The Year That Rocked the World

The key events of 2004

The key events of 1981. After years of searching, Prince Charles finally found his bride Lady Diana Spencer and thus began a year of royal festivity in the UK, culminating in the wedding of the century. Elsewhere in the world, events took an uglier turn with the attempted assassinations of various prominent leaders - US President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. Both survived the attempts on their lives but President Sadat of Egypt wasn't so fortunate and died in a hail of bullets. Nasa made history by launching their Space Shuttle Columbia into orbit, which heralded in a dawn of space travel. Jamaica - and the world - lost the great reggae artist Bob Marley, who died of cancer