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.

October 16th


- Boss's Day (United States and Canada)
- Christian Feast Day
- Day of Pope John Paul II (Poland)
- World Food Day (International)

October 16th


- 2006 - Hawaii Earthquake: A magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport.
- 2002 - Bibliotheca Alexandrina in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria that was lost in antiquity, is officially inaugurated.
- 1998 - Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is arrested in London on a warrant from Spain requesting his extradition on murder charges.
- 1996 - Eighty-four people are killed and more than 180 injured as 47,000 football fans attempt to squeeze into the 36,000-seat Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City.
- 1995 - The Million Man March occurs in Washington, D.C.
- 1995 - The Skye Bridge is opened.
- 1993 - Anti-Nazi riot breaks out in Welling in Kent, after police stop protesters approaching the British National Party headquarters.
- 1991 - Luby's massacre: George Hennard runs amok in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 and wounding 20 in Luby's Cafeteria.
- 1986 - Reinhold Messner becomes the first person to summit all 14 Eight-thousanders.
- 1986 - Ron Arad, Israeli Weapons System Officer, is captured by Lebanese Shi'ite militia Amal.
- 1984 - Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1978 - Pope John Paul II is elected after the October 1978 Papal conclave.
- 1978 - Wanda Rutkiewicz is the first Pole and the first European woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 1975 - The Balibo Five, a group of Australian television journalists based in the town of Balibo in the then Portuguese Timor (now East Timor), are killed by Indonesian troops.
- 1975 - Rahima Banu, a 2-year old girl from the village of Kuralia in Bangladesh, is the last known person to be infected with naturally occurring smallpox.
- 1975 - The Australian Coalition opposition parties using their senate majority, vote to defer the decision to grant supply of funds for the Whitlam Government's annual budget, sparking the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
- 1973 - Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1970 - In response to the October Crisis terrorist kidnapping, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of Canada invokes the War Measures Act.
- 1968 - United States athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos are kicked off the USA's team for participating in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.
- 1968 - Kingston, Jamaica is rocked by the Rodney Riots, inspired by the barring of Walter Rodney from the country.
- 1964 - The People's Republic of China detonates its first nuclear weapon.
- 1964 - Soviet leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Alexey Kosygin are inaugurated as General Secretary of the CPSU and Premier, respectively.
- 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis between the United States and Cuba begins.
- 1951 - The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, is assassinated in Rawalpindi.
- 1949 - Nikolaos Zachariadis, leader of the Communist Party of Greece, announces a "temporary cease-fire", effectively ending the Greek Civil War.
- 1949 - The diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the German Democratic Republic are established.
- 1946 - Nuremberg Trials: Execution of the convicted Nazi leaders of the Main Trial.
- 1945 - The Food and Agriculture Organization is founded in Quebec City, Canada.
- 1940 - Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.
- 1940 - Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto is established.
- 1939 - World War II: First attack on British territory by the German Luftwaffe.
- 1934 - Chinese Communists begin the Long March; it ended a year and four days later, by which time Mao Zedong had regained his title as party chairman.
- 1923 - The Walt Disney Company is founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney.
- 1916 - Margaret Sanger founds Planned Parenthood by opening the first U.S. birth control clinic.
- 1906 - The Captain of Köpenick fools the city hall of Köpenick and several soldiers by impersonating a Prussian officer.
- 1905 - The Partition of Bengal in India takes place.
- 1882 - The Nickel Plate Railroad opens for business.
- 1875 - Brigham Young University is founded in Provo, Utah.
- 1869 - The Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous American hoaxes, is "discovered".
- 1869 - Girton College, Cambridge is founded, becoming England's first residential college for women.
- 1859 - John Brown leads a raid on Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.
- 1846 - William TG Morton first demonstrated ether anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the Ether Dome.
- 1843 - Sir William Rowan Hamilton comes up with the idea of quaternions, a non-commutative extension of complex numbers.
- 1841 - Queen's University is founded in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
- 1834 - Much of the ancient structure of the Palace of Westminster in London is burnt to the ground.
- 1813 - The Sixth Coalition attacks Napoleon Bonaparte in the Battle of Leipzig.
- 1793 - Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, is guillotined at the height of the French Revolution.
- 1793 - The Battle of Wattignies ends in a French victory.
- 1781 - George Washington captures Yorktown, Virginia after the Siege of Yorktown.
- 1780 - Royalton, Vermont and Tunbridge, Vermont are the last major raids of the American Revolutionary War.
- 1590 - Carlo Gesualdo, composer, Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, murders his wife, Donna Maria d'Avalos, and her lover Fabrizio Carafa, the Duke of Andria at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples.
- 1384 - Jadwiga is crowned King of Poland, although she is a woman.
- 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire.

October 16th


- 2003 - Princess Kritika of Nepal, daughter of Crown Prince Paras
- 1992 - Bryce Harper, American baseball player
- 1991 - John and Edward Grimes, Irish twin entertainers
- 1990 - Yohanna, Icelandic singer
- 1988 - Zoltán Stieber, Hungarian footballer
- 1986 - Nicky Adams, Welsh footballer
- 1986 - Craig Pickering, British sprinter
- 1985 - Verena Sailer, German sprinter
- 1985 - Casey Stoner, Australian motorcycle racer
- 1984 - Melissa Lauren, French pornographic actress
- 1984 - Shayne Ward, British singer
- 1983 - Jennifer Hurt, American model
- 1983 - Philipp Kohlschreiber, German tennis player
- 1982 - Vincy Chan, Hong Kong singer
- 1982 - Frédéric Michalak, French rugby player
- 1982 - Pippa Black, Australian actress
- 1981 - Martin Halle, Danish footballer
- 1981 - Anthony Reyes, American baseball player
- 1981 - Caterina Scorsone, Canadian actress
- 1980 - Sue Bird, American basketball player
- 1980 - Jeremy Jackson, American actor
- 1980 - Timana Tahu, Australian Rugby League player
- 1979 - Erin Brown, American actress, model, filmmaker, and musician
- 1978 - Ethan Luck, American musician (The O.C. Supertones, Demon Hunter, Relient K)
- 1977 - John Mayer, American musician
- 1976 - Ryan Fitzgerald, Australian football (AFL) player and media personality
- 1975 - Brynjar Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1975 - Jacques Kallis, South African cricketer
- 1975 - Kellie Martin, American actress
- 1974 - Paul Kariya, Canadian hockey player
- 1973 - María Eugenia Larraín, Chilean model, engineer and socialite
- 1973 - Peter Polaco, American professional wrestler
- 1973 - David Unsworth, English professional footballer
- 1972 - Darius Kasparaitis, Russian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Tomas Lindberg, Swedish musician (At the Gates)
- 1972 - Kordell Stewart, American football player
- 1971 - Chad Gray, American singer
- 1970 - Kazuyuki Fujita, Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter
- 1970 - Mehmet Scholl, German footballer
- 1969 - Roy Hargrove, American jazz trumpeter
- 1969 - Takao ?mori, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1969 - Terri J. Vaughn, American actress
- 1969 - Wendy Wilson, American pop singer (Wilson Phillips)
- 1968 - Randall Batinkoff, American actor
- 1968 - Mark Lee, Singaporean actor & comedian
- 1968 - Elsa Zylberstein, French actress
- 1965 - Steve Lamacq, British journalist and disc jockey
- 1965 - Tom Tolbert, American basketball player
- 1963 - Brendan Kibble, Australian musician
- 1962 - Manute Bol, Sudanese-born basketball player (d. 2010)
- 1962 - Ken Chinn, American musician (SNFU)
- 1962 - Flea, Australian-born American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- 1962 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian baritone
- 1961 - Marc Levy, French novelist
- 1961 - Randy Vasquez, American actor
- 1960 - Bob Mould, American musician
- 1959 - Gary Kemp, British musician and actor
- 1959 - Erkki-Sven Tüür, Estonian composer
- 1959 - Brian Harper, baseball player
- 1958 - Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Greek singer
- 1958 - Tim Robbins, American actor, director, and writer
- 1956 - John Chavis, American football coach
- 1954 - Serafino Ghizzoni, Italian rugby player
- 1954 - Stephen Mellor, American actor
- 1953 - Tony Carey, American-born rock keyboardist, producer (Rainbow, Planet P Project)
- 1953 - Paulo Roberto Falcão, Brazilian footballer
- 1953 - Al Sobotka, Zamboni driver
- 1952 - Boogie Mosson, American musician (P Funk)
- 1952 - Ron Taylor, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1948 - Hema Malini, Indian Actress
- 1948 - Leo Mazzone, American baseball coach
- 1947 - Terry Griffiths, Welsh snooker player
- 1947 - Bob Weir, American musician (Grateful Dead)
- 1947 - David Zucker, American film director
- 1946 - Suzanne Somers, American actress
- 1943 - Fred Turner, Canadian bass player (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
- 1941 - Tim McCarver, baseball player and commentator
- 1940 - Barry Corbin, American actor
- 1940 - Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player (d. 2003)
- 1940 - Ivan Della Mea, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1938 - Carl Gunter Jr, Louisiana State Representative (d. 1999)
- 1938 - Nico German musician, fashion model and actress (d. 1988)
- 1936 - Peter Bowles, English actor
- 1936 - Andrei Chikatilo, Russian serial killer (d. 1994)
- 1936 - Akira Machida, Japanese judge
- 1934 - Peter Ashdown, British racing driver
- 1932 - John Grant, British politician (d. 2000)
- 1932 - Henry Lewis, American musician and conductor (d. 1996)
- 1931 - Valery Klimov, Russian violinist
- 1931 - Rosa Rosal, Filipino actress and humanitarian
- 1931 - Charles Colson, American Watergate conspirator
- 1930 - Carmen Sevilla, Spanish actress
- 1929 - Fernanda Montenegro, Brazilian actress
- 1928 - Mary Daly, American feminist philosopher and theologian (d. 2010)
- 1928 - Ann Morgan Guilbert, American actress
- 1927 - Günter Grass, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 - Angela Lansbury, English-born actress
- 1923 - Linda Darnell, American film actress (d. 1965)
- 1923 - Bert Kaempfert, German orchestra leader and songwriter (d. 1980)
- 1923 - Bill McLaren MBE, Scottish rugby commentator (d. 2010)
- 1922 - Max Bygraves, English singer/songwriter
- 1922 - Leon Sullivan, American civil rights leader and pastor (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Kathleen Winsor, American writer (d. 2003)
- 1918 - Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher (d. 1990)
- 1917 - Alice Pearce, American actress (d. 1966)
- 1916 - George Turner, Australian author (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Mohammed Zahir Shah, Shah of Afghanistan (d. 2007)
- 1912 - Clifford Hansen, American politician (d. 2009)
- 1908 - Enver Hoxha, Albanian dictator (d. 1985)
- 1906 - León Klimovsky, Argentine film director (d. 1996)
- 1903 - Cecile de Brunhoff, French storyteller (d. 2003)
- 1900 - Edward Ardizzone, artist and illustrator (d. 1979)
- 1900 - Primo Conti, Italian painter (d. 1988)
- 1900 - Goose Goslin, American baseball player (d. 1971)
- 1898 - William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1980)
- 1897 - Louis de Cazenave, French supercentenarian (d. 2008)
- 1890 - Michael Collins, Irish patriot (d. 1922)
- 1890 - Maria Goretti, Italian saint (d. 1902)
- 1890 - Paul Strand, American photographer (d. 1975)
- 1888 - Eugene O'Neill, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1953)
- 1888 - Paul Popenoe, American activist (d. 1979)
- 1886 - David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1973)
- 1884 - Rembrandt Bugatti, Italian sculptor (d. 1916)
- 1883 - Vasiliki Maliaros, Greek actress (d. 1973)
- 1878 - Maxey Long, American athlete (d. 1959)
- 1876 - Jimmy Sinclair, South African cricketer, rugby union and soccer player (d. 1913)
- 1863 - Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1937)
- 1861 - J. B. Bury, Irish historian (d. 1927)
- 1855 - Samedbey Mehmandarov, Russian general (d. 1931)
- 1854 - Karl Kautsky, Marxist theoretician (d. 1938)
- 1854 - Oscar Wilde, Irish writer (d. 1900)
- 1841 - Hirobumi Ito, Japanese governor of Korea, 1st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1909)
- 1840 - Kuroda Kiyotaka, 2nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1900)
- 1819 - Austin F. Pike, American politician from New Hampshire (d. 1886)
- 1815 - Francis Lubbock, 9th Governor of Texas (d. 1905)
- 1806 - William Pitt Fessenden, 26th United States Secretary of the Treasury (1864–65) (d. 1869)
- 1804 - Benjamin Russell, American artist (d. 1885)
- 1802 - Isaac Murphy, Governor of Arkansas (1864–68) (d. 1882)
- 1795 - William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author (d. 1876)
- 1789 - William Burton, 39th Governor of Delaware (1859–63) (d. 1866)
- 1762 - Paul Hamilton, 42nd Governor of South Carolina (1804–06) and 3rd U.S. Secretary of Navy (1809–12) (d. 1816)
- 1758 - Noah Webster, American lexicographer (d. 1843)
- 1754 - Morgan Lewis, Governor of New York (1804–07) (d. 1844)
- 1752 - Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, German theologian (d. 1827)
- 1751 - Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, Queen of Prussia (d. 1805)
- 1726 - Daniel Chodowiecki, Polish painter (d. 1801)
- 1714 - Giovanni Arduino, Italian geologist (d. 1795)
- 1710 - Andreas Hadik, Austro-Hungarian general (d. 1790)
- 1663 - Prince Eugene of Savoy, French-born Austrian general (d. 1736)
- 1535 - Niwa Nagahide, Japanese warlord (d. 1585)
- 1483 - Gasparo Contarini, Italian diplomat and cardinal (d. 1542)
- 1430 - King James II of Scotland (d. 1460)
- 1396 - William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English soldier (d. 1450)