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 25th
- Tatiana Day, celebrated as the Day of Russian Students since , when Moscow University is founded. (Russia)

- Burns Night (Many parts of the world, originated in Scotland)

- Christian Feast Day

- Criminon Day (Scientology)

- Dydd Santes Dwynwen, celebration of love (Wales)

- Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)

- Second day of the Sementivae, in honor of Ceres and Terra (Roman Empire)

- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends (Christian ecumenism)


January 25th
- 1961 - In Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference.

- 1949 - At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented.

- 1915 - Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.

- 2010 - Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on-board.

- 2006 - Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star.

- 2005 - A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi in India kills at least 258.

- 2004 - Opportunity rover (MER-B) lands on surface of Mars.

- 2002 - Wikipedia switches to the new version of its software ("Phase II"), aka Magnus Manske Day.

- 2001 - A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24.

- 1999 - A 6.0 Richter scale earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000.

- 1998 - During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.

- 1998 - A suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sri Lanka's Temple of the Tooth kills 8 people and injures 25 others.

- 1996 - Billy Bailey became the last person to be hanged in the United States of America.

- 1995 - The Norwegian Rocket Incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.

- 1994 - The Clementine space probe launches.

- 1993 - Five people are shot outside the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia resulting in two murders.

- 1990 - The Burns' Day storm hits northwestern Europe.

- 1986 - The National Resistance Movement topples the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.

- 1981 - Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death.

- 1971 - Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda's president.

- 1971 - Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.

- 1971 - Charles Manson and three female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.

- 1969 - Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserts in order to fight against the military dictatorship, taking with him 10 machine guns and 63 rifles.

- 1960 - The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records.

- 1955 - The Soviet Union ends state of war with Germany.

- 1946 - The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor.

- 1945 - World War II: The Battle of the Bulge ends.

- 1942 - World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.

- 1941 - Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

- 1937 - The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until Sept. 18, 2009.

- 1924 - The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.

- 1919 - The League of Nations is founded.

- 1918 - The Ukraine declares independence from Bolshevik Russia.

- 1909 - Richard Strauss' opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.

- 1890 - Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.

- 1881 - Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.

- 1879 - The Bulgarian National Bank is founded.

- 1858 - The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn becomes a popular wedding recessional after it is played on this day at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia.

- 1792 - The London Corresponding Society is founded.

- 1791 - The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.

- 1787 - American Daniel Shays leads a rebellion to seize Federal arsenal to protest debtor's prisons.

- 1755 - Moscow University is established on Tatiana Day.

- 1575 - Luanda, the capital of Angola was founded by the Portuguese navigator Paulo Dias de Novais.

- 1573 - Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.

- 1554 - Founding of São Paulo city, Brazil.

- 1533 - Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.

- 1494 - Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.

- 1327 - Edward III becomes King of England.

- 41 - After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.


January 25th
- 1989 - Mikako Tabe, Japanese stage and film actress

- 1989 - Sheryfa Luna, French singer

- 1988 - Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player

- 1987 - Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player

- 1986 - Chris O'Grady, English footballer

- 1986 - Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer

- 1985 - Tina Karol, Ukrainian singer

- 1985 - Acie Law IV, American basketball player

- 1985 - Brent Celek, American football player

- 1985 - Patrick Willis, American football player

- 1984 - Robinho, Brazilian footballer

- 1983 - Andrée Watters, Canadian singer

- 1982 - Sho Sakurai, Japanese singer and actor

- 1982 - Shawna Waldron, American actress

- 1981 - Tose Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)

- 1981 - Francis Jeffers, English footballer

- 1981 - Alicia Keys, American singer

- 1981 - Charlie Bewley, English Actor

- 1980 - Michelle McCool, American professional wrestler

- 1980 - Xavi, Catalan Spanish footballer

- 1980 - Efstathios Tavlaridis, Greek footballer

- 1979 - Pi Hongyan, French badminton player

- 1979 - Gabe Jennings, American distance runner

- 1979 - Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver

- 1979 - Christine Lakin, American actress

- 1978 - Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist

- 1978 - Jason Roberts, English-born footballer

- 1978 - Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player

- 1976 - Mario Haberfeld, Brazilian racing car driver

- 1975 - Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress

- 1975 - Tim Montgomery, American athlete

- 1975 - Dat Phan, Vietnamese stand-up comedian

- 1974 - Robert Budreau, Canadian film director

- 1974 - Attilio Nicodemo, Italian footballer

- 1973 - Geoff Johns, American comic book writer

- 1973 - Chris Guy, American professional wrestler

- 1971 - Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver

- 1971 - China Kantner, American actress

- 1971 - Ana Ortiz, American actress and singer

- 1970 - Stephen Chbosky, American writer

- 1970 - Chris Mills, American basketball player

- 1970 - Milt Stegall, American-born Canadian Football League player

- 1969 - Kina, American singer

- 1967 - Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player

- 1967 - Mark Bamford, American writer/director

- 1966 - Chet Culver, American politician

- 1965 - Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player

- 1965 - Mark Jordon, English actor

- 1962 - Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player

- 1961 - Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean politician

- 1961 - Willie Revillame, Filipino game show host and comedian

- 1958 - Dinah Manoff, American actress

- 1957 - Andrew P. Harris, American politician

- 1957 - Jenifer Lewis, American actress

- 1957 - Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish politician

- 1956 - Andy Cox, English musician (The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals)

- 1955 - Terry Chimes, English musician (The Clash)

- 1954 - Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer

- 1954 - Kay Cottee, Australian maritime sailor

- 1954 - Richard Finch, American bass player (KC and the Sunshine Band)

- 1954 - Kim Gandy, American feminist

- 1953 - The Honky Tonk Man, American professional wrestler

- 1953 - Mark Weil, Uzbek theatre director (d. 2007)

- 1952 - Sara Mandiano, French singer and songwriter

- 1952 - Timothy White, American journalist (d. 2002)

- 1951 - Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)

- 1950 - John Terry, American actor

- 1949 - John Cooper Clarke, English punk-poet

- 1949 - Paul Nurse, English biochemist, Nobel Laureate

- 1948 - Gueorgui Chichkine, Russian painter

- 1948 - Ros Kelly, Australian politician

- 1947 - Tostão, Brazilian footballer

- 1947 - Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer

- 1945 - Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress

- 1944 - Anita Pallenberg, Italian model

- 1943 - Tobe Hooper, American film director

- 1943 - Roy Black, German pop singer (d. 1991)

- 1942 - Carl Eller, American football player

- 1942 - Eusébio, Portuguese footballer

- 1942 - Shinobu Tsukasa, Japanese organized crime figure

- 1941 - Buddy Baker, American race car driver

- 1941 - Gregory Sierra, American actor

- 1939 - Gabriel Romanus, Swedish politician

- 1938 - Etta James, American singer

- 1938 - Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian poet (d. 1980)

- 1938 - Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese manga author (d. 1998)

- 1938 - Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese anime author

- 1937 - Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African Republican politician

- 1937 - Judith Ann Mayotte, American humanitarian and author

- 1936 - Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977)

- 1935 - Conrad Burns, American politician

- 1935 - António Ramalho Eanes, Portuguese politician

- 1933 - Corazon Aquino, 11th President of the Philippines (d. 2009)

- 1931 - Dean Jones, American actor

- 1930 - Tanya Savicheva, Russian diarist (d. 1944)

- 1929 - Benny Golson, American jazz musician

- 1928 - Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia

- 1928 - Jérôme Choquette, Quebec lawyer and politician

- 1927 - Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian composer (d. 1994)

- 1925 - Giorgos Zampetas, Greek musician and songwriter (d. 1992)

- 1924 - Lou Groza, American football player (d. 2000)

- 1924 - Speedy West, American musician (d. 2003)

- 1923 - Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer (d. 2003)

- 1923 - Shirley Mason, American psychiatric patient (d. 1998)

- 1923 - Arvid Carlsson, Swedish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

- 1919 - Edwin Newman, American broadcast journalist (d. 2010)

- 1918 - Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster (d. 2010)

- 1917 - Ilya Prigogine, Russian scientist Nobel Laureate (d. 2003)

- 1917 - Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (d. 1992)

- 1916 - Frank "Pop" Ivy, American and Canadian football coach (d. 2003)

- 1913 - Witold Lutos?awski, Polish composer (d. 1994)

- 1913 - Luis Marden, American photojournalist (d. 2003)

- 1905 - Maurice Roy, French Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal, archbishop of Quebec (d. 1985)

- 1902 - Pablo Antonio, Filipino modernist architect (d. 1975)

- 1901 - Martin De Alzaga, Argentine racing driver (d. 1982)

- 1900 - Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975)

- 1900 - Yojiro Ishizaka, Japanese writer (d. 1986)

- 1899 - Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian politician (d. 1972)

- 1886 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (d. 1954)

- 1885 - Kitahara Hakush?, Japanese poet and children's author (d. 1942)

- 1882 - Virginia Woolf, English writer (d. 1941)

- 1878 - Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish television pioneer (d. 1975)

- 1874 - W. Somerset Maugham, English writer (d. 1965)

- 1868 - Juventino Rosas, Mexican composer (d. 1894)

- 1864 - Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and writer (d. 1934)

- 1860 - Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936)

- 1858 - Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese pearl farm pioneer (d. 1954)

- 1841 - Jackie Fisher, British First Sea Lord (d. 1920)

- 1825 - George Pickett, American Confederate General (d. 1875)

- 1824 - Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Bengali author. (d. 1873)

- 1822 - Charles Reed Bishop, preeminent businessman and philanthropist in Hawaii (d. 1915)

- 1813 - James Marion Sims, American physician (d. 1883)

- 1796 - William MacGillivray, Scottish naturalist and ornithologist (d. 1852)

- 1794 - François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist (d. 1878)

- 1777 - Karoline Jagemann, German actor (d. 1848)

- 1759 - Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796)

- 1755 - Paolo Mascagni, Anatomist (d. 1815)

- 1743 - Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher (d. 1819)

- 1739 - Charles François Dumouriez, French general (d. 1823)

- 1736 - Joseph Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (d. 1813)

- 1688 - Juraj Jánošík, famous Slovak outlaw (d. 1713)

- 1640 - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and statesman (d. 1707)

- 1634 - Gaspar Fagel, Dutch statesman (d. 1688)

- 1627 - Robert Boyle, Irish chemist (d. 1691)

- 1615 - Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660)

- 1509 - Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580)

- 1477 - Anna, Duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles VIII of France (d. 1514)

- 750 - Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine Emperor (d. 780)

