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.

January 4th


- Ch?na-hajimeshiki (????) at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-g?. (Kamakura, Japan)
- Christian Feast Day
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
- Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Nigeria)
- The eleventh day of Christmas. (Western Christianity)

January 4th


- 2010 - The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building is officially opened.
- 2010 - The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed HIV infection from its list of communicable diseases of public health significance.
- 2007 - The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
- 2006 - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. His authority is transferred to acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
- 2004 - Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
- 1999 - Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota.
- 1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque, killing 16 people and injuring 25.
- 1998 - Wilaya of Relizane massacres in Algeria: over 170 are killed in three remote villages.
- 1998 - A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
- 1989 - Second Gulf of Sidra incident: a pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
- 1987 - The Chase, Maryland rail wreck: An Amtrak train en route to Boston, Massachusetts from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people.
- 1975 - Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American-born saint.
- 1974 - United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
- 1972 - Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London.
- 1967 - Donald Campbell is killed on Coniston Water while attempting to break the world water speed record.
- 1966 - A military coup takes place in Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso), dissolving the National Parliament and leading to a new national constitution.
- 1965 - United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
- 1962 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board.
- 1959 - Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
- 1958 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit.
- 1951 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
- 1948 - Burma regains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1944 - World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
- 1912 - The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter.
- 1903 - Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by Thomas Edison during the War of Currents campaign.
- 1896 - Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
- 1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by William W. Grant on Mary Gartside.
- 1884 - The Fabian Society is founded in London.
- 1878 - Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman rule.
- 1865 - The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.
- 1863 - The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
- 1854 - The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
- 1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
- 1762 - Great Britain declares war on Spain and Naples.
- 1717 - The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.
- 1698 - Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, is destroyed by fire.
- 1642 - King Charles I of England sends soldiers to arrest members of Parliament, commencing England's slide into civil war.
- 1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey.
- 1490 - Anna of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the king of France will be considered guilty of the crime of lèse majesté.
- 871 - Battle of Reading: Ethelred of Wessex fights, and is defeated by, a Danish invasion army.
- -46 - Julius Caesar defeats Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

January 4th


- 2000 - Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, American actress
- 2000 - Ashley Boettcher, American actress
- 1991 - Stefan Nenadovi?, Montenegrin footballer
- 1991 - Olivia Tennet, New Zealand actress
- 1990 - Toni Kroos, German footballer
- 1990 - Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
- 1989 - Graham Rahal, American race car driver
- 1988 - Nabila Jamshed, Indian writer
- 1986 - James Milner, English footballer
- 1986 - Steve Slaton , American football player
- 1985 - Fernando Rees, Brazilian race car driver
- 1983 - Spencer Chamberlain, American musician (Underoath)
- 1982 - Paulo Ferrari, Argentinian footballer
- 1982 - Kang Hye-jeong, South Korean actress
- 1982 - Richard Logan, English footballer
- 1982 - Lucie Škrobáková, Czech athlete
- 1981 - Silvy De Bie, Belgian singer
- 1980 - Greg Cipes, American actor
- 1980 - Bobbi Eden, Dutch pornostar
- 1980 - Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
- 1980 - Yaroslav Popovych, Ukrainian cyclist
- 1979 - Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver
- 1979 - Jeph Howard, American musician (The Used)
- 1979 - Charity Rahmer, American actress
- 1978 - Dominik Hrbatý, Slovakian tennis player
- 1978 - Mai Meneses, Spanish singer
- 1977 - Irán Castillo, Mexican actress
- 1977 - Dan Shanahan, Irish hurler
- 1977 - Tim Wheeler, Irish singer (Ash)
- 1977 - David Millar, British cyclist
- 1976 - Benoît Joachim, Luxembourg cyclist
- 1976 - Ted Lilly, American baseball player
- 1975 - Jill Marie Jones, American actress
- 1974 - Ian Moor, English singer
- 1974 - Armin Zöggeler, Italian luger
- 1974 - Danilo Hondo, German cyclist
- 1973 - Frank Høj, Danish cyclist
- 1973 - Harmony Korine, American film director and artist
- 1973 - Mike D. Anderson, American actor
- 1973 - Greg de Vries, Canadian hockey player
- 1972 - James Longley, American documentary filmmaker
- 1971 - Junichi Kakizaki, Japanese artist, sculptor
- 1970 - Chris Kanyon, American professional wrestler (d. 2010)
- 1969 - Corie Blount, American basketball player
- 1969 - Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer
- 1968 - Mike Wilpolt, American arena football head coach
- 1967 - David Berman, American poet and singer/songwriter (Silver Jews)
- 1967 - Johnny Nelson, English boxer
- 1967 - Marina Orsini, Canadian actress
- 1967 - David Toms, American golfer
- 1966 - Deana Carter, American singer
- 1965 - Yvan Attal, French actor and director
- 1965 - Guy Forget, French tennis player
- 1965 - Beth Gibbons, English singer (Portishead)
- 1965 - Cait O'Riordan, British musician (The Pogues)
- 1965 - Julia Ormond, English actress
- 1964 - Nikos Thanopoulos, Greek businessman
- 1964 - Tom Westman, American reality-show contestant
- 1963 - Dave Foley, Canadian comedian and actor
- 1963 - Till Lindemann, German singer (Rammstein)
- 1962 - Laila Eloui, Egyptian actress
- 1962 - Robin Guthrie, Scottish guitarist (Cocteau Twins)
- 1962 - Joe Kleine, American basketball player
- 1962 - André Rouvoet, Dutch politician
- 1962 - Peter Steele, American musician (Type O Negative) (d. 2010)
- 1961 - Lee Curreri, American actor
- 1961 - Sidney Green, American basketball player
- 1960 - Michael Stipe, American singer (R.E.M.)
- 1960 - April Winchell, American actress
- 1959 - Yoshitomo Nara, Japanese pop artist
- 1958 - Andy Borowitz, American comedian and satirist
- 1958 - Matt Frewer, American actor
- 1958 - Gary Jones, Welsh-born actor
- 1958 - Julian Sands, English actor
- 1957 - Patty Loveless, American singer
- 1957 - Gurdas Maan, Punjabi singer, actor, lyricist
- 1956 - Nels Cline, American guitarist and composer
- 1956 - Bernard Sumner, English musician (Joy Division, New Order, Electronic)
- 1955 - Mark Hollis, English musician and composer (Talk Talk)
- 1954 - Eugene Chadbourne, American composer and musician
- 1954 - Tina Knowles, American fashion designer
- 1953 - Norberto Alonso, Argentine footballer
- 1953 - Dirk Heun, German footballer
- 1953 - James Warren, American journalist
- 1951 - Barbara Cochran, American alpine skier
- 1950 - John Louis Evans, American convicted murderer (d. 1983)
- 1948 - Eugeniusz Wycis?o, Polish politician
- 1947 - Chris Cutler, English musician and composer (Henry Cow, Art Bears)
- 1947 - Rick Stein, English chef and television presenter
- 1946 - Arthur Conley, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1946 - Susannah McCorkle, American jazz singer (d. 2001)
- 1946 - Dr.S.Rajasekharan, Indian poet and critic
- 1945 - Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish entertainer
- 1945 - Richard R. Schrock, American chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1944 - Charlie Manuel, American baseball manager
- 1943 - Doris Kearns Goodwin, American writer
- 1942 - John McLaughlin, English jazz guitarist
- 1941 - Joe Renzetti, American film composer
- 1941 - George Pan Cosmatos, Greek film director (d. 2005)
- 1941 - John Bennett Perry, American actor
- 1941 - Maureen Reagan, American political activist (d. 2001)
- 1940 - Gao Xingjian, Chinese-born novelist and dramatist, Nobel laureate
- 1940 - Helmut Jahn, German architect
- 1940 - Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1937 - Grace Bumbry, American singer
- 1937 - Dyan Cannon, American actress
- 1937 - Mick O'Connell, Gaelic footballer
- 1935 - Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
- 1934 - Rudolf Schuster, President of Slovakia
- 1933 - Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia.
- 1932 - Carlos Saura, Spanish director
- 1932 - Jorge Russek, Mexican actor (d. 1998)
- 1931 - Sir William Deane, Governor-General of Australia
- 1931 - Adi Lady Lala Mara, First Lady of Fiji (d. 2004)
- 1930 - Sorrell Booke, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1930 - Don Shula, American football coach
- 1927 - Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman
- 1927 - Barbara Rush, American actress
- 1925 - Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish cross-country skier (d. 2003)
- 1924 - Sebastian Kappen, Indian theologian (d. 1993)
- 1923 - Don Butterfield, American jazz and classical tuba player (d. 2006)
- 1922 - Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (d. 1997)
- 1920 - William Colby, American CIA director (d. 1996)
- 1916 - Lionel Newman, American film music composer (d. 1989)
- 1916 - Robert Parrish, American film editor and director (d. 1995)
- 1915 - Meg Mundy, American actress
- 1914 - Herman Franks, American baseball player (d. 2009)
- 1913 - Malietoa Tanumafili II, Sovereign Ruler of Samoa (d. 2007)
- 1910 - Arthur Villeneuve, Quebec painter (d. 1990)
- 1902 - John McCone, American CIA Director (d. 1991)
- 1901 - C. L. R. James, Trinidadian writer and journalist (d. 1989)
- 1900 - James Bond, American ornithologist (d. 1989)
- 1896 - Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
- 1896 - André Masson, French artist (d. 1987)
- 1895 - Leroy Grumman, American industrialist (d. 1982)
- 1894 - Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician (d. 1962)
- 1893 - Yone Minagawa, Japanese supercentarian (d. 2007)
- 1892 - Maria Diaz Cortes, Spanish supercentarian (d. 2009)
- 1891 - Edward Brooker, Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
- 1883 - Max Eastman, American writer (d. 1969)
- 1882 - Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian artist (d. 1943)
- 1881 - Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
- 1878 - A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
- 1878 - Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
- 1874 - Josef Suk, Czech composer (d. 1935)
- 1870 - Percy Pitt, English organist and conductor (d. 1932)
- 1869 - Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player (d. 1960)
- 1848 - Katsura Taro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
- 1842 - Frederic T. Greenhalge, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1839 - Carl Humann, German engineer (d. 1896)
- 1838 - Charles Sherwood Stratton, American circus performer (d. 1883)
- 1832 - George Tryon, British admiral (d. 1893)
- 1813 - Isaac Pitman, English inventor (d. 1897)
- 1809 - Louis Braille, French teacher of the blind and inventor of braille (d. 1852)
- 1785 - Jacob Grimm, German philologist and folklorist (one of the Brothers Grimm) (d. 1863)
- 1735 - Claude Martin, French then British General (d. 1800)
- 1720 - Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer (d. 1774)
- 1710 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (d. 1736)
- 1672 - Hugh Boulter, Irish Archbishop of Armagh (d. 1742)
- 1664 - Lars Roberg, Swedish physician (d. 1742)
- 1643 - Sir Isaac Newton, English mathematician and natural philosopher (d. 1727)
- 1581 - James Ussher, Irish Anglican archbishop (d. 1656)
- 1341 - Wat Tyler leader of the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381 (d. 1381)
- 1334 - Amadeus VI of Savoy (d. 1383)
- 1077 - Emperor Zhezong of Song Dynasty in China (d. 1100)