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.

May 3rd


- Earliest date on which National Teacher's Day can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. (United States)
- Christian Feast Day
- Constitution Memorial Day (Japan)
- Constitution Day (Poland)
- Discoflux (Discordianism)
- Roodmas, or Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross (Gallican Rite of the Catholic Church)
- World Press Freedom Day (International)

May 3rd


- 2006 - Armavia Flight 967 crashes into the Black Sea, killing 113 people on board, with no survivors.
- 2006 - Zacarias Moussaoui is sentenced to life in prison in Alexandria, Virginia.
- 2003 - New Hampshire's famous Old Man of the Mountain collapses.
- 2002 - A military MiG-21 aircraft crashes into the Bank of Rajasthan in India, killing eight.
- 2001 - The United States loses its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in .
- 2000 - The sport of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.
- 1999 - The southwestern portion of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is devastated by an F5 tornado killing forty-five people, injuring 665, and causing $1 billion in damage. The tornado is one of 66 from the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. This is the strongest tornado ever recorded with wind speeds of up to 318 mph.
- 1987 - A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to develop restrictor plate racing the following season both at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega.
- 1986 - Twenty-one people are killed and forty-one are injured after a bomb explodes in an airliner (Flight UL512) at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka.
- 1978 - The first unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail (which would later become known as "spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
- 1973 - The Sears Tower in Chicago is topped out as the world's tallest building.
- 1963 - The police force in Birmingham, Alabama switches tactics and responds with violent force to stop the "Birmingham campaign" protesters. Images of the violent suppression are transmitted worldwide, bringing newfound attention to the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
- 1960 - The Off-Broadway musical comedy, The Fantasticks, opens in New York City's Greenwich Village, eventually becoming the longest-running musical of all time.
- 1960 - The Anne Frank House opens in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- 1957 - Walter O'Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, agrees to move the team from Brooklyn, New York, to Los Angeles, California.
- 1952 - Lieutenant Colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict of the United States land a plane at the North Pole.
- 1951 - The Kentucky Derby is televised for the first time.
- 1951 - London's Royal Festival Hall opens with the Festival of Britain
- 1951 - The United States Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman.
- 1948 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities are legally unenforceable.
- 1947 - New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect.
- 1946 - The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- 1945 - World War II: Sinking of the prison ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland by the Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay.
- 1942 - World War II: Japanese naval troops invade Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands during the first part of Operation Mo that results in the Battle of the Coral Sea between Japanese forces and forces from the United States and Australia.
- 1939 - The All India Forward Bloc is formed by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
- 1937 - Gone with the Wind, a novel by Margaret Mitchell, wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
- 1933 - Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes the first woman to head the United States Mint.
- 1928 - Japanese atrocities in Jinan, China.
- 1924 - Aleph Zadik Aleph is formed in Omaha, Nebraska
- 1921 - West Virginia imposes the first state sales tax.
- 1920 - A Bolshevik coup fails in the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
- 1916 - The leaders of the Easter Rising are executed in Dublin.
- 1915 - The poem In Flanders Fields is written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.
- 1913 - Raja Harishchandra the first full-length Indian feature film was released, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry.
- 1901 - The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida.
- 1877 - Labatt Park, the oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world has its first game.
- 1867 - The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.
- 1860 - Charles XV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
- 1849 - The May Uprising in Dresden begins – the last of the German revolutions of 1848.
- 1837 - The University of Athens is founded.
- 1830 - The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway is opened. It is the first steam hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets and include a tunnel.
- 1815 - Neapolitan War: Joachim Murat, King of Naples is defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Tolentino, the decisive engagement of the war.
- 1808 - Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia.
- 1808 - Peninsular War: The Madrid rebels who rose up on May 2 are fired upon near Príncipe Pío hill.
- 1802 - Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city.
- 1791 - The Constitution of May 3 (the first modern constitution in Europe) is proclaimed by the Sejm of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1715 - "Edmund Halley's" total solar eclipse (the last one visible in London, United Kingdom for almost 900 years).
- 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.

May 3rd


- 1990 - Miranda Chartrand, Canadian singer
- 1990 - Levi Johnston, American actor and model; former fiancé of Bristol Palin
- 1987 - Lina Grin?ikait?, Lithuanian sprinter
- 1984 - Cheryl Burke, American dancer
- 1983 - Joseph Addai, American football player
- 1983 - Romeo Castelen, Dutch footballer
- 1983 - Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer
- 1983 - Myriam Fares, Lebanese singer
- 1982 - Igor Olshansky, Ukrainian-born American football player
- 1981 - Farrah Franklin, American singer (former member of Destiny's Child)
- 1981 - U;Nee, South Korean singer and actress (d. 2007)
- 1980 - Zuzana Ondrášková, Czech tennis player
- 1980 - Marcel Vigneron, American chef (Top Chef)
- 1979 - Steve Mack, American professional wrestler
- 1978 - Paul Banks, American vocalist (Interpol)
- 1978 - Autumn Phillips, member of the British royal family
- 1978 - Lawrence Tynes, American football player
- 1977 - Mashima Hiro, Japanese Mangaka of Rave Master and Fairy Tail
- 1977 - Ryan Dempster, American baseball player
- 1977 - Tyronn Lue, American basketball player
- 1976 - Jeff Halpern, American ice hockey player
- 1976 - Brad Scott, Australian rules footballer and coach
- 1975 - Willie Geist, American television personality
- 1975 - Christina Hendricks, American actress
- 1975 - Dulé Hill, American actor
- 1975 - Valentino Lanús, Mexican actor
- 1975 - Maksim Mrvica, Croatian pianist
- 1974 - Princess Haya bint Hussein of Jordan
- 1974 - Peter Everitt, Australian football player
- 1973 - Brad Martin, American musician
- 1973 - Rea Garvey, Irish musician
- 1972 - Shonie Carter, American MMA fighter
- 1972 - Suzi Suzuki, former Japanese adult actress
- 1971 - Damon Dash, American label executive
- 1971 - Josey Scott, American singer (Saliva)
- 1970 - Jeffrey Sebelia, American fashion designer
- 1969 - Daryl F. Mallett, American writer/editor
- 1968 - Shane Minor, American singer
- 1966 - Peter Abbay, American actor
- 1966 - Firdous Bamji, Indian-American actor
- 1966 - Frank Dietrich, German politician
- 1966 - Darren Morgan, Welsh snooker player
- 1965 - Rob Brydon, Welsh comedian
- 1965 - Nina Garcia, Colombian-American fashion expert and television personality
- 1965 - John Jensen, Danish footballer
- 1965 - Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian self-made businessman
- 1964 - Ron Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 - Jeff Hornacek, American basketball player
- 1963 - Jamie Reeves, British strongman
- 1962 - Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder
- 1961 - Steve McClaren, English football manager
- 1961 - Joe Murray, American cartoonist
- 1961 - David Vitter, American politician, junior senator of Louisiana
- 1960 - Amy Steel, American actress
- 1959 - David Ball, English musician (Soft Cell)
- 1959 - Uma Bharati, Indian politician
- 1959 - Ben Elton, British comedian and author
- 1958 - Kevin Kilner, American actor
- 1958 - Sandi Toksvig, Danish born writer and broadcaster
- 1958 - Susanna Kwan, Hong Kong singer
- 1957 - Rod Langway, American ice hockey player
- 1956 - Marc Bellemare, French Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1955 - David Hookes, Australian cricketer (d. 2004)
- 1953 - Gary Young, American drummer (Pavement)
- 1952 - Charles Baldwin, American political figure
- 1952 - Caitlin Clarke. American actress (d. 2004)
- 1952 - Allan Wells, British athlete
- 1951 - Christopher Cross, American musician
- 1951 - Tatyana Tolstaya, Russian writer
- 1950 - Mary Hopkin, Welsh Singer
- 1949 - Ron Wyden, American politician, senior senator of Oregon
- 1949 - Ken Hom, Chinese American chef
- 1948 - Chris Mulkey, American actor
- 1947 - Doug Henning, Canadian magician (d. 2000)
- 1946 - Norm Chow, American football coach
- 1946 - Greg Gumbel, American broadcaster
- 1946 - Silvino Francisco, South African snooker player
- 1945 - Davey Lopes, American baseball player and coach
- 1943 - Jim Risch, American politician, junior senator of Idaho
- 1942 - V?ra ?áslavská, Czech gymnast
- 1942 - Dave Marash, American journalist
- 1942 - C.L. Otter, American politician, governor of Idaho
- 1941 - Edward "Monk" Malloy, American university president
- 1940 - Konrad "Conny" Plank, German record producer and musician
- 1940 - Clemens Westerhof, Dutch football manager
- 1938 - Chris Cannizzaro, American baseball player
- 1938 - Omar Abdel-Rahman, Egyptian Islamist terrorist
- 1937 - Nélida Piñon, Brazilian writer
- 1935 - Ron Popeil, American inventor
- 1934 - Henry Cooper, English boxer
- 1934 - Georges Moustaki, Egyptian born Greek-French singer and songwriter
- 1934 - Frankie Valli, American singer (The Four Seasons)
- 1933 - James Brown, American singer and dancer (d. 2006)
- 1933 - Steven Weinberg, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1933 - Alex Cord, American actor
- 1932 - Robert Osborne, American film historian
- 1928 - Dave Dudley, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1926 - Ann B. Davis, American actress
- 1925 - Jean Séguy, French sociologist of religions (d. 2007)
- 1924 - Yehuda Amichai, Israeli poet (d. 2000)
- 1924 - Ken Tyrrell, English founder of eponymous F1 racing team (d. 2001)
- 1923 - Ralph Hall, American politician
- 1923 - George Hadjinikos, Greek pianist and conductor
- 1922 - Len Shackleton, English former footballer (d. 2000)
- 1921 - Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (d. 1989)
- 1921 - Joe Ames, American singer (d. 2007)
- 1920 - John Lewis, American jazz pianist and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 2001)
- 1919 - John Cullen Murphy, American comic strip artist (d. 2004)
- 1919 - Pete Seeger, American singer
- 1918 - Ted Bates, English former footballer (d. 2003)
- 1917 - Betty Comden, American lyricist (d. 2006)
- 1916 - Léopold Simoneau, French Canadian tenor (d. 2006)
- 1915 - Stu Hart, Canadian professional wrestler and trainer (d. 2003)
- 1913 - William Inge, American playwright (d. 1973)
- 1912 - Virgil Fox, American organist (d. 1980)
- 1910 - Norman Corwin, American radio pioneer
- 1907 - Dorothy Young, American entertainer
- 1906 - Anna E. Roosevelt, American radio personality, daughter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (d. 1975)
- 1906 - Mary Astor, Academy Award-winning American actress (d. 1987)
- 1905 - Werner Fenchel, German mathematician (d. 1988)
- 1903 - Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (d. 1977)
- 1902 - Alfred Kastler, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1901 - Gino Cervi, Italian actor (d. 1974)
- 1898 - Golda Meir, Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1978)
- 1896 - Dodie Smith, English novelist and playwright (d. 1990)
- 1896 - Karl Allmenroder, German World War I Flying ace (d. 1917)
- 1895 - Cornelius Van Til, philosopher and Christian apologist (d. 1987)
- 1893 - Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian writer and public benefactor (d. 1975)
- 1892 - George Paget Thomson, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1891 - Tadeusz Peiper, Polish poet (d. 1969)
- 1888 - Beulah Bondi, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1887 - Marika Kotopouli, Greek actress (d. 1954)
- 1886 - Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (d. 1971)
- 1879 - Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman (d. 1950)
- 1877 - Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (d. 1925)
- 1874 - François Coty, French perfume manufacturer (d. 1934)
- 1874 - V. Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer (d. 1954)
- 1873 - Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian general (d. 1945)
- 1870 - Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1948)
- 1867 - J.T. Hearne, English cricketer (d. 1944)
- 1861 - Emmett Dalton, American outlaw (d. 1937)
- 1860 - John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist (d. 1936)
- 1860 - Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician (d. 1940)
- 1859 - Andy Adams, American author (d. 1935)
- 1857 - George Gore, American baseball player (d. 1933)
- 1849 - Jacob August Riis, American journalist (d. 1914)
- 1849 - Bernhard von Bülow, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1929)
- 1844 - Richard D'Oyly Carte, English theatrical impresario (d. 1901)
- 1835 - Alfred Austin, English poet (d. 1913)
- 1826 - Charles, Crown Prince of Sweden-Norway (d. 1872)
- 1814 - Sir Adams George Archibald, Canadian Father of the Confederation (d. 1892)
- 1768 - Charles Tennant, Scottish chemist and industrialist (d. 1838)
- 1764 - Elisabeth of France, sister of Louis XVI (d. 1794)
- 1761 - August von Kotzebue, German dramatist (d. 1819)
- 1713 - Alexis Clairault, French mathematician (d. 1765)
- 1695 - Henri Pitot, Italian-born French engineer (d. 1771)
- 1662 - Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (d. 1736)
- 1469 - Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and political author (d. 1527)
- 1446 - Margaret of York, wife of Charles I, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1503)
- 1428 - Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal and statesman (d. 1495)
- 1415 - Cecily Neville, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (d. 1495)
- 612 - Constantine III, Byzantine Emperor (d. 641)