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 12th


- Christian Feast Day
- National Youth Day (India)
- Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)

January 12th


- 2010 - The 2010 Haiti earthquake occurs killing at least 230,000 and destroying the majority of the capital Port-au-Prince.
- 2007 - Comet McNaught reaches perihelion becoming the brightest comet in more than 40 years.
- 2006 - A stampede during the Stoning the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
- 2006 - Turkey releases Mehmet Ali A?ca from jail after he served 25 years for shooting Pope John Paul II.
- 2006 - The French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal. Greenpeace activists board the ship.
- 2005 - Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta 2 rocket.
- 2004 - The world's largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.
- 1998 - Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
- 1992 - A new constitution, providing for freedom to form political parties, is approved by a referendum in Mali.
- 1991 - Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
- 1986 - Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61C as a Mission Specialist.
- 1976 - The UN Security Council votes 11-1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
- 1971 - The Harrisburg Seven: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
- 1970 - Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian civil war.
- 1967 - Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
- 1966 - Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
- 1964 - Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.
- 1942 - World War II: President Franklin Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
- 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
- 1918 - Finland's "Mosaic Confessors" law went into effect, making Finnish Jews full citizens.
- 1915 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is formed by an act of U.S. Congress.
- 1915 - The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote.
- 1911 - The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.
- 1908 - A long-distance radio message is sent from the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
- 1906 - Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's cabinet (which included amongst its members H. H. Asquith, David Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill) embarks on sweeping social reforms after a Liberal landslide in the British general election.
- 1899 - 13 crew members and 5 apprentices are rescued off the coast of England by the Lynmouth Lifeboat.
- 1898 - Ito Hirobumi begins his third term as Prime Minister of Japan.
- 1895 - The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
- 1875 - Kwang-su becomes emperor of China.
- 1872 - Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
- 1866 - The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
- 1848 - The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
- 1808 - The organizational meeting that led to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
- 1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asís is founded in what is now Santa Clara, California.
- 1773 - The first public Colonial American museum opens in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1539 - Treaty of Toledo signed by King Francis I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
- 1528 - Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden.
- 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople.

January 12th


- 1998 - Nathan Gamble, American actor
- 1995 - Laurel McGoff, American singer
- 1993 - Aika Mitsui, Japanese singer
- 1992 - Mao Kobayashi, Japanese gravure idol
- 1991 - Pixie Lott, English singer
- 1990 - Sergey Karjakin, Ukrainian chess player
- 1988 - Chris Casement, Irish footballer
- 1988 - Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 - Andrew Lawrence, American actor
- 1987 - Will Rothhaar, American actor
- 1987 - Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
- 1987 - Naya Rivera, American actress
- 1986 - Kehoma Brenner, Greman rugby player
- 1986 - Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
- 1986 - Kieron Richardson, English actor
- 1985 - Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer
- 1985 - Yohana Cobo, Spanish actress
- 1985 - Gerard Lawson, American football player
- 1984 - Scott Olsen, American baseball player
- 1984 - Daniel Sepulveda, American football player
- 1982 - Sherzod Abdurahmonov, Uzbekistanian boxer
- 1982 - Paul-Henri Mathieu, French tennis player
- 1982 - Chris Ray, American baseball player
- 1982 - Dimitrios Tsiamis, Greek triple jumper
- 1982 - Hans Van Alphen, Belgian decathlete
- 1982 - Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
- 1981 - Dan Klecko, American football player
- 1981 - Angus Macdonald, New Zealand All Black rugby player
- 1980 - Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
- 1979 - Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1979 - Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
- 1979 - Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
- 1979 - David Zabriskie, American cyclist
- 1978 - Amerie, American singer and songwriter
- 1978 - Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball pitcher
- 1978 - Jeremy Camp, American musician
- 1978 - Bonaventure Kalou, Ivorian footballer
- 1978 - Kim Sa Rang, Korean actress
- 1978 - Kris Roe, American musician (The Ataris)
- 1978 - Maurizio Zaffiri, Italian rugby player
- 1977 - Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
- 1977 - Cade McNown, American football player
- 1977 - Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor
- 1976 - Miki Nakatani, Japanese actress and singer
- 1975 - Jason Freese, American musician (Green Day)
- 1975 - Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 - Claudia Conserva, Chilean television presenter
- 1974 - Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1974 - Melanie Chisholm, British singer (Spice Girls)
- 1973 - Dan Haseltine, American singer (Jars of Clay)
- 1973 - Matt Wong, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
- 1973 - Hande Yener, Turkish singer
- 1972 - Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of Rajiv Gandhi
- 1972 - Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Jason Sklar, American comedian
- 1972 - Randy Sklar, American comedian
- 1971 - Scott Burrell, American basketball player
- 1970 - Raekwon, American rapper
- 1970 - Zack de la Rocha, American musician (Rage Against the Machine)
- 1970 - Mig Ayesa, Australian musician
- 1969 - Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and TV producer
- 1969 - Robert Prosine?ki, Croatian footballer
- 1968 - Keith Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1968 - Rachael Harris, American actress
- 1968 - Junichi Masuda, Japanese composer
- 1968 - Heather Mills, British activist and model
- 1968 - Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1967 - Subir Chowdhury, Six Sigma Quality Consultant, Author
- 1967 - Vendela Kirsebom, Swedish supermodel
- 1966 - Olivier Martinez, French actor
- 1965 - Mark Moore, British record producer
- 1965 - Rob Zombie, American musician and film director (White Zombie, Solo)
- 1964 - Jeff Bezos, American entrepreneur
- 1964 - Laura Gildemeister, Argentine tennis player
- 1964 - Clare Holman, British actress
- 1963 - François Girard, French-Canadian film director and screenwriter
- 1962 - Luna Vachon, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2010)
- 1960 - Oliver Platt, Canadian actor
- 1960 - Dominique Wilkins, American basketball player
- 1959 - Nick Nairn, British celebrity chef
- 1959 - Blixa Bargeld, German singer and musician (Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
- 1959 - Per Gessle, Swedish songwriter and musician (Roxette)
- 1958 - Curt Fraser, American ice hockey coach
- 1957 - John Lasseter, American animation director
- 1955 - Rockne S. O'Bannon, American screenwriter
- 1954 - Howard Stern, American radio personality and author
- 1952 - Charles Faulkner, American motivational speaker and author
- 1952 - Walter Mosley, American author
- 1952 - John Walker, New Zealand middle distance runner
- 1951 - Kirstie Alley, American actress
- 1951 - Ann Althouse, American law professor
- 1951 - Rush Limbaugh, American radio personality, author and political commentator
- 1951 - Drew Pearson, American football player
- 1950 - Sheila Jackson Lee, American politician
- 1950 - Göran Lindblad, Swedish politician
- 1950 - Bob McEwen, American politician
- 1950 - Dorrit Moussaieff, First Lady of Iceland
- 1950 - Ricky Ray Rector, American murderer (d. 1992)
- 1949 - Kentar? Haneda, Japanese composer (d. 2007)
- 1949 - Ottmar Hitzfeld, German football manager
- 1949 - Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist
- 1949 - Michael W. Vannier, American radiologist
- 1949 - Wayne Wang, Hong Kong-born American film director
- 1948 - Kenny Allen, English footballer
- 1948 - Anthony Andrews, English actor
- 1948 - Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia
- 1948 - Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (d. 2001)
- 1948 - William Nicholson, English writer
- 1947 - Tom Dempsey, American football player
- 1946 - Lady Cosgrove, Scottish judiciary figure
- 1946 - George Duke, American musician
- 1946 - Cynthia Robinson, American musician (Sly & the Family Stone)
- 1945 - Maggie Bell, Scottish singer (Stone the Crows)
- 1944 - Joe Frazier, American boxer
- 1944 - Hans Henning Atrott, Prussian euthanasia advocate
- 1944 - Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakian chess player
- 1944 - Viktoria Postnikova, Russian pianist
- 1944 - Carlos Villagrán, Mexican actor
- 1942 - Bernardine Dohrn, former leader of the radical leftist organization Weather Underground
- 1941 - Long John Baldry, British blues singer (d. 2005)
- 1938 - Lewis Fiander, Australian actor
- 1937 - Marie Dubois, French actress
- 1937 - Shirley Eaton, British actress
- 1937 - Vicente Sardinero, Spanish baritone (d. 2002)
- 1936 - Raimonds Pauls, Latvian Composer
- 1935 - Kreskin, American mentalist
- 1935 - Tomiko Ishii, Japanese actress
- 1934 - Mick Sullivan, English rugby league footballer
- 1933 - Michael Aspel, English broadcaster
- 1932 - Des O'Connor, British television presenter
- 1930 - Tim Horton, Canadian hockey player (d. 1974)
- 1930 - Glenn Yarborough, American singer
- 1929 - Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-born American philosopher
- 1928 - Ruth Brown, American singer (d. 2006)
- 1928 - Lloyd Ruby, American race car driver (d. 2009)
- 1926 - Morton Feldman, American composer (d. 1987)
- 1926 - Ray Price, American singer
- 1925 - Bill Burrud, American television host (d. 1990)
- 1925 - Scottie MacGregor, American actress
- 1925 - Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (d. 2008)
- 1924 - Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver (d. 1998)
- 1924 - Grethe Holmer, Danish actress (d. 2004)
- 1923 - Ira Hayes, US Marine (d. 1955)
- 1922 - Tadeusz ?ychiewicz, Polish journalist and art historian (d. 1994)
- 1920 - James L. Farmer, Jr., American activist (d. 1999)
- 1920 - Prof Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-born Australian sociologist (d. 2009)
- 1917 - Walter Hendl, American conductor (d. 2007)
- 1917 - Jimmy Skinner, Canadian hockey coach (d. 2007)
- 1917 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritualist (d. 2008)
- 1916 - Pieter Willem Botha, South African politician (d. 2006)
- 1916 - Jay McShann, American musician (d. 2006)
- 1916 - William Pleeth, British cellist (d. 1999)
- 1915 - Paul Jarrico, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1915 - Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, Catholic archbishop of Ottawa
- 1910 - Patsy Kelly, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1910 - Luise Rainer, German actress
- 1908 - Jean Delannoy, French film director (d. 2008)
- 1908 - Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1907 - Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1966)
- 1906 - Emmanuel Levinas, French philosopher (d. 1995)
- 1905 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (d. 1997)
- 1905 - Tex Ritter, American country singer and actor (d. 1974)
- 1904 - Fred McDowell, American blues musician (d. 1972)
- 1903 - Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (d. 1960)
- 1899 - Pierre Bernac, French baritone (d. 1979)
- 1899 - Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1896 - David Wechsler, American psychologist (d. 1981)
- 1895 - Leo Aryeh Mayer, Israeli professor and scholar of Islamic art (d. 1959)
- 1894 - Georges Carpentier, French boxer (d. 1975)
- 1893 - Hermann Göring, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1893 - Alfred Rosenberg, German Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1892 - Mikhail Gurevich, Russian aircraft designer (d. 1976)
- 1884 - Texas Guinan, American actress (d. 1933)
- 1882 - Milton Sills, American actor (d. 1930)
- 1879 - Ray Harroun, American race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1879 - Anton Uesson, Estonian politician and engineer (d. 1942)
- 1878 - Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian writer (d. 1952)
- 1877 - Frank J. Corr, American politician (d. 1934)
- 1876 - Jack London, American author (d. 1916)
- 1876 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (d. 1948)
- 1876 - Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish Field Marshal and Prime Minister (d. 1950)
- 1873 - Spiridon Louis, Greek marathon runner (d. 1940)
- 1863 - Swami Vivekananda, Indian philosopher (d. 1902)
- 1856 - John Singer Sargent, American artist (d. 1925)
- 1849 - Jean Béraud, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1822 - Étienne Lenoir, French engineer (d. 1900)
- 1810 - King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1859)
- 1797 - Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician (d. 1873)
- 1792 - Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist (d. 1841)
- 1786 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (d. 1855)
- 1772 - Count Mikhail Speransky, Russian reformer (d. 1839)
- 1751 - Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
- 1746 - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss pedagogue (d. 1827)
- 1737 - John Hancock, American patriot (d. 1793)
- 1729 - Edmund Burke, Irish statesman (d. 1797)
- 1723 - Samuel Langdon, American college educator (d. 1797)
- 1721 - Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick, Prussian general (d. 1792)
- 1716 - Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general (d. 1795)
- 1715 - Jacques Duphly, French composer (d. 1789)
- 1628 - Charles Perrault, French folklorist (d. 1703)
- 1597 - François Duquesnoy, French sculptor (d. 1643)
- 1591 - José Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
- 1580 - Lord Alexander Ruthven, Scottish nobleman (d. 1600)
- 1577 - Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist (d. 1644)
- 1576 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (d. 1660)
- 1562 - Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
- 1483 - Henry III of Nassau-Breda, German nobleman (d. 1538)