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 uncover the significant events, groundbreaking news, chart-topping music, memorable quotes, and impactful losses that made 2004 unforgettable.
Historical Events
Here you can explore the unforgettable moments that shaped the unforgettable year of 2004.
January 2004
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.
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 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.
March 2004
Mar 29
Ireland became the first in the world to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants, and workplaces.
April 2004
May 2004
May 6
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 29
The World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C, dedicated by President George W. Bush.
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.
July 2004
Jul 1
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.
August 2004
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.
September 2004
Sep 22
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.
The live giant squid is the largest invertebrate in the world and is estimated to be 26 feet in size.
October 2004
November 2004
Nov 4
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.
December 2004
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.
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.
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
Some truly remarkable people began their journey in 2004.
Age
21 years old
Born IN
California, USA
Age
21 years old
Born IN
Connecticut, USA
Age
21 years old
Born IN
New York, USA
Age
21 years old
Born IN
Georgia, USA
Age
21 years old
Born IN
Andalusia, Spain
Age
21 years old
Born IN
England, UK
Famous Deaths
Take a moment to reflect on those we lost in 2004.
1911 — 2004
Ronald Reagan
American Politician Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911. He died on June 5, 2004, at age 93 in California, USA.
Quotes
These are a few of the quotes that people remember from 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
(American Author)
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
(American Politician)
2004 in Music
2004 brought us a diverse range of musical gems that had us tapping our feet and singing along from the very first note!
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.
Familiarize yourself with the noteworthy music moments of 2004.
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
Let’s explore the world of numbers! 2004, when written in Roman numerals, is MMIV, and when written 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
According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2004 was the Year of the Monkey, which occurs every twelve years.
The Chinese zodiac isn’t just animals though, they also include five elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. This makes 2004 the Year of the Wood Monkey, which only comes along once every sixty years.
Did you know that the Chinese calendar follows a lunar cycle? That’s why the Year of the Wood Monkey actually started 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.
Among the famous people born in the Years of the Monkey, we find Kim Kardashian, Noah Schnapp and Charli D’Amelio.
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.
