Oh, I just realised that 2k was a milestone. Anyways, here is what happened in 2004. (I've noticed that the death toll in accidents/attacks has increased dramatically in the last 40 or so years. Sigh.)
2004 was the International Year of Rice. I know, wtf UN?
Spirit and
Opportunity both land on Mars in January.
Opportunity later discovers that it's landing area was once drenched in water.
Facebook and Ubuntu were both launched. One being slightly more popular than the other...
Terrorists bomb 4 trains in Madrid, killing 191 people. In continuing struggles between the Russian Federation and Chechen rebels, over 1,100 people are taken hostage in a school in Beslan. Two days later, Russian forces end the siege, with the deaths of 334 people. I remember this pretty vividly. With images of explosives hanging from the rooves of the gym, so called "black widows" with suicide vests and dead man switches. Then the Russians moving in with tanks, and the local people using the AKs they've had in their houses for years just trying to get their kids back.
In response to the capture and killing of four Blackwater USA contractors on 31st March, coalition forces launch an offensive to take Fallujah in Iraq.
Dimebag Darrell, former guitarist of Pantera is shot and killed on stage.
The Millau bridge and Taipei 101, the worlds tallest bridge and skyscraper respectively (at the time) are opened. Both are pretty visually stunning:
More
2004 was also the year of the Boxing Day tsunami, caused by an earthquake measuring an enourmous 9.3 on the Richter scale, devastating many coastal areas surrounding the Indian Ocean. The official confirmed death toll stands at around 184,000 people, with around 45,000 still missing.
No notable births as we get closer to the present, but the notable deaths include the 40th POTUS Ronald Reagan, the highly influential Radio DJ John Peel, the legendary Marlon Brando, the fantastic Johnny Ramone, the freedom fighter/terrorist (depending on your views) Yasser Arafat, Superman himself, Christopher Reeve, "The Genius" that was Ray Charles, fashion designer Estee Lauder, and one close to my heart, the former Arizona Cardinals safety, who turned down a $3.6m contract to enlist in the U.S Army in 2001 after 9/11. He was killed by friendly fire in April. If you drive past the Hoover Dam, you will drive over a bridge named in his honour.
