2004 CE

A tsunami, caused by a massive 9.1-9.3 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, kills over 227,000 people, making it one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history.; Facebook, originally called TheFacebook, is launched by Mark Zuckerberg.; NASA lands the Opportunity and Spirit rovers on Mars.; The 2004 Summer Olympics are held in Athens.; Multiple trains were bombed by Al-Qaeda in Madrid, killing 193 people.; The European Union adds 10 new member-states.; The Nintendo DS, the second best-selling handheld game console, is released.; 334 people are killed in the Beslan school siege, carried out by Chechen insurgents.; The 2004 transit of Venus, the first such occurrence since 1882.

In the 2000s, the 21st century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 21 – Bartholomew I of Constantinople visits Cuba.source
  • February 24 – The Rotterdam Convention comes into force.source
  • 12 March – United Nations Security Council resolution 1531 was adopted unanimously and extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) until 15 September 2004.Eritreasource
  • March 14 – Vladimir Putin is reelected president of Russia with 71.2 percent of the vote.source
  • March 29 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia are admitted to NATO, the largest expansion of the organization.source
  • 29 March – Bulgaria is admitted to NATO.Bulgariasource
  • May 1 – The European Union expands by 10 new member states: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.source
  • May 7 – Vladimir Putin is sworn in for a second term as Russia's president.source
  • May 12: President George W. Bush welcomes President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola to the Oval Office.Angolasource
  • May 13 – The Ralito II Agreement is signed between Colombia and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.source
  • May 22 – Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, is sworn in as India's first non-Hindu prime minister.source
  • July 4 – The International Court of Justice issues an advisory ruling that the construction of the West Bank barrier violates the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.source
  • September 7 – The Scottish Parliament Building opens.source
  • 12 September - 2004 Hong Kong legislative electionHong Kongsource
  • 19 September: The Far Right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) won 12 seats in the 2004 Saxony state election. This is the first time since the 1960s that the party had seats in a state parliament.Germanysource
  • October 9 – Afghanistan holds its first presidential election. Hamid Karzai wins with 55.4 percent of the vote.source
  • October 29 – European heads of state sign in Rome the Treaty and Final Act, establishing the first European Constitution.source
  • November 2 – George W. Bush is reelected president of the United States, defeating his challenger John Kerry.source
  • November 5 – Russia ratifies the Kyoto Protocol.source
  • November 28 – Cambodia–Laos–Vietnam Development Triangle Area was ratified.Vietnamsource
  • December 30 – A peace agreement is reached between Senegal and the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance.source
  • December 30 - President Wade signs a peace accord with rebels in the Casamance region after 22 years of war.Senegalsource
  • 15 & 16 November – General elections were held in the country to elect the President and National Assembly.Namibiasource
  • In January 2004 a conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, at which the Transitional Federal Government was agreed to. A document was signed by the major factions, entitled, Declaration on the Harmonization of Various Issues Proposed by the Somali Delegates at the Somali Consultative Meetings from 9–29 January 2004. From this, the Transitional Federal Institutions were agreed to, including elections. However, none of the parties yet had disarmed.Somaliasource

Conflict & Security

  • January 4 – An insurgency breaks out in southern Thailand.source
  • February 1 – Two suicide bombings are carried out by al-Qaeda in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.source
  • February 29 – Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide is overthrown in a coup d'état.source
  • February 29 - A coup d'état takes place in Port-au-Prince, forcing President Aristide to resign and flee to the Central African Republic. 10 people have been killed in the process.Haitisource
  • March 2 – A series of bombings occur in Karbala, Iraq, killing over 140 Shia Muslims commemorating the Day of Ashura.source
  • March 11 – Al-Qaeda bombings on Cercanías trains in Madrid, Spain, kill at least 192 people.source
  • March 17 – Ethnic violence breaks out in Kosovo between Albanians and Serbs.source
  • March 28 – Bombings attributed to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan kill 15 in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. This is the first instance of suicide bombings in the country or the surrounding region of central Asia.source
  • March 30 – The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) abducts over 1,000 people from the Bajura District to fight in the Nepalese Civil War.source
  • April 4 – The Siege of Sadr City begins when the Mahdi Army ambushes American soldiers in Sadr City, Iraq.source
  • April 4 – The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire begins to maintain a ceasefire in the First Ivorian Civil War.source
  • April 8 – The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups to create a ceasefire in the War in Darfur.source
  • April 10–11 – Mass protests in Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai and Đắk Nông provinces.Vietnamsource
  • April 18 – Newly elected prime minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, announces the withdrawal of all 1,300 Spanish troops from Iraq.source
  • June 1 – The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) peacekeeping mission begins in Haiti.source
  • June 23 – The International Criminal Court opens an investigation into crimes against humanity during the Second Congo War.source
  • June 28 – The US-led coalition occupying Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), transfers sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government.source
  • July 5–September 20 – Indonesian presidential election, 2004.Indonesiasource
  • July 24 – The Mexican government files charges against former President of Mexico Luis Echeverría for his role in the 1971 Corpus Christi massacre.source
  • July 29 – The International Criminal Court opens an investigation into the actions of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.source
  • August 11 – Fighting breaks out in the Georgian–Ossetian conflict.source
  • September 1 – Chechen rebels take 1,128 hostages, mostly children, at a school in Beslan, Russia. Russian security forces eventually storm the building, resulting in more than 330 people being killed.source
  • September 8 - Qatar Airways resumes flights to Kathmandu after shutting down operations after an attack on its office in the capital the previous week.Nepalsource
  • September 9: United States Secretary of State Colin Powell declares that the actions of the Janjaweed Arab militia in Darfur constitute genocide. Powell holds the government of Sudan responsible. Up to 50,000 ethnic Africans have been killed and 2.2 million displaced into refugee camps in neighboring Chad by ethnic Arab militias.Chadsource
  • September 30 – Israel launches a military offensive in the northern Gaza Strip.source
  • October 12 – Germany's defense minister, Peter Struck, indicated that Germany might deploy troops in Iraq if conditions there change. This gesture appears to provide backing for John Kerry, the US Democratic presidential challenger.Iraqsource
  • Tak Bai incident occurred on October 25 and resulted in 85 deaths.Thailandsource
  • November 7 – The Second Battle of Fallujah begins in Fallujah, Iraq.source
  • November 15 – A ceasefire is reached between Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army.source
  • November 20: The Angola national football team defeats Zambia to win the 2004 COSAFA Cup tournament.Angolasource
  • November 22 – The Orange Revolution begins, following a disputed presidential election in Ukraine where Viktor Yanukovych won against Viktor Yushchenko amid accusations of electoral fraud. A revote results in Yushchenko being declared the winner.source
  • December 2 – EUFOR takes over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the United Nations.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • Pakistan prime minister Zafarullah Jamali met with interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to discuss economic links and terrorism.Afghanistansource
  • January: the 2004 Dakar Rally took place, finishing in DakarSenegalsource
  • 16 August: Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez invites Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to Caracas as a display of regional integration.Argentinasource
  • October 17: Robert Cheboror wins the Amsterdam MarathonNetherlandssource
  • 14 November – Researchers claim to have found a site that may be a candidate for the lost city of Atlantis on the bottom of the east Mediterranean, 80 kilometers southeast of Cyprus. The Cypriot government disputes the claim, saying more evidence is needed.Cyprussource
  • Bangladesh toured the West Indies from May to June 2004 to play two Test matches and three Limited Overs Internationals. The first test match was drawn, while West Indies won the second test.Bangladeshsource
  • George Price Centre for Peace and Development opened to public January 16Belizesource
  • Hans-Reinhart-Ring 2005: Dominique CattonSwitzerlandsource

Religion & Belief

  • January 24 – Abdul Rahman Munif, authorIraqsource
  • 1 April – The merging between West District and Central District to form the West Central District in Tainan City.Taiwansource
  • April 30 – Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople breaks Eucharistic communion with Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens.source
  • 15 October – Romain Nati is appointed to the Council of State, replacing Nicolas Schmit, who resigned in July.Luxembourgsource
  • November 11 - Yasser Arafat, 75, first President of the Palestinian National Authority, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and founder and leader of Fatah.Palestinesource
  • November 17 – Hella Haasse receives the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren.Netherlandssource
  • 1 December: Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Bergoglio calls an art exhibition by León Ferrari "a shame" and "blasphemy". Many of Ferrari's works employ religious icons and characters.Argentinasource
  • Attempts at reconciliation in Somalia (1991–2004)Somaliasource
  • Honorary: César Keiser and Margrit LäubliSwitzerlandsource

Economy & Finance

  • In Teheran, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed an agreement to give Indian goods heading for central Asia and Afghanistan similar preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar.Afghanistansource
  • April 20 – The National Alliance announced the merger of the alliance with the unified Pakistan Muslim League.Pakistansource
  • 1 May – Singapore Pools is transferred to the Singapore Totalisator Board; present-day Tote Board (a statutory board of the Ministry of Finance), taking over this role from Temasek Holdings.Singaporesource
  • May 23: The Comando Jaramillista Morelense 23 de Mayo bomb 3 banks in Cuernavaca, Morelos,Mexicosource
  • 1 June: Minister of Economy Roberto Lavagna offers Argentine bond holders to exchange the debt with a steep discount (around 60% nominal).Argentinasource
  • June 1 The National Emergency Management Agency is formed.South Koreasource
  • September 6 – Fijian golfer Vijay Singh unseats Tiger Woods as the top PGA Tour player.source
  • 20 December - Northern Bank robbery: A gang of thieves steal £26.5 million worth of currency from Northern Bank's Donegall Square West headquarters in Belfast, one of the largest bank robberies in British history; no-one is ever found directly responsible for the crime.Northern Irelandsource
  • Economy: Hansueli Loosli, member of management Coop.Switzerlandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • January 6 - Pakistan is cited as the source of nuclear weapon technology supplied to Libya, Iran and North Korea. The components intercepted at sea by Italy en route to Libya were fabricated in Malaysia. There is no evidence that the Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf knew about the transfer of technology of Libya.Libyasource
  • January 8 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, at the time the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by its namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.source
  • April 1 – Google launches Gmail.source
  • April 28 – The Gherkin opens in London.source
  • April - Tham Pha cave is discovered by a farmer.Laossource
  • May 23 – The Seattle Central Library opens in Seattle, Washington.source
  • May 24 – North Korea bans mobile phones (see Communications in North Korea).North Koreasource
  • July 30 – The Frauenkirche church finishes reconstruction after its destruction in 1945.source
  • August 12 – The Rio–Antirrio Bridge opens in Greece.source
  • August 19 – Google makes its initial public offering.source
  • August 19 – VTC Digital Television was launched.Vietnamsource
  • September 8 - Spice Cell Nepal granted license to operate the first private sector mobile phone service in Nepal.Nepalsource
  • November 9 – Mozilla releases the Firefox browser.source
  • December 14 – The world's tallest bridge, the Millau Viaduct over the Tarn in the Massif Central mountains, France, is inaugurated.source
  • 21 December - Ma On Shan rail line is opened.Hong Kongsource
  • 3rd - West African Gas Pipeline Project commissioned by President John Kufour.Ghanasource
  • Krem Television formed NovemberBelizesource

Science & Discovery

  • January 4 – NASA's Spirit rover lands on the surface of Mars.source
  • January 25 – NASA's Opportunity rover lands on the surface of Mars.source
  • About 60 mi northeast of Kunduz, several people were detained by U.S. and Afghan troops during a raid of a drug facility, which contained about two tons of drugs and equipment. Once the people were removed a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt II was called in to destroy the laboratory.Afghanistansource
  • March 2 – The European Space Agency launches the Rosetta space probe.source
  • March 7 - The White House reports that all of Libya's remaining nuclear weapons-related equipment has been sent to the United States.Libyasource
  • March 9 – NASA releases the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field image of early galaxies.source
  • April 13 – A newborn western gorilla is observed for the first time in 50 years in the Léfini Faunal Reserve.source
  • April 19 – Russia launches the Soyuz TMA-4 mission.source
  • May 7 – The discovery of the post-perovskite form of magnesium silicate is reported.source
  • May 17 – The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants enters into force.source
  • June 8 – A transit of Venus occurs.source
  • June 21 – In Mojave, California, United States, SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.source
  • June 29 – The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture enters into force.source
  • July 1 – The Cassini–Huygens orbiter reaches the orbit of Saturn.source
  • July 15 – The use of magnetic resonance imaging to study the spin of a single electron is reported.source
  • July 20 – Ehsan Haddadi wins gold with a 62.14m discus throw.Iransource
  • August 3 – NASA's MESSENGER space probe is launched, with its primary mission being the study of Mercury.source
  • August 5 – Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport begins operation in Guangzhou, China.source
  • September 8 – The Genesis space probe crash-lands in Utah after a three-year study of the Sun.source
  • October 14 – Russia launches the Soyuz TMA-5 mission.source
  • October 28 – The prehistoric human species Homo floresiensis is described.source
  • November 13 – The European Space Agency probe SMART-1 arrives at the Moon, becoming the first European satellite to fly to the Moon and orbit it.source
  • November 15 – The SMART-1 satellite reaches the orbit of the Moon.source
  • November 20 – NASA launches the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer telescope.source
  • December – Global Credit Data is formed.Netherlandssource
  • The Angola International Airport site is selected.Angolasource
  • Germano Almeida's book O mar na Lajinha publishedCape Verdesource
  • 2004 South Korea national football team seasonSouth Koreasource
  • Government: Hansruedi Fehrlin, corps commander of the Swiss Air Force (use of surveillance drones)Switzerlandsource

Health & Medicine

  • February 21 – The U.S. permits the Red Cross to visit Saddam Hussein for first time since his capture in December.Iraqsource
  • 18 March - President John Kufuor launches National Health Insurance Scheme.Ghanasource
  • April 14 – Poland bans the use of chlorofluorocarbons.source
  • Doctors Without Borders announced it was withdrawing its staff from Afghanistan because of security concerns.Afghanistansource
  • XV International AIDS Conference, 2004 was held from July 11 to July 16 in Bangkok.Thailandsource
  • September 30 – Painkiller Vioxx is pulled from the market due to a potential doubling of heart attack risk.source
  • November 21 – Nintendo releases the Nintendo DS handheld game console in North America.source
  • Bangladesh also made its Paralympic début at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens. The country was represented by a single athlete competing in one sport, and did not win a medal.Bangladeshsource
  • Kuwaiti Premier League 2003–04.Kuwaitsource
  • Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine 2004: Hans Clevers and Alec J. JeffreysSwitzerlandsource
  • H5N1 bird flu killed 20 people. 44 million birds were destroyed.Vietnamsource

Crime & Justice

  • January 14 - A 45-year-old Sudanese man travelling from Washington Dulles International Airport to airport Dubai is arrested en route at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of carrying five bullets in his coat pocket.United Arab Emiratessource
  • March 29 - Maoist leader Mohan Baidya is arrested in Siliguri, India.Nepalsource
  • March 31 – The International Court of Justice rules in the Avena case that the United States had violated its obligations to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations when prosecuting Mexican nationals.source
  • April 6 – A military tribunal tries 13 people accused of conspiring to overthrow President Compaore the previous year.Burkina Fasosource
  • April 17 – Israeli helicopters fire missiles at a convoy of vehicles in the Gaza Strip, killing Hamas leader Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.source
  • April 24 – Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitschko becomes the WBC world heavyweight champion after defeating his opponent Corrie Sanders.source
  • June 1 – Nguyễn Quang Thường, Deputy General Director of PetroVietnam, was arrested.Vietnamsource
  • July 1 – Saddam Hussein appears in court for his charges to be read.source
  • August 29 - The IOC officially stripped Adrián Annus of his Hammer Throw gold for the doping scandalHungarysource
  • August 31 – Former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević stands trial for crimes against humanity.source
  • September 22: Experts and officials from Interpol and 19 countries met Tuesday in Burkina Faso to elaborate a strategy to combat terrorism and crime in Africa. Countries participating included Chad.Chadsource
  • 17 to 28 September - Hong Kong at the 2004 Summer ParalympicsHong Kongsource
  • October 29 – Osama bin Laden releases a video taking credit for the September 11 attacks.source
  • Kuwaiti Premier League 2004–05.Kuwaitsource

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 13 - Uzbekistan Airways Flight 1154 crashes in the capital, Tashkent, killing all 37 people on board.Uzbekistansource
  • February 10 - At least 35 die when an Iranian airliner crashes on arrival at Sharjah airport.United Arab Emiratessource
  • February 25 - Libya's Foreign Minister, Abdulrahman Shalgam, issues a statement reaffirming its acceptance of culpability for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, after the Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem, in an interview for the BBC, claimed Libya had "bought peace" with the $2.7bn compensation payments, but had not accepted guilt.Libyasource
  • April 22 – Ryongchon disaster: Two trains carrying explosives and fuel collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing 161 people, injuring 1,300 and destroying thousands of homes.North Koreasource
  • April 26 – Deir al-Balah suicide attackPalestinesource
  • May 7 – Waldemar Milewicz, 48, Polish journalist, and Mounyra Beouamrane, killed in IraqIraqsource
  • May 9 – A stadium bombing in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia kills ten people, including regional governor Akhmad Kadyrov.source
  • May 24 – A fire at a Momart warehouse destroys numerous works of art.source
  • August 24 – Two Russian passenger jets are downed by suicide bombers during the Second Chechen War.source
  • In Afghanistan, a Dutch AH-64 Apache on regular patrol over Kabul crashed, slightly injuring one crewman.Afghanistansource
  • September 2 – A fire breaks out at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library.source
  • October 8 – Suicide bombers detonate two bombs at the Red Sea resort of Taba, Egypt, killing 34 people and injuring 171, mostly Israeli tourists.source
  • List of South Korean films of 2004South Koreasource

Climate & Environment

  • January 15 – The United Nations call direct elections in advance of July impractical, due to continuing disorder and other factors.Iraqsource
  • In Farah, night letters were scattered warning people not to register to vote "or they will be punished."Afghanistansource
  • June 12 – Tropical Storm Chanthu made landfall in Central Vietnam.Vietnamsource
  • August 6: FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission to Angola.Angolasource
  • August 7–13 – Typhoon Rananim causes widespread destruction as it strikes China.source
  • September 4 – In the AFL finals, Essendon defeated Melbourne by five points (15.14.104 - 15.9.99) in the elimination final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The victory would prove to be Essendon's most recent finals win, beginning a finals drought that would extend for more than two decades.source
  • September 16 – Hurricane Jeanne hits the island of Hispaniola, killing thousands in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.source
  • November 14–26 – Typhoon Muifa kills 600 people in the Philippines.source
  • November 29–December 3 – Typhoon Nanmadol kills 775 people in the Philippines.source
  • December 26 – The 9.1–9.3 Mw Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). One of the largest observed tsunamis follows, affecting coastal areas of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Somalia, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, killing 227,000 people.source
  • 26 December – The largest earthquake in 40 years originates from the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra island in Indonesia, measuring 9.3 on the moment magnitude scale and creating tsunami waves that sweep across much of the coastlines of South Asia. More than 18,000 reported killed in India and 280,000 across the globe.Indiasource
  • December 26 – The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami have huge effects on Indonesia.Indonesiasource
  • December – European Commission issues formal warning after Greece found to have falsified budget deficit data in run-up to joining eurozone.Greecesource
  • 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami occurred on December 26.Thailandsource
  • The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a tsunami that reached Somalia, killed 150 SomalisSomaliasource

Culture & Society

  • February 1 – Janet Jackson suffers a wardrobe malfunction during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII.source
  • February 4 – Mark Zuckerberg launches "TheFacebook", later renamed to Facebook, a social networking website for Harvard University students.United Statessource
  • 6 March - 47th independence anniversaryGhanasource
  • March 25 – The Olympic Flame was ignited at Olympia, Greece and it took it across the continents and return to Athens, Greece.Greecesource
  • Miss Thailand Universe 2004 was a beauty contest held on March 27. Morakot Aimee Kittisara was the winner.Thailandsource
  • May 5 – Garçon à la pipe, painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905, is sold for $104.2 million. This was the highest price a work of art had ever been sold for at auction.source
  • May 12–15 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, and is won by Ukrainian entrant Ruslana with the song "Wild Dances".source
  • August 13–29 – The 2004 Summer Olympics are held in Athens, Greece.source
  • August 13 to 29: Angola at the 2004 Summer OlympicsAngolasource
  • August 22 – Armed robbers steal Edvard Munch's The Scream, Madonna, and other paintings from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.source
  • October - MC Jin, American son of Hong Kong immigrants, a rapper, songwriter, actor and comedian, releases his debut album, The Rest Is History.Hong Kongsource
  • November 20 – The Museum of Modern Art reopens in its new location.source
  • St. Viator Vocational High School formed AugustBelizesource
  • American University of Kuwait.Kuwaitsource
  • ASC Diaraf won the Senegal Premier League football championshipSenegalsource

Births

Deaths

  • February 3 – Mrs. Ngô Bá Thành, lawyer, politician and activist (born 1931)Vietnamsource
  • February 26 - The President of the Republic of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski died in an airplane accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Bosnia and Herzegovinasource
  • March 22 – Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin is killed by Israeli missile strikes.source
  • March 31 – Four American security contractors are killed in Fallujah, Iraq, leading to the First Battle of Fallujah.source
  • May 29 – Archibald Cox, 92, American lawyer, Watergate special prosecutor.source
  • June 5 – Ronald Reagan, 93, American actor (Kings Row) and politician, President (1981–1989), Governor of California (1967–1975), pneumonia and complications from Alzheimer's.source
  • June 10 – Ray Charles, 73, American rhythm and blues singer ("What'd I Say", "Georgia on my Mind", "I Can't Stop Loving You"), liver failure.source
  • July 1 – Marlon Brando, 80, American actor (The Godfather, On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire), Oscar winner (1954, 1973), pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory failure.source
  • July 2: Mfulupinga Nlando Victor, 59, Angola National Assembly member, mathematics teacher, and political party founder.Angolasource
  • July 28 – Francis Crick, 88, British biologist, one of the discoverers of the "double-helix" shape of DNA, cancer.source
  • September 20 – Brian Clough, 69, English footballer, coach and manager, stomach cancer.source
  • October 9 – Jacques Derrida, 74, French philosopher (deconstruction), pancreatic cancer.source
  • October 10 – Christopher Reeve, 52, American actor (Superman, The Remains of the Day, Deathtrap), heart failure.source
  • October 11 – Keith Miller, 84, Australian cricketer, Australian rules footballer, fighter pilot and journalist.source
  • November 2 - Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.United Arab Emiratessource
  • November 11 – Palestinian president Yasser Arafat dies. Mahmoud Abbas is appointed as his successor.source
  • November 11 – Yasser Arafat, 75, Palestinian political leader and chairman PLO, President of the Palestinian Authority.source
  • December 23 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, 83, Indian Prime Minister (1991–1996), heart attack.source