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 6th
- Christian Feast Day:

- Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church)

- Epiphany (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances:
Befana Day (Italy)

- Little Christmas (Ireland)

- The beginning of the Carnival period, from Epiphany until Shrove Tuesday. (Roman Catholicism)

- The ceremonial birthday of Haile Selassie (Rastafari movement)


January 6th
- 2010 - The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, is sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet's Sh?nan Maru.

- 2005 - American Civil Rights Movement: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect in the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers.

- 1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

- 1994 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the knee at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit.

- 1978 - The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

- 1974 - In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.

- 1967 - Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch "Operation Deckhouse Five" in the Mekong River delta.

- 1953 - The first Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.

- 1950 - The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response.

- 1942 - Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

- 1941 - President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

- 1936 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act is unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

- 1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application.

- 1930 - The first diesel-engined automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City.

- 1929 - King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country's constitution (the January 6th Dictatorship).

- 1929 - Mother Teresa arrives in Calcutta to begin her work among India's poorest and sick people.

- 1912 - New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U.S. state.

- 1907 - Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.

- 1893 - The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.

- 1870 - The inauguration of the Musikverein in Vienna.

- 1853 - President-elect of the United States Franklin Pierce and his family are involved in a train wreck near Andover, Massachusetts.

- 1838 - Samuel Morse first successfully tests the electrical telegraph.

- 1781 - In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

- 1721 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings.

- 1690 - Joseph, son of Emperor Leopold I, becomes King of the Romans.

- 1661 - English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London.

- 1649 - English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.

- 1579 - The Union of Atrecht is signed.

- 1540 - King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.

- 1494 - The first Mass in the New World is celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

- 1449 - Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI is crowned at Mistra.

- 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans.

- 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England.


January 6th
- 1987 - Zhang Lin, Chinese swimmer

- 1986 - Paul McShane, Irish footballer

- 1986 - Benjamin Simm, German rugby player

- 1986 - Mike Teel, American football player

- 1986 - Petter Northug, Norwegian skier

- 1986 - Alex Turner, English musician (Arctic Monkeys)

- 1984 - Sean O'Brien, Australian windsurfer

- 1983 - Mithra Jin, South-Korean hip hop musician

- 1983 - Adam Burish, American ice hockey player

- 1982 - Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player

- 1982 - Brian Bass, American baseball player

- 1982 - Tiffany Pollard, American reality television personality

- 1981 - Mike Jones, American rapper

- 1981 - Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress

- 1981 - Jérémie Renier, Belgian actor

- 1981 - Asante Samuel, American football player

- 1980 - Steed Malbranque, French footballer

- 1978 - Nikki Einfeld, Canadian opera singer

- 1978 - Bubba Franks, American football player

- 1978 - Casey Fossum, American baseball player

- 1978 - Tara Spencer-Nairn, Canadian actress

- 1977 - Marc Johnson, American skateboarder

- 1976 - Danny Pintauro, American actor

- 1976 - Lu Yi, Chinese actor

- 1976 - Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player

- 1976 - Johnny Yong Bosch, American actor, and musician

- 1976 - Daniel Tynell, Swedish cross-country skier

- 1975 - Nicole DeHuff, American actress (d. 2005)

- 1975 - James Farrior, American football player

- 1975 - Nick Clarke, Pro Bull Rider

- 1975 - Jason King, English radio DJ (Radio 1)

- 1975 - Yukana, Japanese seiy?

- 1974 - Paul Grant, American basketball player

- 1974 - Daniel Cordone, Argentine footballer

- 1973 - Scott Ferguson, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1973 - Vasso Karantasiou, Greek beach volleyball player

- 1972 - Nek, Italian singer

- 1971 - Gary Wiseman, American punk-rock drummer

- 1971 - Irwin Thomas, Australian singer (Southern Sons)

- 1970 - José Carabalí, Venezuelan track and field athlete

- 1970 - Julie Chen, American television presenter

- 1970 - Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player

- 1969 - Norman Reedus, American model and actor

- 1968 - John Singleton, American film director

- 1966 - Andrew Wood, American singer (Mother Love Bone) (d. 1990)

- 1966 - Fernando Carrillo, Venezuelan actor

- 1966 - Sharon Cuneta, Filipina singer and actress

- 1966 - A. R. Rahman, Indian composer

- 1965 - Muhammed al-Ahari, American Muslim writer

- 1965 - Konnan, Cuban-born professional wrestler

- 1965 - Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician

- 1964 - Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan athlete (d. 2005)

- 1964 - Charles Haley, American football player

- 1964 - Henry Maske, German boxer

- 1964 - Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler

- 1964 - Mark O'Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)

- 1964 - Yuri, Mexican actress and singer

- 1964 - Denise Borino, American actress (d. 2010)

- 1963 - Tony Halme, Finnish boxer and politician (d. 2010)

- 1962 - Michael Houser, American guitarist (Widespread Panic) (d. 2002)

- 1960 - Paul Azinger, American golfer

- 1960 - Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player

- 1960 - Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer

- 1960 - Howie Long, National Football League player

- 1960 - Andrea Thompson, American actress

- 1959 - Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer

- 1959 - Kathy Sledge, American singer

- 1958 - Themos Anastasiadis, Greek journalist and newspaper editor

- 1958 - Scott Bryce, American actor

- 1957 - Nancy Lopez, American golfer

- 1957 - C. Michael Foale, American astronaut

- 1956 - Angus Deayton, English comedian, actor and television presenter

- 1955 - Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor

- 1955 - Richard Corbett, British politician

- 1954 - Karen Moras, Australian swimmer

- 1954 - Trudie Styler, English actress

- 1954 - Hans Robert Hiegel, German architect

- 1954 - Yuji Horii, Japanese video game designer

- 1954 - Anthony Minghella, British film director (d. 2008)

- 1953 - Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC)

- 1952 - Moondog Spot, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)

- 1952 - Frank Sivero, Italian-born American actor

- 1951 - Don Gullett, American baseball player

- 1951 - Kim Wilson, American musician (The Fabulous Thunderbirds)

- 1950 - Louis Freeh, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

- 1948 - Guy Gardner, American astronaut

- 1947 - Sandy Denny, English singer and songwriter (d. 1978)

- 1947 - Ian Millar, Canadian equestrian

- 1946 - Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd (d. 2006)

- 1945 - Allen Appel, American novelist

- 1944 - Bonnie Franklin, American actress

- 1944 - Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist, Nobel laureate

- 1943 - Hak Ja Han, Korean church leader

- 1943 - Terry Venables, English football manager

- 1940 - Van McCoy, American musician (d. 1979)

- 1940 - Penny Lernoux, American journalist (d. 1989)

- 1939 - Murray Rose, Australian swimmer

- 1938 - Adriano Celentano, Italian singer and actor

- 1938 - Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist and politician

- 1938 - Mario Rodríguez Cobos, Argentine writer and spiritual leader

- 1937 - Doris Troy, American singer (d. 2004)

- 1937 - Paolo Conte, Italian singer

- 1937 - Lou Holtz, American football coach

- 1936 - Rubén Amaro, Sr., Mexican baseball player

- 1936 - Darlene Hard, American tennis player

- 1936 - Julio María Sanguinetti Coirolo, President of Uruguay

- 1935 - Tsaritsa Margarita Gomez-Acebo y Cejuela of Bulgaria

- 1935 - Nino Tempo, American singer and actor

- 1934 - Harry M. Miller, Australian entrepreneur

- 1934 - Sylvia Sims, English actress

- 1934 - John Wieners, American lyric poet (d. 2002)

- 1933 - Oleg Makarov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2003)

- 1933 - Emil Steinberger, Swiss comedian

- 1932 - Stuart A. Rice, American chemist

- 1931 - E. L. Doctorow, American author

- 1931 - Juan Goytisolo, Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist

- 1931 - Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1931 - Capucine, French actress (d. 1990)

- 1930 - Vic Tayback, American actor (d. 1990)

- 1929 - Babrak Karmal, Afghani politician (d. 1996)

- 1929 - Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (d. 2006)

- 1928 - George H. Ross, American businessman

- 1926 - Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (d. 2002)

- 1926 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (d. 2003)

- 1926 - Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)

- 1926 - Ralph Branca, American baseball player

- 1925 - John De Lorean, American auto maker (d. 2005)

- 1924 - Earl Scruggs, American musician

- 1923 - Norman Kirk, New Zealander politician (d. 1974)

- 1923 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)

- 1921 - Cary Middlecoff, American golfer (d. 1998)

- 1920 - Doris Stokes, British psychic medium (d. 1987)

- 1920 - Early Wynn, American baseball player (d. 1999)

- 1920 - John Maynard Smith, English biologist (d. 2004)

- 1920 - Sun Myung Moon, Korean evangelist

- 1917 - Koo Chen-fu, Chinese negotiator (d. 2005)

- 1916 - Vincent Serventy, Australian writer and conservationist (d. 2007)

- 1915 - Alan Watts, English writer/philosopher (d. 1973)

- 1915 - John C. Lilly, American psychoanalyst (d. 2001)

- 1915 - Don Edwards, American politician

- 1914 - Godfrey Edward Arnold, Austrian-born American otolaryngologist (d. 1989)

- 1913 - Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)

- 1913 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (d. 2001)

- 1912 - Danny Thomas, American actor (d. 1991)

- 1910 - Wright Morris, American writer (d. 1998)

- 1910 - G. N. Balasubramaniam, Indian Carnatic musician (d. 1960)

- 1908 - Menachem Avidom, Austro-Hungarian born Israeli composer (d. 1995)

- 1907 - David Fleay, Australian naturalist (d. 1993)

- 1905 - Idris Davies, Welsh poet (d. 1953)

- 1903 - Francis L. Sullivan, English actor (d. 1956)

- 1903 - Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (d. 1993)

- 1902 - Helmut Poppendick, German physician (d. 1994)

- 1900 - Kathryn Hulme, American novelist (d. 1981)

- 1899 - Phyllis Haver, American actress (d. 1960)

- 1899 - Heinrich Nordhoff, German automobile engineer (d. 1968)

- 1898 - James Fitzmaurice, Irish aviation pioneer (d. 1965)

- 1898 - Charles E. Pont, American artist (d. 1971)

- 1883 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer (d. 1931)

- 1882 - Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (d. 1949)

- 1882 - Sam Rayburn, American politician (d. 1961)

- 1882 - Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop (d. 1965)

- 1880 - Tom Mix, American actor (d. 1940)

- 1878 - Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)

- 1878 - Dame Adeline Genée, Danish-born British ballerina (d. 1970)

- 1874 - Fred Niblo, American film actor, director, producer (d. 1948)

- 1872 - Alexander Scriabin, Russian composer (d. 1915)

- 1870 - Gustav Bauer, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)

- 1868 - Vittorio Monti, Italian composer (Csardas) (d. 1922)

- 1861 - George Exton Lloyd, Anglican bishop and theologian (d. 1940)

- 1859 - Samuel Alexander, Australian-born British philosopher (d. 1938)

- 1857 - Hugh Mahon, Irish-born Australian politician (d. 1931)

- 1857 - William E. Russell, American politician (d. 1896)

- 1856 - Giuseppe Martucci, Italian composer (d. 1909)

- 1850 - Franz Xaver Scharwenka, Polish-German pianist and composer (d. 1924)

- 1848 - Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1876)

- 1838 - Max Bruch, German composer (d. 1920)

- 1836 - Ludwig Schüler, German politician (d. 1930)

- 1832 - Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)

- 1822 - Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist (d. 1890)

- 1819 - Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (d. 1886)

- 1812 - Melchora Aquino, Filipino revolutionary figure (d. 1919)

- 1811 - Charles Sumner, American politician (d. 1874)

- 1808 - Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American naval officer (d. 1864)

- 1807 - Jozef Maximilián Petzval, Slovak inventor (d. 1891)

- 1803 - Henri Herz, Austrian pianist, composer (d. 1888)

- 1799 - Jedediah Strong Smith, American hunter and explorer (d. 1831)

- 1795 - Anselme Payen, French chemist (d. 1871)

- 1793 - James Madison Porter, American politician (d. 1862)

- 1745 - Étienne Montgolfier, French inventor (d. 1799)

- 1714 - Percivall Pott, English physician (d. 1788)

- 1673 - James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English noble (d. 1744)

- 1655 - Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1705)

- 1655 - Empress Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1720)

- 1617 - Kristoffer Gabel, Danish statesman (d. 1673)

- 1595 - Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French man of letters (d. 1650)

- 1587 - Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Spanish statesman (d. 1645)

- 1580 - (baptised) John Smith of Jamestown (d. 1631)

- 1561 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician (d. 1656)

- 1525 - Caspar Peucer, German reformer (d. 1602)

- 1488 - Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)

- 1486 - Martin Agricola, German composer (d. 1556)

- 1412 - Joan of Arc, French military figure and Roman Catholic Saint (legendary date) (d. 1431)

- 1367 - Richard II of England (d. 1400)

