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 9th


- Martyrs' Day, commemorates the riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone. (Panama)
- Christian Feast Day
- Feast of the Most Holy Black Nazarene (Quiapo district, Manila, Philippines)
- Republic Day (Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina)

January 9th


- 2005 - Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group sign a peace agreement in Naivasha, Kenya.
- 2005 - Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh.
- 1964 - Martyrs' Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians.
- 1951 - The United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City.
- 1947 - Elizabeth "Betty" Short, the Black Dahlia, is last seen alive.
- 1945 - World War II: The United States invades Luzon in the Philippines.
- 1941 - World War II: First flight of the Avro Lancaster.
- 1941 - World War II: The Greek Triton (S.112) sinks the Italian submarine Neghelli in Otranto.
- 1923 - Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flight.
- 1918 - Battle of Bear Valley: The last battle of the American Indian Wars.
- 1917 - World War I: the Battle of Rafa occurs near the Egyptian border with Palestine.
- 1916 - World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli concludes with an Ottoman Empire victory when the last Allied forces are evacuated from the peninsula.
- 1914 - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., the first historically black intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity to be officially recognized at Howard University is founded.
- 1905 - According to the Julian Calendar which is used at the time, Russian workers stage a march on the Winter Palace that ends in the massacre by Tsarist troops known as Bloody Sunday, setting off the Russian Revolution of 1905.
- 1903 - Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, son of the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia.
- 1894 - New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
- 1880 - The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow.
- 1878 - Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
- 1863 - American Civil War: the Battle of Fort Hindman occurs in Arkansas.
- 1861 - American Civil War: The "Star of the West" incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina. It is considered by some historians to be the "First Shots of the American Civil War".
- 1861 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
- 1858 - Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
- 1857 - The Fort Tejon earthquake of California occurs, registering an estimated magnitude of 7.9.
- 1839 - The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process.
- 1822 - The Portuguese prince Pedro I of Brazil decides to stay in Brazil against the orders of the Portuguese king João VI, starting the Brazilian independence process.
- 1816 - Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery.
- 1806 - Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral.
- 1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt introduces income tax to raise funds for the war against Napoleon.
- 1793 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first person to fly in a balloon in the United States.
- 1788 - Connecticut becomes the fifth state to be admitted to the United States.
- 1768 - In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
- 1760 - Afghans defeat Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat.
- 1431 - Judges' investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France, the seat of the English occupation government.
- 1349 - The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, is rounded up and incinerated.
- 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople.

January 9th


- 1995 - Nicola Peltz, American child actress
- 1990 - Melissa Ricks, Filipina actress
- 1989 - Michael Beasley, American basketball player
- 1989 - Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian actress
- 1989 - Michaella Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1989 - Chris Sandow, Australian Rugby League player
- 1987 - Sam Bird, English racing driver
- 1987 - Mao Inoue, Japanese actress
- 1987 - Lucas Pezzini Leiva, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 - Paolo Nutini, Scottish singer/songwriter
- 1987 - Pablo Santos, Mexican actor (d. 2006)
- 1986 - Jéferson, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 - Benjamin Danso, German rugby player
- 1983 - Sharad Malhotra, Indian television actor
- 1982 - Timmy Bowers, American basketball player
- 1981 - Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer
- 1980 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- 1979 - Athanassios Prittas, Greek footballer
- 1979 - Tomiko Van, Japanese singer
- 1978 - Chad Ocho Cinco, American football player
- 1978 - Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 - Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer
- 1978 - AJ McLean, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1978 - Maggie Rizer, American model and AIDS activist
- 1977 - Beth Troutman, American production assistant
- 1976 - Simon Gosejohann, German comedian
- 1976 - Todd Grisham, American professional wrestling interviewer
- 1976 - Radek Bonk, Czech ice hockey player
- 1975 - Kiko Calero, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1975 - Kim Mathers, Eminem's Ex Wife
- 1974 - Farhan Akhtar, Indian Bollywood director, actor, producer, singer.
- 1973 - Angela Bettis, American actress
- 1973 - Sean Paul, Jamaican ragga and hip hop musician
- 1972 - Sarah Beeny, British TV personality
- 1972 - Mat Hoffman, Professional BMX Rider
- 1972 - Jay Powell, baseball player
- 1971 - Daniel Dumile, American hip hop artist
- 1971 - Angie Martinez, American rapper and radio talk host
- 1971 - Yusuke Naora, Japanese game art director
- 1971 - Hal Niedzviecki, Canadian author
- 1971 - Scott Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 - Lara Fabian, Belgian singer
- 1970 - Alex Staropoli, Italian keyboardist (Rhapsody Of Fire)
- 1970 - Mia X, American rapper
- 1968 - Jimmy Adams, West Indian cricketer
- 1968 - Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
- 1968 - Catalina Saavedra, Chilean actress
- 1968 - Al Schnier, American rock guitarist (moe.)
- 1967 - Carl Bell, American musician
- 1967 - Claudio Caniggia, Argentinian footballer
- 1967 - Steve Harwell, American singer and musician (Smash Mouth)
- 1967 - Dave Matthews, South African singer and musician
- 1967 - Gary Teichmann, South African rugby player
- 1966 - Jan Johansen, Swedish singer
- 1965 - Muggsy Bogues, American basketball player
- 1965 - Iain Dowie, English football manager
- 1965 - Eric Erlandson, American musician
- 1965 - Haddaway, Trinidadian singer
- 1965 - Joely Richardson, British actress
- 1965 - Darren Bennett, Australian-born American football player
- 1963 - Michael Everson, expert in writing systems and Unicode
- 1961 - Oliver Goldstick, American screenwriter
- 1959 - Mark Martin, American race car driver
- 1959 - Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1959 - Cristi Minculescu, Romanian musician
- 1959 - Otis Nixon, American baseball player
- 1958 - Mehmet Ali A?ca, Turkish attempted assassin of Pope John Paul II
- 1958 - Stephen Neale, British philosopher
- 1957 - Bibie, Ghanaian singer
- 1957 - Phil Lewis, American singer (L.A. Guns)
- 1956 - Kimberly Beck, American actress
- 1956 - Imelda Staunton, British actress
- 1956 - Mike Walczewski, American public address announcer at Madison Square Garden
- 1955 - Michiko Kakutani, American literary critic
- 1955 - J. K. Simmons, American actor
- 1953 - Javad Alizadeh, Iranian cartoonist.
- 1953 - Morris Gleitzman, British-Australian children's author
- 1952 - Hugh Bayley, British politician
- 1952 - Michael Capuano, American politician
- 1951 - M.L. Carr, basketball player and coach
- 1951 - Crystal Gayle, American singer
- 1950 - David Johansen, American singer
- 1950 - Rio Reiser, German singer (d. 1996)
- 1948 - Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (d. 2006)
- 1948 - Cassie Gaines, backup Singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
- 1947 - Ronnie Landfield, American artist
- 1945 - John Doman, American actor
- 1944 - Ian Hornak, American painter, draughtsman and sculptor (d. 2002)
- 1944 - Jimmy Page, British musician and producer (Led Zeppelin)
- 1943 - Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer
- 1943 - Scott Walker, American singer
- 1943 - Robert Drewe, Australian author
- 1943 - Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1942 - K Callan, American actress
- 1942 - Lee Kun-hee, Korean industrialist, chairman of Samsung
- 1942 - Judy Malloy, American hypertext fiction pioneer and artist
- 1941 - Joan Baez, American singer and activist
- 1941 - Gilles Vaillancourt, Quebec politician
- 1940 - Jimmy Boyd, American actor and singer (d. 2009)
- 1940 - Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993)
- 1940 - Al Downing, American singer (d. 2005)
- 1940 - Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss politician
- 1939 - Susannah York, British actress
- 1936 - Anne Rivers Siddons, American writer
- 1935 - Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1935 - Dick Enberg, American sportscaster
- 1935 - Earl G. Graves, Sr., African-American publisher
- 1935 - Brian Harradine, Australian independent Senator
- 1934 - Bart Starr, American football player
- 1933 - Robert Garcia, American politician
- 1933 - Wilbur Smith, Zambian-British novelist
- 1931 - Algis Budrys, American author (d. 2008)
- 1929 - Brian Friel, Irish dramatist
- 1929 - Heiner Muller, German dramatist (d. 1995)
- 1929 - Dorothea Puente, American serial killer
- 1928 - Judith Krantz, American author
- 1928 - Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1926 - Giannis Christou, Greek composer (d. 1970)
- 1926 - Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, Lieutenant governor of Quebec (d. 2002)
- 1925 - Lee Van Cleef, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1924 - Sergei Parajanov, Armenian film director (d. 1990)
- 1922 - Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel laureate
- 1922 - Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (d. 1984)
- 1921 - Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Chan Canasta, Polish-British magician (d. 1999)
- 1920 - Clive Dunn, British actor
- 1920 - Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar (d. 1998)
- 1916 - Vic Mizzy, American orchestra leader (d. 2009)
- 1916 - Peter Twinn, English World War II code-breaker (d. 2004)
- 1915 - Anita Louise, U.S. actress (d. 1970)
- 1915 - Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (d. 1982)
- 1914 - Kenny (Klook) Clarke, American jazz drummer and composer (d. 1985)
- 1913 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1912 - Ralph Tubbs, British architect (d. 1996)
- 1909 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (d. 1994)
- 1909 - Anthony Mamo, Malta's 1st President (d. 2008)
- 1909 - Patrick Peyton, Irish Roman Catholic prelate (d. 1992)
- 1909 - John Richard Simplot, American entrepreneur (d. 2008)
- 1908 - Simone de Beauvoir, French author (d. 1986)
- 1903 - Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator (d. 1969)
- 1902 - Rudolph Bing, Austrian-born opera manager (d. 1997)
- 1902 - Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest and founder of Opus Dei (d. 1975)
- 1901 - Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1900 - Richard Halliburton, American adventurer (presumed dead 1939)
- 1900 - Maria of Romania, Queen Consort of Yugoslavia (d. 1961)
- 1898 - Vilma Bánky, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
- 1898 - Gracie Fields, English music hall performer (d. 1979)
- 1898 - Wally Baker, American supercentenarian (d. 2009)
- 1897 - Karl Löwith, German philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1896 - Warwick Braithwaite, New Zealand-born British conductor (d. 1971)
- 1892 - Eva Bowring, American politician (d. 1985)
- 1890 - Karel ?apek, Czech writer (d. 1938)
- 1890 - Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist (d. 1935)
- 1886 - Lloyd Loar, Acoustical engineer and inventor of the Gibson F-5 mandolin (d. 1943)
- 1881 - Giovanni Papini, Italian writer (d. 1956)
- 1881 - Lascelles Abercrombie, British poet and critic (d. 1938)
- 1881 - Edouard Beaupré, horse lifter (d. 1904)
- 1879 - John Broadus Watson, American psychologist (d. 1958)
- 1875 - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American socialite (d. 1942)
- 1873 - Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Hebrew poet (d. 1934)
- 1870 - Joseph B Strauss, American civil engineer (d. 1938)
- 1868 - S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist (d. 1939)
- 1864 - Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician (d. 1926)
- 1859 - Carrie Chapman Catt, American suffragist leader (d. 1947)
- 1856 - Anton Aškerc, Slovenian priest and poet (d. 1912)
- 1854 - Jennie Jerome, American society beauty and mother of Winston Churchill (d. 1921)
- 1849 - John Hartley, English tennis player, double winner of Wimbledon (d. 1935)
- 1848 - Princess Frederica of Hanover (d. 1926)
- 1839 - John Knowles Paine, U.S. composer (d. 1906)
- 1832 - Félix-Gabriel Marchand, journalist, author and politician, Premier of Quebec (d. 1900)
- 1829 - Thomas William Robertson, English playwright (d. 1871)
- 1829 - Adolf von Schlagintweit, German explorer (d. 1857)
- 1823 - Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (d. 1908)
- 1819 - James Francis, Premier of Victoria (d. 1884)
- 1811 - Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English writer (d. 1856)
- 1790 - Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet (d. 1855)
- 1773 - Cassandra Austen, English watercolorist and sister of Jane Austen (d. 1845)
- 1745 - Caleb Strong, 6th and 10th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1819)
- 1735 - John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent Royal Navy, Admiral of the Fleet
- 1728 - Thomas Warton, English poet (d. 1790)
- 1685 - Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist (d. 1766)
- 1624 - Empress Meish? (d. 1696)
- 1589 - Ivan Gundulic, Croatian poet (d. 1638)
- 1571 - Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, soldier in Habsburg service (d. 1621)
- 1554 - Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623)
- 1475 - Crinitus, Florentine humanist (d. 1507)