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 14th


- Earliest day on which the first day of Gentse Feesten can fall, while July 20 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday before July 21. (Ghent)
- Bastille Day (France and French dependencies)
- Birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, an official flag day. (Sweden)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Republic Day (Iraq)

July 14th


- 2003 - The United States Government admits to the existence of "Area 51".
- 2002 - French President Jacques Chirac escapes an assassination attempt unscathed during Bastille Day celebrations.
- 2000 - A powerful solar flare, later named the Bastille Day event, causes a geomagnetic storm on Earth.
- 1992 - 386BSD is released by Lynne Jolitz and William Jolitz beginning the Open Source Operating System Revolution. Linus Torvalds release his Linux soon afterwards.
- 1969 - Football War: after Honduras loses a soccer match against El Salvador, riots break out in Honduras against Salvadoran migrant workers.
- 1969 - The United States $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 bills are officially withdrawn from circulation.
- 1965 - The Mariner 4 flyby of Mars takes the first close-up photos of another planet.
- 1960 - Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her famous study of chimpanzees in the wild.
- 1958 - Iraqi Revolution: in Iraq the monarchy is overthrown by popular forces lead by Abdul Karim Kassem, who becomes the nation's new leader.
- 1957 - Rawya Ateya takes her seat in the National Assembly of Egypt, thereby becoming the first female parliamentarian in the Arab world.
- 1950 - Korean War: North Korean troops initiate the Battle of Taejon.
- 1948 - Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist Party, is shot and wounded near the Italian Parliament.
- 1943 - In Joplin, Missouri, the George Washington Carver National Monument becomes the first United States National Monument in honor of an African American.
- 1933 - Gleichschaltung: in Germany, all political parties are outlawed except the Nazi Party.
- 1916 - Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.
- 1902 - The Campanile in St. Mark's Square, Venice collapses, also demolishing the loggetta.
- 1900 - Armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance capture Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion.
- 1881 - Billy the Kid is shot and killed by Pat Garrett outside Fort Sumner.
- 1865 - First ascent of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper and party, four of whom die on the descent.
- 1798 - The Sedition Act becomes law in the United States making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the United States government.
- 1791 - The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley, a supporter of the French Revolution, out of Birmingham, England.
- 1790 - French Revolution: citizens of Paris celebrate the constitutional monarchy and national reconciliation in the Fęte de la Fédération.
- 1789 - French Revolution: citizens of Paris storm the Bastille.
- 1771 - Foundation of the Mission San Antonio de Padua in modern California by the Franciscan friar Junípero Serra.
- 1769 - An expedition led by Gaspar de Portolŕ establishes a base in California and sets out to find the Port of Monterey (now Monterey, California).
- 1698 - The Darien scheme begins with five ships, bearing about 1,200 people, departing Leith for the Isthmus of Panama.
- 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Philip II of France.

July 14th


- 1989 - Sean Flynn, American actor
- 1988 - James Vaughan, English footballer
- 1987 - Adam Johnson, English footballer
- 1985 - Billy Celeski, Australian footballer
- 1985 - Darrelle Revis, American football player
- 1984 - Renaldo Balkman, American basketball player
- 1984 - Nilmar, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 - Nansy Stergiopoulou, Greek singer (Hi-5)
- 1984 - Erica Blasberg, American golfer (d. 2010)
- 1983 - Wesley Dening, Australian TV personality
- 1982 - Dmitry Chaplin, Russian-born American dancer, So You Think You Can Dance finalist
- 1981 - Lee Mead, English actor
- 1980 - George Smith, Australian rugby union player
- 1980 - Jed Madela, Filipino singer
- 1979 - Axel Teichmann, German cross-country skier
- 1979 - Bernie Castro, Dominican baseball player
- 1977 - Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden
- 1976 - Ranj Dhaliwal, Canadian novelist
- 1976 - Geraint Jones, England cricketer
- 1976 - Kirsten Sheridan, Irish film director and screenwriter
- 1975 - Jamey Johnson, American country music artist
- 1975 - Taboo, American rapper
- 1975 - Tim Hudson, American baseball player
- 1974 - Erick Dampier, American basketball player
- 1974 - David Mitchell, English comedian and actor
- 1973 - Halil Mutlu, Bulgaria-born Turkish weightlifter
- 1973 - Adam Quinn, American bagpipes player
- 1973 - Paul Methric, American rapper
- 1973 - Candela Peńa, Spanish actress
- 1972 - Deborah Mailman, Australian actress
- 1971 - Mark LoMonaco (Bubba Ray Dudley), American professional wrestler
- 1971 - Joey Styles, American wrestling commentator
- 1971 - Marie-Chantal Toupin, French Canadian singer
- 1971 - Nick McCabe, British guitarist (The Verve)
- 1971 - Madhu Sapre, Former Indian Model and Miss Universe Contestant
- 1971 - Howard Webb, English football referee
- 1970 - Nina Siemaszko, American actress
- 1969 - José Hernández, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1969 - Kazushi Sakuraba, Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
- 1967 - Robin Ventura, American baseball player
- 1967 - Jeff Jarrett, American professional wrestler
- 1967 - Patrick J. Kennedy, American politician
- 1966 - Juliet Cesario, American actress
- 1966 - Ellen Reid, Canadian pianist and vocalist (Crash Test Dummies)
- 1966 - Matthew Fox, American actor
- 1966 - Brian Selznick, American author and illustrator
- 1966 - Owen Coyle, Scottish-born Irish football player and manager
- 1966 - Tanya Donelly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Throwing Muses, Belly)
- 1963 - Phil Rosenthal, American newspaper columnist
- 1962 - Jeff Olson, American percussionist (Trouble)
- 1961 - Jackie Earle Haley, American actor
- 1960 - Jane Lynch, American actress, comedian and singer
- 1960 - Anna Bligh, Australian politician
- 1960 - Kyle Gass, American guitarist, singer and actor (Tenacious D)
- 1960 - Angélique Kidjo, Beninese singer
- 1958 - Robert Jensen, American journalist and activist
- 1958 - Joe Keenan, American screenwriter, television producer and novelist
- 1956 - Julio Chavez, Argentinian actor
- 1956 - Vladimir Kulich, Czech actor
- 1955 - L. Brent Bozell III, American writer and pundit
- 1953 - Martha Coakley, American politician
- 1952 - Franklin Graham, American evangelist
- 1952 - Eric Laneuville, American director, actor and producer
- 1952 - Joel Silver, American film producer
- 1952 - Bob Casale ("Bob 2"), American guitarist (Devo)
- 1951 - Erich Hallhuber, German actor (d. 2003)
- 1949 - Tommy Mottola, American music executive
- 1948 - Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, Zulu king
- 1947 - Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army officer
- 1947 - Navin Ramgoolam, Mauritius politician, 3rd and 6th Prime Minister of Mauritius
- 1946 - Vincent Pastore, American actor
- 1946 - John Wood, Australian actor
- 1944 - Billy McCool, American baseball player
- 1943 - Christopher Priest, English novelist
- 1942 - Javier Solana, Spanish politician, Secretary General of NATO and European Union High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
- 1941 - Maulana Karenga, American writer and political activist, the creator of Kwanzaa
- 1941 - Andreas Khol, Austrian politician
- 1940 - Susan Howatch, English novelist
- 1939 - George E. Slusser, American scholar and writer
- 1939 - Karel Gott, Czech Schlager singer
- 1939 - Sid Haig, American actor
- 1938 - Jerry Rubin, American social activist and businessman (d. 1994)
- 1938 - Richard Rust, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1937 - Yoshiro Mori, Japanese politician
- 1936 - Pema Chödrön, American-born Buddhist nun and author
- 1933 - Robert Bourassa, Quebec politician (d. 1996)
- 1933 - Franz, Duke of Bavaria, Heir to the House of Stuart
- 1932 - Roosevelt Grier, American football player and actor
- 1931 - Jacqueline de Ribes, French fashion designer
- 1930 - Polly Bergen, American actress
- 1928 - Nancy Olson, American actress
- 1927 - John Chancellor, American television commentator (d. 1996)
- 1926 - Harry Dean Stanton, American actor
- 1923 - Dale Robertson, American actor
- 1923 - Willie Steele, American long jumper (d. 1989)
- 1922 - Robin Olds, American World War II and Vietnam War ace fighter pilot (d. 2007)
- 1922 - Elfriede Rinkel, German Nazi concentration camp guard
- 1921 - Leon Garfield, English children's author (d. 1996)
- 1921 - Geoffrey Wilkinson, English chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)
- 1920 - Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (d. 2004)
- 1919 - Lino Ventura, Italian-born French actor (d. 1987)
- 1918 - Ingmar Bergman, Swedish film and theatre director (d. 2007)
- 1918 - Arthur Laurents, American playwright, novelist, and director
- 1913 - Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
- 1912 - Northrop Frye, Canadian literary critic (d. 1991)
- 1912 - Woody Guthrie, American folk musician (d. 1967)
- 1911 - Terry-Thomas, British actor (d. 1990)
- 1910 - William Hanna, American animator (d. 2001)
- 1906 - Tom Carvel, Greek-born American businessman and inventor (d. 1990)
- 1903 - Irving Stone, American writer (d. 1989)
- 1901 - Gerald Finzi, British composer (d. 1956)
- 1898 - Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, American politician and baseball commissioner (d. 1991)
- 1896 - Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish anarchist (d. 1936)
- 1893 - Clarence J. Brown, Newspaper publisher and politician (d. 1965)
- 1891 - Alexander M. Volkov, Russian novelist and mathematician (d. 1977)
- 1888 - Scipio Slataper, Italian writer and essayist (d. 1915)
- 1885 - King Sisavang Vong of Laos (d. 1959)
- 1874 - Khedive Abbas II of Egypt and Sudan (d. 1944)
- 1872 - Albert Marque, French sculptor and doll maker (d. 1939)
- 1868 - Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator (d. 1926)
- 1865 - Arthur Capper, American newspaper publisher and politician (d. 1951)
- 1862 - Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and graphic artist (d. 1918)
- 1860 - Owen Wister, American novelist (d. 1938)
- 1859 - Willy Hess, German violinist (d. 1928)
- 1858 - Emmeline Pankhurst, English suffragette (d. 1928)
- 1834 - James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American painter (d. 1903)
- 1829 - Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1896)
- 1816 - Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher (d. 1882)
- 1801 - Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist (d. 1858)
- 1785 - Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer and journalist (d. 1851)
- 1755 - Michel de Beaupuy, French general of the Revolution (d. 1796)
- 1743 - Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, Russian poet (d. 1816)
- 1721 - John Douglas, Scottish Anglican bishop and man of letters (d. 1807)
- 1696 - William Oldys, English antiquarian and bibliographer (d. 1761)
- 1676 - Caspar Abel, German theologian, historian and poet (d. 1763)
- 1675 - Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (d. 1747)
- 1671 - Jacques D'Allonville, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1732)
- 1634 - Pasquier Quesnel, French Jansenist theologian (d. 1719)
- 1610 - Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1670)
- 1608 - George Goring, Lord Goring, English royalist soldier (d. 1657)
- 1602 - Jules Mazarin, French statesman and cardinal (d. 1661)
- 1454 - Poliziano, Florentine humanist (d. 1494)