This article reviews 2004 in Michigan, including the state's office holders, largest public companies, performance of sports teams, a chronology of the state's top news and sports stories, and notable Michigan-related births and deaths.
2004 Michigan Proposal 04-2, the Michigan Marriage Amendment, a constitutional amendment prohibiting the state from recognizing or performing same-sex marriages or civil unions, passing with 58.62% of the votes; and
Trial and conviction of Nancy Seaman, a former elementary school teacher for the murder of her husband using a hatchet.
In April 2005, the Detroit Free Press published its annual "The Free Press 50" list of the largest Michigan-based public companies based on 2004 revenues. The top 30 companies are shown below.
2003–04 Detroit Pistons season - In their first season under head coach Larry Brown, the Pistons compiled a 54–28 record and won the NBA championship, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. The team's statistical leaders included Richard Hamilton (1,375 points), Chauncey Billups (446 assists), and Ben Wallace (1,006 rebounds, including 324 offensive rebounds).
Malice at the Palace - A fight that broke out on November 19 between players and fans during a game between the Pistons and Indiana Pacers. After being hit with a drink, Ron Artest charged into the crowd and grabbed a fan who Artest erroneously though threw the drink. Other players joined Artest in the crowd, and many drinks and punches were thrown. Five players and five fans faced criminal charges.
January 1 - Michigan lost to USC, 28–14, in the 2005 Rose Bowl.
January 8 - The US Justice Department filed suit against John "Ivan" Kalymon, a retired Chrysler worker from Troy, alleging that he helped round up Jews in Poland in 1942 for placement into collection centers for deportation to concentration camps. The suit sought revocation of US citizenship that was granted to Kalymon in 1955.
January 16 - Refirgerator maker Electrolux AB announced it would close its Greenville factor, resulting in the loss of 2,700 jobs, and move its manufacturing to a new $150-million plant in Mexico. Michigan had offered $182 million in tax credits, union concessions and a new building.
January 22 - Ford Motor Co. reported a 2003 profit of $500 million, despite losing almost $800 million in the fourth quarter. It was Ford's first annual profit in three years.
February 5 - Cardinal Adam Maida revealed that he believed that 63 priests and deacons sexually abused at least 116 minors in metropolitan Detroit since 1950.
February 23 - Detroit's Monument to Joe Louis was vandalized with white paint. Two white men from the suburbs were charged with the crime. They admitted they did, but denied any racist motive. Rather, one of the men, Brett Cashman, said they "targeted the fist because of its violent imagery and the inappropriateness of a clenched fist as a prominent city symbol. ... In a sense, we wanted to unclench the fist. It was a political statement meant to convey one message: 'Stop the violence.'"
March
March 3 - Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick announced his plan to acquire Michigan Central Depot and convert it into headquarters for the Detroit Police Department.
March 4 - Confessed Michigan serial killer Coral Eugene Watts was charged with the 1979 murder of The Detroit News food writer Jeanne Clyne.
March 20 - One year after the start of the Iraq, Michigan's tally of war dead was 21, most from smaller towns and most without college education.
March 29 - Johnson Conrols Inc. announced plans to move almost 900 jobs from Holland to Mexico.
March 31 - Berry Gordy sold his remaining interest in the Motown music catalogue of 15,000 compositions. EMI Music Publishing purchased Gordy's remaining interest for approximately $80 million.
March 31 - Roger Thompson murdered his girlfriend and the woman's four children, ages 9, 12, 14 and 16 "after nearly 24 hours of torture in a run-down, boarded up bungalow in northeast Detroit." The 13-year-old sister of the man's girlfriend, who had been held in a closet for 31 hours, escaped and ran to a neighbor's house where police were called.
April
April 1 - Detroit Public School announced the layoff of 3,200 workers, including 900 teachers.
November
November 2 - election day in Michigan
John Kerry won Michigan electoral votes, tallying 2,479,183 votes (51.23%), defeating incumbent George W. Bush who received 2,313,746 votes (47.81%).
2004 Michigan Proposal 04-2 - The Michigan Marriage Amendment made it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. It passed with 2,698,077 votes (58.62%).
July 6 - Syreeta Wright, Motown singer-songwriter, at age 58
July 18 - John D. Kraus, physicist and electrical engineer known for his contributions to electromagnetics, radio astronomy, and antenna theory, at age 94
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