What Happened in January 2004

Historical Events

  • Jan 1 70th Orange Bowl: #10 Miami (FL) beats #9 Florida State, 16-14
  • Jan 1 90th Rose Bowl: #1 Southern California beats #4 Michigan, 28-14

Musharraf Elected

Jan 1 In a vote of confidence, Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College and is "deemed to be elected" as President according to Pakistan Constitution (Article 41(8))

  • Jan 1 St. Louis head coach Joel Quenneville records his 300th NHL win with the Blues, a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Savvis Center, St. Louis; Quenneville is Blues coaching games and wins leader
  • Jan 2 33rd Fiesta Bowl: #7 Ohio State beats #8 Kansas State, 35-28
  • Jan 2 Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that it will return to Earth two years later

Casey Kasem Hands Show Over

Jan 3 After hosting the show for over 30 years, Casey Kasem gives up the hosting duties of "American Top 40" to Ryan Seacrest

  • Jan 3 Flight 604, a Boeing 737 owned by Flash Airlines, an Egyptian airliner, plunges into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people on board.
  • Jan 3 Panthers kicker John Kasay ties NFL-playoff record with 5 field goals to lead Carolina to a 29-10 win over Dallas Cowboys in the Wild Card round of playoffs in Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Jan 4 College Football, 6th BCS National Championship, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans: #2 LSU beats #1 Oklahoma, 21-14 at 70th Sugar Bowl
  • Jan 4 Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia
  • Jan 4 Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.

Kinks Member Shot in Mugging

Jan 5 "Kinks" singer-songwriter Ray Davies (59) shot in the leg while chasing a 25-year old mugger in New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Jan 6 Costas Simitis announces his resignation as president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement in Greece.

RMS Queen Mary 2

Jan 8 RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest passenger ship ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II

9th Critics' Choice Movie Awards

Jan 10 9th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King wins Best Film

Hopman Cup

Jan 10 Hopman Cup Tennis, Perth: Lindsay Davenport & James Blake beat Slovakian pair Daniela Hantuchová & Karol Kučera 6-2, 6-3 for a 2-1 win, and 3rd American title

  • Jan 11 "4th and 26", trailing Green Bay Packers by 3 in NFC Divisional Playoff Game, Philadelphia Eagles face 4th and 26 on their final drive, Donovan McNabb hits Freddie Mitchell for 29 yards. Eagles tie the game and go on to win in overtime
  • Jan 11 Washington Capitals' German goaltender Olaf Kölzig records his 32nd NHL career shutout in a 1-0 win against the visiting Edmonton Oilers
  • Jan 12 The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.
  • Jan 13 Harold Shipman, a British GP who is believed to have killed more than 200 of his patients in Manchester, is found hanged in his prison cell
  • Jan 13 Toronto's Tom Fitzgerald and Gary Roberts become first teammates in NHL history to play their 1,000th NHL game on the same night as the Maple Leafs beat the visiting Calgary Flames, 4-1
  • Jan 14 The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag" restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years
  • Jan 18 AFC Championship, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough: New England Patriots beat Indianapolis Colts, 24-14
  • Jan 18 NFC Championship, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia: Carolina Panthers beat Philadelphia Eagles, 14-3
  • Jan 21 Canada: The residence of reporter Juliet O'Neill is searched by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigating leaks concerning the deportation of Maher Arar
  • Jan 21 Minnesota Wild set an NHL record for 2 fastest goals, when Jim Dowd and Richard Park score just 3 seconds apart in the final 15 seconds of a 4-2 win over visiting Chicago Blackhawks
  • Jan 21 NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies with Flash Memory management and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
  • Jan 25 20th Sundance Film Festival: "Primer", directed by Shane Carruth, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
  • Jan 26 A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion.
  • Jan 26 Mydoom, the most destructive computer worm (so far), first sighted on computers in North America. Goes on to cause $38 billion in damages.

New Constitution

Jan 26 President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan

"Yeah!"

Jan 27 "Yeah!" single released by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris (Grammy Award Best Rap/Sung Collaboration 2005, Billboard Song of the Year 2004)

Henin wins All-Belgian Final

Jan 31 Australian Open Women's Tennis: In an all-Belgian final, Justine Henin beats Kim Clijsters 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to win her only Australian title


2004 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jan 4 Victor Wembanyama, French basketball player (San Antonio Spurs), born in Le Chesnay, France
  • Jan 15 Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter (America's Got Talent, 2016 - "I Don't Know My Name"), born in Lenexa, Kansas
  • Jan 21 Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway
Born in 2004

Famous Weddings

  • Jan 1 American Singer Lou Rawls (71) weds flight attendant Nina Malek Inman (33) at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee

Britney Spears

Jan 3 American pop singer Britney Spears (22) weds childhood pal and future stalker Jason Allen Alexander (22) at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada; annulled 55 HOURS later

Janusz Kamiński

Jan 12 Two-time Oscar-winning Polish cinematographer Janusz Kamiński (44) weds second wife Canadian producer Rebecca Rankin (34) in Los Angeles, California; divorce in 2010

  • Jan 24 "Married ... With Children" actor David Faustino (33) weds actress Andrea Elmer (31) at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada

Selma Blair

Jan 24 Actress Selma Blair (31) weds producer Ahmet Zappa (29) at Carrie Fisher's mansion in Beverly Hills, California; divorce in 2006


Famous Divorces

Britney Spears

Jan 4 Britney Spears has her surprise marriage annulled less than 55 hours after tying the knot with childhood friend Jason Alexander at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas

Famous Deaths

  • Jan 1 Harold Henning, South African golfer (2 PGA Tour titles; 3 senior PGA titles; World Cup 1965), dies at 69
  • Jan 1 Keith Adrian [Johnson], British-Dutch stage and screen actor, director, and playwright, dies at 59
  • Jan 2 Doralyn "Lynn" Cartwright, American character actress (A League of Their Own), dies at 76
  • Jan 2 Jess Collins, American artist, dies at 80
  • Jan 3 Des Corcoran, Australian politician (Premier of South Australia. 1979; Member of Parliament, 1962-82), dies at 75
  • Jan 3 Leon Wagner, American baseball outfielder (MLB All-Star 1962, 63; LA Angels), dies at 69
  • Jan 4 Brian Gibson (director), English film director (b. 1944)
  • Jan 4 Jake Hess, American singer (b. 1927)
  • Jan 4 Jeff Nuttall, English writer (b. 1933)
  • Jan 4 Joan Aiken, English writer of children's books (The Whispering Mountain), dies at 79
  • Jan 4 John Toland, American political writer (Rising Sun, Pulitzer 1971), dies at 91
  • Jan 5 Charles Dumas, American high jumper (Olympic gold 1956; first to clear 7 foot mark), dies from cancer at 66
  • Jan 5 John Guerin, American session and touring jazz-rock drummer and percussionist (Frank Zappa; L.A. Express; Joni Mitchell: Linda Ronstadt), dies of heart failure at 64
  • Jan 5 Tug McGraw, American baseball player and father of Tim McGraw, dies at 59
  • Jan 6 Francesco Scavullo, American celebrity photographer, dies at 82
  • Jan 6 Pierre Charles, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica, dies at 49
  • Jan 7 Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (Cries & Whispers, Damned), dies at 77
  • Jan 7 Oswald Garrison Villard Jr., American Engineer (electronics) who invented the over-the-horizon radar that could detect objects thousands of miles away and peer around the Earth's curvature, dies of pneumonia at 87
  • Jan 8 John A. Gambling, American radio talk-show host (b. 1930)
  • Jan 9 Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher (b. 1909)
  • Jan 9 Yinka Dare, Nigerian NBA center (NJ Nets), dies at 31
  • Jan 10 Alexandra Ripley, American author (b. 1934)
  • Jan 10 Sidney Miller, American actor (Here Comes Donald) and director (The Mickey Mouse Club), dies at 87

Spalding Gray (1941-2004)

Jan 10 American actor (Beaches, Clara's Heart, Heavy Petting), commits suicide at 62

  • Jan 11 Mervyn Pike [Baroness Pike], British politician (C), dies at 85
  • Jan 12 Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician (fluid dynamics), dies at 81
  • Jan 12 Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Just When I Needed You Most"), dies of leukemia at 48
  • Jan 13 Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountain climber and businessman, dies at 66
  • Jan 13 Harold Shipman, British general practitioner and prolific serial killer, commits suicide at 57
  • Jan 14 Ron O'Neal, American actor (Super Fly), dies of cancer at 66
  • Jan 14 Uta Hagen, German-American actress and theatre practitioner (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), dies at 84
  • Jan 14 Valfar, Norwegian heavy metal musician (Windir), dies in a snowstorm at 25
  • Jan 15 Gus Suhr, American baseball first baseman (1,435 MLB games Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies; only player to be sued by a fan injured after struck by a foul ball), dies at 98
  • Jan 16 John Siomos, American rock drummer, dies at 56
  • Jan 16 Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
  • Jan 17 Czeslaw Niemen, Polish musician (b. 1939)
  • Jan 17 Harry Brecheen, American baseball player (b. 1914)
  • Jan 17 Noble Willingham, American actor (Walker, Texas Ranger; The Corndog Man), dies at 72
  • Jan 17 Ray Stark, American stage and film producer, dies at 88
  • Jan 17 Zenobia Powell Perry, American composer (Tawawa House), educator, and civil rights activist, dies at 94
  • Jan 19 David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach, dies at 48
  • Jan 19 Harry E. Claiborne, American judge (suicide) (b. 1917)
  • Jan 20 Guinn Smith, American athlete (1948 Olympic gold medalist), dies of emphysema at 83
  • Jan 21 Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer and playwright (The Tied Up Balloon), dies at 74
  • Jan 22 Ann Miller [Johnnie Lucille Collier], American actress, dancer, and singer (On the Town), dies at 80
  • Jan 22 Billy May, American orchestra leader and composer (The Green Hornet, Mod Squad, Batman), dies at 87
  • Jan 22 Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist, dies at 85
  • Jan 23 Bob Keeshan, American actor (Captain Kangaroo; Howdy Doody, 1948-52 - "Clarabell"), and television producer, dies at 76
  • Jan 23 Helmut Newton, German fashion photographer, dies at 83
  • Jan 24 Leônidas da Silva, Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
  • Jan 25 Francina "Fanny" Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (Olympic gold 100m, 200m, 80m hurdles, 4x100m relay 1948), dies at 85
  • Jan 25 Miklós Fehér, Hungarian soccer striker (25 caps; Győri ETO, Porto, Benfica), dies of cardiac arrest at 24
  • Jan 26 Fred Haas, American golfer (5 PGA Tour titles; Ryder Cup 1953), dies at 88
  • Jan 27 Hard Boiled Haggerty [Don Stansauk], American pro wrestler (AWA, NWA, WWA World Tag Team C'ship; IWA World Heavyweight C'ship) and actor (The Incredible Hulk), dies at 78

Jack Paar (1918-2004)

Jan 27 American comedian and TV host of the Jack Paar Show and The Tonight Show (1957-62), dies at 85

  • Jan 27 Salvador Laurel, Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
  • Jan 28 Don Cholito, Puerto Rican radio host (b. 1923)
  • Jan 28 Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, American NFL halfback and end (LA Rams), dies at 80
  • Jan 28 Joe Viterelli, American actor (b. 1937)
  • Jan 28 Lloyd M. Bucher, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1927)
  • Jan 28 Melvyn "Mel" Pritchard, British progressive rock drummer (Barclay James Harvest), dies of a heart attack at 56
  • Jan 28 Trevor James Hold, British composer, writer, and musicologist (John Clare Songbook), dies at 64 [1]
  • Jan 29 Janet Frame, New Zealand writer (An Angel at My Table, Care, Owls Do Cry), dies at 79
  • Jan 29 M. M. Kaye, British writer (The Far Pavilions), dies at 95
  • Jan 29 Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrian actor (Helden, Ich suche dich), dies of kidney disease at 88
  • Jan 29 Serafim Tulikov, Russian composer (March of the Soviet Youth), dies at 89
  • Jan 31 Eleanor Holm, American 100m backstroke swimmer (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 90