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 6th


- Earliest day for Military Spouse Day, while May 12 is the latest, celebrated on the Friday before Mother's Day. (United States)
- Christian Feast Day
- International No Diet Day
- Martyrs' Day (Lebanon and Syria)
- The first day of H?d?rellez (Turkey)

May 6th


- 2010 - The second largest intraday point swing in Dow Jones Industrial Average history occurs.
- 2008 - Chaiten Volcano erupts in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
- 2002 - Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated by an animal rights activist.
- 2001 - During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
- 1999 - First elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly held.
- 1998 - Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his 5th career start.
- 1997 - The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history.
- 1996 - The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
- 1994 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
- 1991 - 1994 – Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones files suit against President Bill Clinton, alleging that he had sexually harassed her in .
- 1989 - Cedar Point opens Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what is considered to be the "coaster wars".
- 1984 - 103 Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul
- 1983 - The Hitler diaries are revealed as a hoax after examination by experts.
- 1981 - A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
- 1976 - An earthquake strikes Friuli, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages.
- 1972 - Deniz Gezmi?, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin ?nan are executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.
- 1966 - Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors Murders in England.
- 1962 - St. Martín de Porres is canonized by Pope John XXIII.
- 1960 - More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
- 1954 - Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
- 1945 - World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.
- 1945 - World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.
- 1942 - World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
- 1941 - At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.
- 1941 - The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
- 1940 - John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
- 1937 - Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
- 1935 - New Deal: Executive Order 7034 creates the Works Progress Administration.
- 1935 - The first flight of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk.
- 1910 - George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII.
- 1889 - The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
- 1882 - Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed and killed during the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin.
- 1882 - The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.
- 1877 - Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
- 1863 - American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1857 - The British East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence.
- 1840 - The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1835 - James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
- 1816 - The American Bible Society is founded in New York City.
- 1801 - Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedy captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
- 1757 - Battle of Prague – A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years' War.
- 1757 - English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.
- 1682 - Louis XIV of France moves his court to Versailles.
- 1542 - Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
- 1536 - King Henry VIII orders English language Bibles be placed in every church.
- 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo.

May 6th


- 1996 - Dominic Scott Kay, American actor
- 1994 - Krystal Jung, American-born Korean singer
- 1989 - Dominika Cibulková, Slovakian tennis player
- 1987 - Moon Geun Young, South Korean actress
- 1986 - Tyler Hynes, Canadian actor
- 1985 - Chris Paul, American basketball player
- 1985 - Tanerau Latimer, New Zealand All Black rugby player
- 1984 - Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1983 - Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 - Adrianne Palicki, American actress
- 1983 - Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious figure, the 17th Karmapa Lama (supported by the Chinese government)
- 1983 - Raquel Zimmermann, Brazilian model
- 1981 - Matt Drake, British vocalist/guitarist (Evile)
- 1981 - Nicholas Setta, American Canadian football player (Hamilton Tiger-Cats)
- 1981 - Edyta ?liwi?ska, Polish dancer
- 1980 - Nicole Brunner, American actress
- 1980 - Scott Colton, American professional wrestler
- 1980 - Dimitris Diamantidis, Greek basketball player
- 1980 - Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 - Taebin, Korean singer (1TYM)
- 1980 - Kelly van der Veer, Dutch reality TV star
- 1979 - Kerry Ellis, West End actress / singer
- 1979 - Nikki Hayes, Irish radio personality
- 1979 - Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
- 1978 - John Abraham, American football player
- 1978 - Fredrick Federley, Swedish politician
- 1978 - Aleksandr Fyodorov, Russian bodybuilder
- 1977 - Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 - Marc Chouinard, French Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player
- 1972 - Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Naoko Takahashi, Japanese long-distance runner
- 1971 - Chris Shiflett, American guitarist (Foo Fighters)
- 1970 - Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
- 1970 - Kavan Smith, Canadian actor
- 1970 - Tristán Ulloa, Spanish actor
- 1969 - Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer
- 1968 - Lætitia Sadier, French singer (Stereolab)
- 1965 - Leslie Hope, Canadian actress
- 1964 - Dana Hill, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1964 - Tony Scalzo, American musician (Fastball)
- 1962 - Adam Yellin, American record producer
- 1961 - George Clooney, American actor
- 1961 - Gina Riley, Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian
- 1960 - Roma Downey, Northern Irish actress
- 1960 - John Flansburgh, American musician (They Might Be Giants)
- 1960 - Anne Parillaud, French actress
- 1960 - Phyllis Treigle, American soprano
- 1958 - Lolita Flores, Spanish singer and actress
- 1956 - Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek comedian and scriptwriter
- 1955 - Tom Bergeron, American game show host
- 1954 - Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician
- 1953 - Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1997-2007
- 1953 - Michelle Courchesne, Quebec politician
- 1953 - Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer/manager
- 1953 - Lynn Whitfield, American actress
- 1952 - Christian Clavier, French actor
- 1952 - Gregg Henry, American actor and country musician
- 1952 - Michael O'Hare, American actor
- 1952 - Gerrit Zalm, Dutch politician and CEO (ABN AMRO)
- 1951 - Samuel Doe, President of Liberia (d. 1990)
- 1948 - Mary MacGregor, American singer
- 1947 - Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher
- 1947 - Alan Dale, New Zealand actor
- 1945 - Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American musician
- 1945 - Bob Seger, American singer/songwriter
- 1944 - Anton Furst, American production designer (d. 1991)
- 1944 - Masanori Murakami, first Japanese baseball player in major leagues
- 1943 - Andreas Baader, member of the German terrorist organization Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
- 1942 - Rin Kaiho, professional Go player
- 1938 - Jean Garon, Quebec economist and politician
- 1938 - Larry Gogan, Irish radio personality
- 1937 - Rubin Carter, American boxer
- 1936 - Bernard Lemaire, French Canadian businessman (Cascades)
- 1934 - Richard Shelby, American politician
- 1931 - Willie Mays, American baseball player
- 1929 - Paul Lauterbur, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Robert Poujade, French politician
- 1926 - Gilles Grégoire, Quebec politician, co-founder of the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
- 1924 - Denny Wright, British guitarist (d. 1992)
- 1924 - Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite (d. 2006)
- 1922 - Camille Laurin, Quebec psychiatrist and politician (d. 1999)
- 1922 - Vladimir Etush, Russian actor
- 1921 - Erich Fried, German author (d. 1988)
- 1920 - Ross Hunter, American film producer (d. 1996)
- 1920 - Kamisese Mara, Fijian statesman (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Martha Beck, American convicted murderer (d. 1951)
- 1917 - Kal Mann, American lyricist (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Robert H. Dicke, American physicist (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Sif Ruud, Swedish actress
- 1915 - Orson Welles, American film director and actor (d. 1985)
- 1915 - Theodore White, American writer (d. 1986)
- 1913 - Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)
- 1913 - Stewart Granger, English film actor (d. 1993)
- 1909 - Loyd Sigmon, American amateur radio broadcaster (d. 2004)
- 1907 - Weeb Ewbank, American football coach (d. 1998)
- 1906 - Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican writer (d. 2005)
- 1904 - Raymond Bailey, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1904 - Moshe Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-born founder of the Feldenkrais method (d. 1984)
- 1904 - Harry Martinson, Swedish author and poet Nobel laureate (d. 1978)
- 1903 - Toots Shor, American restaurateur (d. 1977)
- 1902 - Harry Golden, American journalist (d. 1981)
- 1902 - Max Ophüls, German-born director (d. 1957)
- 1899 - Billy Cotton, British entertainer (d. 1969)
- 1898 - Konrad Henlein, Czechoslovakian politician (d. 1945)
- 1897 - Paul Alverdes, German writer (d. 1979)
- 1895 - Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian Nazi (d. 1946)
- 1895 - Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian writer (d. 1974)
- 1895 - Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (d. 1926)
- 1882 - Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany (d. 1951)
- 1880 - Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter (d. 1938)
- 1880 - Winifred Brunton, British-born South African painter (d. 1959)
- 1879 - Bedrich Hrozny, Czech orientalist (d. 1952)
- 1872 - Willem de Sitter, Dutch scientist (d. 1934)
- 1871 - Victor Grignard, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
- 1871 - Christian Morgenstern, German author (d. 1914)
- 1868 - Gaston Leroux, French writer (d. 1927)
- 1861 - Motilal Nehru, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1931)
- 1856 - Sigmund Freud, Austrian psychiatrist (d. 1939)
- 1856 - Robert Peary, American explorer (d. 1920)
- 1800 - Roman Sanguszko, Polish aristocrat and general (d. 1881)
- 1797 - Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)
- 1769 - Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
- 1769 - Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (d. 1834)
- 1758 - André Masséna, French marshal (d. 1817)
- 1758 - Maximilien Robespierre, French Revolutionary (d. 1794)
- 1713 - Charles Batteux, French philosopher (d. 1780)
- 1638 - Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell, First Lord of the British Admiralty (d. 1696)
- 1574 - Pope Innocent X (d. 1655)
- 1501 - Pope Marcellus II (d. 1555)
- 1397 - Sejong the Great of Joseon, ruler of Korea (d. 1450)