List of Famous people who died in 2004

Emīlija Gudriniece was a Latvian chemist who specialized in organic synthesis. She focused on the practical use of substances and synthesized furacilin, for which she won a state prize. She was one of the first to recognize the potential of using vegetable oils as biofuels and initiated the study of rapeseed oil refining in Latvia. She was a prolific publisher, edited the Latvian Journal of Chemistry, and published a Latvian language textbook on organic synthesis methods. She was awarded multiple prizes and recognition for her work.

Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel, also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice-president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino and briefly served as the last prime minister from 25 February to 25 March 1986, when the position was abolished. He was a major leader of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO), the political party that helped topple the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos with the 1986 People Power Revolution.

Uta Thyra Hagen was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, who called her "a profoundly truthful actress". Because Hagen was on the Hollywood blacklist, in part because of her association with Paul Robeson, her film opportunities dwindled and she focused her career on New York theatre.

Field Marshal Sir Roland Christopher Gibbs, was Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 1976 to 1979, and Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire from 1989 to 1996. He saw active service in the Second World War and acted as chief of staff to the commander of the operation to evacuate all British troops and civilians from Aden during the Aden Emergency.

Muhammad Zaidan, also known as Abu Abbas AH-boo ə-BAHSS or Muhammad Abbas, was the founder and a leader of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) Organization.

Raymond Henry Bonham Carter was a British banker and a member of the prominent Bonham Carter family.

Sir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy was a British businessman. He is best known as the husband of Princess Alexandra, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Fosco Maraini was an Italian photographer, anthropologist, ethnologist, writer, mountaineer and academic.

Valery Nikolaevich Skoptsov, known as The Villain of all Trades, was a Russian criminal and serial killer, who was known for committing a variety of crimes around the USSR and then after Russia, ranging from thefts to murders.