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 17th


- Christian Feast Day
- Constitution Day (South Korea)
- World Day for International Justice (International)
- Yama-boko Junk? of the Gion Matsuri (Kyoto, Japan)

July 17th


- 2009 - Jakarta double bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels killed 9 people including 4 foreigners.
- 2007 - TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas) Flight 3054 crashes upon landing during rain in Săo Paulo. This is Brazil's deadliest aviation accident to date with an estimated 199 deaths.
- 2007 - Trans-Neptunian Object 2007 OR10 is discovered.
- 1998 - Papua New Guinea earthquake: A tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake destroys 10 villages in Papua New Guinea killing an estimated 3,183, leaving 2,000 more unaccounted for and thousands more homeless.
- 1998 - A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crime against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
- 1997 - The F.W. Woolworth Company closes after 117 years in business.
- 1996 - TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
- 1989 - First flight of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
- 1981 - The opening of the Humber Bridge by HM The Queen in England.
- 1981 - A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
- 1979 - Nicaraguan president General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida.
- 1976 - History of East Timor: East Timor is annexed, and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.
- 1976 - The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the New Zealand team.
- 1975 - Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
- 1973 - King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan while in Italy undergoing eye surgery.
- 1968 - A revolution occurs in Iraq when Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba'ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
- 1962 - Nuclear weapons testing: The "Small Boy" test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
- 1955 - Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California.
- 1948 - The South Korean constitution is proclaimed.
- 1945 - World War II: Potsdam Conference – at Potsdam, U.S. President Harry Truman, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the three main Allied leaders, begin their final summit of the war. The meeting would end on August 2.
- 1944 - Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.
- 1944 - World War II: Napalm incendiary bombs are dropped for the first time by American P-38 pilots on a fuel depot at Coutances, near St. Lô, France.
- 1942 - World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad commences in modern-day Volgograd.
- 1938 - Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and becomes known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.
- 1936 - Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently-elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
- 1933 - After successfully crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Lithuanian research aircraft Lituanica crashes in Europe under mysterious circumstances.
- 1918 - On the orders of the Bolshevik Party carried out by Cheka, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are murdered at the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
- 1918 - The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; 5 lives are lost.
- 1917 - King George V of the United Kingdom issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British royal family will bear the surname Windsor.
- 1899 - NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
- 1867 - Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established in Boston. It was the first dental school in the U.S.
- 1856 - The Great Train Wreck of 1856 in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania kills over 60 people.
- 1794 - The sixteen Carmelite Martyrs of Compiegne are executed 10 days prior to the end of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror.
- 1791 - Members of the French National Guard under the command of General Lafayette open fire on a crowd of radical Jacobins at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution, killing as many as 50 people.
- 1771 - Bloody Falls Massacre: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee, travelling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his Arctic overland journey, massacres a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
- 1762 - Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.
- 1717 - King George I of Great Britain sails down the River Thames with a barge of 50 musicians, where George Frideric Handel's Water Music is premiered.
- 1586 - A meeting takes place at Lüneburg between several Protestant powers in order to discuss the formation of an 'evangelical' league of defence, called the 'Confederatio Militiae Evangelicae', against the Catholic League.
- 1453 - Hundred Years' War: Battle of Castillon: The French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.
- 1402 - Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming Dynasty of China.
- 1203 - The Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople by assault. The Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus flees from his capital into exile.
- 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.

July 17th


- 1998 - Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y de Borbón, Spanish royal
- 1988 - Summer Bishil, American actress
- 1987 - Darius Boyd, Australian rugby player
- 1987 - Jan Charouz, Czech racing driver
- 1987 - Jeremih Felton, R&B singer
- 1987 - Moussa Dembélé, Belgian footballer
- 1986 - Dana, Korean singer and actress (TSZX)
- 1986 - DeAngelo Smith, American football player
- 1985 - Neil McGregor, Scottish footballer
- 1985 - Tom Fletcher, British singer (McFly)
- 1984 - Sotiris Leontiou, Greek footballer
- 1984 - Asami Kimura, Japanese singer (Country Musume)–
- 1983 - Ryan Guettler, professional Australian BMX rider
- 1983 - Sarah Jones, American actress
- 1983 - Brooke Kinsella, British actress
- 1983 - Adam Lind, American baseball player
- 1983 - Jessi Cruickshank, Canadian television presenter
- 1982 - Natasha Hamilton, British singer (Atomic Kitten)
- 1982 - Omari Banks, West Indian Cricketer
- 1981 - Elpida Romantzi, Greek archer
- 1981 - Hely Ollarves, Venezuelan track and field athlete
- 1980 - Ryan Miller, American hockey player
- 1980 - Javier Camuńas, Spanish footballer
- 1979 - Mike Vogel, American actor
- 1978 - Mike Hettinga, American professional wrestler
- 1978 - Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1978 - Émilie Simon, French singer
- 1978 - Katharine Towne, American actress
- 1978 - Noah Lennox, American musician
- 1977 - Lehmber Hussainpuri, Famous Indian Singer
- 1977 - Marc Savard, Canadian hockey player
- 1977 - Tiffany Taylor, American model
- 1977 - Leif Hoste, Belgian cyclist
- 1976 - Luke Bryan, American musician
- 1976 - Dagmara Dominczyk, Polish actress
- 1976 - Eric Winter, American actor
- 1976 - Matthew Holmes, Australian actor
- 1975 - Gino D'Acampo, Italian celebrity chef
- 1975 - Andre Adams, New Zealand Cricketer
- 1975 - Darude, Finnish trance DJ
- 1975 - Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
- 1975 - Cécile de France, Belgian actress
- 1975 - Paul Hinojos, American guitarist (At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta)
- 1975 - Konnie Huq, English television presenter
- 1975 - Terence Tao, Australian-Chinese mathematician
- 1974 - Laura Macdonald, Scottish jazz musician
- 1973 - Eric Moulds, American football player
- 1973 - Tony Dovolani, Albanian ballroom dancer
- 1973 - Liam Kyle Sullivan, American comedian and actor
- 1972 - Donny Marshall, American basketball player
- 1972 - Jason Rullo, American drummer (Symphony X, Redemption)
- 1972 - Jaap Stam, Dutch footballer
- 1972 - Eric Williams, American basketball player
- 1971 - Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player
- 1971 - Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
- 1971 - Nico Mattan, Belgian cyclist
- 1970 - Mandy Smith, English model and singer
- 1969 - Scott Johnson (cartoonist), American Cartoonist
- 1969 - F. Gary Gray, American music video director
- 1968 - Beth Littleford, American comedian
- 1968 - Bitty Schram, American actress
- 1968 - Andre Royo, American actor
- 1967 - Susan Ashton, Christian singer
- 1966 - Sten Tolgfors, Swedish politician
- 1966 - Lou Barlow, American alternative rock singer and musician (Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh)
- 1966 - Guru, American rapper (Gang Starr) (d. 2010)
- 1965 - Craig Morgan, American singer
- 1965 - Alex Winter, English film director
- 1965 - Santiago Segura, Spanish film director and actor
- 1963 - Letsie III, King of Lesotho
- 1963 - Regina Belle, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter
- 1963 - John Ventimiglia, American actor
- 1963 - Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1962 - Bill Sage, American actor
- 1961 - Jonathan Potts, Canadian actor
- 1961 - Roy Pienaar, South African cricketer
- 1960 - Mark Burnett, English-born television producer
- 1960 - Nancy Giles, American actress
- 1960 - Robin Shou, Hong Kong actor
- 1960 - Jan Wouters, Dutch football player and manager
- 1960 - Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
- 1960 - Kim Barnett, English cricketer
- 1958 - Wong Kar-wai, Chinese film director
- 1957 - Fern Britton, British television presenter
- 1956 - Robert Romanus, American actor
- 1956 - Bryan Trottier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1955 - Paul Stamets, American mycologist and environmentalist
- 1955 - Christopher Chappell, Canadian Cricketer
- 1954 - Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
- 1954 - J. Michael Straczynski, American author
- 1952 - David Hasselhoff, American actor and musician
- 1952 - Phoebe Laub, American singer and songwriter
- 1952 - Nicolette Larson, American singer (d. 1997)
- 1951 - Lucie Arnaz, American actress
- 1950 - Derek de Lint, Dutch actor
- 1950 - P.J. Soles, German-born American actress
- 1949 - Terence "Geezer" Butler, British musician and lyricist (Black Sabbath)
- 1949 - Charlie Steiner, American sports broadcaster
- 1948 - Ron Asheton, American musician and composer (Iggy Pop & The Stooges) (d. 2009)
- 1948 - Luc Bondy, Swiss theatre and opera director
- 1948 - Jan Gangelhoff, American whistleblower (d. 2005)
- 1947 - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
- 1947 - Wolfgang Flür, German musician (Kraftwerk)
- 1946 - Alun Armstrong, English actor
- 1945 - Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
- 1944 - Carlos Alberto, Brazilian football player
- 1944 - Catherine Schell, Hungarian born British actress
- 1944 - Mark Burgess, New Zealand Cricketer
- 1942 - Gale Garnett, Canadian singer
- 1942 - Connie Hawkins, American basketball player
- 1942 - Don Kessinger, American baseball player
- 1942 - Peter Sissons, British newsreader
- 1941 - Daryle Lamonica, American football player
- 1941 - Achim Warmbold, German rally driver
- 1941 - Bob Taylor, English Cricketer
- 1940 - Tim Brooke-Taylor, English comedian
- 1939 - Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran
- 1939 - Andrée Champagne, French Canadian actress and politician
- 1939 - Spencer Davis, British singer and guitarist (Spencer Davis Group)
- 1935 - Diahann Carroll, American actor
- 1935 - Peter Schickele, American author, composer and radio host
- 1935 - Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor
- 1933 - Tony Pithey, South African Cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1932 - Johnny "Red" Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and longtime Chicago Bulls color commentator (d. 2009)
- 1932 - Hal Riney, American advertising executive (d. 2008)
- 1929 - Sergei K. Godunov, Russian mathematician
- 1928 - Vince Guaraldi, American musician and composer (d. 1976)
- 1926 - Édouard Carpentier, French-born professional wrestler
- 1926 - Charles Champlin, American film critic and writer
- 1925 - Jimmy Scott, American jazz singer
- 1923 - John Cooper, English race car designer (d. 2000)
- 1921 - Louis Lachenal, French alpinist, one of the first two mountaineers to climb a summit of more than 8,000 meters.(d. 1955)
- 1921 - František Zvarík, Slovakian actor
- 1920 - Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish chairman of the International Olympic Committee (d. 2010)
- 1920 - Kenneth Wolstenholme, English sports commentator (d. 2002)
- 1920 - Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser (d. 2005)
- 1918 - Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
- 1917 - Phyllis Diller, American comedienne
- 1917 - Red Sovine, American country music singer (d. 1980)
- 1917 - Lou Boudreau, Major League baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
- 1915 - Fred Ball, American movie studio executive, actor, and the brother of comedienne Lucille Ball (d. 2007)
- 1913 - Bertrand Goldberg, American architect (d. 1997)
- 1912 - Art Linkletter, Canadian television host (d. 2010)
- 1912 - Erwin Bauer, German racing driver (d. 1958)
- 1911 - Ted Anderson, English footballer (d. 1979)
- 1902 - Christina Stead, Australian novelist (d. 1983)
- 1901 - Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American race car driver and NART team owner (d. 1994)
- 1901 - Bruno Jasie?ski, Polish poet (d. 1938)
- 1900 - Marcel Dalio, French actor (d. 1983)
- 1899 - James Cagney, American actor (d. 1986)
- 1898 - George Robert Vincent, American sound recording pioneer (d. 1985)
- 1898 - Osmond Borradaile, Canadian cinematographer (d. 1999)
- 1898 - Berenice Abbott, American photographer (d. 1991)
- 1889 - Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (Perry Mason) (d. 1970)
- 1888 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- 1870 - Charles Davidson Dunbar, British military piper (d. 1939)
- 1868 - Henri Nathansen, Danish writer and stage director (d. 1944)
- 1853 - Alexius Meinong, Austrian philosopher (d. 1920)
- 1839 - Ephraim Shay, American inventor (d. 1916)
- 1831 - Xianfeng, Emperor of China (d. 1861)
- 1797 - Hippolyte Delaroche, French painter (d. 1856)
- 1763 - John Jacob Astor, American businessman (d. 1848)
- 1745 - Petr Alekseevich Pahlen, Russian general (d. 1826)
- 1744 - Elbridge Gerry, 5th Vice President of the United States (d. 1814)
- 1698 - Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician (d. 1759)
- 1674 - Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter (d. 1748)
- 1487 - Ismail I, Shah of Persia (d. 1524)