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 4th


- Rhode Island Independence Day, commemorates Rhode Island state's independence from Great Britain in 1776 (Rhode Island)
- Bird Day (United States)
- Cassinga Day (Namibia)
- Christian Feast Day
- Day of the adoption of the Declaration of independence (Latvia)
- Death of Shabdrung Day (Bhutan)
- Greenery Day (Japan)
- International Firefighters' Day
- May Fourth Movement commemorations:
Literary Day ??? (Republic of China)
- Youth Day ??? (People's Republic of China)
- Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled (Afghanistan)
- Remembrance of the Dead (Netherlands)
- Star Wars Day

May 4th


- 2007 - Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7mi wide EF-5 tornado.
- 2007 - The Scottish National Party wins the Scottish general election and becomes the largest party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time ever.
- 2002 - An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.
- 2001 - The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.
- 2000 - Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
- 1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
- 1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
- 1990 - Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
- 1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
- 1988 - The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonates during a fire.
- 1982 - Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80) is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
- 1980 - President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia dies in Ljubljana at the age of 87.
- 1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1974 - An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
- 1972 - The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in , officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation".
- 1970 - Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: the Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, open fire killing four students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States' invasion of Cambodia.
- 1961 - American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
- 1953 - Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
- 1949 - The entire Torino football (soccer) team (except for one player who did not take the trip due to an injury) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
- 1946 - In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Navy Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
- 1945 - World War II: The liberation of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg by the British Army.
- 1945 - World War II: The surrender of the North Germany Army to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
- 1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
- 1932 - In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
- 1919 - May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
- 1912 - Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
- 1910 - The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
- 1904 - Construction begins by the United States on the Panama Canal.
- 1904 - Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England.
- 1886 - Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
- 1871 - The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- 1869 - The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place in Japan.
- 1863 - American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with a Union retreat.
- 1859 - The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
- 1855 - American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
- 1814 - Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
- 1814 - King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.
- 1799 - Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is assaulted and the Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
- 1686 - Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
- 1675 - King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
- 1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
- 1494 - Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica.
- 1493 - Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
- 1471 - Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
- 1415 - Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
- 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.

May 4th


- 1994 - Pauline Ducruet, daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
- 1994 - Alexander Gould, American actor
- 1992 - Courtney Jines, American actress
- 1989 - Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
- 1988 - Robert Lacy, American writer
- 1987 - Cesc Fabregas, Spanish footballer
- 1987 - Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1987 - Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
- 1986 - George Hill, American Basketball player
- 1985 - Anthony Fedorov, American singer
- 1985 - Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer
- 1984 - Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (d. 2007)
- 1984 - Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
- 1984 - Montell Owens, American football player
- 1983 - Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
- 1983 - Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 - Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
- 1982 - Hector King, Mexican singer-songwriter
- 1982 - Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
- 1982 - Rasheeda,American hiphop singer
- 1981 - Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
- 1980 - Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 - Franziska Weisz, Austrian actress
- 1979 - Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1979 - Wes Butters, British broadcaster
- 1979 - Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player
- 1978 - Shaenon K. Garrity, American webcomics writer and artist
- 1978 - Brett Burton, Australian football player
- 1978 - Erin Andrews, ESPN sideline reporter
- 1977 - Emily Perkins, Canadian actress
- 1977 - Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer
- 1976 - Ben Grieve, American baseball player
- 1976 - Jason Michaels, American baseball player
- 1975 - Laci Peterson, American murder victim (d. 2002)
- 1974 - Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1973 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer
- 1973 - John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
- 1972 - Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
- 1972 - Chris Tomlin, American musician
- 1971 - Joe Borowski, American baseball player
- 1971 - Luiz Garcia, Jr., Brazilian racing driver
- 1970 - Gregg Alexander, American musician (New Radicals)
- 1970 - Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer
- 1970 - Sergio Basañez, Mexican actor
- 1970 - Will Arnett, American actor
- 1969 - Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 - Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet
- 1968 - Julian Barratt, English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh
- 1967 - Ana Gasteyer, American actress
- 1967 - Kate Garraway, English GMTV Presenter
- 1966 - Jane McGrath, co-founder of the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer (d. 2008)
- 1964 - Mónica Bardem, Spanish actress
- 1964 - Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian painter and visual artist, founder of transrealism
- 1964 - Rocco Siffredi, Italian porn actor
- 1961 - Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
- 1961 - Jay Aston, British singer (Bucks Fizz)
- 1961 - Ishita Bhaduri, Indian (Bengali) Poet
- 1960 - Andrew Denton, Australian television presenter and comedian
- 1960 - Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria
- 1959 - Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
- 1959 - Inger Nilsson, Swedish actress
- 1959 - Randy Travis, American musician
- 1958 - Delbert Fowler, American football player
- 1958 - Keith Haring, American graphical artist (d. 1990)
- 1956 - David Guterson, American author
- 1956 - Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete
- 1956 - Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player
- 1955 - Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
- 1955 - Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
- 1954 - Pia Zadora, American actress
- 1953 - Oleta Adams, American singer
- 1953 - Salman Hashimikov, Soviet heavyweight wrestler
- 1952 - Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
- 1951 - Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)
- 1951 - Jackie Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
- 1951 - Gérard Jugnot, French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer
- 1951 - Mick Mars, American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
- 1951 - Tirso Cruz III, Filipino actor and singer.
- 1950 - Darryl Hunt, English musician (The Pogues)
- 1949 - John Force, American race car driver
- 1949 - Stella Parton, American country music singer
- 1949 - Graham Swift, British author
- 1948 - Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- 1947 - Richard Jenkins, American actor
- 1946 - John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver
- 1946 - Gary Bauer conservative American politician, former presidential candidate
- 1945 - Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist
- 1944 - Roger Rees, British-born actor
- 1943 - Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1943 - Mikhail Chemiakin, Russian painter
- 1942 - Nickolas Ashford, American record producer, songwriter, and musician (Ashford and Simpson)
- 1941 - George Will, American writer
- 1940 - Robin Cook, American novelist
- 1939 - Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1939 - Amos Oz, Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist
- 1939 - Léon Rochefort, Quebec ice hockey player
- 1938 - Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (d. 2005)
- 1938 - Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer
- 1937 - Ron Carter, American jazz bassist
- 1937 - Dick Dale, American guitarist
- 1937 - Mr. Fuji, Former professional wrestler
- 1936 - El Cordobés, Spanish matador
- 1933 - J. Fred Duckett, Texan sports announcer and teacher
- 1931 - Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor
- 1931 - Thomas Stuttaford, British doctor and writer
- 1930 - Roberta Peters, American soprano
- 1930 - Katherine Jackson, mother of the Jackson musical family
- 1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)
- 1929 - Sidney Lamb, American linguist
- 1928 - Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician (d. 2006)
- 1928 - Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
- 1928 - Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (d. 1961)
- 1925 - Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman
- 1923 - Ed Cassidy, American musician (Spirit)
- 1923 - Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery (d. 2006)
- 1923 - Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian
- 1923 - Godfrey Quigley, British actor (d. 1994)
- 1923 - Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and author
- 1921 - Edo Murti?, Croatian painter (d. 2005)
- 1919 - Dory Funk, Professional wrestler (d. 1973)
- 1918 - Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist (d. 2004)
- 1918 - Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (d. 1993)
- 1916 - Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian author and activist (d. 2006)
- 1914 - Maedayama Eigor?, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
- 1913 - Lady Katherine Brandram, née Princess of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
- 1907 - Lincoln Kirstein, American impresario (d. 1996)
- 1904 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (official Date of Birth) (d. 1975)
- 1903 - Luther Adler, American stage actor (d. 1984)
- 1889 - Francis Cardinal Spellman, American religious leader (d. 1967)
- 1873 - Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)
- 1870 - Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)
- 1864 - Marie Booth, the third daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
- 1852 - Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)
- 1827 - John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)
- 1826 - Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
- 1825 - Thomas Henry Huxley, English scientist (d. 1895)
- 1825 - Augustus Le Plongeon, French antiquitarian (d. 1908)
- 1822 - Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Quebec politician (d. 1915)
- 1820 - Julia Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
- 1796 - Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)
- 1796 - William H. Prescott, American historian (d. 1859)
- 1781 - Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)
- 1772 - Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
- 1767 - Tyagaraja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)
- 1752 - John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
- 1733 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)
- 1715 - Richard Graves, English writer (d. 1804)
- 1655 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (d. 1731)
- 1654 - Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
- 1649 - Maharaja Chhatrasal (d. 1731)
- 1008 - Khajeh Abdollah Ansari, The Persian Sufi (d. 1088)
- 1008 - King Henry I of France (d. 1060)