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 11th


- Earliest date on which Whit Monday can fall, while June 14 is the latest; celebrated on the day after Pentecost. (Christianity)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Holiday of the City of Miskolc (Miskolc)
- Nisga'a Day, celebration of the effective date of the Nisga'a Final Agreement. (Nisga'a Nation)
- One of the three days of the Feast of the Lemures. (Roman Empire)
- Statehood Day (Minnesota)

May 11th


- 1998 - India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran to include a thermonuclear device.
- 1997 - IBM Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
- 1996 - After the aircraft's departure from Miami, Florida, a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board.
- 1996 - The 1996 Everest disaster: on a single day eight people die during summit attempts on Mount Everest .
- 1995 - In New York City more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
- 1987 - Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
- 1987 - In Baltimore, Maryland, the first heart-lung transplant takes place. The surgery is performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
- 1985 - Bradford City stadium fire: Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in a flash fire at Valley Parade football ground during a match against Lincoln City in Bradford, England.
- 1973 - Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed.
- 1970 - The Lubbock Tornado, a F5 tornado, hits Lubbock, Texas, killing 26 and causing $250 million in damage.
- 1968 - The Toronto Transit Commission opens the largest expansion of its Bloor-Danforth Line, going to Scarborough in the East, and Etobicoke in the West.
- 1967 - Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and socialist politician, is imprisoned in Athens by the Greek military junta.
- 1960 - In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann who is living under the alias of Ricardo Klement.
- 1953 - The 1953 Waco tornado outbreak: an F5 tornado hits downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114.
- 1949 - Siam officially changes its name to Thailand for the second time. The name had been in use since but was reverted in .
- 1949 - Israel joins the United Nations.
- 1946 - UMNO is created.
- 1945 - World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill, is hit by two kamikazes, killing 346 of her crew. Although badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under her own power.
- 1944 - World War II: The Allies begin a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line.
- 1943 - World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
- 1942 - William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
- 1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
- 1924 - Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.
- 1918 - The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus is officially established.
- 1910 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
- 1907 - A derailment outside Lompoc, California kills 32 Shriners when their chartered train derails at a switch near Surf Depot.
- 1894 - Pullman Strike: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
- 1891 - The ?tsu incident : Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Imperial Russia (later Nicholas II) suffers a critical head injury during a sword attack by Japanese policeman Tsuda Sanz?. He is rescued by Prince George of Greece and Denmark.
- 1880 - Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California
- 1867 - Luxembourg gains its independence.
- 1862 - American Civil War: The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk, Virginia.
- 1858 - Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. State.
- 1857 - Indian Mutiny: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
- 1820 - Launch of HMS Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage.
- 1813 - In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition westwards from Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.
- 1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
- 1792 - Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented white person to sail into the Columbia River.
- 1745 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy – French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.
- 1647 - Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement in present-day New York City.
- 1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies.
- 1310 - In France, fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as heretics.
- 330 - Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but it is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.

May 11th


- 1989 - Gianluigi Bianco, Italian footballer
- 1989 - Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer
- 1988 - Ace Hood, American rapper
- 1988 - Jeremy Maclin, American football player
- 1987 - Justin King, American football player
- 1987 - Louis Murphy, American football player
- 1987 - Monica Ro?u, Romanian gymnast
- 1986 - Abou Diaby, French footballer
- 1986 - Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 - Manuel Schenkhuizen, Dutch gamer
- 1986 - Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 - Matt Giraud, American singer
- 1985 - sifow, Japanese singer and businesswoman
- 1984 - John Bowie, American football player
- 1984 - Gerald Clayton, Dutch/American jazz pianist
- 1984 - Andrés Iniesta, Spanish football player
- 1983 - Matt Leinart, American football player
- 1983 - Holly Valance, Australian-born actress and singer
- 1983 - Hanna Verboom, Dutch actress
- 1983 - Frédéric Xhonneux, Belgian decathlete
- 1982 - Jonathan Jackson, American actor
- 1982 - Andrew Walter, American football player
- 1982 - Cory Monteith, Canadian actor
- 1982 - Guji Lorenzana, Filipino singer and actor
- 1981 - Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
- 1981 - Daniel Ortmeier, American baseball player
- 1981 - Austin O'Brien, American actor
- 1979 - Erin Lang, Canadian musician
- 1978 - Laetitia Casta, French supermodel and actress
- 1978 - Perttu Kivilaakso, Finnish cellist (Apocalyptica)
- 1977 - Janne Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1977 - Gonzalo Colsa, Spanish footballer
- 1977 - Pablo García, Uruguayan footballer
- 1977 - Victor Matfield, South African rugby union footballer
- 1975 - Coby Bell, American actor
- 1975 - Francisco Cordero, Dominican baseball player
- 1974 - Kevin Brown, English-born Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 - Stanley Gene, Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer
- 1974 - Billy Kidman, American professional wrestler
- 1974 - Benoît Magimel, French actor
- 1974 - Darren Ward, Welsh footballer
- 1972 - Anita Hegh, Australian actress
- 1972 - Daniel Ornellas, Zimbabwean musician
- 1970 - Nicky Katt, American actor
- 1970 - Glenn Hugill, British television presenter and producer
- 1970 - Harold Ford Jr., Political commentator and former U.S. Congressman
- 1968 - Jeffrey Donovan, American actor
- 1966 - Christoph Schneider, German drummer (Rammstein)
- 1965 - Greg Dulli, American musician
- 1965 - Monsour del Rosario, Filipino martial artist and actor
- 1964 - Tim Blake Nelson, American actor
- 1964 - John Parrott, English snooker player
- 1964 - Katie Wagner, American television reporter
- 1964 - Floyd Youmans, American baseball player
- 1963 - Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish politician
- 1963 - Masatoshi Hamada, Japanese comedian
- 1963 - Natasha Richardson, English/American actress (d. 2009)
- 1963 - Roark Critchlow, Canadian actor
- 1961 - Luis Felipe, Cuban gangster
- 1959 - Martha Quinn, American television personality
- 1958 - Christian Brando, American actor; son of Marlon Brando (d. 2008)
- 1958 - Dan Ireland, American film director
- 1958 - Phil Smyth, Australian basketball player
- 1958 - Walt Terrell, American baseball player
- 1957 - Peter North, Canadian pornographic actor
- 1956 - Alex Lester, British broadcaster
- 1956 - Theresa Burke, Canadian journalist
- 1955 - John DeStefano, Jr., American politician
- 1954 - John Gregory, English football manager
- 1954 - Lubomir Stoykov, Bulgarian journalist and broadcaster
- 1953 - David Gest, American television producer
- 1953 - Céline Lomez, Quebec singer and actress
- 1952 - Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian actress
- 1952 - Frances Fisher, English-born actress
- 1952 - Mike Lupica, American sports journalist
- 1952 - Renaud, French composer
- 1952 - Warren Littlefield, American television executive
- 1951 - Ed Stelmach, Premier of Alberta, Canada
- 1950 - Dane Iorg, American baseball player
- 1950 - Jeremy Paxman, British journalist and author
- 1948 - Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-British politician
- 1948 - Shigeru Izumiya, Japanese folk musician
- 1947 - Butch Trucks, American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1946 - Robert Jarvik, American physician and inventor
- 1946 - Plume Latraverse, Quebec singer and musician
- 1943 - Nancy Greene, Canadian alpine skier
- 1943 - Juliet Harmer, English actress
- 1942 - Rachel Billington, British author
- 1941 - Eric Burdon, British singer (The Animals)
- 1941 - Graham Miles, English snooker player
- 1940 - Juan Downey, Chilean video artist (d. 1993)
- 1939 - Carlos Lyra, Brazilian musician
- 1939 - Dante Tinga, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 1936 - Carla Bley, American musician and composer
- 1935 - Doug McClure, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1935 - Francisco Umbral, Spanish novelist (d. 2007)
- 1934 - Jim Jeffords, former American politician
- 1933 - Louis Farrakhan, American Nation of Islam leader
- 1932 - Valentino Garavani (Valentino), Italian designer
- 1930 - Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002)
- 1930 - Bud Ekins, American stuntman (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Yaacov Agam, Israeli sculptor
- 1928 - Brother Andrew, Dutch missionary
- 1928 - Marco Ferreri, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1927 - Mort Sahl, Canadian comedian and political commentator
- 1927 - Bernard Fox, English actor
- 1927 - Gene Savoy, American author, explorer, scholar and cleric (d. 2007)
- 1925 - Edward J. King, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
- 1924 - Eugene Dynkin, Russian mathematician
- 1924 - Antony Hewish, English radio astronomer, Nobel laureate
- 1922 - Nestor Chylak, American baseball umpire (d. 1992)
- 1922 - Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 1921 - Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician
- 1918 - Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)
- 1916 - Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
- 1914 - Haroun Tazieff, French volcanologist (d. 1998)
- 1913 - Robert Jungk, Austrian publicist (d. 1994)
- 1912 - Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
- 1911 - Mitchell Sharp, Canadian politician (d. 2004)
- 1911 - Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
- 1909 - Ellis R. Dungan, American born Indian film director (d. 2001)
- 1909 - Herbert Murrill, English composer (d. 1952)
- 1907 - Rose Ausländer, German poet (d. 1988)
- 1907 - Rip Sewell, American baseball player (d. 1989)
- 1904 - Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter (d. 1989)
- 1903 - Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1899 - Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (d. 1963)
- 1897 - Kurt Gerron, German director (d. 1944)
- 1897 - Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
- 1896 - Josip Štolcer-Slavenski Croatian composer (d. 1955)
- 1895 - [according to the Hindu calendar; see also May 12.] Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (d. 1986)
- 1895 - William Grant Still, American composer (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
- 1892 - Margaret Rutherford, English actress (d. 1972)
- 1890 - Woodall Rodgers, mayor of Dallas, Texas (d. 1961)
- 1888 - Irving Berlin, American composer (d. 1989)
- 1888 - Willis A. Lee, World War II U.S. naval admiral (d. 1945)
- 1881 - Al Cabrera, Spanish-born Cuban baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1881 - Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian physicist (d. 1963)
- 1881 - Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
- 1875 - Harriet Quimby, American aviator (d. 1912)
- 1871 - Stjepan Radi?, Croatian politician (d. 1928)
- 1871 - Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer (d. 1943)
- 1861 - Frederick Russell Burnham, American inspiration and "father" of the international scouting movement (d. 1947)
- 1854 - Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
- 1852 - Charles W. Fairbanks, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918)
- 1838 - Walter Goodman, British painter, illustrator and author (d. 1912)
- 1835 - K?rlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (d. 1905)
- 1827 - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (d. 1875)
- 1824 - Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (d. 1904)
- 1817 - Fanny Cerrito, Italian ballet dancer (d. 1909)
- 1811 - Chang and Eng Bunker, Thai/American conjoined twins (d. 1874)
- 1811 - Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1893)
- 1801 - Henri Labrouste, French architect (d. 1875)
- 1799 - John Lowell, American philanthropist (d. 1836)
- 1763 - János Batsányi, Hungarian poet (d. 1845)
- 1752 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German anthropologist (d. 1840)
- 1733 - Victoire of France, daughter of king Louis XV of France (d. 1799)
- 1722 - Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist (d. 1789)
- 1720 - Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen, German adventurer (d. 1797)
- 1571 - Niwa Nagashige, Japanese warlord (d. 1637)