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 29th


- Christian Feast Day
- Constitution Day (Gibraltar)

January 29th


- 2006 - India's Irfan Pathan becomes the first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match.
- 2005 - The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing.
- 2002 - In his State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush describes "regimes that sponsor terror" as an Axis of Evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
- 2001 - Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
- 1998 - In Birmingham, Alabama, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.
- 1996 - President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear weapons testing.
- 1996 - La Fenice, Venice's opera house, is destroyed by fire.
- 1989 - Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so
- 1985 - Final recording session of We Are The World, by the supergroup USA for Africa.
- 1979 - Brenda Spencer kills two people and wounds eight at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School shootings.
- 1963 - The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.
- 1944 - USS Missouri the last battleship commissioned by the United States Navy is launched.
- 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place in central Italy.
- 1944 - World War II: Approximately 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre in Poland.
- 1944 - In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is destroyed in an air-raid.
- 1943 - The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
- 1940 - Three trains on the Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. 181 people are killed.
- 1936 - The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
- 1916 - World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.
- 1900 - The American League is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with 8 founding teams.
- 1891 - Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.
- 1886 - Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
- 1863 - Bear River Massacre.
- 1861 - Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
- 1856 - Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.
- 1850 - Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
- 1845 - "The Raven" is published in the New York Evening Mirror, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe
- 1834 - US President Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.
- 1814 - France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
- 1676 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.

January 29th


- 1993 - Michelle Larcher de Brito, Portuguese tennis player
- 1991 - Hugh Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor, son of the Duke of Westminster
- 1989 - Kevin Shattenkirk, American ice hockey player
- 1988 - Stephanie Gilmore, Australian surfer
- 1987 - Matthew Wilson, English world rally driver
- 1986 - Drew Tyler Bell, American actor
- 1986 - Mark Howard, English football player
- 1986 - Jair Jurrjens, Dutch baseball player
- 1986 - Simon Vuk?evi?, Montenegrin footballer
- 1985 - Athina Onassis, French heiress
- 1985 - Isabel Lucas, Australian actress
- 1985 - Mikey Hachey, American musician (Suburban Legends)
- 1985 - Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player
- 1985 - Todd Herzog, American reality-show contestant
- 1983 - Nedžad Sinanovi?, Bosnian basketball player
- 1982 - Adam Lambert, American actor and singer
- 1982 - Irina Shabayeva American fashion designer
- 1982 - Heidi Mueller, American actress
- 1981 - Jonny Lang, American musician
- 1981 - Álex Ubago, Spanish musician
- 1981 - Darío Lopilato, Argentine actor
- 1981 - Rui En, Singaporean actress & singer
- 1980 - Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli actress and model
- 1980 - Ivan Klasni?, Croatian football player
- 1980 - Ingimundur Ingimundarson, Icelandic handball player
- 1979 - April Scott, American actress and model
- 1979 - Sui Feifei, Chinese basketball player
- 1979 - Andrew Keegan, American actor
- 1979 - Joseph Todd, Arena Football League player
- 1979 - Andreas Thorstensson, Swedish website developer
- 1978 - Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper
- 1978 - Rob Bironas, American football player
- 1977 - Justin Hartley, American actor
- 1977 - Chaly Jones, Dutch footballer
- 1976 - Chris Castle, American singer-songwriter
- 1976 - Charles Divins, American model and actor
- 1975 - Sara Gilbert, American actress
- 1973 - Jason Schmidt, American baseball player
- 1972 - Brian Wood, writer and artist of graphic novels
- 1970 - Heather Graham, American actress
- 1970 - Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian shooter
- 1970 - Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer
- 1969 - Hyde, Japanese singer (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
- 1968 - Edward Burns, American actor
- 1968 - Susi Erdmann, German bobsledder and luger
- 1968 - Sora Jung, Korean actress
- 1967 - Cyril Suk, Czech tennis player
- 1967 - Stacey King, American basketball player
- 1966 - Romário, Brazilian footballer
- 1965 - Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1965 - Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis coach
- 1964 - Andre Reed, American football player
- 1964 - Anna Ryder Richardson, British interior designer and television presenter
- 1963 - Bob Holly, American professional wrestler
- 1963 - Monica Horan, American actress
- 1962 - Nicholas Turturro, American actor
- 1960 - Matthew Ashford, American actor
- 1960 - Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986)
- 1960 - Sean Kerly, English field hockey player
- 1960 - Greg Louganis, American diver
- 1960 - Steve Sax, American baseball player
- 1960 - J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician
- 1957 - Grazyna Miller, Italian poet, translator, and journalist
- 1957 - Rino Schreuder, Dutch publisher
- 1955 - Eddie Jordan, American basketball player and head coach
- 1954 - Richard Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5)
- 1954 - Terry Kinney, American actor
- 1954 - Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host and actress
- 1954 - Doug Risebrough, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive
- 1953 - Peter Baumann, German musician with Tangerine Dream
- 1953 - Caesar Cervin, American soccer the Texas Outlaws of the Professional
- 1953 - Paulin Bordeleau, Quebec ice hockey player
- 1953 - Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist
- 1953 - Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
- 1953 - Lynne McGranger, Australian actress
- 1953 - Louie Pérez, American songwriter, percussionist and guitarist
- 1953 - Paul Fusco, American puppeteer, voice-over artist and character actor
- 1952 - Klaus-Peter Hanisch, German footballer (d. 2009)
- 1952 - Rupert Hanley, South African cricketer
- 1952 - Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-born musician and record producer (The Ramones)
- 1951 - Andy Roberts, West Indian cricketer
- 1950 - Ann Jillian, American actress
- 1950 - Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver
- 1948 - Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host
- 1948 - Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor
- 1948 - Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter and radio host
- 1947 - Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate
- 1947 - David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (d. 1985)
- 1947 - Marián Varga, Slovak musician
- 1945 - Jim Nicholson, Irish politician
- 1945 - Tom Selleck, American actor, screenwriter and film producer
- 1944 - Andrew Loog Oldham, English rock and roll producer
- 1944 - Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda
- 1944 - Patrick Lipton Robinson, Jamaican judge
- 1943 - Tony Blackburn, English disc jockey
- 1942 - Claudine Longet, French singer and dancer
- 1941 - Robin Morgan, American feminist and activist
- 1940 - Katharine Ross, American actress
- 1940 - Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver
- 1939 - Germaine Greer, Australian writer
- 1936 - James Jamerson, American bass guitarist for Motown Records (d. 1983)
- 1933 - Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1933 - Paul Sally, American mathematician
- 1933 - Hugo Herrestrup, Danish actor
- 1932 - Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1932 - George Allen, English footballer
- 1930 - Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (d. 2005)
- 1930 - John Junkin, English radio, television and film performer (d. 2006)
- 1928 - Lee Shau Kee, Hong Kong property developer
- 1927 - Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist (d. 1989)
- 1926 - Franco Cerri, Italian musician
- 1926 - Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)
- 1924 - Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990)
- 1924 - Marcelle Ferron, Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001)
- 1924 - Peter Voulkos, American artist (d. 2002)
- 1923 - Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1923 - Ivo Robic, Croatian singer and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1922 - Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concentration camp supervisor (d. 1946)
- 1921 - Anthony George, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1920 - José Luis de Villalonga, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2007)
- 1918 - John Forsythe, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1915 - John Serry, Sr., American musician and arranger (d. 2003)
- 1913 - Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1913 - Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1913 - Peter von Zahn, German journalist and writer (d. 2001)
- 1911 - Peter von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1986)
- 1910 - Colin Middleton, Irish artist (d. 1983)
- 1905 - Barnett Newman, American painter (d. 1970)
- 1901 - Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor (d. 1965)
- 1895 - Muna Lee, American poet (d. 1965)
- 1891 - Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina (d. 1975)
- 1891 - R. Norris Williams, American survivor of the RMS Titanic sinking (d. 1968)
- 1888 - Sydney Chapman, British mathematician and geophysicist (d. 1970)
- 1880 - W. C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946)
- 1877 - Georges Catroux, French general (d. 1969)
- 1876 - Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972)
- 1874 - John D. Rockefeller Jr., American entrepreneur (d. 1960)
- 1867 - Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish writer (d. 1928)
- 1866 - Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Laureate (d. 1944)
- 1866 - Julio Peris Brell, Spanish painter (d. 1944)
- 1862 - Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
- 1860 - Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (d. 1904)
- 1846 - Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915)
- 1843 - William McKinley, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)
- 1810 - Ernst Kummer, German mathematician (d. 1893)
- 1801 - Horatia Nelson, daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (d. 1881)
- 1782 - Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
- 1761 - Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1849)
- 1756 - Henry Lee III, American General (d. 1818)
- 1754 - Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland (d. 1806)
- 1749 - King Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)
- 1737 - Thomas Paine, English-born American patriot (d. 1809)
- 1718 - Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794)
- 1717 - Jeffrey Amherst, British military leader (d. 1797)
- 1715 - Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777)
- 1711 - Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)
- 1688 - Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher (d. 1772)
- 1632 - Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (d. 1703)
- 1584 - Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)