flag, was used was during the time of the Kingdom of Georgia. The flag, which is made up of four small crosses and one large red cross, closely resembles the flag of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Jan 26

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

The dead 56-foot-long sperm whale was sitting on the back of a lorry on its way to be researched. She exploded because of the gasses building up inside her during decay. The flying debris literally washed the surrounding street, and nearby cars as witnesses watched in horror.

Feb 4

Mark Zuckerberg founded the social networking website Facebook.

OTD in 2004: Mark Zuckerberg founded the social networking website Facebook.

Feb 5

The Morecambe Bay cockling disaster killed twenty-three people.

On this day, at around 21:30, a group of 35 Chinese immigrant cockle pickers became trapped by rising tides.

Mar 13

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

Mar 29

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

Apr 24

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

May 6

The final episode of “Friends” aired.

OTD in 2004: The final episode of "Friends" aired.

The 10th season of “Friends” was it’s last. The final episode, “The One Where They Say Goodbye,” had 52.5 million viewers. It was the 5th most-watched TV finale in the history of the US and the most-watched episode of any TV series in the 2000s.

May 17

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

May 29

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

OTD in 2004: The World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington

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.

OTD in 2004: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Jul 1

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

OTD in 2004: The Cassini–Huygens spacecraft became the first to enter Saturn's orbit.

The spacecraft was a collaboration between multiple international space agencies and consisted of NASA’s Cassini probe and the European Space Agencies Huygens lander. It took seven years for Cassini–Huygens to reach Saturn, remaining there until 2017.

Jul 3

Maria Sharapova became the first Russian to win Wimbledon.

The 17-year-old Sharapova stunned audiences when she defeated reigning champion Serena Williams, who had remained undefeated at Wimbledon since 2001.

Jul 4

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

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.

The Messenger probe reached Mercury in 2008 and orbited it from 2011 until 2015. It completely mapped the planet’s surface during this time, taking over 100,000 images within the first year alone. After completing its mission, it used the last drops of its fuel to crash-land into Mercury.

Aug 22

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

The two pieces were safely recovered in August 2006.

Sep 21

Rockband Green Day released their seventh album, “American Idiot.”

Sep 22

The American drama TV series “Lost” premiered on ABC.

OTD in 2004: The American drama TV series "Lost" premiered on ABC.

It ran for six seasons, comprising of 121 episodes in total.

Sep 26

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

He completed the 26.2 miles at the Toronto Marathon in just 2 hours, 54 minutes, and 48 seconds.

Sep 29

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

Sep 30

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

OTD in 2004: For the first time

The live giant squid is the largest invertebrate in the world and is estimated to be 26 feet in size.

Oct 8

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

Nov 3

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

Nov 4

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

OTD in 2004: Physicists in New Zealand observed a record-breaking solar flair.

It was designated as an X45 in energy and size. An X45 could have fried most of the world’s telecommunications infrastructure with an x-ray burst containing 5,000 times more energy than usual. Thankfully, the flair did not travel in our direction.

Nov 8

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

Nov 16

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

The song became Billboard’s Song of the Year for 2005.

Nov 23

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

Most people know someone addicted to World of Warcraft (WoW) at some point in their lives, and that’s not even an exaggeration! With expansion pack after expansion pack releasing, it’s no surprise that WoW keeps dragging players back to the game.

Dec 15

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

Dec 25

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

Dec 26

A devastating tsunami and earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean.

OTD in 2004: A devastating tsunami and earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean.

The earthquake was a 9.3 magnitude which caused a tsunami that hit Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Maldives. The destruction killed 230,000 people.

Dec 27

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

OTD in 2004: Radiation from an explosion on the magnetar SGR 1806-20 reached Earth.

This was the brightest stellar event ever recorded, with a flash of light so powerful that it bounced off the Moon and lit up the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The radiation from the starquake explosion took 50,000 years to reach Earth.

Famous Births

Check out these awesome individuals who were born in 2004!

Dec, 5

Jules LeBlanc

American

Actress

Jules LeBlanc

Age:

19 years old

Born In:

Georgia, USA

Feb, 19

Millie Bobby Brown

British

Actress

Millie Bobby Brown

Age:

20 years old

Born In:

Andalusia, Spain

Mar, 25

William Franklyn-Miller

English

Model

William Franklyn-Miller

Age:

20 years old

Born In:

England, UK

Apr, 13

Dylan Conrique

American

Actress

Dylan Conrique

Age:

20 years old

Born In:

California, USA

May, 1

Charli D’Amelio

American

TikToker

Charli D'Amelio

Age:

20 years old

Born In:

Connecticut, USA

Oct, 3

Noah Schnapp

Canadian-American

Actor

Noah Schnapp

Age:

20 years old

Born In:

New York, USA

Famous Deaths

Here’s a glimpse at a few famous people who bid us farewell in 2004.

1911

2004

Ronald Reagan

American

Politician

Ronald Reagan

1911

2004

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was an American politician born on February 6, 1911. He died on June 5, 2004, at age 93 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Died On:

Jun 5, 2004 (Age 93)

Died In:

California, USA

1924

2004

Marlon Brando

American

Actor

Marlon Brando

1924

2004

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando was an American actor born on April 3, 1924. He died on July 1, 2004, at age 80 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Died On:

Jul 1, 2004 (Age 80)

Died In:

California, USA

Quotes

Here’s a roundup of the most memorable quotes people said in 2004.

May 10

One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.

Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut

American Writer

Aug 5

Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.

George W. Bush

George W. Bush

American Politician

2004 In Music

2004 was a musical journey that took us on a wild ride with its chart-topping hits!

From the infectious rhythm of “Yeah!” by Usher ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris to the emotional ballad “My Immortal” by Evanescence, these songs captured our attention and left us craving for more.

Dive into these music highlights from 2004 that you need to know.

Album of the Year

Outkast’s innovative and genre-bending album “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” shook up the music scene in 2004, securing them the Grammy for Album of the Year with their bold and fresh sound.

Song of the Year

Luther Vandross’s emotional and touching “Dance with My Father” captured hearts in 2004, leading to his victory of the Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

Best New Artist

Evanescence’s haunting rock sound and powerful performances earned them the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2004, leaving a lasting impression on the rock music landscape.

Eurovision Song Contest Winner

The 49th Eurovision Song Contest unfolded in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2004, embracing the rich cultural diversity of Europe.

Ruslana, an electrifying performer from Ukraine, amazed the audience with her powerful song “Wild Dances,” securing Ukraine’s first Eurovision win.

2004 in Numbers

Are you ready for some interesting number facts? Well, here goes! The Roman numeral representation of 2004 is MMIV, and in binary, it’s 11111010100.

Did you know that a length of 2004 inches is approximately equal to 789 centimeters?

Leap Year

The year 2004 was a leap year, featuring a bonus day in February. This extra day corrects for the gradual misalignment between our calendar and the Earth’s journey around the sun.

Harshad Number

2004 is a Harshad number, which is a number that can be evenly divided by the sum of its digits. It’s like a special math rule for some numbers.

To explain in more detail, we add up the digits (2 + 0 + 0 + 4), which equals 6. And now we see if 2004 can be divided evenly by 6, which it can! 2004 ÷ 6 = 334. So this makes 2004 a Harshad number.

Abundant Number

Also, 2004 is known as an abundant number. An abundant number is a number where if you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into it, the total sum is greater than the number itself.

So, when you add up all the smaller numbers that can divide evenly into 2004 (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 167, 334, 501, 668, 1002), they add up to 2700, which is greater than 2004.

Chinese Zodiac 2004

Chinese Zodiac 2004: Year of the Wood Monkey

There are twelve Chinese zodiac signs, which cycle through and change every year, and for 2004, it was the Year of the Monkey.

However, it’s fascinating to note that each zodiac animal is also connected to one of the five elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Gold (Metal), and Water. So 2004 was actually the Year of the Wood Monkey, which only occurs every sixty years!

Because the Chinese zodiac follows a lunar calendar, the Year of the Wood Monkey commenced on January 22nd, and lasted until February 8, 2005.

Those born in the Year of the Monkey are typically intelligent, witty, and curious. They possess a playful nature, are quick learners, and are often skilled problem solvers.

Notable names like Kim Kardashian, Noah Schnapp and Charli D’Amelio are all associated with the Year of the Monkey.

2004 Trivia

Did you know that the expression “life hack” was only first used in 2004?

It was coined by a journalist at the Emerging Technology Conference in San Diego to describe clever shortcuts and workarounds used by IT professionals to boost productivity.

The term quickly gained popularity, and by 2005, “lifehack” was so widespread that it became the runner-up in a vote for the most useful word, narrowly losing to “podcast.” This marked the beginning of the “life hack” trend that continues to thrive today.

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
20052006200720082009

Fact Check

We have a thorough fact-checking process and a dedicated team verifying our content for accuracy. But occasionally, we may get things wrong, or information becomes outdated. If you believe something to be incorrect, please leave us a message below.

Leave a Comment