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.

July 8th


- Christian Feast Day:
- Soapy Smith Wake (Skagway)

July 8th


- 2007 - Boeing unveiled its first 787 in a roll-out ceremony at its Everett assembly factory.
- 1999 - Allen Lee Davis is executed by electric chair by the state of Florida, the last use of the electric chair for capital punishment in Florida.
- 1997 - NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to join the alliance in 1999.
- 1996 - A schizophrenic man armed with a machete wounds three children and four adults at a primary school in Wolverhampton, England. Teacher Lisa Potts received the George Medal for protecting her pupils, despite being severely injured.
- 1992 - The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe creates the office of High Commissioner on National Minorities.
- 1982 - Assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Dujail.
- 1982 - The Senegalese Trotskyist political party LCT is legally recognized.
- 1970 - Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American Self-Determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination Act.
- 1969 - IBM CICS is made generally available for the 360 mainframe computer.
- 1968 - The Municipality of General Santos was converted into a City status, named General Santos City.
- 1966 - King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
- 1965 - Train robber Ronald Biggs escapes from Wandsworth Prison, London.
- 1962 - Ne Win besieges and dynamites the Rangoon University Student Union building to crash the Student Movement.
- 1960 - Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.
- 1948 - The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).
- 1947 - Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
- 1932 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, bottoming out at 41.22.
- 1907 - Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.
- 1898 - The death of crime boss Soapy Smith (who is shot) releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
- 1896 - William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetalism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- 1892 - St. John's, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.
- 1889 - The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published.
- 1879 - Sailing ship USS Jeannette (1878) departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.
- 1876 - White supremacists kill five Black Republicans in Hamburg, SC.
- 1874 - The Mounties begin their March West.
- 1864 - Ikedaya Jiken: the Choshu Han shishi's planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya.
- 1859 - King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden-Norway.
- 1853 - Commodore Perry sails into Tokyo Bay.
- 1822 - Chippewas turn over huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
- 1776 - The Declaration of Independence is read aloud in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Liberty Bell is rung.
- 1775 - The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies.
- 1760 - French and Indian War: Battle of Restigouche – British forces defeat French forces in last naval battle in New France.
- 1758 - French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York.
- 1716 - Great Northern War: the naval Battle of Dynekilen takes place.
- 1709 - Great Northern War: Battle of Poltava – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava thus effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe.
- 1680 - The first confirmed tornado in America kills a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1663 - Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.
- 1579 - Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
- 1497 - Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
- 1283 - War of the Sicilian Vespers: the naval Battle of Malta between the Aragonese and the Neapolitan fleets is fought.
- 1099 - First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in a religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on.

July 8th


- 2001 - Yang Peiyi, Chinese singer
- 2000 - Sophie Nyweide, American actress
- 1998 - Jaden Smith, American actor
- 1992 - Sky Ferreira, American singer
- 1992 - Benjamin Grosvenor, British pianist
- 1988 - Jesse Sergent, New Zealand cyclist
- 1987 - Vlada Roslyakova, Russian model
- 1986 - Renata Costa (Kóki), Brazilian footballer
- 1986 - Jake McDorman, American actor
- 1985 - Jamie Cook, British guitarist (Arctic Monkeys)
- 1984 - Alexis Dziena, American actress
- 1983 - Jaroslav Janiš, Czech racing car driver
- 1983 - John Bowker, American baseball player
- 1983 - Daniel Navarro García, Spanish cyclist
- 1982 - Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
- 1982 - Joshua Alba, American actor
- 1982 - Sophia Bush, American actress
- 1981 - Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
- 1980 - Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
- 1979 - Mat McBriar, American football player
- 1979 - André, Armenian singer
- 1978 - Rachael Lillis, American actress
- 1978 - Eve Myles, Welsh actress
- 1977 - Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
- 1977 - Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
- 1977 - Paolo Tiralongo, Italian cyclist
- 1976 - Talal El Karkouri, Moroccan footballer
- 1976 - David Kennedy, American guitarist (Angels & Airwaves)
- 1975 - Elias Viljanen, Finnish guitarist (Sonata Arctica)
- 1974 - Zhanna Friske, Russian actress and singer
- 1974 - Tami Erin, American actress and model
- 1973 - Kathleen Robertson, Canadian actress
- 1972 - Karl Dykhuis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Sh?suke Tanihara, Japanese actor
- 1972 - Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
- 1971 - John Juanda, Indonesian poker player
- 1971 - Neil Jenkins, Welsh rugby player
- 1971 - Amanda Peterson, American actress
- 1970 - Beck, American singer
- 1969 - Sugizo Japanese guitarist and singer (Luna Sea)
- 1968 - Akio Suyama, Japanese seiyu
- 1968 - Billy Crudup, American actor
- 1968 - Thom Fitzgerald, American-Canadian film director
- 1968 - Shane Howarth, New Zealand rugby player (also capped by Wales)
- 1968 - Michael Weatherly, American actor
- 1967 - Jordan Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer
- 1966 - Ralf Altmeyer, German virologist
- 1966 - Shadlog Bernicke, Nauruan politician
- 1965 - Lee Tergesen, American actor
- 1964 - Linda de Mol, Dutch actress and host
- 1964 - Alexei Gusarov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1963 - Mark Christopher, American film director
- 1962 - Joan Osborne, American singer and songwriter
- 1961 - Toby Keith, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1961 - Andrew Fletcher, English vocalist and synth and bass player (Depeche Mode)
- 1960 - Mal Meninga, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1959 - Robert Knepper, American actor
- 1958 - Kevin Bacon, American actor
- 1958 - Tzipi Livni, Israeli politician
- 1958 - Pauline Quirke, British actress
- 1958 - Neetu Singh, Indian actress
- 1958 - Andreas Carlgren, Swedish politician
- 1957 - Aleksandr Gurnov, Russian television personality
- 1957 - Carlos Cavazo, Mexican-born American guitarist (Quiet Riot, Ratt)
- 1956 - Terry Puhl, Canadian baseball player
- 1955 - Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress (d. 2008)
- 1955 - Alison Fraser, American actress
- 1952 - Marianne Williamson, American spiritual activist and founder of the Peace Alliance
- 1952 - Anna Quindlen, American newspaper columnist
- 1952 - Jack Lambert, American football player
- 1951 - Anjelica Huston, American actress
- 1949 - Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, the 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009)
- 1949 - Frank Delima, American comedian
- 1949 - Dale Hoganson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 - Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-born celebrity chef
- 1948 - Raffi, Egyptian born Canadian children's entertainer
- 1947 - Kim Darby, American actress
- 1947 - Luis Fernando Figari, Peruvian founder of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae
- 1945 - Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss politician
- 1944 - Jai Johanny Johanson, American drummer and percussionist (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1944 - Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
- 1942 - Phil Gramm, American politician
- 1942 - Janice Pennington, American game show model
- 1941 - Dario Gradi, Italian-born English football manager
- 1940 - Ben Chapman, English politician and civil servant
- 1935 - Steve Lawrence, American entertainer and singer
- 1935 - Vitali Sevastyanov, Russian cosmonaut
- 1934 - Ed Lumley, Canadian corporate executive and politician
- 1933 - Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor (d. 1982)
- 1933 - Antonio Lamer, French Canadian lawyer and chief justice (d. 2007)
- 1932 - Jerry Vale, American singer
- 1931 - Roone Arledge, American sports broadcaster
- 1927 - Maurice Hayes, Irish politician
- 1926 - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-born psychiatrist (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Johnnie Johnson, American blues pianist (d. 2005)
- 1923 - Harrison Dillard, American sprinter and hurdler
- 1920 - Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, Danish industrialist (Lego Group) (d. 1995)
- 1919 - Walter Scheel, German politician
- 1918 - Craig Stevens, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1918 - Paul B. Fay, American businessman and cabinet member in the Kennedy administration (d. 2009)
- 1917 - Faye Emerson, American actress (d. 1983)
- 1914 - Jyoti Basu, Indian politician (d. 2010)
- 1914 - Billy Eckstine, American jazz singer (d. 1993)
- 1908 - Louis Jordan, American saxophonist (d. 1975)
- 1908 - Nelson A. Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979)
- 1907 - George W. Romney, American businessman and politician (d. 1995)
- 1906 - Philip Johnson, American architect (d. 2005)
- 1905 - Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (d. 1997)
- 1904 - Henri Cartan, French mathematician (d. 2008)
- 1898 - Melville Ruick, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1895 - Igor Tamm, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
- 1892 - Richard Aldington, English poet (d. 1962)
- 1892 - Pavel Korin, Russian painter (d. 1967)
- 1885 - Ernst Bloch, German philosopher (d. 1977)
- 1882 - Percy Grainger, Australian composer (d. 1961)
- 1878 - Jimmy Quinn, Scottish footballer (d. 1945)
- 1867 - Käthe Kollwitz, German painter, printmaker and sculptor (d. 1945)
- 1857 - Alfred Binet, French psychologist (d. 1911)
- 1851 - Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (d. 1941)
- 1839 - John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (d. 1937)
- 1838 - Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German inventor (d. 1917)
- 1836 - Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (d. 1914)
- 1830 - Frederick William Seward, 6th and 11th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1915)
- 1830 - Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, German-born wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (d. 1911)
- 1819 - Francis Leopold McClintock, British naval officer and explorer (d. 1907)
- 1792 - Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria (d. 1854)
- 1766 - Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (d. 1842)
- 1760 - Christian Kramp, French mathematician (d. 1826)
- 1621 - Jean de la Fontaine, French writer (d. 1695)
- 1593 - Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (d. 1653)
- 1545 - Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568)
- 1528 - Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (d. 1580)