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 23rd


- Birthday of Guru Amar Das (Sikhism)
- Christian Feast Day
- Declaration of the Báb (Bahá'í Faith)
- Labour Day (Jamaica)
- Statehood Day (South Carolina)
- World Turtle Day (International)

May 23rd


- 2008 - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
- 2006 - Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
- 2004 - Part of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.
- 2002 - The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
- 1998 - The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
- 1995 - The first version of the Java programming language is released.
- 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing: In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the remains of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building are imploded.
- 1967 - Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, laying the foundations for the Six Day War.
- 1958 - Explorer 1 ceases transmission.
- 1951 - Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with the People's Republic of China.
- 1949 - The Federal Republic of Germany is established and the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed.
- 1945 - World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
- 1945 - World War II: The Flensburg government under Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
- 1939 - The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
- 1934 - American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana.
- 1934 - The Auto-Lite Strike culminates in the "Battle of Toledo", a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
- 1923 - Launch of Belgium's SABENA airline.
- 1915 - World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1911 - The New York Public Library is dedicated.
- 1907 - The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
- 1900 - American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney becomes the first African American to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
- 1873 - The Canadian Parliament establishes the North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- 1846 - Mexican-American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
- 1844 - Declaration of the Báb: a merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, and Bahá'ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
- 1829 - Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna.
- 1813 - South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
- 1805 - Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in the Cathedral of Milan.
- 1788 - South Carolina ratifies the Constitution as the 8th American state.
- 1706 - Battle of Ramillies: John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal Villeroi.
- 1701 - After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
- 1618 - The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
- 1609 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
- 1568 - The Netherlands declare their independence from Spain.
- 1568 - Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, brother of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
- 1533 - The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
- 1498 - Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy, on the orders of Pope Alexander VI.
- 1430 - Siege of Compičgne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compičgne.

May 23rd


- 2005 - Jillian Ward, Filipino actress
- 1991 - Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer
- 1988 - Morgan Pressel, American golfer
- 1986 - Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
- 1985 - Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
- 1985 - Wim Stroetinga, Dutch racing cyclist
- 1984 - Adam Wylie, American actor
- 1984 - Sam Milby, Filipino-American actor and commercial model
- 1983 - Cristiano Bilanzola, Canadian musician and film-maker
- 1983 - Heidi Range, English singer (Sugababes)
- 1983 - Alex Shelley, American professional wrestler
- 1982 - Tristan Prettyman, American musician
- 1982 - Cyrill Gloor, Swiss footballer
- 1982 - Malene Mortensen, Danish singer
- 1981 - Gwenno Saunders, Welsh dancer and singer (The Pipettes)
- 1980 - Lane Garrison, American actor
- 1980 - Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
- 1980 - Gary Brackett, American football player
- 1979 - Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 - Kirk Saarloos, American baseball player
- 1979 - Rasual Butler, American basketball player
- 1978 - Mike González, American baseball player
- 1978 - Carolyn Moos, American model and professional basketball player
- 1978 - Scott Raynor, American drummer (blink-182)
- 1977 - Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
- 1977 - Annabel Kosten, Dutch freestyle swimmer
- 1976 - Kelly Monaco, American actress
- 1976 - Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 - Kim Sung-soo, South Korean actor
- 1974 - Ken Jennings, American game show contestant
- 1974 - Jewel, American singer
- 1974 - Mónica Naranjo, Spanish singer
- 1974 - Charlie Yeung, Hong Kong actress and singer
- 1973 - Jacopo Gianninoto, Italian musician
- 1973 - Maxwell, American singer
- 1973 - Mirjam Sterk, Dutch politician
- 1972 - Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian racing driver
- 1971 - Laurel Holloman, American actress
- 1971 - George Osborne, British Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 1970 - Yigal Amir, Israeli assassin of Yitzhak Rabin
- 1970 - Nanette Burstein, American director/producer
- 1970 - Bryan Herta, American race car driver
- 1970 - Matt Flynn, American musician
- 1970 - Blake Schwendiman, American author
- 1968 - Guinevere Turner, American actress
- 1967 - Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
- 1967 - Phil Selway, English drummer (Radiohead)
- 1966 - Graeme Hick, English cricketer
- 1966 - Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 - Ernst-Paul Hasselbach, Dutch TV host and producer
- 1965 - Tom Tykwer, German film director
- 1965 - Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
- 1964 - Ruth Metzler-Arnold, Swiss politician
- 1963 - Wally Dallenbach Jr., American race car driver and announcer
- 1963 - Gregg Hughes, American radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show)
- 1962 - Imran Anwar, Pakistani internent technologist
- 1961 - Karen Duffy, American actress
- 1960 - Linden Ashby, American actor
- 1959 - Ryuta Kawashima, Japanese neuroscientist
- 1959 - Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player
- 1958 - Mitch Albom, American writer
- 1958 - Drew Carey, American actor, comedian, and game show host
- 1958 - François Feldman, French singer
- 1958 - Paul Street, American author and historian
- 1957 - Mark Arnold, American actor
- 1957 - Jimmy McShane, Northern Irish singer (Baltimora) (d. 1995)
- 1956 - Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician
- 1956 - Mark Shaw, New Zealand rugby footballer
- 1956 - Buck Showalter, American baseball player and manager
- 1956 - Albert Voorn, Dutch equestrian
- 1955 - Luka Bloom, Irish singer/songwriter
- 1954 - Marvin Hagler, American boxer
- 1954 - Hans Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
- 1953 - Dick Stellingwerf, Dutch politician
- 1952 - Anne-Marie David, French singer
- 1951 - Antonis Samaras, Greek politician
- 1951 - Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
- 1950 - Martin McGuinness, Northern Irish politician
- 1949 - Alan Garcia, Peruvian politician
- 1949 - Daniel DiNardo, American Roman Catholic cardinal
- 1948 - Reggie Cleveland, Canadian baseball player
- 1947 - Bernard Comrie, English linguist
- 1947 - Ann Hui, Hong Kong film director
- 1947 - Jane Kenyon, American poet (d. 1995)
- 1946 - Frederik de Groot, Dutch actor
- 1946 - H. Paul Shuch, American scientist and UFO advocate
- 1945 - Padmarajan, Indian film director (d. 1991)
- 1944 - John Newcombe, Australian tennis player
- 1943 - General Norman Johnson, American singer (Chairmen of the Board)
- 1943 - Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (d. 2005)
- 1943 - Alan Walden, American rock music manager and promoter
- 1942 - K. Raghavendra Rao, Indian film director
- 1942 - Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher
- 1940 - Giles Gordon, Scottish literary agent (d. 2003)
- 1939 - Reinhard Hauff, German film director
- 1939 - Michel Colombier, French composer and songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1939 - Jack McCarthy, American poet
- 1938 - Peter Preston, English journalist and author
- 1936 - Ingeborg Hallstein, German opera singer
- 1936 - Charles Kimbrough, American actor
- 1935 - Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish writer (d. 2009)
- 1934 - Robert Moog, American inventor (d. 2005)
- 1933 - Joan Collins, English actress
- 1931 - Barbara Barrie, American actress
- 1930 - Friedrich Achleitner, German poet
- 1929 - Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (d. 1982)
- 1928 - Nigel Davenport, English actor
- 1928 - Pauline Julien, French Canadian singer (d. 1998)
- 1928 - Jeannie Carson, English actress and comedian
- 1928 - Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
- 1925 - Joshua Lederberg, American molecular biologist, Nobel laureate (d. 2008)
- 1925 - Mac Wiseman, American musician
- 1924 - Karlheinz Deschner, German researcher and writer
- 1924 - Clyde King, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
- 1923 - Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
- 1923 - Walter Wolfrum, German fighter pilot
- 1921 - James Blish, American author (d. 1975)
- 1921 - Humphrey Lyttelton, English musician (d. 2008)
- 1920 - Helen O'Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
- 1919 - Avraham Drori, Polish-born Israeli politician (d. 1964)
- 1919 - Betty Garrett, American actress and dancer
- 1918 - Denis Compton, English cricketer (d. 1997)
- 1917 - Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
- 1913 - Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican singer
- 1912 - Jean Françaix, French composer (d. 1997)
- 1912 - Betty Astell, English actress (d. 2005)
- 1912 - John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1911 - Paul Mayer, German Roman Catholic Cardinal (d. 2010)
- 1910 - Margaret Wise Brown, American author (d. 1952)
- 1910 - Sir Hugh Casson, British architect and painter (d. 1999)
- 1910 - Scatman Crothers, American actor and musician (d. 1986)
- 1910 - Artie Shaw, American clarinetist and bandleader (d. 2004)
- 1908 - John Bardeen, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Hélčne Boucher, French aviatrix (d. 1934)
- 1906 - Pran Nath Thapar, Indian military officer (d. 1975)
- 1900 - Hans Frank, German lawyer and Nazi official (d. 1946)
- 1898 - Scott O'Dell, American author (d. 1989)
- 1898 - Josef Terboven, German Nazi official (d. 1945)
- 1896 - Felix Martin Julius Steiner, German Waffen-SS officer (d. 1966)
- 1895 - Billy Smith English footballer (d. 1956)
- 1893 - Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1977)
- 1891 - Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1974)
- 1890 - Herbert Marshall, English actor (d. 1966)
- 1889 - Ernst Niekisch, German politician (d. 1967)
- 1888 - Zack Wheat, American baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1887 - Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1963)
- 1884 - Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist (d. 1965)
- 1883 - Douglas Fairbanks, American actor (d. 1939)
- 1879 - Dezs? Lauber, Hungarian sportsman (d. 1966)
- 1875 - Alfred P. Sloan, American automotive executive (d. 1966)
- 1865 - Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian politician (d. 1942)
- 1855 - Isabella Ford, English feminist and union activist (d. 1924)
- 1848 - Otto Lilienthal, German aviation pioneer (d. 1896)
- 1844 - `Abdu'l-Bahá, Iranian religious figure (d. 1921)
- 1834 - Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter (d. 1890)
- 1824 - Ambrose Burnside, American Union Civil War general (d. 1881)
- 1820 - James Buchanan Eads, American engineer and inventor (d. 1887)
- 1820 - Lorenzo Sawyer, American jurist (d. 1891)
- 1810 - Margaret Fuller, American journalist and feminist (d. 1850)
- 1795 - Charles Barry, English architect (d. 1860)
- 1794 - Ignaz Moscheles, Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso (d. 1870)
- 1790 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, French explorer (d. 1842)
- 1741 - Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer (d. 1801)
- 1734 - Franz Anton Mesmer, Austrian physician/hypnotist (d. 1815)
- 1729 - Giuseppe Parini, Italian writer (d. 1799)
- 1718 - William Hunter, Scottish anatomist (d. 1783)
- 1707 - Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (d. 1778)
- 1617 - Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (d. 1692)
- 1606 - Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish writer (d. 1682)
- 1100 - Emperor Qinzong of China (d. 1161)
- 1052 - King Philip I of France (d. 1108)