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 30th


- Birthday of the King Carl XVI Gustav, one of the official flag days of Sweden.
- Children's Day (Mexico)
- Christian Feast Day
- Consumer Protection Day (Thailand)
- May Eve, the eve of the first day of summer (see May 1):
Beltane Fire Festival (Calton Hill, Edinburgh)
- Carodejnice (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Eve of Beltane (Celtic Druidic holiday)
- Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe)
- National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
- Queen's Day, the largest one-day holiday in the Netherlands.
- Reunification Day (Vietnam)
- The third day of the Floralia (Roman Empire)

April 30th


- 2010 - Hailed as the largest World's Fair in history, Expo 2010 opens in Shangai, China.
- 2009 - Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- 2009 - Seven people are killed and 17 injured at a Queen's Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
- 2008 - Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters.
- 2004 - U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
- 1999 - Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the number of members to 10.
- 1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first President to visit Northern Ireland.
- 1993 - CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.
- 1993 - Virgin Radio broadcasts for the first time in the United Kingdom.
- 1988 - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially opens World Expo '88 in Brisbane, Australia.
- 1980 - Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
- 1975 - Fall of Saigon (or Liberation of Saigon from the Communist perspective): Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh.
- 1973 - Watergate Scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that top White House aids H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and others have resigned.
- 1967 - The Aldene Connection opened in Roselle Park, NJ, shutting down the CNJ's Jersey City waterfront terminal and transferring commuters to Newark Penn Station.
- 1963 - The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
- 1956 - Former Vice President and Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia. He collapses after proclaiming "I would rather be a servant in the house of the lord than sit in the seats of the mighty."
- 1953 - In Warner Robins, Georgia, an F4 tornado kills 18 people.
- 1948 - In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
- 1947 - In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam a second time.
- 1945 - World War II: Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
- 1943 - World War II: Operation Mincemeat: The submarine HMS Seraph surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.
- 1939 - The 1939-40 New York World's Fair opens.
- 1939 - NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's N.Y. World's Fair opening day ceremonial address.
- 1938 - The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit (a prototype of Bugs Bunny).
- 1938 - The first televised FA Cup Final takes place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End.
- 1937 - The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
- 1927 - The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.
- 1927 - Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
- 1925 - Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for $146 million plus $50 million for charity.
- 1920 - Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1907 - Honolulu, Hawaii becomes an independent city.
- 1904 - The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1900 - Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
- 1900 - Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.
- 1894 - Coxey's Army reaches Washington, D.C. to protest the unemployment caused by the Panic of 1893.
- 1871 - The Camp Grant Massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
- 1863 - Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
- 1838 - Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
- 1812 - The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
- 1803 - Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
- 1794 - The Battle of Boulou is fought, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.
- 1789 - On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
- 1671 - Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
- 1513 - Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.
- 1492 - Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
- 1315 - Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged on the public gallows at Montfaucon.
- 1006 - Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.
- 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.

April 30th


- 2002 - Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish prince
- 1987 - Alipate Carlile, Australian rules footballer
- 1987 - Nikki Webster, Australian entertainer
- 1987 - Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer
- 1986 - Dianna Agron, American actress
- 1985 - Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American singer and call girl
- 1984 - Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager
- 1984 - Lee Roache, British footballer
- 1983 - Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
- 1983 - Troy Williamson, American football player
- 1982 - Lloyd Banks, American rapper
- 1982 - Kirsten Dunst, American actress
- 1982 - Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress
- 1982 - Drew Seeley, Canadian actor and singer
- 1981 - John O'Shea, Irish footballer
- 1981 - Emma Pierson, British actress
- 1981 - Kunal Nayyar, Indian/British actor
- 1980 - Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer
- 1980 - Luis Scola, Argentinean basketball player
- 1979 - Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
- 1978 - Tom Fulp, animator and founder of Newgrounds
- 1977 - Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
- 1977 - Pell James, American actress
- 1976 - Amanda Palmer, American musician (The Dresden Dolls)
- 1975 - Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
- 1975 - Mike Chat, American actor
- 1975 - Johnny Galecki, American actor
- 1973 - Akon, American R&B singer
- 1973 - Jeff Timmons, American singer (98 Degrees)
- 1972 - JR Richards, American musician, composer, actor (Dishwalla)
- 1971 - John Boyne, Irish novelist
- 1971 - Darren Emerson, Briti DJ (Underworld)
- 1970 - Ken Stanton, American radio personality
- 1969 - Paulo Jr., Brazilian musician (Sepultura)
- 1969 - Warren Defever, American musician, composer
- 1967 - Steven Mackintosh, British actor
- 1966 - Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 - Adrian Pasdar, American actor
- 1964 - Ian Healy, Australian cricketer
- 1964 - Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician
- 1963 - Michael Waltrip, American race car driver
- 1961 - Isiah Thomas, American basketball player
- 1960 - Kerry Healey, American politician
- 1960 - David Miscavige, American cult leader
- 1959 - Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer
- 1959 - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
- 1959 - W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist
- 1958 - Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter
- 1957 - Aviva Chomsky, American historian, daughter of Noam Chomsky
- 1956 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director
- 1955 - Nicolas Hulot, French journalist
- 1954 - Jane Campion, New Zealand film director
- 1953 - Merrill Osmond, American musician (The Osmonds)
- 1952 - Jacques Audiard, French film director
- 1949 - Phil Garner, baseball manager
- 1949 - António Guterres, Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1948 - Perry King, American actor
- 1947 - Leslie Grantham, British actor
- 1947 - Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer
- 1947 - Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer
- 1947 - Manousos Manousakis, Greek director and producer
- 1947 - Mats Odell, Swedish politician
- 1946 - Don Schollander, American swimmer
- 1946 - Bill Plympton, American animator
- 1946 - Lee Bollinger, American lawyer, educator and president of Columbia University
- 1946 - King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
- 1945 - Annie Dillard, American writer
- 1945 - Michael Smith, American astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1944 - Jill Clayburgh, American actress
- 1943 - Frederick Chiluba, former Zambian president (1991-2001)
- 1943 - Bobby Vee, American singer
- 1941 - Stavros Dimas, Greek politician
- 1941 - Johnny Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)
- 1940 - Burt Young, American actor
- 1938 - Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak film director
- 1938 - Gary Collins, American actor
- 1938 - Larry Niven, American author
- 1934 - Jerry Lordan, British composer and singer (d. 1995)
- 1933 - Dickie Davies, British television presenter
- 1933 - Willie Nelson, American musician
- 1930 - Félix Guattari, French philosopher and social theorist (d. 1992)
- 1928 - Hugh Hood, Canadian author (d. 2000)
- 1926 - Cloris Leachman, American actress
- 1925 - Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
- 1925 - Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)
- 1923 - Percy Heath, American jazz musician (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 2005)
- 1923 - Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1923 - Francis Tucker, South African rally driver (d. 2008)
- 1923 - Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (d. 2004)
- 1921 - Tove Maës, Danish actress
- 1920 - Duncan Hamilton, British racing driver (d. 1994)
- 1916 - Claude Shannon, American engineer and mathematician (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
- 1909 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
- 1909 - F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (d. 1992)
- 1908 - Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic Foreign and later Prime Minister (d. 1970)
- 1908 - Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 - Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician
- 1902 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
- 1901 - Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
- 1897 - Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
- 1896 - Hans List, Austrian inventor (d. 1996)
- 1895 - Philippe Panneton, French Canadian physician, diplomat and writer (d. 1960)
- 1893 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)
- 1883 - Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)
- 1877 - Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)
- 1876 - Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (d. 1937)
- 1874 - Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish clergyman (d. 1949)
- 1870 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)
- 1869 - Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)
- 1865 - Max Nettlau, German anarchist (d. 1944)
- 1864 - Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)
- 1857 - Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
- 1829 - Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (d. 1884)
- 1812 - Kaspar Hauser, German mystery boy (d. 1833)
- 1803 - Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (d. 1879)
- 1777 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician (d. 1855)
- 1770 - David Thompson, Canadian explorer (d. 1857)
- 1723 - Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)
- 1710 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
- 1664 - François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)
- 1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
- 1651 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French educational reformer, Catholic saint (d. 1719)
- 1623 - François de Laval, first bishop of New France (d. 1708)
- 1553 - Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, queen of France (d. 1601)
- 1331 - Gaston Phoebus of Foix (d. 1391)
- 1245 - King Philip III of France (d. 1285)