Events from the year 1904 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Theodore Roosevelt (R-New York) Vice President: vacant Chief Justice: Melville Fuller (Illinois) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Joseph Gurney Cannon (R–Illinois) Congress: 58th
Events
January–March
January 2 – The first large-scale bodybuilding competition in America concludes at Madison Square Garden in New York City. January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. January 12 – Henry Ford sets a new automobile land speed record of . February 7 – The Great Baltimore Fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours. February 23 – For $10 million, the United States gains control of the Panama Canal Zone.
April–June
April 6 – Joseph F. Smith announces the Second Manifesto in General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory, prohibiting the practice of polygamy, which has continued to be sanctioned by some of its leaders in violation of the 1890 Manifesto officially banning the practice. April 8 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times. April 30 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri (closes December 1). May 4 – U.S. Army engineers begin work on the Panama Canal. May 5 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. May 30 – Alpha Gamma Delta sorority is founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. June 15 – A fire aboard the steamboat General Slocum in New York City's East River kills 1,021.
July–September
July 1 – The third Modern Olympic Games opens in St. Louis, Missouri. July 23 – In St. Louis, Missouri, the ice cream cone is invented during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. August 7 – Eden train wreck in Colorado: a bridge is washed away by a flash flood as a train crosses, resulting in at least 88 deaths. September – Stuyvesant High School opens in New York City as Manhattan's first manual trade school for boys. September 24 – New Market train wreck in Tennessee: two trains collide head-on at speed, resulting in at least 56 deaths.
October–December
October – The Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, predecessor of Bethune–Cookman University, is opened in Florida by Mary McLeod Bethune. October 1 – Phi Delta Epsilon, the international medical fraternity, is founded by Aaron Brown and eight of his friends at Cornell University Medical College. October 5 – Alpha Kappa Psi, the co-ed Professional Business fraternity, is founded on the campus of New York University October 15 – Theta Tau, the Professional Engineering Fraternity, is founded at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota. October 17 – Amadeo Giannini founds the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, predecessor of the Bank of America. October 19 – Polytechnic University of the Philippines is founded as Manila Business School through the superintendence of the American Gabriel A. O'Reilly. October 27 – The first underground line of the New York City Subway opens. November 8 – U.S. presidential election, 1904: Republican incumbent Theodore Roosevelt defeats Democrat Alton B. Parker. November 23 – The Olympic Games end. November 24 – A continuous track tractor is successfully demonstrated by the Holt Manufacturing Company. December 10 – The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity is founded at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. December 30 – The East Boston Tunnel opens, for streetcars. December 31 – In New York City, the first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square.
Undated
St. Bernard's School is founded in New York City on Manhattan.
Ongoing
Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) Lochner era (c. 1897–c. 1937) Black Patch Tobacco Wars (1904–1909)