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 20th


- United States presidential inauguration, held every four years since (with 2 exceptions by Eisenhower & Reagan, on January 21st) in odd-numbered years after years when the United States Presidential Election takes place (as the election takes place in years divisible by four – 2004, 2008, 2012, and so on – the inauguration takes place in 2005, 2009, 2013, etc.). The incoming/reelected President traditionally swears-in as close to Noon as possible.
- Christian Feast day

January 20th


- 2009 - Barack Obama inaugurated as the 44th and first African-American President of the United States.
- 2001 - Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
- 1999 - The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafés.
- 1992 - Air Inter Flight 148 crashes near Strasbourg, France, killing 82 passengers and 5 crew.
- 1991 - Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
- 1990 - Tragedy at Baku – The Red Army killed Azerbaijani people in Baku.
- 1987 - Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
- 1986 - Martin Luther King, Jr. day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
- 1981 - Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages. It is the first Presidential inauguration to be held at the west front of the Capitol.
- 1977 - Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th President of the United States. He is the last President inaugurated at the east front of the Capitol, which had been the traditional site for Presidential inaugurations since 1829.
- 1968 - The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win the Game of the Century.
- 1961 - John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the youngest elected and first Roman Catholic President of the U.S. His inaugural address is one of the most memorable of the 20th century.
- 1960 - Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
- 1959 - The first flight of the Vickers Vanguard.
- 1954 - The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- 1953 - Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the first Republican President in twenty years.
- 1949 - Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
- 1945 - World War II: Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
- 1945 - Franklin Roosevelt's fourth and final inauguration is held at the White House due to wartime considerations.
- 1942 - World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials decided on the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question", accelerating The Holocaust.
- 1941 - Franklin Roosevelt is the only President inaugurated for a third term.
- 1937 - Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as U.S. President. This is the first inauguration on January 20. The date was changed from March 4 by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.
- 1936 - Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
- 1934 - "Fujifilm", the foundation of Fujifilm, the photographic and electronic industry in "Tokyo", "Japan".
- 1929 - In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, is released.
- 1921 - The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
- 1920 - The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
- 1892 - At the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official basketball game is played.
- 1887 - The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
- 1885 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
- 1841 - Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
- 1840 - Dumont D'Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica.
- 1839 - In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
- 1801 - John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1788 - The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Botany Bay is unsuitable for the location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
- 1783 - The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the Revolutionary War.
- 1667 - The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and left-bank Ukraine to the Tsardom of Russia in the Treaty of Andrusovo.
- 1649 - Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other "high crimes".
- 1576 - The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
- 1523 - Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
- 1502 - The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored.
- 1356 - Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
- 1320 - Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
- 1265 - In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting held by Simon de Montfort in the Palace of Westminster, now also known colloquially as the "Houses of Parliament".
- 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian is martyred.

January 20th


- 1991 - Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver; son of Jonathan Palmer
- 1988 - Benjamin Ulrich, German rugby player
- 1986 - Derek Fathauer, American professional golfer
- 1984 - Olivia Hallinan, English actress
- 1984 - Toni Gonzaga, Filipina actress and singer
- 1983 - Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 1983 - Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1983 - Paula Taylor, English-Thai actress, model and presenter
- 1982 - Joe Swash, English actor
- 1982 - Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
- 1981 - Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 - Jason Richardson, American basketball player
- 1981 - Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
- 1981 - Daniel Cudmore, Canadian actor
- 1981 - Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress
- 1980 - Philippe Cousteau, Jr., French oceanographer; grandson of Jacques Cousteau
- 1980 - Brigitte Olivier, Belgian judoka
- 1979 - Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol of 20th Century
- 1979 - Will Young, British singer
- 1979 - Shang Yi, Chinese footballer
- 1978 - Joy Giovanni, American actress and glamour model
- 1978 - Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
- 1978 - Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
- 1977 - Melody, Belgian singer
- 1977 - Sid Wilson, American Musician, (Slipknot)
- 1976 - Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- 1976 - Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish television presenter
- 1975 - David Eckstein, American baseball player
- 1975 - Norberto Fontana, Argentine racing driver
- 1974 - David Dei, Italian footballer
- 1973 - Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
- 1971 - Gary Barlow, English singer (Take That)
- 1971 - Brian Giles, American baseball player
- 1971 - Derrick Green, American singer (Sepultura)
- 1971 - Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
- 1971 - Gerard McDonnell, Irish mountaineer (d. 2008)
- 1971 - Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, American drummer (The Roots)
- 1970 - Skeet Ulrich, American actor
- 1970 - Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter, actor
- 1970 - Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress
- 1969 - Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker
- 1969 - Nicky Wire, British musician (Manic Street Preachers)
- 1968 - Nick Anderson, American basketball player
- 1968 - Melissa Rivers, American reporter and actress
- 1966 - Stacey Dash, American actress
- 1966 - Tracii Guns, American guitarist
- 1966 - Rainn Wilson, American actor
- 1965 - Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer
- 1965 - Greg Kriesel, American bassist (The Offspring)
- 1965 - Sophie, The Countess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
- 1965 - John Michael Montgomery, American singer
- 1965 - Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
- 1964 - Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-born baseball player and manager
- 1964 - Ron Harper, American basketball player
- 1964 - Kazushige Nojima, Japanese game scenario writer
- 1963 - James Denton, American actor
- 1963 - Firebreaker Chip, American professional wrestler
- 1960 - Apa Sherpa, Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, summitted Everest 19 times
- 1960 - Scott Thunes, American musician (Frank Zappa)
- 1960 - Will Wright, American computer game designer
- 1958 - Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
- 1956 - Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
- 1956 - Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
- 1955 - Wyatt Knight, American actor
- 1955 - Joe Doherty, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
- 1955 - Hiromi ?ta, Japanese singer
- 1954 - Ken Page, American cabaret singer and actor
- 1952 - Paul Stanley, American musician (Kiss)
- 1951 - Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
- 1951 - Ian Hill, British musician (Judas Priest)
- 1950 - Liza Goddard, British actress
- 1950 - Edward Hirsch. American poet
- 1950 - Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1950 - Mahamane Ousmane, President of Niger
- 1949 - Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1948 - Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
- 1948 - Nancy Kress, American writer
- 1948 - Mel Pritchard, British Musician
- 1947 - Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and directeur sportif
- 1946 - David Lynch, American film director
- 1945 - Robert Olen Butler, American writer
- 1945 - Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket commentator and correspondent
- 1944 - Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician (d. 2002)
- 1944 - José Luis Garci, Spanish filmmaker
- 1942 - Linda Moulton Howe, American investigative journalist and documentary producer-writer-director-editor
- 1941 - Pierre Lalonde, Canadian singer and television host
- 1940 - Carol Heiss, American figure skater
- 1940 - Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
- 1939 - Paul Coverdell, American politician (d. 2000)
- 1938 - William Berger, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
- 1938 - Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2007)
- 1937 - Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress
- 1935 - Joan Weston, Roller Derby Queen (d. 1997)
- 1935 - Alexander Men, Russian priest (d. 1990)
- 1934 - Tom Baker, British actor
- 1933 - Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
- 1932 - Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1931 - David Lee, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate
- 1931 - Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese songwriter and pianist (d. 1992)
- 1930 - Buzz Aldrin, American astronaut
- 1929 - Glenn Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
- 1929 - Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer
- 1929 - Arte Johnson, American actor
- 1928 - Rudy Boesch, Contestant on Survivor: Borneo (3rd Place) and Survivor: All-Stars (17th Place)
- 1926 - Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, essayist and columnist
- 1926 - Qurratulain Hyder, Indian and Pakistani novelist (d. 2007)
- 1926 - Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1926 - David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1925 - Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and politician
- 1924 - Slim Whitman, American singer
- 1923 - Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
- 1922 - Ray Anthony, American trumpeter, bandleader and actor
- 1922 - Graham Stark, British actor
- 1921 - Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d. 1993)
- 1920 - DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1920 - Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (d. 2006)
- 1920 - Frank Kush, American football player and coach
- 1918 - Juan García Esquivel, Mexican bandleader (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Nevin S. Scrimshaw, American clinical
- 1915 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
- 1912 - Walter Briggs, Jr., American sports executive (d. 1970)
- 1911 - Wendell J. Westcott, American carillonneur (d. 2010)
- 1910 - Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d. 1980)
- 1908 - Fleur Cowles, American writer, editor and artist (d. 2009)
- 1907 - Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
- 1902 - Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1900 - Colin Clive, British actor (d. 1937)
- 1899 - Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese development of television (d. 1990)
- 1899 - Clarice Cliff, English ceramic artist (d. 1972)
- 1898 - U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
- 1896 - George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
- 1896 - Isabel Withers, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1895 - Gábor Szeg?, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1985)
- 1894 - Walter Piston, American composer (d. 1976)
- 1893 - Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (d. 1946)
- 1891 - Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d. 1967)
- 1889 - Allan Haines Loughead, American aviation executive (d. 1969)
- 1880 - Walter W. Bacon, American politician (d. 1962)
- 1878 - Finlay Currie, British actor (d. 1968)
- 1878 - Ruth St. Denis, American dancer (d. 1968)
- 1876 - Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
- 1873 - Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
- 1867 - Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
- 1855 - Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
- 1837 - David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1910)
- 1834 - George D. Robinson, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1812 - Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
- 1804 - Eugène Sue, French novelist (d. 1857)
- 1798 - Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (d. 1858)
- 1783 - Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
- 1781 - Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, Austrian politician (d. 1848)
- 1775 - André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (d. 1836)
- 1755 - Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1824)
- 1732 - Richard Henry Lee, American statesman (d. 1794)
- 1716 - King Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
- 1716 - Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (d. 1795)
- 1664 - Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (d. 1718)
- 1586 - Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
- 1554 - King Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
- 1435 - Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d. 1490)
- 1358 - Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
- 1292 - Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330) (d. 1330)
- 225 - Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
- 10 - 1945 – Eric Stewart, English musician and songwriter ()