So you want to have a drink but you aren't sure why? Here are some GREAT reasons to call your friends over and have a party.

April 14th


- Lao New Year, or Songkan / Pi Mai Lao, generally celebrated from 13 to 15 April (Laos)
- Thai New Year, or Songkran, celebrated from 13 to 15 April (Thailand)
- Ambedkar Jayanti (India)
- Black Day (South Korea)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Day of Mologa (Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia)
- N'Ko Alphabet Day (Mande speakers)
- New Year festivals in South and Southeast Asian cultures, celebrated on the sidereal vernal equinox:
Assamese New Year, or Rongali Bihu (India's Assam Valley)
- Bengali New Year, or Pohela Boishakh (Bangladesh and India's West Bengal state)
- Burmese New Year, or Thingyan (Burma)
- Hindu and Sikh New Year, or Vaisakhi (Punjab region)
- Khmer New Year, or Chol Chnam Thmey, most commonly celebrated on April 13 (Cambodia)
- Mahl New Year, or Alathu Aharudhuvas (Maldives and India's Lakshadweep and Kerala state)
- Malayali New Year, or Vishu (India's Kerala state)
- Nepali New Year, or Bikram Samwat / Vaishak Ek (Nepal)
- Oriya New Year, or Maha Visuba Sankranthi (India's Orissa state)
- Sinhalese New Year, or Aluth Avurudhu (Sri Lanka)
- Tamil New Year, or Puthandu (India's Tamil Nadu state)
- Tuluva New Year, or Bisu (India's Karnataka state)
- The first day of Takayama Spring Festival (Takayama)
- Youth Day (Angola)

April 14th


- 1981 - STS-1 – The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight.
- 2010 - Volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupts in Iceland resulting in massive disruption to air traffic in most of Europe
- 2007 - At least 200,000 demonstrators in Ankara, Turkey protest against the possible candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.
- 2005 - The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.
- 2003 - The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
- 2002 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military.
- 1999 - NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees – Yugoslav officials say 75 people are killed.
- 1999 - A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.
- 1994 - In a U.S. friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people.
- 1988 - The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.
- 1988 - In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
- 1986 - In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people.
- 1986 - 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) hailstones fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92. These are the heaviest hailstones ever recorded.
- 1985 - 2003 – U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the MS Achille Lauro in .
- 1978 - 1978 Tbilisi Demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
- 1969 - At the U.S. Academy Awards there is a tie for the Academy Award for Best Actress between Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand.
- 1958 - The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days.
- 1956 - In Chicago, Illinois, videotape is first demonstrated.
- 1945 - Osijek, Croatia, is liberated from fascist occupation.
- 1944 - Bombay Explosion: A massive explosion in Bombay harbor kills 300 and causes economic damage valued then at 20 million pounds.
- 1941 - World War II: The Ustashe, a Croatian far-right organization is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers after the Axis Operation 25 invasion. Rommel attacks Tobruk.
- 1940 - World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway in preparation for a larger force to arrive two days later.
- 1939 - The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press.
- 1935 - "Black Sunday Storm", the worst dust storm of the U.S. Dust Bowl.
- 1931 - Spanish Cortes depose King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the 2nd Spanish Republic.
- 1927 - The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.
- 1912 - The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40pm. The ship sinks the following morning with the loss of 1,517 lives.
- 1894 - The first ever commercial motion picture house opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films.
- 1890 - The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C.
- 1881 - The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight is fought in El Paso, Texas.
- 1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.
- 1865 - U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked in his home by Lewis Powell.
- 1864 - Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.
- 1860 - The first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California.
- 1849 - Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Lajos Kossuth as its leader.
- 1846 - The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship, cannibalism, and survival.
- 1828 - Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
- 1775 - The first abolition society in North America is established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
- 1699 - Khalsa: Birth of Khalsa, the brotherhood of the Sikh religion, in Northern India in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.
- 1471 - In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne.
- 1434 - The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul in Nantes, France is laid.
- 1341 - Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V of Saluzzo.
- 1294 - Temür, grandson of Kublai, is elected Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty with the reigning titles Oljeitu and Chengzong.
- 1205 - Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders.
- 1028 - Henry III, son of Conrad, is elected king of the Germans.
- 966 - Christianisation of Poland
- 70 - Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, surrounds the Jewish capital, with four Roman legions.
- 69 - Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seizes the throne.
- -43 - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, who is wounded.

April 14th


- 1996 - Abigail Breslin, American actress
- 1993 - Vivien Cardone, American actress
- 1993 - Graham Phillips, American actor
- 1992 - Frederik Sørensen, Danish footballer
- 1989 - Joe Haden, American football player
- 1988 - Vasileios Pliatsikas, Greek footballer
- 1987 - Erwin Hoffer, Austrian footballer
- 1986 - Matt Derbyshire, English footballer
- 1986 - Anne Watanabe, Japanese model
- 1986 - Todd Gilles, American ice dancer
- 1984 - Charles Hamelin, Canadian short track speed skater
- 1984 - Adán Sánchez, Mexican-American singer (d. 2004)
- 1984 - Tyler Thigpen, American football player
- 1984 - Blake Costanzo, American football player
- 1983 - James McFadden, Scottish footballer
- 1983 - William Yaw Obeng, Arena football lineman
- 1983 - Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Georgian basketball player
- 1981 - Mustafa Güngör, German rugby player
- 1981 - Amy Leach, British theatre director
- 1980 - Win Butler, American/Canadian musician (Arcade Fire)
- 1980 - Kieran Mahon, British musician (The Cooper Temple Clause)
- 1979 - Rebecca DiPietro, American model
- 1979 - Noé Pamarot, French footballer
- 1979 - Ross Filipo, New Zealand All Black rugby player
- 1978 - Paul O'Brien, Australian actor
- 1977 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress
- 1977 - Chandra Levy, American intern (d. 2001)
- 1976 - Anna DeForge, American basketball player
- 1976 - Jason Wiemer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Kyle Farnsworth, American baseball player
- 1976 - Christian Älvestam, Swedish musician (Scar Symmetry)
- 1975 - Amy Dumas, American professional wrestler
- 1975 - Avner Dorman, Israeli composer
- 1975 - Konstantinos Nebegleras, Greek footballer
- 1975 - Anderson Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1975 - Rajeshwari Sachdev, Indian Hindi film actress
- 1974 - Shawntae Harris, American rapper
- 1973 - Roberto Ayala, Argentine footballer
- 1973 - Adrien Brody, American actor
- 1973 - David Miller, American tenor (Il Divo)
- 1972 - Paul Devlin, England-born Scottish footballer
- 1972 - Roberto Mejia, Dominican baseball player
- 1971 - Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer
- 1971 - Peter Gibson, American writer
- 1971 - Gregg Zaun, American baseball player
- 1970 - Shizuka Kud?, Japanese singer
- 1970 - Emre Altu?, Turkish singer
- 1969 - Brad Ausmus, American baseball player
- 1969 - Vebjørn Selbekk, Norwegian journalist
- 1969 - Martyn LeNoble, Dutch musician
- 1969 - Mark Macon, American basketball player
- 1968 - Anthony Michael Hall, American actor
- 1967 - Barrett Martin, American drummer and composer
- 1967 - Nicola Berti, Italian footballer
- 1967 - Alain Côté, French Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 - David Justice, American baseball player
- 1966 - André Boisclair, Quebec politician (Parti Québécois)
- 1965 - Tom Dey, American film director
- 1965 - Kirk Windstein, American guitarist (Crowbar, Down)
- 1964 - Greg Battle, Canadian football player
- 1964 - Gina McKee, British actress
- 1962 - Scott Boman, Michigan politician
- 1961 - Robert Carlyle, British actor
- 1960 - Brad Garrett, American actor
- 1958 - John D'Aquino, American actor
- 1957 - Lothaire Bluteau, Canadian actor
- 1957 - Richard Jeni, American comedian (d. 2007)
- 1957 - Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, conductor and composer
- 1954 - Bruce Sterling, American science fiction author
- 1953 - David Buss, Evolutionary psychologist
- 1952 - Mickey O'Sullivan, Irish sportsman
- 1951 - Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist
- 1950 - Francis Collins, American scientist, director of National Health Institutes
- 1950 - Péter Esterházy, Hungarian writer
- 1949 - DeAnne Julius, American/English economist
- 1949 - Chris Langham, British actor, writer, producer, director
- 1949 - John Shea, American actor
- 1948 - Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1945 - Ritchie Blackmore, English guitarist (Deep Purple)
- 1945 - Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, 8th Prime Minister of Samoa
- 1944 - John Sergeant, British journalist
- 1942 - Valentin Lebedev, Russian cosmonaut
- 1942 - Björn Rosengren, Swedish politician
- 1941 - Julie Christie, British actress
- 1941 - Pete Rose, American baseball player
- 1936 - Kenneth Mars, American actor
- 1936 - Frank Serpico, American policeman
- 1936 - Bobby Nichols, American professional golfer
- 1935 - Erich von Däniken, Swiss writer
- 1934 - Fredric Jameson, American philosopher, cultural theorist
- 1932 - Bob Grant, English actor (d. 2003)
- 1932 - Loretta Lynn, American country musician/singer
- 1931 - Paul Masnick, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1930 - René Desmaison, French mountaineer (d. 2007)
- 1930 - Bradford Dillman, American actor
- 1929 - Gerry Anderson, English television producer
- 1928 - Ezra Fleischer, Romanian dissident, later Israeli writer (d. 2006)
- 1927 - Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2007)
- 1927 - Dany Robin, French actress (d. 1995)
- 1926 - Frank Daniel, Czech-born writer, director and teacher (d. 1996)
- 1926 - Liz Renay, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1925 - Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1974)
- 1925 - Abel Muzorewa, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (d. 2010)
- 1925 - Rod Steiger, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1924 - Shorty Rogers, American jazz musician (d. 1994)
- 1923 - Roberto DeVicenzo, Argentine golfer
- 1921 - Thomas Schelling, American economist, Nobel laureate
- 1918 - Mary Healy, American actress
- 1917 - Valerie Hobson, British actress (d. 1998)
- 1917 - Marvin Miller, American labor activist
- 1907 - François Duvalier, Haitian politician (d. 1971)
- 1905 - Elizabeth Huckaby, American educator (d. 1999)
- 1904 - Sir John Gielgud, English actor (d. 2000)
- 1903 - Henry Corbin, french philosopher and iranologist (d. 1978)
- 1902 - Sylvio Mantha, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1974)
- 1897 - Claire Windsor, American actress (d. 1972)
- 1892 - Vere Gordon Childe, Australian philologist (d. 1957)
- 1891 - B. R. Ambedkar, Indian jurist (d. 1956)
- 1886 - Ernst Robert Curtius, Alsatian philologist (d. 1956)
- 1882 - Moritz Schlick, Austrian philosopher, (d. 1936)
- 1881 - Husain Salaahuddin, Maldivian writer (d. 1948)
- 1872 - Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-born Islamic scholar and translator (d. 1953)
- 1870 - Victor Borisov-Musatov, Russian painter (d. 1905)
- 1870 - Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (d. 1929)
- 1868 - Peter Behrens, German architect (d. 1940)
- 1866 - Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher (d. 1936)
- 1857 - Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Youngest daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Prince Consort (d. 1944)
- 1827 - Augustus Pitt Rivers, English archaeologist (d. 1900)
- 1818 - Marie of Saxe-Altenburg, queen of Hanover (d. 1909)
- 1800 - John George Appold, fur dyer and engineer (d. 1865)
- 1788 - David G. Burnet, interim president of the Republic of Texas (d. 1870)
- 1773 - Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, French statesman (d. 1854)
- 1741 - Emperor Momozono of Japan (d. 1762)
- 1738 - William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1809)
- 1714 - Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (d. 1788)
- 1668 - Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish General (d. 1741)
- 1629 - Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician (d. 1695)
- 1578 - King Philip III of Spain (d. 1621)
- 1572 - Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician (d. 1632)
- 1336 - Emperor Go-K?gon of Japan (d. 1374)