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.

August 28th


- Assumption of Mary (Eastern Orthodox Church, a public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Georgia)
- Christian Feast Day:

August 28th


- 2005 - Hurricane Katrina begins to make landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi in the afternoon, and brings the most severe damage to Slidell and New Orleans.
- 2003 - An electricity blackout cuts off power to around 500,000 people living in south east England and brings 60% of London's underground rail network to a halt.
- 1998 - Pakistan's National Assembly passes a constitutional amendment to make the "Qur'an and Sunnah" the "supreme law" but the bill is defeated in the Senate.
- 1996 - Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales divorce.
- 1991 - Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.
- 1990 - Iraq declares Kuwait to be its newest province.
- 1990 - The Plainfield Tornado: an F5 tornado hits in Plainfield, Illinois, and Joliet, Illinois, killing 28 people.
- 1988 - Ramstein airshow disaster: three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and the wreckage falls into the crowd. 75 are killed and 346 seriously injured.
- 1986 - United States Navy officer Jerry A. Whitworth is sentenced to 365 years imprisonment for espionage for the Soviet Union.
- 1981 - The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. These will soon be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.
- 1979 - An IRA bomb explodes on the Grand Place in Brussels.
- 1968 - Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention.
- 1964 - The Philadelphia race riot begins.
- 1963 - March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech
- 1963 - Emily Hoffert and Janice Wylie are murdered in their Manhattan flat, prompting the events that would lead to the passing of the Miranda Rights.
- 1961 - Motown releases what would be its first #1 hit, "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes.
- 1955 - Black teenager Emmett Till is murdered in Mississippi, galvanizing the nascent American Civil Rights Movement.
- 1953 - Nippon Television broadcasts Japan's first television show, including its first TV advertisement.
- 1944 - World War II: Marseille and Toulon are liberated.
- 1943 - World War II: in Denmark, a general strike against the Nazi occupation is started.
- 1937 - Toyota Motors becomes an independent company.
- 1931 - France and Soviet Union sign a treaty of non-aggression.
- 1924 - The Georgian opposition stages the August Uprising against the Soviet Union.
- 1917 - Ten Suffragettes are arrested while picketing the White House.
- 1916 - World War I: Germany declares war on Romania.
- 1916 - World War I: Italy declares war on Germany.
- 1914 - World War I: the Royal Navy defeats the German fleet in the Battle of Heligoland Bight.
- 1914 - World War I: German troops conquer Namur.
- 1913 - Queen Wilhelmina opens the Peace Palace in The Hague.
- 1901 - Silliman University is founded in the Philippines. The first American private school in the country.
- 1898 - Caleb Bradham renames his carbonated soft drink "Pepsi-Cola".
- 1879 - Cetshwayo, last king of the Zulus, is captured by the British.
- 1867 - The United States takes possession of the, at this point unoccupied, Midway Atoll.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Second Manassas.
- 1859 - A geomagnetic storm causes the Aurora Borealis to shine so brightly that it is seen clearly over parts of USA, Europe, and even as far away as Japan.
- 1849 - After a month-long siege, Venice, which had declared itself independent, surrenders to Austria.
- 1845 - The first issue of Scientific American magazine is published.
- 1830 - The Tom Thumb presages the first railway service in the United States.
- 1810 - Battle of Grand Port – the French accept the surrender of a British Navy fleet.
- 1789 - William Herschel discovers a new moon of Saturn.
- 1640 - Second Bishop's War: King Charles I's English army loses to a Scottish Covenanter force at the Battle of Newburn.
- 1619 - Ferdinand II is elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.
- 1542 - Turkish-Portuguese War (1538-1557) – Battle of Wofla: the Portuguese are scattered, their leader Christovão da Gama is captured and later executed.
- 1521 - The Ottoman Turks occupy Belgrade.
- 1511 - The Portuguese conquer Malacca.
- 1349 - 6,000 Jews are killed in Mainz, accused of being the cause of the plague.
- 1189 - Third Crusade: the Crusaders begin the Siege of Acre under Guy of Lusignan
- 489 - Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths defeats Odoacer at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy.
- 475 - The Roman general Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his capital city, Ravenna.

August 28th


- 1999 - Prince Nikolai of Denmark, Danish royalty
- 1991 - Kyle Massey, American actor and rapper
- 1990 - Bojan Krki?, Spanish footballer
- 1989 - Cassadee Pope, American Pop Musician (Hey Monday)
- 1989 - Jokwon, South Korean singer (2AM)
- 1986 - Gilad Shalit, Israeli soldier
- 1984 - Sarah Roemer, American actress and model
- 1983 - Lasith Malinga, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1983 - Alfonso Herrera, Mexican actor and singer (RBD)
- 1983 - Luke McAlister, New Zealand All Black rugby player
- 1982 - Anderson Silva de França, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 - LeAnn Rimes, American singer
- 1982 - Kevin McNaughton, Scottish footballer
- 1982 - Thiago Motta, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 - Martin Erat, Czech hockey player
- 1981 - Daniel Gygax, Swiss footballer
- 1981 - Agata Wróbel, Polish weightlifter
- 1981 - Raphael Matos, Brazilian racing driver
- 1980 - Carly Pope, Canadian actress
- 1979 - Robert Hoyzer, German football referee
- 1979 - Shaila Durcal, Spanish singer
- 1979 - Kristen Hughes, Australian netballer
- 1979 - Markus Pröll, German footballer
- 1979 - Ruth Riley, American basketball player
- 1978 - Jess Margera, American drummer (CKY)
- 1976 - Federico Magallanes, Uruguayan footballer
- 1975 - Jamie Cureton, English footballer
- 1975 - Gareth Farrelly, Irish footballer
- 1975 - Vera Jordanova, Finnish actress and model
- 1974 - Johan Andersson, Swedish game programmer
- 1974 - Carsten Jancker, German footballer
- 1974 - Takahito Eguchi, Japanese composer
- 1973 - Matthew John Armstrong, American actor
- 1973 - DJ Assault, American musician
- 1973 - Kirby Morrow, Canadian voice actor
- 1972 - Jay Witasick, American baseball player
- 1972 - Ravindu Shah, Kenyan cricketer
- 1971 - Todd Eldredge, American figure skater
- 1971 - Janet Evans, American swimmer
- 1971 - Raul Marquez, Mexican-born American boxer
- 1971 - Shane Andrews, American baseball player
- 1970 - Sherrié Austin, Australian actress/singer
- 1970 - Rick Recht, Jewish singer
- 1969 - Jason Priestley, Canadian-born actor
- 1969 - Jack Black, American actor
- 1969 - Mary McCartney, English photographer
- 1969 - Pierre Turgeon, French Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 - Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
- 1967 - Frederick Kesner, Philippine-born Australian poet
- 1966 - Priya Dutt, Indian social worker and politician
- 1965 - Satoshi Tajiri, founder of Game Freak
- 1965 - Amanda Tapping, Canadian actress, director and producer
- 1965 - Shania Twain, Canadian singer
- 1963 - Jennifer Coolidge, American actress
- 1963 - Regina Jacobs, American athlete
- 1962 - Paul Allen, English footballer
- 1962 - David Fincher, American music video and film director
- 1961 - Kim Appleby, English singer
- 1961 - Cliff Benson, American football player
- 1960 - Emma Samms, English actress
- 1958 - Scott Hamilton, American figure skater
- 1957 - Ivo Josipovic, President of Croatia
- 1957 - Daniel Stern, American actor
- 1957 - Rick Rossovich, American actor
- 1956 - Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor
- 1956 - Mark Lutz, Puerto Rican actor
- 1954 - George Church, American geneticist
- 1952 - Rita Dove, American poet
- 1952 - Wendelin Wiedeking, German businessman
- 1952 - Guy Nadon, Canadian actor
- 1952 - Jacques Chagnon, Canadian politician
- 1951 - Keiichi Suzuki, Japanese composer
- 1951 - Wayne Osmond, American singer (The Osmonds)
- 1949 - Hugh Cornwell, British musician (The Stranglers)
- 1949 - Svetislav Peši?, Serbian basketball player and coach
- 1948 - Danny Seraphine, American musician (Chicago)
- 1948 - Murray Parker, New Zealand cricketer
- 1948 - Heather Reisman, Canadian businesswoman
- 1947 - Liza Wang, Hong Kong actress
- 1945 - Robert Greenwald, American film director/producer
- 1945 - Bob Segarini, American musician
- 1944 - Marianne Heemskerk, Dutch swimmer
- 1944 - Melvin Dummar, American claimant to the Howard Hughes estate
- 1943 - David Soul, American actor
- 1943 - Lou Piniella, American baseball manager
- 1943 - Surayud Chulanont, Thai 24th Prime Minister (former)
- 1942 - Sterling Morrison, American guitarist (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1995)
- 1941 - Sybille de Selys Longchamps, Belgian aristocrat
- 1941 - Paul Plishka, American opera singer
- 1940 - Ken Jenkins, American actor
- 1940 - Roger Pingeon, French cylist
- 1940 - Nik Turner, English musician (Hawkwind)
- 1938 - Maurizio Costanzo, Italian television journalist
- 1938 - Paul Martin, Canadian politician
- 1936 - Don Denkinger, American baseball umpire
- 1935 - Gilles Rocheleau, French Canadian politician (d. 1998)
- 1932 - Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1931 - John Shirley-Quirk, English bass-baritone
- 1931 - Tito Capobianco, Argentinian stage impresario and director
- 1930 - Windsor Davies, British actor
- 1930 - Ben Gazzara, American actor
- 1929 - István Kertész, Hungarian conductor (d. 1973)
- 1929 - Ken Gampu, South African actor (d. 2003)
- 1928 - F. William Free, American advertising executive (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Donald O'Connor, American singer, dancer, and actor (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Billy Grammer, American country music singer and guitarist
- 1924 - Janet Frame, New Zealand author (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Peggy Ryan, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Tony MacGibbon, New Zealand cricketer
- 1921 - Fernando Fernán Gómez, Spanish actor, director, academic and playwright (d. 2007)
- 1921 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1919 - Godfrey Hounsfield, English electrical engineer Nobel Laureate (d. 2004)
- 1917 - Jack Kirby, American comic book artist (d. 1994)
- 1916 - Hélène Baillargeon, Quebec singer and folklorist (d. 1997)
- 1916 - C. Wright Mills American sociologist (d. 1962)
- 1916 - Jack Vance, American author
- 1915 - Max Robertson, British sports commentator (d. 2009)
- 1915 - Tasha Tudor, American illustrator (d. 2008)
- 1913 - Robertson Davies, Canadian writer (d. 1995)
- 1913 - Jack Dreyfus, American entrepreneur (d. 2009)
- 1913 - Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer (d. 1993)
- 1913 - Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer
- 1913 - Terence Reese, British bridge player (d. 1996)
- 1913 - Richard Tucker, American tenor (d. 1975)
- 1911 - Joseph Luns, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
- 1910 - Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-born economist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
- 1908 - Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist (d. 1996)
- 1906 - John Betjeman, English poet (d. 1984)
- 1905 - Cyril Walters, England cricketer (d. 1992)
- 1904 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet engine pioneer (d. 1980)
- 1903 - Bruno Bettelheim, American psychologist (d. 1990)
- 1899 - Charles Boyer, French actor (d. 1978)
- 1899 - Andrei Platonov, Russian writer (d. 1951)
- 1898 - Charlie Grimm, American baseball player (d. 1983)
- 1894 - Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (d. 1981)
- 1885 - Vance Palmer, Australian author (d. 1959)
- 1884 - Peter Fraser, former Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1950)
- 1878 - George Whipple, American doctor and Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
- 1867 - Umberto Giordano, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1859 - Vittorio Sella, Italian photographer (d. 1943)
- 1853 - Vladimir Shukhov, Russian engineer and inventor (d. 1939)
- 1840 - Alexander Cameron Sim, Scottish merchant (d. 1900)
- 1828 - Leo Tolstoy, Russian author (birthdate according to O.S.) (d. 1910)
- 1827 - Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1894)
- 1814 - Sheridan le Fanu, Irish writer (d. 1873)
- 1801 - Antoine Augustin Cournot, French mathematician (d. 1877)
- 1789 - Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden (d. 1860)
- 1774 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, American-born Catholic saint (d. 1821)
- 1749 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and scientist (d. 1832)
- 1714 - Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1774)
- 1691 - Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1750)
- 1667 - Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1721)
- 1612 - Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch scholar (d. 1653)
- 1592 - George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1628)
- 1582 - Taichang Emperor, of the Ming Dynasty of China (d. 1620)
- 1025 - Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (d. 1068)