On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2004, the world population was approximately 6,503,377,772 people[†]
2004Victor Argo, American actor (born 1934)[†]
Victor Argo was an American actor of Puerto Rican descent who usually played the part of a tough bad guy in his movies. He is best known for Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), Hot Tomorrows (1977), Raw Deal (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), King of New York (1990), and McBain (1991).
2004Konstantinos Kallias, Greek politician (born 1901)[†]
Konstantinos Kallias was a Greek politician.
Article on progress being made on renovation and expansion of Museum of Modern Art's building in Manhattan, which is set to reopen on November 20; scaffolding has been removed from building's West 54th Street side; new museum encompasses about 630,000 square feet on six floors; total exhibition space will increase to 125,000 square feet from 85,000 (M)
Incumbent board of Eurotunnel, in stunning shareholder revolt, concedes defeat to uprising organized by French populist politician Nicolas Miguet; Miguet solicited shareholder votes to throw out current directors and replace them with slate of his choosing; campaigned on platform that tunnel should be run for benefit of shareholders, whose investment has been withering in value for years, with creditors being forced to make large concessions; chief executive Richard Shirrefs has been unable to turn around company; photo (M)
William Grimes comments on self-checkout process available at some supermarkets; advice for newcomers to self-checkout; photos (L)
Columbia TriStar, Warner Home Video and other US film companies slash prices in attempt to thwart sale of counterfeit DVD's in Moscow and other Russian cities; Columbia TriStar is setting up factory outside Moscow to produce licensed copies of hit movies; Russian anti-piracy director Konstantin Zemchenkov says piracy accounts for 9 out of every 10 DVD's sold and 6 out of every 10 CD's; photos (M)
Jean Reilly, wine writer, gives wine-tasting classes at her Upper West Side apartment for four people hoping to gain Master of Wine certificate, most coveted and difficult to attain credential in world of wine; about 15 Americans are expected to be among 80 worldwide who are to take exam this June; to be admitted to program, candidates are expected to have at least five years of in-depth professional experience buying, selling or writing about wine and, with few exceptions, to have taken preparatory courses; photos (L)
Navigation system of 65-year-old New York City fireboat is upgraded with computer and sophisticated programs intended to cut 10 minutes off average response time; photos (M)
Number of Germans out of work rose by 44,000 in March, lifting jobless rate to 10.4 percent from 10.3 percent in February; analysts say Germany, along with its neighbors in euro zone, seems to be stagnating, as growth picks up elsewhere in world (M)
Nielsen Media Research abruptly postpones until June plans to change way it gathers local television ratings in New York, country's biggest market; bows to widespread criticism that system it planned to introduce April 8 in New York would severely undercount number of black and Hispanic viewers; decision is met with mixed reaction from political and community group leaders who had lobbied aggressively for delay, using tactics including news conference, buying big newspaper ads and organizing Don't Count Us Out Coalition (M)
San Francisco Giants defeat Houston Astros, 7-5; photo (M)
Second of two articles in series Foraging for Votes focuses on computerized data bases assembled by both parties as they seek to harness techniques of commercial marketing to presidential race; parties, facing tight election, are hoping that computer technology will ease key job of differentiating Republicans from Democrats, so grass-roots campaigners can find and motivate their voting more accurately and less expensively than in past; some experts question whether new technology can 'microtarget' voters; diagram (M)
Celestica, maker of electro
Article on Spring Storm, play written by Tom (later Tennessee) Williams when he was 26 but which was never produced or published in his lifetime; director Coy Middlebrook is bringing revival of play to Theater at St Clements in Manhattan, with previews beginning May 5; photo (M)