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.

November 5th


- Guy Fawkes Night, failure of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament in 1605 is celebrated with bonfires, fireworks and burning of effigies. (United Kingdom, New Zealand and the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador)
- Christian Feast Day

November 5th


- 2009 - US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan kills 13 and wounds 30 at Fort Hood, Texas in the largest mass shooting at a US military installation.
- 2007 - China's first lunar satellite, Chang'e 1 goes into orbit around the Moon.
- 2006 - Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, and his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar are sentenced to death in the al-Dujail trial for the role in the massacre of the 148 Shi'as in .
- 1996 - President of Pakistan Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari dismisses the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and dissolves the National Assembly of Pakistan.
- 1995 - André Dallaire attempts to assassinate Prime Minister Jean Chrétien of Canada. He is thwarted when the Prime Minister's wife locks the door.
- 1990 - Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
- 1987 - Govan Mbeki is released from custody after serving 24 years of a life sentence for terrorism and treason.
- 1986 - USS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao (Tsing Tao) China — the first US Naval visit to China since 1949.
- 1983 - Byford Dolphin diving bell accident kills five and leaves one severely injured.
- 1970 - Vietnam War: The United States Military Assistance Command in Vietnam reports the lowest weekly American soldier death toll in five years (24).
- 1967 - The Hither Green rail crash in the United Kingdom kills 49 people. Survivors include Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees.
- 1945 - Colombia joins the United Nations.
- 1942 - The Second Battle of El Alamein is won by the British in El Alamein, Egypt.
- 1937 - Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring "living space" for the German people.
- 1917 - October Revolution: In Tallinn, Estonia, Communist leader Jaan Anvelt leads revolutionaries in overthrowing the Provisional Government (As Estonia and Russia are still using the Julian Calendar, subsequent period references show an October 23 date).
- 1917 - St. Tikhon of Moscow is elected the Patriarch of Moscow and of the Russian Orthodox Church.
- 1916 - The Kingdom of Poland is proclaimed by the Act of November 5th of the emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
- 1916 - The Everett Massacre takes place in Everett, Washington as political differences lead to a shoot-out between the Industrial Workers of the World organizers and local police.
- 1913 - King Otto of Bavaria is deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who assumes the title Ludwig III.
- 1911 - After declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on September 29, 1911, Italy annexes Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
- 1895 - George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
- 1872 - Women's suffrage in the United States: In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, and is later fined $100.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln removes George B. McClellan as commander of the Union Army for the second and final time.
- 1862 - Indian Wars: In Minnesota, 303 Dakota warriors are found guilty of rape and murder of whites and are sentenced to hang. 38 are ultimately executed and the others reprieved.
- 1854 - Crimean War: The Battle of Inkerman.
- 1838 - The Federal Republic of Central America begins to disintegrate when Nicaragua separates from the Federation.
- 1831 - Nat Turner, American slave leader, is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death in Virginia.
- 1780 - French-American forces under Colonel LaBalme are defeated by Miami Chief Little Turtle.
- 1768 - Treaty of Fort Stanwix, the purpose of which is to adjust the boundary line between Indian lands and white settlements set forth in the Proclamation of 1763 in the Thirteen Colonies.
- 1757 - Seven Years' War: Frederick the Great defeats the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Rossbach.
- 1743 - Coordinated scientific observations of the transit of Mercury are organized by Joseph-Nicolas Delisle.
- 1688 - The Glorious Revolution begins: William of Orange lands at Brixham.
- 1605 - Gunpowder Plot: A conspiracy led by Robert Catesby to blow up the English Houses of Parliament is thwarted when Sir Thomas Knyvet, a justice of the peace, finds Guy Fawkes in a cellar below the House of Lords.
- 1530 - The St. Felix's Flood destroys the city of Reimerswaal in the Netherlands.
- 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Tréguier (Brittany). This Breton-French-Latin dictionary was written in by Jehan Lagadeuc. It is the first Breton dictionary as well as the first French dictionary.
- 1338 - Ly Anh Tong is enthroned as emperor of Vietnam at the age of two, starting a 37-year reign.

November 5th


- 1988 - Virat Kohli, Indian cricketer
- 1987 - Kevin Jonas, American guitarist (Jonas Brothers)
- 1987 - O. J. Mayo, American basketball player
- 1986 - BoA, Korean singer
- 1986 - Kasper Schmeichel, Danish footballer
- 1985 - Kate DeAraugo, Australian singer (Young Divas)
- 1985 - Koki Tanaka, Japanese singer (KAT-TUN)
- 1984 - Nick Folk, American football player
- 1984 - Tobias Enström, Swedish hockey player
- 1984 - Nikolai Zherdev, Ukrainian-Russian hockey player
- 1983 - Rob Swire, Australian record producer, singer and keyboardist (Pendulum)
- 1983 - Mike Hanke, German footballer
- 1983 - Andrew Hayden-Smith, British TV presenter and actor
- 1983 - Alexa Chung, British TV presenter and former fashion model
- 1981 - Paul Chapman, Australian footballer
- 1980 - Christoph Metzelder, German footballer
- 1980 - Jaime Camara, Brazilian racing driver
- 1980 - Eva González, Spanish model and beauty queen
- 1979 - Colin Grzanna, German rugby player
- 1979 - Michalis Hatzigiannis, Greek/Cypriot songwriter and singer
- 1977 - Richard Wright, English footballer
- 1977 - Brittney Skye, American pornographic actress
- 1976 - Sebastian Arcelus, American voice actor
- 1976 - Jeff Klein, American musician
- 1975 - Lisa Scott-Lee, Welsh singer-songwriter
- 1974 - Angela Gossow, German vocalist (Arch Enemy)
- 1974 - Dado Pršo, Croatian footballer
- 1974 - Jerry Stackhouse, American basketball player
- 1974 - Ryan Adams, American musician
- 1973 - Johnny Damon, American baseball player
- 1973 - Alexei Yashin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Daniella Westbrook, English actress
- 1971 - Dana Jacobson, ESPN's First Take hostess
- 1971 - Rob Jones, English footballer
- 1971 - Corin Nemec, American actor
- 1971 - Jonny Greenwood, guitarist (Radiohead)
- 1971 - Sergei Berezin, National Hockey League player
- 1971 - Edmond Leung, Hong Kong singer
- 1970 - Javy López, baseball player
- 1970 - Tamzin Outhwaite, English actress
- 1968 - Sam Rockwell, American film actor
- 1968 - Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Spanish actress
- 1967 - Marcelo D2, Brazilian rapper
- 1967 - Judy Reyes, Dominican American actress
- 1966 - Georgia Apostolou, Greek actress
- 1966 - Nayim, Spanish footballer
- 1965 - Famke Janssen, Dutch model and actress
- 1965 - Kubrat, Prince of Panagiurishte of Bulgaria
- 1964 - Helga van Niekerk, South African radio presenter
- 1963 - Andrea McArdle, American actress
- 1963 - Tatum O'Neal, American actress
- 1963 - Brian Wheat, American musician (Tesla)
- 1962 - Marcus J. Ranum, American computer software designer
- 1962 - Abédi Pelé, Ghanaian footballer
- 1961 - Gina Mastrogiacomo, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1960 - Tilda Swinton, English actress
- 1959 - Bryan Adams, Canadian musician
- 1958 - Don Falcone, American musician and producer
- 1958 - Robert Patrick, American actor
- 1957 - Jon-Erik Hexum, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1955 - Karan Thapar, Indian journalist and political analyst
- 1955 - Bernard Chazelle, French computer scientist
- 1955 - Nestor Serrano, American actor
- 1953 - Florentino V. Floro, Filipino judge
- 1953 - Joyce Maynard, American writer
- 1952 - Bill Walton, American basketball player and commentator
- 1952 - Oleg Blokhin, Ukrainian footballer
- 1952 - Vandana Shiva, Indian physicist
- 1950 - Thorbjřrn Jagland, Norwegian statesman
- 1949 - Armin Shimerman, American actor
- 1949 - Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1948 - Peter Hammill, British musician (Van der Graaf Generator)
- 1948 - Hridayananda dasa Goswami, ISKCON guru
- 1948 - Bernard-Henri Lévy, French public intellectual
- 1948 - William Daniel Phillips, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1948 - Bob Barr, American politician
- 1947 - Quint Davis, American festival producer
- 1947 - Peter Noone, English musician (Herman's Hermits)
- 1947 - Rubén Juárez, Argentine bandoneonist (d. 2010)
- 1946 - Herman Brood, Dutch musician and artist (d. 2001)
- 1946 - Gram Parsons, American musician (d. 1973)
- 1945 - Peter Pace, American military officer
- 1945 - Aleka Papariga, Greek politician
- 1943 - Friedman Paul Erhardt (Chef Tell), German-born American TV chef (d. 2007)
- 1943 - Sam Shepard, American playwright and actor
- 1942 - Pierangelo Bertoli, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1941 - Art Garfunkel, American musician
- 1940 - Elke Sommer, German actress
- 1940 - Ted Kulongoski, American politician
- 1938 - Joe Dassin, French-speaking American singer (d. 1980)
- 1938 - César Luis Menotti, Argentine footballer
- 1938 - Jim Steranko, American graphic artist
- 1937 - Chan Sek Keong, Chief Justice of Singapore
- 1937 - Harris Yulin, American actor
- 1936 - Michael Dertouzos, Greek-born American computer scientist (d. 2001)
- 1935 - Lester Piggott, British jockey
- 1935 - Christopher Wood, English screenwriter and novellist
- 1934 - Victor Argo, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1931 - Ike Turner, American musician (d. 2007)
- 1922 - Violet Barclay, American illustrator (d. 2010)
- 1922 - Cecil Underwood, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1921 - Georges Cziffra, Hungarian pianist (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Princess Fawzia of Egypt, Queen of Iran
- 1920 - Douglass North, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1919 - Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher (d. 1978)
- 1919 - Myron Floren, American accordianist The Lawrence Welk Show (d. 2005)
- 1917 - Jacqueline Auriol, French aviatrix (d. 2000)
- 1917 - Banarsi Das Gupta, Indian former Chief Minister of Haryana (d. 2007)
- 1914 - Alton Tobey, American artist (d. 2005)
- 1913 - Vivien Leigh, English actress (d. 1967)
- 1911 - Roy Rogers, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1911 - Baby Marie Osborne, American actress
- 1906 - Fred Lawrence Whipple, American astronomer (d. 2004)
- 1906 - Endre Kabos, Hungarian Olympic champion fencer (d. 1944)
- 1905 - Joel McCrea, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1904 - Cooney Weiland, Canadian hockey player (d. 1985)
- 1900 - Natalie Schafer, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1900 - Martin Dies, Jr., American politician (d. 1972)
- 1895 - Walter Gieseking, French pianist (d. 1956)
- 1895 - Charles MacArthur, American author (d. 1956)
- 1892 - J. B. S. Haldane, Scottish geneticist (d. 1964)
- 1890 - Jan Zrzavý, Czech painter (d. 1977)
- 1887 - Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-born pianist (d. 1961)
- 1885 - Will Durant, American historian (d. 1981)
- 1884 - James Flecker, English writer (d. 1915)
- 1881 - George A. Malcolm, American jurist & educator (d. 1961)
- 1873 - Edwin Flack, Australian athlete, double Olympic gold medallist in 1896. (d. 1935)
- 1857 - Ida Tarbell, American journalist (d. 1944)
- 1855 - Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (d. 1913)
- 1855 - Eugene V. Debs, American socialist leader (d. 1926)
- 1854 - Paul Sabatier, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1854 - Alphonse Desjardins, founder of the Caisses populaires Desjardins (d. 1920)
- 1851 - Charles Dupuy, French prime minister (d. 1923)
- 1850 - Ella Wheeler Wilcox, American author and poet (d. 1919)
- 1846 - Duncan Gordon Boyes, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1869)
- 1835 - Moritz Szeps, Austrian journalist (d. 1902)
- 1818 - Benjamin Franklin Butler, 33rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1893)
- 1742 - Richard Cosway, English artist (d. 1821)
- 1722 - William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English duelist (d. 1798)
- 1715 - John Brown, English writer (d. 1766)
- 1701 - Pietro Longhi, Venetian painter (d. 1785)
- 1667 - Christoph Ludwig Agricola, German painter (d. 1719)
- 1615 - Ibrahim I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1648)
- 1613 - Isaac de Benserade, French poet (d. 1691)
- 1592 - Charles Chauncy, English-born president of Harvard College (d. 1672)
- 1549 - Philippe de Mornay, French writer (d. 1623)
- 1494 - Hans Sachs, German mastersinger (d. 1576)
- 1271 - Mahmud Ghazan, Mongol ruler (d. 1304)