2004 in the United States

Events from the year 2004 in the United States.

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Incumbents

Federal government

President: George W. Bush (R-Texas)
Vice President: Dick Cheney (R-Wyoming)
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (Virginia)
Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois)
Senate Majority Leader: Bill Frist (R-Tennessee)
Congress: 108th

Events

January

January 4 – NASA's MER-A (Spirit) lands on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
January 11 – Drake & Josh premieres on Nickelodeon.
January 19
- U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) wins the Iowa Democratic caucus. Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean's concession speech ends with a lively but controversial scream.
- British children's television series Boohbah (made by Ragdoll Productions who also made Teletubbies) begins its first ever television premiere in the U.S. on PBS KIDS.^[1]
January 20 – State of the Union Address.
January 24 – NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) lands on Mars at 05:05 UTC.
January 28 – At a hearing of the 9/11 Commission, it is revealed that, in the September 11 attacks, terrorists used Mace, a brand of tear gas or pepper spray, in overpowering the flight crew of American Airlines Flight 11.

February

February 1 – The New England Patriots win Super Bowl XXXVIII by defeating the Carolina Panthers 32–29 at Reliant Stadium in Houston. The halftime show becomes one of the most controversial events in television history, as Janet Jackson's breast is exposed to an audience of 143.6 million viewers.
February 3 – The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
February 4 – Mark Zuckerberg launches "TheFacebook", later renamed to Facebook, a social networking website for Harvard University students.^[2]
February 9 – Disappearance of Maura Murray: A 21-year-old nursing student disappears this evening after a car crash on Route 112 near Woodsville, New Hampshire, in Haverhill. Her whereabouts remain unknown.^[3]
February 12 – Same sex marriage in the United States: The City and County of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an act of civil disobedience.
February 14 – Jetix is introduced on Toon Disney and ABC Family, making it the first trade-name to be introduced as an anime-based block.
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 – The 76th Academy Awards, hosted by Billy Crystal, are held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King winning a record-tying 11 Oscars (tied with 1959's Ben-Hur and 1997's Titanic), including Best Picture and Best Director. The film also breaks the record tied by 1958's Gigi and 1987's The Last Emperor for the largest sweep for a single film in Oscar history. The telecast garners nearly 43.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast since 2000.

March

March 2
- NASA announces that the Mars rover MER-B (Opportunity) has confirmed that its landing area was once drenched in water.
- John Kerry effectively clinches the 2004 Democratic Party presidential nomination by winning nine out of 10 "Super Tuesday" primaries and caucuses.
March 12 – Marcus Wesson is arrested in Fresno, California, after killing nine family members. Wesson had built a cult around his family and had molested and "married" several of his daughters. He was sentenced to death in 2005.
March 14 – World Wrestling Entertainment holds WrestleMania XX at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
March 31 – Four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq.

April

April 2 – Walt Disney Pictures' 45th feature film, Home on the Range, is released to mixed reviews and middling box office numbers. It is the studio's last traditionally-animated film until 2009's The Princess and the Frog (not counting the animation in the 2007 movie Enchanted).
April 22 – Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who enlisted in the US Army, is killed by friendly fire in eastern Afghanistan. The U.S. military does not reveal this to the public until weeks later, after initially saying he was killed by enemy combatants.
April 28 – Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse is revealed on the television show 60 Minutes II.
April 29 – The last Oldsmobile rolls off of the assembly line.

May

May – Emergence of cicada Brood X (Brood 10) begins in the eastern United States.
May 4 – A WNBC helicopter crashes in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. This event is covered by rival station WABC-TV.
May 6 – The final episode of Friends airs on NBC, drawing an estimated 66 million viewers in North America. Advertisers pay $2 million for 30 second ads.
May 8 – Would-be "Saudi Princess" Antoinette Millard surfaces in New York City, claiming that muggers had stolen jewels worth of $262,000 from her (she later proves to be an impostor).
May 12 – An American civilian contractor in Iraq, Nick Berg, is shown being decapitated by a group allegedly linked to al-Qaeda on an Internet-distributed video. They state it is retaliation for the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
May 13 – The final episode of Frasier airs on NBC. The episode was viewed by 33.7 million people, being the 11th most-watched series finale and the 7th most watched from NBC.^[4]^[5]
May 14 – Lynn Turner is convicted of the 1995 murder of her husband Glenn Turner by poisoning him with anti-freeze. She is also accused of the murder of her second husband, Randy Thompson.^[6]
May 17 – Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage in compliance with a ruling from the state's Supreme Court ruling in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.
May 26
- Fantasia Barrino wins season 3 of American Idol.
- Terry Nichols is convicted by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
May 29 – Dedication of the National World War II Memorial takes place in Washington, D.C.

June

June 3 – Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet tenders his resignation, citing "personal reasons". John E. McLaughlin, CIA Deputy Director, becomes the acting director until a permanent director is chosen and confirmed by Congress.
June 4 – Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings and vehicles with a modified bulldozer in Granby, Colorado. He takes away his life after the rampage.
June 5 – Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, dies at his home in Bel-Air, California, at the age of 93. A six-day state funeral follows after his death.
June 8–9 – The G8 Summit takes place on Sea Island, in Georgia, United States.
June 11
- The national funeral service for Ronald Reagan is held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
- Terry Nichols is spared the death penalty by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, exactly three years after his co-defendant, Timothy McVeigh, was executed for his role in the bombing.
June 15 – The Detroit Pistons defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals in five games to win their third NBA championship.
June 16 – The 9/11 Commission issues an initial report of its findings.
June 21 – In Mojave, California, SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
June 28
- The U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq transfers sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government.
- Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains collide in a rural area outside of San Antonio, Texas; 40 cars are derailed, including one chlorine car. Three people die, another 50 people are hospitalized because of exposure to the gas.
June 30 – Spider-Man 2 is released in theaters.

July

July 4 – A symbolic cornerstone is laid for the re-construction of One World Trade Center in New York City.^[7]
July 25 – Lance Armstrong wins a record 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title.
July 26–29 – The Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, nominates John Kerry for U.S. president and John Edwards for vice president. Future President Barack Obama delivers the keynote address.
July 31 – "The Last Dispatch" concert is played as a reunion concert with the band Dispatch on the Hatch Shell in Boston; 110,000 people attend, making it the single largest gathering in independent music industry history.

August

August 3
- The Statue of Liberty reopens after security improvements.
- NASA's MESSENGER is launched (it was captured into Mercury's orbit on March 18, 2011).
August 12 – New Jersey Governor James McGreevey announces that he is "a gay American" and will resign effective November 15, 2004.
August 13 – Hurricane Charley kills 27 people in Florida, after killing four in Cuba and one in Jamaica. Charley makes landfall near Cayo Costa, Florida as a Category 4 hurricane. Charley is the most intense hurricane to strike the United States since Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
August 13–29 – The United States compete at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and win 36 gold, 39 silver, and 27 bronze medals.
August 19 – Google becomes a publicly traded company via initial public offering.
August 29 – Around 200,000 protesters demonstrate in New York City against President George W. Bush and his government, ahead of the Republican National Convention.
August 30–September 2 – U.S. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are re-nominated at the Republican National Convention in New York City.
August – Shadowville Productions business is founded in Brooklyn, New York.^[8]

September

September 3 – Hurricane Frances makes landfall in Florida. After killing two people in the Bahamas, Hurricane Frances kills 10 people in Florida, two in Georgia and one in South Carolina.
September 4 – Thomas & Friends comes to PBS KIDS as a stand-alone program with Michael Brandon taking over as the narrator.
September 8 – In the "Rathergate" affair, the first Internet posts appear pointing out that documents claimed by CBS News to be typewritten memos from the early 1970s appear instead to have been produced using modern word processing systems.
September 13 – The U.S. Federal Assault Weapons Ban expires.
September 16 – Hurricane Ivan strikes Gulf Shores, Alabama, as a Category 3 storm, killing 25 in Alabama and Florida, becoming the third-costliest hurricane in American history at the time.
September 23
- Tropical Storm Ivan, having come around and re-formed in the Gulf of Mexico, makes its final landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, to little effect. In total, the storm kills 92 people.
- Mount St. Helens becomes active again.
September 24 – Major League Baseball announces that the Montreal Expos will move to Washington, D.C., in 2005.
September 25 – Hurricane Jeanne makes landfall near Port Saint Lucie, Florida, near the location Hurricane Frances hit two weeks earlier. Jeanne kills over 3,030, mostly in Haiti.
September 28 – A redesigned $50 bill is released, containing many of the same security features as its recently released $20 counterpart.
September 29 – In Mojave, California, the first Ansari X-Prize flight takes place of SpaceShipOne, which is competing with a number of spacecraft (including Canada's Da Vinci Project, claimed to be its closest rival) and goes on to win the prize on October 4.
September 30 – First debate of the 2004 United States presidential election.

October

October 5 – Vice presidential debate between candidates Dick Cheney and John Edwards.
October 8 – Second presidential debate.
October 11 – PBS Kids debuts a programming block targeted at children aged 6–10 entitled PBS Kids Go!, with new shows Maya & Miguel and an Arthur spinoff, Postcards from Buster, debuting on this day with Cyberchase and Arthur moving to PBS Kids Go! from PBS Kids.
October 13 – Third presidential debate.
October 16 – The New York Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox by a score of 19–8 in Game 3 of Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series. The game, which pushes the Yankees to a 3–0 series lead, sets a record for longest nine-inning major league game. The Red Sox, however, rally to win the series in seven games.
October 18 – Jimmy Wales and Angela Beesley Starling founds Fandom, Inc.
October 20
- Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in Missouri, killing 13 people and injuring two.
- The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS to advance to the World Series after being down 3–0 in the series.
October 25 – Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King receive the Congressional Gold Medal.
October 27 – The Boston Red Sox defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in four games to win the World Series for the first time since 1918, breaking the Curse of the Bambino.
October 29 – A videotape of Osama bin Laden speaking airs on Arabic television, in which he threatens terrorist attacks on the United States and taunts President George W. Bush over the September 11 terrorist attacks.

November

November 2
- The 2004 United States presidential election is held. The United States re-elects George W. Bush of the Republican Party to a second term as President of the United States, defeating John Kerry.
- 11 American states ban gay marriage.
November 5 – Pixar Animation Studios' sixth feature film, The Incredibles, is released in theaters.
November 7 – Second Battle of Fallujah: U.S. Forces launch a major assault on the Iraqi town of Fallujah, in an effort to rid the area of insurgents before the Iraqi elections in January.
November 14 – United States Secretary of State Colin Powell submits his resignation. He is replaced by Condoleezza Rice after her confirmation by the United States Congress.
November 16 – NASA's hypersonic Scramjet breaks a record by reaching a velocity of about 7,000 mph in an unmanned experimental flight. It obtains a speed of Mach 9.6, almost 10 times the speed of sound.
November 19
- Nickelodeon's The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, based on the cartoon of the same name is released, earning $9,559,752 on its opening day, and then $85,417,988 on the weekend alone only behind National Treasure.
- The NBA's Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons engage in a brawl that involves fans and players after the game is called with 45.9 seconds left in the game. The incident gets (then) Pacer Ron Artest suspended for the remainder of the season.
November 21
- The Nintendo DS is released in the United States.
November 30
- John Green and Charlie Haddad, who were involved in the Pacers-Pistons brawl on November 19, are banned from attending Pistons home games for life.
- Ken Jennings loses to Nancy Zerg, ending his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!.

December

December 2 – Brian Williams replaces Tom Brokaw as weeknight anchor for NBC Nightly News.
December 3 – The Colombian government extradites Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, one of the most powerful drug dealers in the world, arrested in 1995 and 2003, to the United States.
December 6 – Terrorists attack the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing several people.
December 8
- The biggest Chinese PC producer Lenovo announces its plan to purchase IBM's global PC business, making it the world's third largest PC producer after Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
- Former Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott is murdered on stage by gunman Nathan Gale in Columbus, Ohio. Gale kills three others before being shot dead by police.
December 16 – Twenty-three-year-old pregnant woman Bobbie Jo Stinnett is found murdered in her home in Skidmore, Missouri. Her unborn baby has been cut out of her womb and is missing.^[9]
December 21 – Iraqi insurgents attack a U.S. military base in the city of Mosul, killing 22 people.
December 23 – Second Battle of Fallujah: US-UK-Iraqi forces defeat the remaining Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah.
December 26
- Thirty-five Americans are among the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in across the region of South and Southeast Asia. There were fatalities in 14 countries, including India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
- U.S. President George W. Bush issues a statement expressing his condolences to those who lost loved ones during the tsunami.^[10]
December 29 – U.S. President George W. Bush speaks out publicly about the deaths caused by the 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Indian Ocean and answers questions at the Prairie Chapel Ranch.^[11]
December 31
- U.S. President George W. Bush announces his committing of $350 million to support relief efforts for the "disaster around the Indian Ocean".^[12]
- Simón Trinidad, high-profile FARC leader, is extradited to the United States.

Ongoing

War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Iraq War (2003–2011)

Undated

"55% of adult internet users have broadband at home or work."^[13]

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