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 18th


- Christian Feast Day:
- Constitution Day (Uruguay)

July 18th


- 1996 - Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec's costliest natural disasters ever.
- 1996 - Battle of Mullaitivu. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army's base, killing over 1200 Army soldiers.
- 1995 - On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufriere Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital and forcing most of the population to flee.
- 1994 - The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentinian Jewish Communal Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.
- 1992 - The ten victims of the La Cantuta massacre disappear from their university in Lima.
- 1986 - A tornado is broadcast live on KARE television in Minnesota when the station's helicopter pilot makes a chance encounter.
- 1984 - McDonald's massacre in San Ysidro, California: in a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
- 1982 - 268 campesinos ("peasants" or "country people") are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre in Ríos Montt's Guatemala.
- 1976 - Nadia Com?neci became the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- 1969 - After a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a bridge and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, dies.
- 1968 - The Intel Corporation is founded in Santa Clara, California.
- 1966 - Gemini 10 launched.
- 1965 - Russian satellite Zond 3 launched.
- 1955 - The first Disneyland theme park, in Anaheim, California, opens to the public.
- 1944 - World War II: Hideki Tojo resigns as Prime Minister of Japan due to numerous setbacks in the war effort.
- 1942 - World War II: the Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me-262 using only its jet engines for the first time.
- 1936 - In Spanish Morocco, military rebels attempt a coup d'état against the legitimacy of the Spanish government. This will lead to the Spanish Civil War.
- 1925 - Adolf Hitler publishes his personal manifesto Mein Kampf.
- 1914 - The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving definite status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
- 1870 - The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Fort Wagner/Morris Island – the first formal African American military unit, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, fails in their assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
- 1862 - First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
- 1857 - Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall's war against the French.
- 1656 - Polish-Lithuanian forces clash with Sweden and its Brandenburg allies in the start of what is to be known as The Battle of Warsaw which ends in a decisive Swedish victory.
- 1389 - Kingdom of France and Kingdom of England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, in inaugurating a 13 year peace; the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years War.
- 1334 - The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.
- 1290 - King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B'Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
- 390 - 390 BCE – Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia – a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
- 64 - Great fire of Rome: a fire begins to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burns completely out of control.

July 18th


- 2004 - Giuliano Stroe, Romanian weightlifter and bodybuilder
- 1991 - Karina Pasian, American singer and pianist
- 1988 - César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
- 1985 - Chace Crawford, American actor
- 1985 - Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
- 1983 - Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
- 1982 - Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress and beauty queen
- 1982 - Ryan Cabrera, American musician and TV host
- 1980 - Kristen Bell, American actress
- 1980 - Ryoko Hirosue, Japanese actress and singer
- 1979 - Jason Weaver, American actor
- 1979 - Deion Branch, American football player
- 1979 - Jared Hess, American film director and screenwriter
- 1979 - Joey Mercury, American professional wrestler
- 1979 - Jermaine Paul, American musician
- 1978 - Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player
- 1978 - Ben Sheets, American baseball player
- 1978 - Mélissa Theuriau, French newscaster
- 1978 - Verónica Romeo, Spanish singer
- 1978 - Annie Mac, British DJ
- 1977 - Dylan Lane, American television host
- 1977 - Kelly Reilly, English actress
- 1977 - Alfian bin Sa'at, Singaporean writer, poet and playwright
- 1976 - Valerie Cruz, American actress
- 1976 - Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
- 1975 - Torii Hunter, baseball player
- 1975 - Daron Malakian, American guitarist (System of a Down, Scars on Broadway)
- 1974 - Alan Morrison, British poet
- 1971 - Penny Hardaway, American basketball player
- 1971 - Sarah McLeod, New Zealand actress
- 1969 - Masanori Murakawa, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1968 - Grant Bowler, Australian actor
- 1967 - Vin Diesel, American actor
- 1966 - Lori Alan, American actress
- 1965 - Jim Bob Duggar, Arkansas politician and patriarch of the Duggar family
- 1964 - Wendy Williams, radio host
- 1963 - Martín Torrijos Espino, President of Panama
- 1963 - Mike Greenwell, baseball player
- 1963 - Al Snow, American professional wrestler
- 1962 - Lee Arenberg, American actor
- 1962 - Jack Irons, American drummer
- 1962 - Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian
- 1961 - M.J. Alexander, American photojournalist
- 1961 - Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
- 1961 - Alan Pardew, English Football Manager
- 1960 - Anne-Marie Johnson, American actress
- 1957 - Sir Nick Faldo, English golfer
- 1956 - Razor Shines, American baseball player, manager and coach
- 1955 - Terry Chambers, English drummer (XTC)
- 1955 - Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
- 1954 - Ricky Skaggs, American country/bluegrass musician
- 1953 - Warren Wiebe, American singer (d. 1998)
- 1951 - Elio Di Rupo, Belgian politician
- 1951 - Margo Martindale, American actress
- 1950 - Jerome Barkum, American football player
- 1950 - Sir Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
- 1950 - Glenn Hughes, American singer (Village People) (d. 2001)
- 1950 - Jack Layton, Canadian politician
- 1950 - Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
- 1950 - Mark Udall, American politician
- 1949 - Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer
- 1948 - Hartmut Michel, German chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1948 - Carlos Colón, Sr., Puerto Rican professional wrestler
- 1947 - Steve Forbes, American entrepreneur and politician
- 1947 - Steven W. Mahoney, Canadian politician
- 1946 - Leo Madder, Belgian actor
- 1946 - Doug McFarland, American politician
- 1944 - David Hemery, British athlete
- 1942 - Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician
- 1942 - Bobby Susser, American songwriter and record producer
- 1942 - Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1941 - Frank Farian, German music producer
- 1941 - Lonnie Mack, American guitarist and singer
- 1941 - Martha Reeves, American singer
- 1940 - James Brolin, American actor
- 1940 - Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
- 1939 - Dion DiMucci, American singer
- 1939 - Brian Auger, British musician
- 1939 - Edward Gramlich, American economics professor (d. 2007)
- 1939 - Jerry Moore, American football coach
- 1938 - Paul Verhoeven, Dutch film director
- 1938 - Ian Stewart, Scottish pianist (d. 1985)
- 1937 - Roald Hoffman, Polish-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
- 1936 - Ted Harris, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1935 - Jayendra Saraswathi, Hindu religious leader
- 1934 - Darlene Conley, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1934 - Roger Reynolds, American composer and teacher
- 1933 - Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet
- 1933 - Syd Mead, American industrial and conceptual designer
- 1933 - Jean Yanne, French film actor and director (d. 2003)
- 1932 - Robert Ellis Miller, American film director
- 1930 - Burt Kwouk, English actor
- 1929 - Dick Button, American figure skater
- 1929 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American singer (d. 2000)
- 1927 - Kurt Masur, Silesian-born conductor
- 1926 - Robert Sloman, writer (d. 2005)
- 1926 - Margaret Laurence, Canadian writer (d. 1987)
- 1925 - Shirley Strickland, Australian athlete (d. 2004)
- 1925 - Hubert Doggart, Former England cricketer
- 1924 - Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer
- 1923 - Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (d. 1997)
- 1922 - Thomas Kuhn, American philosopher (d. 1996)
- 1921 - Richard Leacock, Documentary filmmaker, Pioneer of Cinéma Vérité
- 1921 - John Glenn, American astronaut and politician
- 1920 - Eric Brandon, British racing driver (d. 1982)
- 1918 - Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1917 - Henri Salvador, French singer (d. 2008)
- 1916 - Johnny Hopp, baseball player (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (d. 2000)
- 1913 - Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
- 1912 - Max Rousié, French rugby footballer (d. 1950)
- 1911 - Hume Cronyn, Canadian actor (d. 2003)
- 1910 - Diptendu Pramanick, Indian film personality (d.1989)
- 1909 - Andrei Gromyko, Soviet diplomat and President (d. 1989)
- 1909 - Mohammed Daoud Khan, President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
- 1909 - Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
- 1908 - Lupe Vélez, Mexican actress (d. 1944)
- 1908 - Mildred Lisette Norman, American peace activist, earned the moniker Peace Pilgrim (d. 1981)
- 1906 - S. I. Hayakawa, American semanticist and politician (d. 1992)
- 1906 - Clifford Odets, American writer (d. 1963)
- 1903 - Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1902 - Jessamyn West, American writer (d. 1984)
- 1900 - Nathalie Sarraute, French writer (d. 1999)
- 1899 - Ernst Scheller, German Nazi politician (d. 1942)
- 1898 - John Stuart, Scottish actor (d. 1979)
- 1897 - E. A. D. Eldridge, British racing driver (d. 1935)
- 1895 - George Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (d. 1954)
- 1892 - Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian football player (d. 1969)
- 1890 - Frank Forde, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
- 1887 - Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian soldier, politician and convicted traitor (d. 1945)
- 1884 - Alberto di Jorio, former head of the Vatican Bank and secretary of the 1958 conclave (d. 1979)
- 1881 - Larry McLean, baseball player (d. 1921)
- 1871 - Sada Yacco, Japanese stage actress (d. 1946)
- 1867 - Margaret Brown, American activist, philanthropist, and RMS Titanic passenger (d. 1932)
- 1864 - Phillip Snowden, British politician (d. 1937)
- 1862 - Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich, Russian general (d. 1933)
- 1853 - Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1850 - Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet (d. 1939)
- 1848 - W. G. Grace, English cricketer (d. 1915)
- 1845 - Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
- 1837 - Vasil Levski, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1873)
- 1821 - Pauline Viardot, French mezzo-soprano and composer (d. 1910)
- 1818 - Louis De Geer, 1st Swedish Prime Minister (d. 1896)
- 1811 - William Makepeace Thackeray, English author (d. 1863)
- 1797 - Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (d. 1879)
- 1720 - Gilbert White, English ornithologist (d. 1793)
- 1718 - Saverio Bettinelli, Italian writer (d. 1808)
- 1670 - Giovanni Bononcini, Italian composer (d. 1747)
- 1659 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (d. 1743)
- 1635 - Robert Hooke, English scientist (d. 1703)
- 1634 - Johannes Camphuys, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
- 1552 - Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
- 1504 - Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss religious reformer (d. 1575)
- 1501 - Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (d. 1526)