What Happened in March 2004

Historical Events

  • Mar 1 Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum becomes President of Iraq.

Murder of Interest

Mar 1 Terry Nichols is convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh

Sports History

Mar 2 Indianapolis Colts sign quarterback Peyton Manning to a 7-year, $98 million deal with a $34.5 million signing bonus; largest package to date in the NFL

  • Mar 2 Pittsburgh Penguins end their NHL record 14-game home losing streak when they tie the visiting New York Islanders, 3-3
  • Mar 2 Rosetta space probe is launched by the European Space Agency to study comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko with Philae lander module aboard
  • Mar 2 Saint Joseph's Hawks finish their college basketball season with an 82-50 win over St. Bonaventure; Hawks undefeated with a perfect 27-0 record in A-10 East Conference
  • Mar 2 Voters in the U.S. state of Georgia vote on a referendum concerning its Confederacy-derived flag.
  • Mar 2 War in Iraq: Al Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500

Agreement of Interest

Mar 3 Belgian brewer Interbrew and Brazilian rival AmBev agreed to merge in a $11.2 billion deal forming InBev, the world's largest brewer

  • Mar 6 35th NAACP Image Awards: "The Fighting Temptations" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
  • Mar 7 New Democracy wins the national elections in Greece.
  • Mar 8 A new constitution is signed by Iraq's Governing Council after the invasion and occupation by American-led forces
  • Mar 11 Terrorists explode simultaneous bombs on Madrid's rail network ripping through a commuter train and rocking three stations, killing 190
  • Mar 12 Music work "I La Galigo" by Richard Wilson debuts in Singapore, based on Bugis creation myth from South Sulawesi (world's most voluminous literary work)
  • Mar 12 Roh Moo-hyun, President of South Korea, is impeached by its national assembly for the first time in the nation's history.
  • Mar 13 25th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Connecticut beats Pittsburgh, 61-58

Music History

Mar 13 Luciano Pavarotti performs in his last opera at New York Metropolitan Opera's "Tosca"

  • Mar 14 45th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Florida, 89-73
  • Mar 14 51st ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Maryland beats #5 Duke, 95-87

WrestleMania

Mar 14 WrestleMania XX, Madison Square Garden, NYC: Chris Benoit wins Triple Threat title match with Triple H and Shawn Michaels

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Mar 15 19th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Jackson Browne; The Dells; George Harrison; Prince; Bob Seger; Traffic; ZZ Top; and Jann Wenner

  • Mar 15 Announcement of the discovery of 90377 Sedna, the farthest natural object in the Solar system so far observed
  • Mar 17 Unrest in Kosovo results in more than 22 killed, 200 wounded, and the destruction of 35 Serb Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.
  • Mar 19 A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in the 1950s is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the crew are left in place, pending further investigations.
  • Mar 19 A truck and a bus crash head-on in Äänekoski, Finland. 24 people are killed and 13 injured.
  • Mar 19 Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20.

Event of Interest

Mar 20 Stephen Harper wins the leadership of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada, becoming the party's first leader.

  • Mar 21 In Malaysia, the 11th Federal and State elections are held, returning the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional to power with an increased majority
  • Mar 22 Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of the Palestinian Sunni Islamist militant group Hamas, and bodyguards killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli Air Force AH-64 Apache fired Hellfire missiles
  • Mar 23 Andhra Pradesh Federation of Trade Unions holds its first conference in Hyderabad, India

Confessions

Mar 23 Usher releases his 4th studio album "Confessions" (2004 Billboard Album of the Year, Grammy Award Best Contemporary R&B Album 2005)

  • Mar 27 France beats England, 24-21 at Stade de France, Saint Denis to complete a Grand Slam and win the Six Nations Rugby Championship; England earns the Triple Crown
  • Mar 27 HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
  • Mar 28 Kraft Nabisco Championship Women's Golf, Mission Hills CC: Grace Park wins her only major title by 1 stroke, sinking a 6-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole; fellow South Korean Aree Song is runner-up
  • Mar 28 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: 23-year old Australian Adam Scott holds on for his 2nd PGA Tour title, 1 stroke ahead of Irishman Pádraig Harrington
  • Mar 29 Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members
  • Mar 29 The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants
  • Mar 31 Australian swimmer Lisbeth Lenton breaks Inge de Bruijn's 4-year old 100m freestyle women's world record in 53.66s at the Australian Olympic trials in Sydney
  • Mar 31 In Fallujah, Iraq, 4 American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed
  • Mar 31 With a 12-1 defeat of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tokyo, NY Yankees starter Kevin Brown becomes only the 2nd pitcher in MLB history to have beaten all 30 teams
2004 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Mar 12 DannyLux, Mexican-American singer-songwriter (Jugaste Y Sufri), born in Palm Springs, California
  • Mar 13 Coco Gauff, American tennis player (US Open 2023), born in Delray Beach, Florida
  • Mar 20 Yunchan Lim, South Korean pianist (youngest winner, at 18, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition), born in Siheung, South Korea
  • Mar 21 Count Claus-Casimir of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg
  • Mar 27 Amira Willighagen, Dutch classical cross-over soprano singer (Holland's Got Talent, 2013), born in Nijmegen, Netherlands
Born in 2004

Famous Weddings

  • Mar 3 University of Miami star defensive tackle & probable NFL draft pick Vince Wilfork (22) weds Bianca Farinas at Little White Chapel in Las Vegas

Famous Divorces

Jennifer Garner & Scott Foley

Mar 30 "Alias" actress Jennifer Garner (30) divorces actor Scott Foley (30) due to irreconcilable differences after nearly 4 years of marriage

Famous Deaths

  • Mar 2 Marge Schott, American MLB owner (Cincinnati Reds), dies of pneumonia at 75
  • Mar 2 Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (All the King's Men, The Exorcist, Giant), dies at 87
  • Mar 3 Cecily Adams, American actress and casting director (b. 1958)
  • Mar 4 Claude Nougaro, French singer (b. 1929)
  • Mar 4 George Pake, American physicist (b. 1924)
  • Mar 4 John McGeoch, Scottish rock guitarist (Magazine: Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Spellbound"; Visage; Public Image Ltd.), dies at 48
  • Mar 4 Stephen Sprouse, American fashion designer (b. 1953)
  • Mar 5 Walter "Walt" Gorney, American character actor (Friday the 13th, Trading Places), dies from natural causes at 91
  • Mar 6 Frances Dee, American actress (b. 1909)
  • Mar 6 Hercules [Raymond Fernandez], American professional wrestler, dies at 47
  • Mar 7 Jack Holden, English athlete (International Cross Country C'ship gold, individual 1933, 34, 35, 39; Empire Games marathon gold 1950), dies at 96
  • Mar 7 Paul Winfield, American actor (Star Trek II, Huckleberry Finn, Mars Attack), dies at 64
  • Mar 8 Abu Abbas [Muhammad Zaidan], Palestinian founder of the Palestine Liberation Front, dies in American custody of allegedly natural causes at 55
  • Mar 8 Frank Mooney, New Zealand cricket wicketkeeper (13 Tests, 30 dismissals; Wellington), dies at 82
  • Mar 8 Robert Pastorelli, American actor (b. 1954)
  • Mar 9 Albert Mol, Dutch actor (Kant aan m'n broek!), dies at 87
  • Mar 9 Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, American pianist, arranger, jazz and classical composer (For Bird, With Love), dies at 72
  • Mar 9 Dr. Gerald Deskin, Ph.D., clinical child psychologist (b. 1929)
  • Mar 9 John Mayer, Indian composer (Indo-Jazz Fusion), dies in a car accident at 73 [1]
  • Mar 9 Rust Epique, former Crazy Town guitarist (b. 1968)
  • Mar 10 Dave Blood [Schulthise], American rock bassist (The Dead Milkmen -"Punk Rock Girl"), dies from a drug overdose at 47
  • Mar 12 Sylvi Saimo, Finnish kayaker (Olympic gold 1952, 1st female summer Olympic champion), dies at 89
  • Mar 13 Franz König, Austrian Catholic Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1905)
  • Mar 13 Vilayat Khan, Indian classical sitar player and composer, dies at 75
  • Mar 14 Genevieve [Ginette Auger], French actress and singer (The Jack Paar Show), dies of a stroke at 83
  • Mar 15 John Pople, English chemist (Nobel Prize 1998), dies at 78
  • Mar 15 William "Bill" Pickering, New Zealand-born space scientist at NASA, dies at 93
  • Mar 16 Vilém Tauský, Czech conductor (BBC Concert Orchestra, 1956-66), opera director and educator (Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 1966-92), and composer, dies at 93
  • Mar 17 J. J. Jackson, American television personality (b. 1941)
  • Mar 17 Michael Mellinger, German actor (Goldfinger, The Bourne Identity), dies at 74
  • Mar 18 (Huberdina) "Erna" Spoorenberg, Dutch soprano (Vienna State Opera, De Nederlandse Opera), and voice teacher, dies at 78
  • Mar 18 Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman (McCain Foods Limited), dies of kidney failure at 76
  • Mar 19 Mitchell Sharp, Canadian politician (b. 1911)

Queen Juliana (1909-2004)

Mar 20 Queen of the Netherlands (1948-80), dies at 94

  • Mar 20 Pierre Sévigny, Canadian military officer and politician, dies at 86
  • Mar 21 Ludmilla Tchérina, French prima ballerina, artist, actress, choreographer and author (Sins of Rome), dies at 79
  • Mar 22 Ahmed Yassin, Palestinian co-founder of Hamas (b. ca. 1937)
  • Mar 23 Rupert Hamer, Australian politician (b. 1916)
  • Mar 24 Max Dendermonde [Hendrik Hazelhoff], Dutch literary, dies at 84
  • Mar 26 Jan Berry, American musician (Jan and Dean), dies after a stroke at 62
  • Mar 26 Jan Sterling [Jane Adriance], American actress (Ace in the Hole, The High and the Mighty), dies of diabetes and a stroke at 82
  • Mar 27 Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer, dies from injuires sustained in a single vehicle accident at 19
  • Mar 28 Art James, American game show host (b. 1929)

Peter Ustinov (1921-2004)

Mar 28 British actor, author, journalist, comedian and broadcaster (Death on the Nile: Logan's Run: Billy Budd), dies of heart failure at 82

  • Mar 30 (Rosemary) "Timi" Yuro, American singer ("Hurt"), dies at 63
  • Mar 30 Alistair Cooke, British-American TV host (Masterpiece Theatre), dies at 95
  • Mar 30 Frances Schreuder, American socialite convicted of murder, dies at 65
  • Mar 30 Hubert Gregg, British broadcaster (b. 1914)

Michael King (1945-2004)

Mar 30 New Zealand historian and author (Penguin History of New Zealand), dies in a car crash at 58