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 18th
- Army Day (Iran)

- Christian Feast Day:

- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Zimbabwe from United Kingdom in 1980.

- Invention Day (Japan)


April 18th
- 2007 - The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.

- 2007 - A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.

- 1996 - In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the UN compound at Quana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.

- 1992 - General Abdul Rashid Dostum revolts against President Mohammad Najibullah of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and allies with Ahmed Shah Massoud to capture Kabul.

- 1988 - The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.

- 1983 - A suicide bomber destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.

- 1981 - The longest professional baseball game is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The game was suspended at 4:00 the next morning and finally completed on June 23.

- 1980 - The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country's first President.

- 1974 - The Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto inaugurates Lahore Dry port.

- 1961 - CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule.

- 1958 - A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.

- 1955 - Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.

- 1954 - Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power in Egypt.

- 1949 - The aircraft carrier USS United States (CVA-58) is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, the United States is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.

- 1945 - Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.

- 1943 - World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.

- 1942 - World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan. Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya bombed.

- 1942 - Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.

- 1930 - BBC Radio announces that there is no news on that day.

- 1924 - Simon & Schuster publishes the first Crossword puzzle book.

- 1923 - Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built," opens.

- 1915 - French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.

- 1912 - The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.

- 1909 - Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.

- 1906 - The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire destroys much of San Francisco, California.

- 1906 - The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.

- 1902 - Quetzaltenango, second largest city of Guatemala, destroyed by Earthquake.

- 1899 - The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria.

- 1881 - Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.

- 1880 - An F4 tornado strikes Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100.

- 1857 - Released "The Spirits Book", which marked the birth of Spiritualism in France, by Allan Kardec.

- 1848 - American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.

- 1831 - The University of Alabama is founded.

- 1797 - The Battle of Neuwied – French victory against the Austrians.

- 1783 - Fighting ceases in the American Revolution, eight years to the day since it began.

- 1775 - American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.

- 1738 - Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") founded in Madrid.

- 1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.

- 1506 - The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid.

- 1025 - Boles?aw Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.


April 18th
- 2007 - Hayah bint Hamzah, Princess of Jordan

- 1994 - Moises Arias, American actor

- 1989 - Alia Shawkat, American actress

- 1989 - Jessica, Korean singer

- 1989 - Simas Buterlevi?ius, Lithuanian basketball player

- 1988 - Alexander Hauck, South African-born German rugby player

- 1987 - Brett Deledio, Australian Rules Football player

- 1987 - Danny Guthrie, English footballer

- 1987 - Sandra Lyng Haugen, Norwegian singer

- 1987 - Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, British model

- 1986 - Maurice Edu, American soccer player

- 1986 - Billy Butler, American baseball player

- 1986 - Conrad Logan, Irish footballer

- 1985 - ?ukasz Fabia?ski, Polish footballer

- 1985 - Karl Reindler, Australian racing driver

- 1985 - Elena Temnikova, Russian singer (Serebro)

- 1984 - America Ferrera, American actress

- 1983 - Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player

- 1983 - Fodil Hadjadj, Algerian footballer

- 1982 - Marie-Élaine Thibert, Canadian singer

- 1982 - Simone Farina, Italian footballer

- 1982 - Scott Hartnell, NHL hockey player

- 1982 - Darren Sutherland, Irish boxer (d. 2009)

- 1981 - Brian Buscher, American baseball player

- 1980 - Robyn Regehr, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1979 - Michael Bradley, American basketball player

- 1979 - Anthony Davidson, British Formula One driver

- 1979 - Nuria Fergó, Spanish singer

- 1979 - Matthew Upson, English footballer

- 1979 - Kourtney Kardashian, American reality television star

- 1977 - Dan Lacouture, NHL hockey player

- 1976 - Melissa Joan Hart, American actress

- 1976 - Fayray, Japanese singer

- 1976 - Jo Gibb, Scottish Actress

- 1976 - Justin Ross, American politician

- 1974 - Mark Tremonti, American musician

- 1974 - Millie Corretjer, Puerto Rican singer

- 1974 - Edgar Wright, British director

- 1973 - Derrick Brooks, American football player

- 1973 - Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian athlete

- 1973 - Brady Clark, American baseball player

- 1973 - Jad Abumrad, American radio host and producer

- 1972 - Rosa Clemente, American activist and hip-hop artist

- 1972 - Eli Roth, American film director

- 1971 - Tamara Braun, American actress

- 1971 - Russell Payne, English writer

- 1971 - Samantha Cameron, business executive; wife of UK Prime Minister David Cameron

- 1971 - David Tennant, Scottish actor

- 1971 - Oleg Petrov, Russian ice hockey player

- 1971 - Fredro Starr, American rapper (Onyx)

- 1970 - Esther Schweins, German actress and comedienne

- 1970 - Tatiana Stefanidou, Greek television host

- 1970 - Rico Brogna, American baseball player

- 1970 - Saad Hariri, Prime Minister of Lebanon

- 1970 - Greg Eklund, American musician

- 1969 - Princess Sayako of Japan

- 1969 - Keith R.A. DeCandido, American author

- 1968 - Mary Birdsong, American actress

- 1968 - David Hewlett, English born Canadian actor

- 1967 - Maria Bello, American actress

- 1966 - Trine Hattestad, Norwegian athlete

- 1966 - Valeri Kamensky, Russian ice hockey player

- 1965 - Rob Stenders, Dutch radio discjockey

- 1964 - Niall Ferguson, British historian

- 1964 - Rithy Panh, Cambodian film director

- 1964 - Jim Ellison, musician

- 1964 - Mark Berry, aka Bez, dancer in Happy Mondays

- 1963 - Eric McCormack, Canadian actor

- 1963 - Conan O'Brien, American comedian

- 1962 - Jeff Dunham, American comedian

- 1961 - Jane Leeves, British actress

- 1961 - Steve Lombardi, American wrestler

- 1961 - John Podhoretz, American columnist and political pundit

- 1958 - Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian West Indies cricketer (d. 1999)

- 1956 - Anna Kathryn Holbrook, American actress

- 1956 - Eric Roberts, American actor

- 1956 - Melody Thomas Scott, American actress

- 1956 - Poonam Dhillon, Indian actress

- 1953 - Rick Moranis, Canadian comedian

- 1951 - Ricardo Fortaleza, Australian-Filipino boxer

- 1951 - Pierre Pettigrew, Canadian politician

- 1950 - Kenny Ortega, American film and TV producer and choreographer

- 1950 - Paul Callery, football player

- 1949 - Geoff Bodine, American race car driver

- 1947 - Kathy Acker, American author (d. 1997)

- 1947 - Dorothy Lyman, American actress

- 1947 - Herbert Mullin, American serial killer

- 1947 - Cindy Pickett, American actress

- 1947 - James Woods, American actor

- 1946 - Hayley Mills, English actress

- 1946 - Skip Spence, Canadian-born guitarist, singer and songwriter (Jefferson Airplane) (d. 1999)

- 1945 - Margaret Hassan, Irish-born aid worker (d. 2004)

- 1944 - Robert Hanssen, American spy

- 1942 - Jochen Rindt, German-Austrian racer and F1 (posthumous) world champion (d. 1970)

- 1942 - Steve Blass, American professional baseball player

- 1942 - Robert Christgau, American music critic

- 1940 - Joseph L. Goldstein, American scientist, Nobel laureate

- 1940 - Mike Vickers, British guitarist and saxophonist (Manfred Mann)

- 1939 - Thomas J. Moyer, American judge

- 1937 - Jan Kaplický, British architect of Czech origin

- 1936 - Tommy Ivo, American race car driver

- 1934 - George Shirley, American tenor

- 1930 - Clive Revill, New Zealand born actor

- 1927 - Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist (d. 2008)

- 1925 - Bob Hastings, American actor

- 1925 - Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer (d. 2005)

- 1924 - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American musician (d. 2005)

- 1924 - Henry Hyde, American politician (d. 2007)

- 1922 - Barbara Hale, American actress

- 1921 - Jean Richard, French actor (d. 2001)

- 1919 - Virginia O'Brien, American singer and actress (d. 2001)

- 1918 - Cliff Hillegass, American publisher (d. 2001)

- 1918 - Tony Mottola, American guitarist (d. 2004)

- 1918 - Gabriel Axel, Danish film director

- 1918 - Shinobu Hashimoto, Japanese screenwriter

- 1917 - Frederika of Hanover, Queen Consort of Greece (d. 1981)

- 1917 - Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player (d. 1947)

- 1915 - Joy Gresham Lewis, American writer, wife of C. S. Lewis (d. 1960)

- 1911 - Maurice Goldhaber, Austrian-born American physicist

- 1907 - Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-born composer (d. 1995)

- 1905 - George H. Hitchings, American scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)

- 1904 - Pigmeat Markham, American comedian (d. 1981)

- 1902 - Giuseppe Pella, Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1981)

- 1902 - Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Hasidic Judaism leader (d. 1994)

- 1901 - Al Lewis, American lyricist (d. 1967)

- 1897 - Ardito Desio, Italian topographer (d. 2001)

- 1893 - Violette Morris, French athlete (d. 1944)

- 1889 - Jessie Street, Australian suffragette, feminist, and human rights activist (d. 1970)

- 1888 - Duffy Lewis, American baseball player (d. 1979)

- 1882 - Leopold Stokowski, Polish conductor (d. 1977)

- 1880 - Sam Crawford, baseball player (d. 1968)

- 1877 - Vicente Sotto, Filipino patriot, author (d. 1950)

- 1874 - Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, German author (d. 1941)

- 1874 - Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic, Croatian writer (d. 1938)

- 1864 - Richard Harding Davis, American author (d. 1916)

- 1863 - Leopold Graf Berchtold, Austro-Hungarian foreign minister (d. 1942)

- 1857 - Clarence Darrow, American attorney (d. 1938)

- 1838 - Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French scientist (d. 1912)

- 1819 - Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban Revolutionary (d. 1874)

- 1819 - Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer (d. 1895)

- 1813 - James McCune Smith, African-American doctor and abolitionist (d. 1865)

- 1797 - Adolphe Thiers, French statesman (d. 1877)

- 1771 - Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg, Austrian field marshal (d. 1820)

- 1605 - Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (d. 1674)

- 1590 - Ahmed I, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1617)

- 1580 - Thomas Middleton, English dramatist (d. 1627)

- 1480 - Lucrezia Borgia, Florentine ruler and daughter of Pope Alexander VI (d. 1519)

