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 13th


- Old New Year, celebrated on the night of January 13 or 14. (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, Republic of Macedonia)
- Christian Feast Day
- Sidereal winter solstice's eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six months Dakshinayana period (see January 14):
Bhogi (Tamil)
- Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
- Uruka (Assam)
- St. Knut's Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland)

January 13th


- 2001 - An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
- 1993 - Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
- 1992 - Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery (Comfort women) during World War II.
- 1991 - Soviet Union military troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius. Killed 14 people and wounding 1000.
- 1990 - L. Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1986 - A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
- 1985 - A passenger train plunged into a ravine at Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
- 1982 - Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet crashes into Washington, DC's 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists. Coincidentally, 30 minutes later, a Washington Metrorail train derails at the Federal Triangle station, on the orange and blue lines, killing three and injuring many more. Flight 90 also destroyed part of a Blue line track that ran next to the 14th street bridge. This gridlocked the city.
- 1974 - Seraphim is elected Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
- 1972 - Prime Minister Kofi Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Col. Ignatius Kutu Acheamphong.
- 1968 - Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom Prison
- 1966 - Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
- 1964 - Hindu-Muslim rioting breaks out in the Indian city of Calcutta – now Kolkata – resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
- 1964 - Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland.
- 1958 - Moroccan Liberation Army ambushes Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
- 1953 - Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen as President of Yugoslavia.
- 1942 - Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
- 1942 - World War II: First use of aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
- 1939 - The Black Friday bush fires burn 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
- 1935 - A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
- 1934 - The Candidate of Science degree is established in the USSR.
- 1915 - An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy kills 29,800.
- 1913 - Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated is founded on the campus of Howard University as the second Black Greek Letter Organization for Women. The mission is to make a move towards social activism.
- 1908 - The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
- 1898 - Emile Zola's J'accuse exposes the Dreyfus affair.
- 1893 - The Independent Labour Party of the UK has its first meeting.
- 1893 - U.S. Marines land in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
- 1869 - National convention of black leaders meets in Washington D.C.
- 1847 - The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California.
- 1842 - Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad.
- 1840 - The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
- 1832 - President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina's defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
- 1830 - The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana begins.
- 1822 - The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
- 1797 - A naval battle is fought between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany during the French Revolutionary Wars ends with the French vessel running ashore, resulting in the death of over 900.
- 1785 - John Walter publishes the first issue of the Daily Universal Register (later renamed The Times).
- 1733 - James Oglethorpe and 130 colonists arrive in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1610 - Galileo Galilei discovers Ganymede, 4th moon of Jupiter.
- 1607 - The Bank of Genoa fails after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.
- 1605 - The controversial play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston is performed, landing two of the authors in prison.
- 1547 - Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey is sentenced to death.
- 1435 - Sicut Dudum is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV about the enslaving of black natives in Canary Islands by Spanish Natives.
- 1328 - Edward III of England marries Philippa of Hainault, daughter of the Count of Hainault.
- 888 - Odo, Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks.
- 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople.

January 13th


- 1995 - Qaasim Middleton, American musician and actor
- 1992 - Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
- 1990 - Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
- 1989 - Bryan Arguez, American soccer player
- 1989 - James Berrett, English footballer
- 1989 - Triinu Kivilaan, Estonian singer
- 1987 - Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
- 1987 - Lee Seung Gi, K-pop singer
- 1987 - Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 - Alexandre Pliuschin, Moldovan cyclist
- 1987 - Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
- 1986 - Laura Ludwig, German beach volleyball player
- 1986 - Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
- 1985 - Qi Hui, Chinese swimmer
- 1984 - Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
- 1984 - Nathaniel Motte, American musician (3OH!3)
- 1983 - Julian Morris, English actor
- 1983 - William Hung, American Idol contestant
- 1983 - Ronny Turiaf, French basketball player
- 1982 - Guillermo Coria, Argentine tennis player
- 1981 - Reggie Brown, American football player
- 1981 - Shad Gaspard, American professional wrestler, bodyguard, and actor
- 1981 - Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
- 1981 - Jason James, Welsh bassist
- 1980 - Krzysztof Czerwinski, Polish conductor and organist
- 1980 - Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
- 1980 - Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
- 1980 - Michael Rupp, American ice hockey player
- 1978 - Ashmit Patel, Indian actor
- 1977 - Orlando Bloom, English actor
- 1977 - James Posey, American basketball player
- 1976 - Michael Peña, American actor
- 1976 - Tania Vicent, Canadian short track speed skater
- 1974 - Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Gloria Yip, Hong Kong actor
- 1972 - Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
- 1972 - Park Jin-Young, Korean singer
- 1972 - Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer
- 1972 - Nicole Eggert, American actress
- 1972 - James O'Brien, British radio presenter and journalist
- 1972 - Atoosa Rubenstein, Iranian-born American magazine editor
- 1971 - John Mallory Asher, American film actor/director
- 1971 - Phil Whyman, English paranormal researcher, television personality, writer and musician
- 1970 - Keith Coogan, American actor
- 1970 - Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
- 1970 - Shonda Rhimes, American screenwriter/creator (Grey's Anatomy)
- 1969 - Stefania Belmondo, Italian cross-country skier
- 1969 - Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player
- 1968 - Traci Bingham, American actress
- 1968 - Mike Whitlow, English footballer
- 1968 - Chara, Japanese singer and actress
- 1967 - Annie Jones, Australian actress
- 1966 - Patrick Dempsey, American actor
- 1966 - Shelagh Fogarty, British radio presenter
- 1964 - Bill Bailey, British comedian
- 1964 - Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
- 1964 - Ronan Rafferty, Northern Irish golfer
- 1963 - Kevin McClatchy, American businessman
- 1962 - Trace Adkins, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1962 - Paul Higgins, Canadian hockey player
- 1962 - Kevin Mitchell, American baseball player
- 1961 - Wayne Coyne, American singer (The Flaming Lips)
- 1961 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress
- 1961 - Suggs, English singer (Madness)
- 1960 - Takis Lemonis, Greek footballer and coach
- 1959 - James Lomenzo, American musician (Megadeth)
- 1957 - Lorrie Moore, American writer
- 1957 - Mark O'Meara, Major winning American Golfer
- 1956 - Janet Hubert-Whitten, American actress
- 1955 - Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1955 - Jay McInerney, American writer
- 1954 - Trevor Rabin, South African guitarist (Yes)
- 1950 - Bob Forsch, American baseball player
- 1950 - John McNaughton, American film director
- 1949 - Klaus Brandner, German politician
- 1949 - Rakesh Sharma, first Indian and 138th person to visit space
- 1949 - Brandon Tartikoff, American television executive (d. 1997)
- 1948 - Gaj Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur
- 1947 - Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków
- 1947 - Carles Rexach, former Spanish-Catalan footballer and coach
- 1947 - John Lees, English Musician
- 1946 - Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish musician
- 1943 - Richard Moll, American actor
- 1942 - Carol Cleveland, English actress
- 1941 - Pasqual Maragall, Spanish politician
- 1940 - Edmund White, American author
- 1939 - Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
- 1939 - Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1938 - William B. Davis, Canadian actor
- 1938 - Tord Grip, Swedish football manager
- 1938 - Shivkumar Sharma, santoor player, music composer
- 1936 - Renato Bruson, Italian operatic baritone
- 1935 - Mauro Forghieri, Italian automotive & mechanical engineer (Scuderia Ferrari)
- 1935 - Elsa Martinelli, Italian actress
- 1934 - Rip Taylor, American actor
- 1932 - Barry Bishop, American mountaineer (d. 1994)
- 1931 - Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1931 - Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Chris Wiggins, British actor
- 1930 - Liz Anderson, American singer
- 1930 - Frances Sternhagen, American actress
- 1929 - Joe Pass, U.S. jazz guitarist (d. 1994)
- 1927 - Brock Adams, American politician (d. 2004)
- 1927 - Sydney Brenner, British Nobel Laureate
- 1926 - Michael Bond, British writer
- 1926 - Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American feminist author (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Georgi Kaloyanchev, Bulgarian actor
- 1925 - Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
- 1924 - Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1994)
- 1924 - Roland Petit, French choreographer
- 1923 - Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
- 1922 - Albert Lamorisse, French film director and producer (d. 1970)
- 1921 - Dachine Rainer, British writer (d. 2000)
- 1919 - Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Lord Ted Willis, British television dramatist (d. 1992)
- 1913 - Jeff Morrow, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1911 - Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
- 1910 - Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter (d. 1989)
- 1909 - Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch communist (d. 1934)
- 1906 - Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist
- 1905 - Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1904 - Richard Addinsell, British composer (Warsaw Concerto) (d. 1977)
- 1901 - A. B. Guthrie, American novelist, historian (d. 1991)
- 1901 - Mieczys?aw ?ywczy?ski, Polish historian and priest (d. 1978)
- 1898 - Kai Munk, Danish playwright and Lutheran pastor, martyr (d. 1944)
- 1898 - Carlo Tagliabue, Italian baritone (d. 1978)
- 1893 - Roy Cazaly, Australian rules footballer (d. 1963)
- 1893 - Clark Ashton Smith, American writer (d. 1961)
- 1890 - Jüri Uluots, Estonian Prime Minister (d. 1945)
- 1887 - Gabriel Gabrio, French actor (d. 1946)
- 1887 - George Gurdjieff, Armenian-Greek mystic (d. 1949)
- 1886 - Art Ross, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (d. 1964)
- 1885 - Alfred Fuller, Canadian businessman, The "Fuller Brush Man" (d. 1973)
- 1884 - Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer and performer (d. 1966)
- 1883 - Prince Arthur of Connaught (d. 1938)
- 1881 - Essington Lewis, Australian industrialist (d. 1961)
- 1878 - Lionel Groulx, Canadian nationalist (d. 1967)
- 1870 - Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist (d. 1959)
- 1869 - Emanuele Filiberto, 2nd Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (d. 1931)
- 1866 - Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian composer (d. 1901)
- 1865 - Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
- 1864 - Wilhelm Wien, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1861 - Max Nonne, German neurologist (d. 1959)
- 1859 - Kostis Palamas, Greek poet (d. 1943)
- 1858 - Oskar Minkowski, Biologist (d. 1931)
- 1845 - Félix Tisserand, French Astronomer (d. 1896)
- 1832 - Horatio Alger, Jr., American minister and author (d. 1899)
- 1812 - Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
- 1808 - Salmon P. Chase, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
- 1805 - Thomas Dyer, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
- 1804 - Paul Gavarni, French caricaturist (d. 1866)
- 1787 - John Davis, 14th and 17th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
- 1777 - Elisa Bonaparte, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1820)
- 1749 - Friedrich Müller, painter and dramatist (d. 1825)
- 1720 - Richard Hurd, English bishop and writer (d. 1808)
- 1683 - Christoph Graupner, German composer (d. 1760)
- 1651 - Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English politician (d. 1694)
- 1635 - Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (d. 1705)
- 1616 - Antoinette Bourignon, Flemish mystic (d. 1680)
- 1610 - Maria Anna of Austria, Electress of Bavaria (d. 1665)
- 1596 - Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
- 1562 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (d. 1601)
- 1505 - Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
- 1334 - King Henry II of Castile (d. 1379)