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 23rd


- Aragón Day (Aragón, Spain)
- Castile and León Day (Castile and León, Spain)
- Christian Feast Day
- Independence Day (Conch Republic, Key West, Florida)
- National Sovereignty and Children's Day (Turkey and Northern Cyprus)
- St George's Day and its related observances:
Canada Book Day (Canada)
- La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia)
- World Book and Copyright Day (International)
- International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day

April 23rd


- 2009 - The gamma ray burst GRB 090423 is observed for 10 seconds. The event signals the most distant object of any kind and also the oldest known object in the universe.
- 2003 - Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus.
- 1997 - Omaria massacre in Algeria: 42 villagers are killed.
- 1993 - Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
- 1990 - Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1987 - 28 construction workers die when the L'Ambiance Plaza apartment building collapses while under construction in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
- 1985 - Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
- 1967 - Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: ???? 1, Union 1) was a manned spaceflight, Launched into orbit carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov.
- 1961 - Algiers putsch by French generals.
- 1955 - The Canadian Labour Congress is formed by the merger of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada and the Canadian Congress of Labour.
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
- 1948 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: Haifa, the major port of Palestine, is captured from Arab forces.
- 1942 - World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
- 1941 - World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
- 1940 - The Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
- 1935 - The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
- 1932 - The 153-year old De Adriaan Windmill in Haarlem, Netherlands burns down.
- 1927 - Turkey Türkiye becomes the first country to celebrate Children's Day as a national holiday.
- 1920 - The national council in Turkey denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces a temporary constitution.
- 1920 - The Grand National Assembly of Turkey TBMM is founded in Ankara.
- 1910 - Theodore Roosevelt made his The Man in the Arena speech.
- 1815 - The Second Serbian Uprising - a second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
- 1661 - King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
- 1660 - Treaty of Oliwa is established between Sweden and Poland.
- 1635 - The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1597 - William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I in attendance.
- 1521 - Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
- 1348 - The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St George's Day.
- 1343 - Estonia: St. George's Night Uprising.
- 1229 - Ferdinand III of Castile conquers Cáceres.
- 1014 - Battle of Clontarf: Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
- -215 - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.

April 23rd


- 1990 - Matthew Underwood, American actor
- 1990 - Dev Patel, British actor
- 1989 - Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
- 1988 - Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
- 1988 - Molly Burnett, American actress
- 1987 - Emily Fox, American cup stacker and basketball player
- 1986 - Sven Kramer, Dutch speedskater
- 1986 - Jessica Stam, Canadian model
- 1985 - Angel Locsin, Filipina actress
- 1984 - Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player
- 1983 - Daniela Hantuchová, Slovakian tennis player
- 1982 - Taio Cruz, English singer
- 1981 - Sean Henn, American baseball player
- 1981 - Joanna Krupa, Polish/American model and actress
- 1981 - Chris Sharma, American rock climber/boulderer
- 1979 - Barry Fratelli, Scottish bassist (The Fratellis)
- 1979 - Yana Gupta, Indian actress & model
- 1979 - Jaime King, American actress
- 1979 - Lauri Ylönen, Finnish singer (The Rasmus)
- 1977 - John Cena, American professional wrestler
- 1977 - Andruw Jones, Curaçaoan baseball player
- 1977 - Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Kal Penn, American actor
- 1977 - Lee Young-Pyo, Korean footballer
- 1977 - John Oliver, British comedian
- 1975 - Jón Ţór Birgisson, Icelandic musician and singer (Sigur Rós)
- 1975 - Bobby Shaw, American football wide receiver for the NFL
- 1974 - Carlos Dengler, American musician (Interpol)
- 1974 - Michael Kerr, New Zealand-born German rugby player
- 1974 - Barry Watson, American actor
- 1973 - Patrick Poulin, French-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Patricia Manterola, Mexican singer
- 1972 - Sonya Smith, American actress
- 1972 - Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet
- 1971 - Charmaine Sinclair, English model
- 1971 - Uli Herzner, German American designer
- 1970 - Scott Bairstow, Canadian actor
- 1970 - Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1970 - Dennis Bayne Culp, American singer/songwriter
- 1970 - Sadao Abe, Japanese actor
- 1969 - Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
- 1969 - Byron Thames, American actor
- 1969 - Richard Wolstencroft, Australian filmmaker
- 1969 - Martin López-Zubero, Spanish swimmer
- 1968 - Princess Aisha bint Al Hussein of Jordan
- 1968 - Princess Zein bint Al Hussein of Jordan
- 1968 - Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist
- 1967 - Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
- 1967 - Kim Hee-ae, South Korean actress
- 1967 - Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
- 1963 - Paul Belmondo, French actor and racing driver
- 1963 - Magnús Ver Magnússon, Icelandic powerlifter
- 1962 - John Hannah, Scottish actor
- 1961 - Terry Gordy, American professional wrestler (d. 2001)
- 1961 - George Lopez, American actor and comedian
- 1960 - Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
- 1960 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (d. 1991)
- 1960 - Claude Julien, French-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 - Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic music composer
- 1958 - Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1957 - Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer and art director
- 1957 - Jan Hooks, American actress
- 1957 - Kenji Kawai, Japanese composer
- 1955 - Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
- 1955 - Fumi Hirano, Japanese voice actress and essayist
- 1955 - Judy Davis, Australian actress
- 1954 - Michael Moore, American filmmaker
- 1952 - Narada Michael Walden, American musician and producer
- 1949 - David Cross, British violinist (King Crimson)
- 1949 - Joyce DeWitt, American actress
- 1948 - Pascal Quignard, French author
- 1948 - Serge Thériault, French-Canadian comedian and actor
- 1947 - Glenn Cornick, British musician (Jethro Tull)
- 1947 - Bernadette Devlin, Irish politician
- 1943 - Gail Goodrich, American basketball player
- 1943 - Tony Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1943 - Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
- 1943 - Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
- 1942 - Sandra Dee, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1941 - Jacqueline Boyer, French singer
- 1941 - Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland 1995-2003
- 1941 - Michael Lynne, American film executive
- 1940 - Michael Copps, American Federal Government official
- 1939 - Jorge Fons, Mexican film director
- 1939 - Lee Majors, American actor
- 1939 - Ray Peterson, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1936 - Roy Orbison, American singer and musician (d. 1988)
- 1935 - Bunky Green, American musician
- 1934 - George Canseco, Filipino music composer (d. 2004)
- 1932 - Jim Fixx, American athlete and writer (d. 1984)
- 1932 - Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
- 1928 - Shirley Temple, American actress and politician
- 1926 - J. P. Donleavy, Irish American author
- 1924 - Chuck Harmon, American baseball player
- 1924 - Bobby Rosengarden, American jazz drummer (d. 2007)
- 1923 - Avram Davidson, American writer (d. 1993)
- 1923 - Antonino Rocca, professional wrestler (d. 1977)
- 1923 - Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
- 1922 - Marjorie Cameron, American writer, painter, actress and occultist (d. 1995)
- 1922 - Jack May, voice actor (d. 1997)
- 1921 - Janet Blair, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1921 - Warren Spahn, American baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1919 - Oleg Penkovsky, Soviet double-agent (d. 1963)
- 1918 - Maurice Druon, French author (d. 2009)
- 1917 - Dorian Leigh, American supermodel (d. 2008)
- 1911 - Ronald Neame, British film producer (d. 2010)
- 1910 - Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
- 1908 - Myron Waldman, American animator (d. 2006)
- 1907 - Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1907 - Lee Miller, American photographer & model (d. 1977)
- 1904 - Duncan Renaldo, Spanish-American actor (d. 1985)
- 1903 - Guy Simonds, youngest general officer in the Canadian army (d. 1974)
- 1902 - Halldór Laxness, Icelandic writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1901 - E.B. Ford, British ecological geneticist (d. 1988)
- 1900 - Joseph Green, Polish-born actor and director (d. 1996)
- 1900 - Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (d. 1959)
- 1899 - Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1979)
- 1899 - Minoru Shirota, inventor of Yakult (d. 1982)
- 1897 - Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
- 1897 - Lester B. Pearson, fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1972)
- 1895 - Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand writer (d. 1982)
- 1895 - Johnny Hyde, Russian-born American talent agent (d. 1950)
- 1894 - Cow Cow Davenport, American pianist (d. 1955)
- 1893 - Frank Borzage, American film director (d. 1952)
- 1889 - Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
- 1888 - Georges Vanier, French-Canadian soldier and diplomat (d. 1967)
- 1882 - Albert Coates, British composer (d. 1953)
- 1880 - Michel Fokine, Russian choreographer and dancer (d. 1942)
- 1876 - Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian (d. 1925)
- 1872 - Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, British musician (d. 1951)
- 1867 - Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1928)
- 1865 - Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
- 1861 - Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, British general (d. 1936)
- 1858 - Max Planck, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
- 1858 - Ethel Mary Smyth, English composer (d. 1944)
- 1857 - Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
- 1853 - Winthrop M. Crane, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
- 1834 - Artemus Ward, American comic writer (d. 1867)
- 1823 - Abd-ul-Mejid I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1861)
- 1813 - Stephen A. Douglas, U.S. Senator from Illinois and Presidential candidate (d. 1861)
- 1813 - Frédéric Ozanam, French scholar (Society of Saint Vincent de Paul) (d. 1853)
- 1805 - Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher (d. 1879)
- 1794 - Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar (d. 1856)
- 1792 - John Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
- 1791 - James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
- 1775 - J. M. W. Turner, English painter (d. 1851)
- 1746 - Félix Vicq-d'Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
- 1725 - Saint Gerard Majella, Catholic saint (d. 1755)
- 1720 - Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (d. 1797)
- 1676 - King Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
- 1628 - Johann van Waveren Hudde, Dutch mathematician (d. 1704)
- 1621 - William Penn, English admiral (d. 1670)
- 1598 - Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
- 1564 - William Shakespeare, English writer and actor (d. 1616) (traditional approximate birth date in Julian calendar based on April 26 baptism)
- 1516 - Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
- 1500 - Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (d. 1565)
- 1484 - Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian philosopher (d. 1558)
- 1464 - Joan of France, Duchess of Berry, queen of France (d. 1505)
- 1185 - King Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
- 1170 - Isabelle of Hainaut, queen of France (d. 1190)