List of Famous people who died in 2004

Antoine Schnapper was a French art historian on art of the 17th and the 18th century. A student of André Chastel, he organised many retrospectives on artists of that period, notably one at the Louvre in 1989 on Jacques-Louis David to commemorate the bicentenary of the French Revolution. He taught at the Paris-Sorbonne University.

Charles W. Sweeney was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew Bockscar carrying the Fat Man atomic bomb to the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Separating from active duty at the end of World War II, he later became an officer in the Massachusetts Air National Guard as the Army Air Forces transitioned to an independent United States Air Force, eventually rising to the rank of major general.

Nikita Vladimirovich Bogoslovsky was a Soviet and Russian composer. Author of more than 200 songs, 8 symphonies (1940–1991), 17 operettas and musical comedies, 58 soundtracks, and 52 scores for theater productions.

Bagong Kussudiardja was an Indonesian artist, contemporary dance choreographer and painter. Bagong’s career kicked off after Indonesia’s independence in 1945. As a dance choreographer, Bagong has choreographed more than 200 dances. Bagong perfected his skills by studying Japanese and Indian dances. In 1957 and 1958, Bagong trained under the well-known dance choreographer Martha Graham, known for her boundary-breaking techniques. Bagong then combined the modern moves with traditional Indonesian dances. After his training, he founded Pusat Latihan Tari Bagong Kussudiardja in 1958, followed by Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja in 1978.

John William Cummings, known professionally as Johnny Ramone, was an American guitarist and songwriter who was the guitarist for the punk rock band the Ramones. He was a founding member of the band, and--along with vocalist Joey Ramone--remained a constant member throughout his entire career.

Major Muhammad Husein Mutahar was the founder of Paskibraka, a youth organization in Indonesia which has the main task for raising and lowering the heirloom national flag of Indonesia in ceremonies commemorating the independence day of Indonesia. Mutahar was also an Indonesian music composer, especially for national anthems and children's songs. As a composer, he was better known as H. Mutahar as his abbreviation name. In addition, as a diplomat Mutahar was once believed to be the Indonesian ambassador to the Vatican in 1969 to 1973.

Jamil al-Assad was a younger brother of the late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, and the uncle of present Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. He served in the Parliament of Syria, called the majlis ash-sha'b from 1971 until his death. He was also commander of a minor militia.

Lawrence S. Ting was a Taiwanese decorated soldier and a pioneer businessman who became one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam. As founder of Phu My Hung Corporation and Saigon South Urban Development Project, Lawrence Ting was instrumental in the southward expansion of Ho Chi Minh City. Today the neighborhood created by Ting has become “a new sustainable, inclusive, knowledge-based urban center.” Ting received the Ho Chi Minh City Medal of Honor in 1993, and Certificates of Merit of the Government of Vietnam from the Prime Minister in 1997 and 2001. In the 2013 Harvard Business Review article The Big Idea, Building Sustainable Cities, John Macomber of Harvard Business School chose Phu My Hung's Saigon South Development Project started by Lawrence Ting as one of the leading sustainable urban development examples in the world. “Phu My Hung was promoted by industrialists who took a long-term ‘build and hold’ approach and had an infrastructure-first master plan...The Model of Phu My Hung, where thoughtful, long-term oriented, private-sector actors help the world create efficient water, power, and transit solutions, can-and must-be replicated.” Ting received posthumously the Friendship Medal of Vietnam from President Nguyen Minh Triet in December 2007. Lawrence S. Ting School in Ho Chi Minh City, a private non-profit junior high and senior high school is named after him. In 2010, the school became the first Microsoft Pathfinder School in Vietnam. In 2020, Taipei American School names its middle school Lawrence S. Ting Middle School in honor of Ting.

Francis Patrick Roach was an English actor, and professional wrestler. During an acting career between the 1970s and the 1990s, he appeared in multiple films, usually cast as a support player strongman villain. He appeared in the Indiana Jones film series, as the West Country bricklayer Brian "Bomber" Busbridge in the 1980s British television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and in the role of Petty Officer Edgar Evans in the television production The Last Place on Earth.

Amparo Ramos Correa was a popular Colombian dancer famous as a celebrity in the Feria de Cali and as a dancer for several popular Latin musicians. She was nicknamed "Amparo Arrebato" for her strong and furious way of dancing capable of rousing strong sentiments both in dancers and spectators.