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 13th


- Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
- Christian Feast Day:
- One of the three days of the Feast of the Lemures. (Roman Empire)
- Rotuma Day (Fiji)

May 13th


- 2006 - 2006 São Paulo violence: a major rebellion occurs in several prisons in Brazil.
- 2005 - The Andijan Massacre occurs in Uzbekistan.
- 2000 - In Enschede, Netherlands, a fireworks factory explodes, killing 22 people, wounding 950, and resulting in approximately €450 million in damage.
- 1998 - Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
- 1998 - India carries out two nuclear tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
- 1996 - Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
- 1994 - Johnny Carson makes his last television appearance on Late Show with David Letterman.
- 1992 - Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People's Republic of China.
- 1989 - Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
- 1985 - Police storm MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing 11 MOVE members and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
- 1981 - Mehmet Ali A?ca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
- 1980 - An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
- 1972 - Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
- 1969 - Race riots, later known as the May 13 Incident, take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
- 1967 - Dr. Zakir Hussain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, .
- 1960 - Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Thirty-one students are arrested, and the Free Speech Movement is born.
- 1958 - During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
- 1958 - The trade mark Velcro is registered.
- 1958 - May 1958 crisis: a group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
- 1954 - The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese Middle School students in Singapore, take place.
- 1952 - The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
- 1950 - The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
- 1948 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: the Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
- 1943 - World War II: German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in North Africa surrender to Allied forces.
- 1941 - World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailovi? starts fighting with German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
- 1940 - World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
- 1940 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the Nazi invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
- 1939 - The first commercial FM radio station in the United States is launched in Bloomfield, Connecticut. The station later becomes WDRC-FM.
- 1917 - Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
- 1913 - Igor Sikorsky becomes the first man to pilot a four-engine aircraft.
- 1912 - The Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) is established in the United Kingdom.
- 1909 - The first Giro d'Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
- 1888 - With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), Brazil abolishes slavery.
- 1880 - In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch – in far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Resaca – the battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
- 1861 - The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
- 1848 - First performance of Finland's national anthem.
- 1846 - Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.
- 1830 - Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
- 1804 - Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derne from the Americans attack the city.
- 1787 - Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the "First Fleet") to establish a penal colony in Australia.
- 1780 - The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in early Tennessee.
- 1779 - War of Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
- 1648 - Construction of the Red Fort at Delhi is completed.
- 1619 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
- 1568 - Battle of Langside: the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
- 1515 - Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk are officially married at Greenwich.
- 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.
- 1373 - Julian of Norwich has visions which are later transcribed in her Revelations of Divine Love.

May 13th


- 1993 - Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
- 1993 - Debby Ryan, American actress
- 1988 - Casey Donovan, Australian singer
- 1987 - Hunter Parrish, American actor
- 1987 - Carrie Prejean, American beauty pageant contestant
- 1986 - Giuliana Marino, German glamour model
- 1986 - Robert Pattinson, English actor, musician and model
- 1986 - Alexander Rybak, Norwegian singer
- 1986 - Scott Sutter, English footballer
- 1985 - Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 - Jaroslav Halak, Montreal Canadiens goaltender
- 1984 - Benny Dayal, Indian singer
- 1983 - Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
- 1983 - Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
- 1983 - Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
- 1982 - Yoko Kumada, Japanese gravure idol
- 1982 - Oguchi Onyewu, American footballer
- 1981 - Sunny Leone, Canadian/American pornographic actress
- 1981 - Rebecka Liljeberg, Swedish actress
- 1981 - Jimmy Wang Yang, American professional wrestler
- 1980 - Chris Barker, American bassist (Anti-Flag)
- 1980 - Waka Inoue, Japanese gravure idol and actress
- 1980 - Mau Marcelo, Filipino singer
- 1979 - Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland of Sweden
- 1979 - Michael Madden, American musician (Maroon 5)
- 1978 - Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
- 1978 - Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1978 - Barry Zito, American baseball player
- 1978 - Mike Bibby, American basketball player
- 1978 - Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
- 1977 - Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer
- 1977 - Robby Hammock, American baseball player
- 1977 - Neil Hopkins, American actor
- 1977 - Samantha Morton, English actress
- 1976 - Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer
- 1976 - Trajan Langdon, American basketball player
- 1975 - Cristian Bezzi, Italian rugby player
- 1974 - Brian Geraghty, American actor
- 1972 - Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
- 1971 - Tom Nalen, American football player
- 1969 - Buckethead, American musician
- 1968 - Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
- 1968 - PMD, American rapper
- 1967 - Chuck Schuldiner, American musician (Death, Control Denied) (d. 2001)
- 1967 - Melanie Thornton, American pop singer (La Bouche) (d. 2001)
- 1966 - Darius Rucker, American singer (Hootie & the Blowfish)
- 1966 - Alison Goldfrapp, English musician
- 1966 - Nikos Aliagas, Greek TV show host
- 1966 - Kamen Vodenicharov, Bulgarian entertainer
- 1965 - José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (d. 2006)
- 1965 - Hikari Ota, Japanese comedian
- 1965 - Tasmin Little, English violinist
- 1965 - Lari White, American country music singer
- 1964 - Stephen Colbert, American comedian and actor
- 1964 - Ronnie Coleman, American bodybuilder
- 1964 - Tom Verica, American actor
- 1963 - Wally Masur, Australian tennis player
- 1962 - Kathleen Jamie, Scottish poet
- 1962 - Sean McDonough, American sportscaster
- 1962 - Paul McDermott, Australian comedian
- 1962 - Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (d. 2003)
- 1961 - Dennis Rodman, American basketball player and actor
- 1958 - Frances Barber, British actress
- 1957 - Alan Ball, American screenwriter, director, and producer
- 1957 - Koji Suzuki, Japanese writer
- 1957 - Andrea Klump, German Red Army Faction terrorist
- 1957 - Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II, Philippine politician
- 1956 - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian spiritual figure
- 1956 - Richard Madeley, English television presenter
- 1956 - Kirk Thornton, American voice actor
- 1954 - Johnny Logan, Irish singer and songwriter
- 1952 - John Kasich, American politician and poltical commentator
- 1952 - Mary Walsh, Canadian comedian and actress
- 1951 - Sharon Sayles Belton, American politician
- 1951 - Paul Thompson, British rock drummer (Roxy Music)
- 1951 - James Whale, English radio personality
- 1950 - Danny Kirwan, British musician (Fleetwood Mac)
- 1950 - Manning Marable, American academic and author
- 1950 - Stevie Wonder, American singer and musician
- 1950 - Bobby Valentine, American baseball manager
- 1949 - Zoë Wanamaker, English/American actress
- 1947 - Edgar Burcksen, Dutch film editor
- 1946 - Waneta Hoyt, American convicted serial killer (d. 1998)
- 1945 - Sam Anderson, American actor
- 1945 - Magic Dick, American musician (The J. Geils Band)
- 1944 - Armistead Maupin, American author
- 1943 - Kurt Trampedach, Danish artist
- 1943 - Mary Wells, American singer (d. 1992)
- 1942 - Roger Young, American television director
- 1941 - Joe Brown, British singer
- 1941 - Ritchie Valens, American singer (d. 1959)
- 1941 - Jody Conradt, American basketball coach
- 1941 - Senta Berger, Austrian actress
- 1940 - Bruce Chatwin, British writer (d. 1989)
- 1939 - Harvey Keitel, American actor
- 1939 - Hildrun Claus, German athlete
- 1938 - Laurent Beaudoin, French/Canadian businessman
- 1938 - Giuliano Amato, Italian politician
- 1937 - Roch Carrier, Canadian novelist
- 1937 - Roger Zelazny, American author (d. 1995)
- 1937 - Trevor Baylis, English inventor
- 1937 - Zohra Lampert, American actress
- 1935 - Dominic Cossa, American baritone
- 1934 - Leon Wagner, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1934 - Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist (d. 2010)
- 1931 - Jim Jones, American businessman, and cult leader of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)
- 1930 - Mike Gravel, American politician
- 1930 - José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish writer
- 1930 - Vernon Shaw, President of Dominica
- 1928 - Édouard Molinaro, French film actor, director and screenwriter
- 1928 - Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician
- 1928 - Jim Shoulders, American rodeo cowboy (d. 2007)
- 1927 - Archie Scott-Brown, English race car driver (d. 1958)
- 1927 - Herbert Ross, American director (d. 2001)
- 1926 - Wallace Breem, British author (d. 1990)
- 1924 - Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid politician, lawyer and diplomat (d. 2010)
- 1924 - Theodore Mann, American theatre producer and director
- 1923 - Red Garland, American hard bop jazz pianist (d.1984)
- 1922 - Michael Ainsworth, British cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1922 - Beatrice Arthur, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1922 - Otl Aicher, German graphic designer (d. 1991)
- 1920 - Gareth Morris, British flautist (d. 2007)
- 1918 - T. Balasaraswati, Indian Bharatanatyam dancer (d. 1984)
- 1914 - Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
- 1913 - William R. Tolbert, Jr., President of Liberia (d. 1980)
- 1912 - Gil Evans, Canadian musician (d. 1988)
- 1912 - Judah Nadich, American rabbi (d. 2007)
- 1911 - Robert Middleton, American film and television actor (d. 1977)
- 1907 - Dame Daphne du Maurier, English author (d. 1989)
- 1904 - Louis Duffus, South African cricketer (d. 1984)
- 1898 - Justin/Giustino Tuveri, Italian World War I veteran (d. 2007)
- 1895 - Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-born psychologist and parapsychologist (d. 1964)
- 1894 - Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
- 1883 - Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek doctor, inventor of the pap smear (d. 1962)
- 1882 - Georges Braque, French painter (d. 1963)
- 1857 - Ronald Ross, English physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1932)
- 1856 - Tom O'Rourke, American boxing manager (d. 1938)
- 1842 - Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
- 1840 - Alphonse Daudet, French novelist (d. 1897)
- 1830 - Zebulon Baird Vance, three-time governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
- 1822 - Francis of Assisi of Bourbon, King Consort of Spain (d. 1902)
- 1795 - Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist (d. 1875)
- 1794 - Louis-Leopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
- 1792 - Blessed Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
- 1753 - Lazare Carnot, French general, politician, and mathematician (d. 1823)
- 1742 - Archduchess Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
- 1730 - Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
- 1717 - Queen Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1780)
- 1712 - Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff, Danish statesman (d. 1772)
- 1699 - Marquis of Pombal, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
- 1655 - Pope Innocent XIII (d. 1724)
- 1638 - Richard Simon, French Biblical critic (d. 1712)
- 1588 - Ole Worm, Danish physician (d. 1654)
- 1254 - Maria of Brabant, queen of France (d. 1321)
- 1024 - Hugh of Cluny, French saint (d. 1109)