What Happened in 1904 — Events, Births & Deaths

The distress signal "CQD" is established only to be replaced two years later by "SOS".

Ålesund Fire: The Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.

The Great Baltimore Fire begins in Baltimore, Maryland; it destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.

Japanese forces launch a surprise attack against Russian-controlled Port Arthur, marking the start of the Russo-Japanese war.

The Dutch Colonial Army's Marechaussee regiment led by General G.C.E. van Daalen launch a military campaign in the Dutch East Indies' Northern Sumatra region, leading to the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.

The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina; the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Led by William Speirs Bruce, the Antarctic region of Coats Land is discovered from the Scotia.

The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.

The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.

Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.

The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.

A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1,000.

Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolay Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland.

Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday".

The SS Norge runs aground on Hasselwood Rock in the North Atlantic 430 kilometres (270 mi) northwest of Ireland. More than 635 people die during the sinking.

Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.

Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation.

Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of the Yellow Sea between the Russian and Japanese battleship fleets takes place.

Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries.

English engineer John Ambrose Fleming receives a patent for the thermionic valve (vacuum tube).

The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.

Theodore Roosevelt articulated his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S. would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable.

Comparative fuel trials begin between warships HMS Spiteful and HMS Peterel: Spiteful was the first warship powered solely by fuel oil, and the trials led to the obsolescence of coal in ships of the Royal Navy.