What happened in 1904

17 entries recorded for 1904, listed by date. That was 122 years ago.

1904 at a glance

January 7
Marconi Company
Historical event
The Marconi International Marine Communication Company specified CQD (audio featured) as the distress signal to be used by its operators.
January 8
Blackstone Library
Historical event
Blackstone Library (pictured), the first branch of the Chicago Public Library system, was dedicated.

February 17
Giacomo Puccini
Historical event
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly premiered at La Scala in Milan to poor reviews, forcing him to revise the opera.
February 28
Association football
Historical event
The most successful football club in Portugal, S.L. Benfica (first team pictured), was founded in Lisbon as Sport Lisboa.

March 6
Scottish National Antarctic Expedition
Historical event
Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Led by William Speirs Bruce (pictured), the Antarctic region of Coats Land was discovered by the Scotia.

April 8
Entente Cordiale
Historical event
France and the United Kingdom signed the Entente Cordiale, agreeing to a peaceful coexistence after centuries of intermittent conflict.
April 8
Midtown Manhattan
Historical event
Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan was renamed Times Square after the New York Times building.
April 24
Russification
Historical event
Realizing that the Russification of Lithuania was not working, the Russian Empire lifted the 40-year-old ban on publications written in Lithuanian language using the Latin alphabet.
April 27
Chris Watson
Historical event
Chris Watson became the first prime minister of Australia from the Australian Labor Party.

May 5
Pitcher
Historical event
Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young threw the first perfect game in modern professional baseball.
May 15
Russo-Japanese War
Historical event
Russo-Japanese War: The Japanese battleships Hatsuse and Yashima sank after striking several mines off Port Arthur, China.

June 15
PS General Slocum
Historical event
A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1,000.
June 16
James Joyce
Historical event
Irish author James Joyce (pictured) began a relationship with Nora Barnacle, and subsequently used the date to set the actions for his 1922 novel Ulysses, commemorated as Bloomsday.
June 28
SS Norge
Historical event
In the worst maritime disaster involving a Danish merchant ship, SS Norge ran aground on Hasselwood Rock and sank in the North Atlantic, resulting in more than 635 deaths.

October 27
Early history of the IRT subway
Historical event
The first underground segment of the New York City Subway opened, connecting New York City Hall (station pictured) with Harlem.

December 3
Himalia (moon)
Historical event
Himalia, Jupiter's largest irregular moon, was discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at the Lick Observatory in California.
December 6
Theodore Roosevelt
Historical event
President Theodore Roosevelt announced the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, justifying the exercise of "international police power" by the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere.

This site records 17 entries for 1904, including Marconi Company on January 7. They are listed below by date.

122 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 1904 turns 122 this year.

1904 falls in the 20th century, in the 1900s.

Greatest Generation (1901–1927). Grew up in the Depression and fought in the Second World War.

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