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.

September 17th


- Christian Feast Day
- Constitution Day (observed on the previous Friday if it falls Saturday, the following Monday if on a Sunday), Citizenship Day, Von Steuben Day. (United States)
- National Heroes' Day (Angola)
- Operation Market Garden is still remembered with parachuting and dedications on this day. (Netherlands)

September 17th


- 2010 - The 54 year run of the soap opera As the World Turns ends as its final episode is broadcast.
- 2007 - AOL, once the largest ISP in the U.S., officially announces plans to refocus the company as an advertising business and to relocate its corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia to New York, New York.
- 2006 - Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the long-dormant volcano in at least 10,000 years.
- 2001 - The New York Stock Exchange reopens for trading after the September 11 Attacks, the longest closure since the Great Depression.
- 1993 - Last Russian troops leave Poland.
- 1992 - An Iranian Kurdish leader and his two joiners are assassinated by political militants in Berlin, Germany.
- 1991 - Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia join the United Nations.
- 1991 - The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.
- 1983 - Vanessa Williams becomes the first black Miss America.
- 1980 - After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gda?sk, Poland, the nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
- 1980 - Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asunción, Paraguay.
- 1978 - The Camp David Accords are signed by Israel and Egypt.
- 1976 - The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, is unveiled by NASA.
- 1974 - Bangladesh, Grenada and Guinea-Bissau join the United Nations.
- 1961 - The world's first retractable-dome stadium, the Civic Arena, opens in Pittsburgh.
- 1957 - Malaysia joins the United Nations.
- 1956 - Television is first broadcast in Australia.
- 1949 - The Canadian steamship SS Noronic burns in Toronto Harbour with the loss of over 118 lives.
- 1948 - The Lehi (also known as the Stern gang) assassinates Count Folke Bernadotte, who was appointed by the UN to mediate between the Arab nations and Israel.
- 1948 - The Nizam of Hyderabad surrenders his sovereignty over the Hyderabad State and joins the Indian Union.
- 1947 - James V. Forrestal is sworn in as the first Secretary of Defense of United States.
- 1944 - World War II: Allied Airborne troops parachute into the Netherlands as the "Market" half of Operation Market Garden.
- 1943 - World War II: The Russian city of Bryansk is liberated from Nazis.
- 1941 - World War II: A decree of the Soviet State Committee of Defense, restoring Vsevobuch in the face of the Great Patriotic War, is issued
- 1939 - World War II: The Soviet Union joins Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland during the Polish Defensive War of .
- 1939 - World War II: A German U-boat U 29 sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous.
- 1939 - Taisto Mäki becomes the first man to run the 10,000 metres in under 30 minutes, in a time of 29:52.6
- 1928 - The Okeechobee Hurricane strikes southeastern Florida, killing upwards of 2,500 people. It is the third deadliest natural disaster in United States history, behind the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
- 1924 - The Border Defence Corps is established in the Second Polish Republic for the defence of the eastern border against armed Soviet raids and local bandits.
- 1920 - The National Football League is organized in Canton, Ohio, United States.
- 1916 - World War I: Manfred von Richthofen ("The Red Baron"), a flying ace of the German Luftstreitkräfte, wins his first aerial combat near Cambrai, France.
- 1914 - Andrew Fisher becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
- 1908 - The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright, with Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge as passenger, crashes killing Selfridge. He becomes the first airplane fatality.
- 1900 - Philippine-American War: Filipinos under Juan Cailles defeat Americans under Colonel Benjamin F. Cheatham at Mabitac.
- 1894 - The Battle of Yalu River, the largest naval engagement of the First Sino-Japanese War.
- 1862 - American Civil War: George B. McClellan halts the northward drive of Robert E. Lee's Confederate army in the single-day Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history.
- 1862 - American Civil War: The Allegheny Arsenal explosion results in the single largest civilian disaster during the war.
- 1859 - Joshua A. Norton declares himself "Emperor Norton I" of the United States.
- 1814 - Francis Scott Key finishes his poem "Defence of Fort McHenry", later to be the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner".
- 1809 - Peace between Sweden and Russia in the Finnish War. The territory to become Finland is ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Fredrikshamn.
- 1787 - The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1778 - The Treaty of Fort Pitt is signed. It is the first formal treaty between the United States and a Native American tribe (the Lenape or Delaware Indians).
- 1776 - The Presidio of San Francisco is founded in New Spain.
- 1683 - Antonie van Leeuwenhoek writes a letter to the Royal Society describing "animalcules": the first known description of protozoa.
- 1631 - Sweden wins a major victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld against the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years War.
- 1630 - The city of Boston, Massachusetts is founded.
- 1577 - The Peace of Bergerac is signed between Henry III of France and the Huguenots.
- 1462 - The Battle of ?wiecino (also known as the Battle of ?arnowiec) is fought during Thirteen Years' War.
- 1176 - The Battle of Myriokephalon is fought.
- 1111 - Highest Galician nobility led by Pedro Fróilaz de Traba and the bishop Diego Gelmírez crown Alfonso VII as "King of Galicia".
- -480 - The Battle of Thermopylae, fought between 300 Spartans, led by their king, Leonidas, and the Achaemenid Empire begins

September 17th


- 2008 - Mia Talerico, American child actress
- 2004 - Prince Odysseas-Kimon of Greece and Denmark
- 1991 - Ryo Ishikawa, Japanese golfer
- 1990 - Sean Scannell, Irish footballer
- 1987 - Paul Huntington, English footballer
- 1986 - Sanaya Irani, Indian actress
- 1985 - Tomáš Berdych, Czech tennis player
- 1985 - Brendan Clarke, Irish footballer
- 1985 - Alexander Ovechkin, Russian hockey player
- 1985 - Mason Raymond, Canadian hockey player
- 1985 - José Gonçalves, Portuguese football player
- 1984 - Eugenia Volodina, Russian model
- 1984 - Domenico Citro, Italian footballer
- 1984 - Mary Descenza, American swimmer
- 1984 - John Kucera, Canadian alpine ski racer
- 1983 - Jennifer Peña, American singer
- 1982 - Hope Larson, American illustrator and cartoonist
- 1982 - Garth Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 - Wade Robson, Australian choreographer
- 1981 - Casey Janssen, American baseball player
- 1981 - Bakari Koné, Ivorian footballer
- 1981 - Francis Manioru, Solomon Islander sprinter
- 1980 - Danny Haren, American baseball player
- 1979 - Akin Ayodele, American football player
- 1979 - Billy Miller, American actor
- 1979 - Chuck Comeau, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
- 1979 - Steffen Algreen, Danish footballer
- 1979 - Flo Rida, American rapper
- 1978 - Shawn Horcoff, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Simone Perrotta, Italian football player
- 1976 - Daniella Rush, Czech pornographic actress
- 1975 - Jimmie Johnson, American race car driver
- 1975 - Austin St. John, American actor
- 1975 - Constantine Maroulis, American singer
- 1974 - Rasheed Wallace, American basketball player
- 1974 - Mirah, American musician
- 1974 - Tormod Granheim, Norwegian adventurer
- 1973 - Ada Choi, Hong Kong actress
- 1973 - Demis Nikolaidis, Greek footballer
- 1972 - Brian Henry, American poet
- 1972 - Bobby Lee, American comedian
- 1971 - Mauro Milanese, Italian footballer
- 1971 - Adriana Sklena?íková, Slovak supermodel
- 1971 - Ian Whyte (actor), Welsh actor and basketball player
- 1971 - Mike Catt, English rugby player
- 1970 - Mark Brunell, American football player
- 1969 - Ken Doherty, Irish snooker player
- 1969 - Keith Flint, British musician (The Prodigy)
- 1969 - Matthew Settle, American actor
- 1968 - Anastacia, American singer
- 1968 - Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece
- 1967 - Malik Yoba, American actor
- 1966 - Doug E. Fresh, American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer
- 1966 - Stéphane Rousseau, Canadian humorist and actor
- 1965 - Yuji Naka, Japanese video game programmer
- 1965 - Guy Picciotto, American musician (Rites of Spring, Fugazi)
- 1965 - Bryan Singer, American director
- 1965 - Kyle Chandler, American actor Early Edition
- 1963 - Masahiro Chono, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1963 - Steven Dye, English musician (Scarlet Party), (The Alan Parsons Project)
- 1963 - Wendy Northcutt, Author of the Darwin Awards
- 1963 - Amy Roloff, American reality star
- 1963 - Rami Saari, Israeli poet and translator
- 1963 - James Urbaniak, American actor
- 1962 - Baz Luhrmann, Australian film director
- 1962 - Dustin Nguyen, Vietnamese American actor
- 1961 - Jim Cornette, American professional wrestling manager
- 1961 - Nives Meroi, Italian mountaineer
- 1961 - Ty Tabor, American guitarist and singer (King's X)
- 1960 - Damon Hill, English race car driver and 1996 F1 world champion
- 1960 - Kevin Clash, American actor and puppeteer
- 1960 - John Franco, American baseball player
- 1959 - Charles Lawson, Northern Irish actor
- 1958 - Tom Waddell, Scottish former Major League Baseball player
- 1957 - Richie Ramone, American musician (The Ramones)
- 1956 - Rita Rudner, American comedian
- 1956 - Brian Andreas, American writer, sculptor, painter and publisher
- 1956 - Thad Bosley. American major league baseball player
- 1955 - Koralia Karanti, Greek actress
- 1955 - Charles Martinet, American actor
- 1955 - Scott Simpson, American golfer
- 1954 - Joël-François Durand, French composer
- 1953 - Altaf Hussain, Pakistani politician and founder of MQM
- 1951 - Cassandra Peterson, American actress
- 1950 - Narendra Modi, Indian politician
- 1950 - Chris Heister, Swedish politician
- 1950 - Fee Waybill, American musician (The Tubes)
- 1948 - Jeff MacNelly, American political cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1948 - John Ritter, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1947 - Tessa Jowell, British politician
- 1946 - Billy Bonds, English footballer
- 1945 - David Emerson, Canadian politician
- 1945 - Bhakti Caru Swami, Indian spiritual leader
- 1945 - Phil Jackson, American basketball player and NBA head coach
- 1945 - Bruce Spence, New Zealand actor
- 1944 - Reinhold Messner, Italian mountaineer
- 1942 - Des Lynam, English television presenter
- 1942 - Robert Graysmith, Zodiac killer researcher
- 1941 - Stavros Damianides, Greek musician (d. 2001)
- 1941 - Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman (d. 2005)
- 1940 - Jan Eliasson, Swedish diplomat
- 1940 - Sotiris Moustakas, Greek actor (d. 2007)
- 1939 - Shelby Flint, American singer
- 1939 - David Souter, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- 1938 - Bobby Wine, American Major League Baseball player
- 1937 - Orlando Cepeda, Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player
- 1935 - Ken Kesey, American author (d. 2001)
- 1934 - Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (d. 1969)
- 1933 - Chuck Grassley, American politician
- 1933 - Dorothy Loudon, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Claude Provost, National Hockey League player (d. 1984)
- 1931 - Anne Bancroft, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1931 - Jean-Claude Carrière, French writer, screenwriter and actor
- 1930 - David Huddleston, American actor
- 1930 - Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist
- 1930 - Edgar Mitchell, American astronaut
- 1930 - Jim Rohn, American business philosopher (d. 2009)
- 1930 - Thomas Stafford, American astronaut
- 1929 - Sir Stirling Moss, English race car driver
- 1929 - Pat Crowley, American actress
- 1928 - Roddy McDowall, English actor (d. 1998)
- 1927 - George Blanda, American football player
- 1926 - Bill Black, American musician (d. 1965)
- 1926 - Curtis Harrington, American film director (d. 2007)
- 1923 - Hank Williams, American musician (d. 1953)
- 1922 - Agostinho Neto, Angolan politician (d. 1979)
- 1920 - Dinah Sheridan, English actress
- 1918 - Chaim Herzog, President of Israel (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Mary Stewart, English novelist
- 1915 - M. F. Husain, Indian painter
- 1914 - Thomas J. Bata, Canadian shoemaker (Bata Shoes) (d. 2008)
- 1912 - Irena Kwiatkowska, Polish actress and comedian
- 1907 - Warren Burger, 15th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1995)
- 1906 - Edgar Wayburn, American environmentalist (d. 2010)
- 1904 - Edgar G. Ulmer, Austrian-American film director (d. 1972)
- 1903 - Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (d. 1984)
- 1903 - Frank O'Connor, Irish-American short-story writer (d. 1966)
- 1903 - Minanogawa T?z?, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
- 1901 - Francis Chichester, English adventurer (d. 1972)
- 1900 - Hughie Critz, baseball player (d. 1980)
- 1900 - John Willard Marriott, American hotelier (d. 1985)
- 1897 - Earl Webb, baseball player (d. 1965)
- 1890 - Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator (d. 1972)
- 1884 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (d. 1920)
- 1883 - William Carlos Williams, American writer (d. 1963)
- 1881 - Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, English soldier (d. 1955)
- 1879 - Rube Foster, American baseball player, manager and executive (d. 1930)
- 1879 - Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Indian Social Reformer (d. 1973)
- 1869 - Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize recipient (d. 1938)
- 1868 - James Alexander Calder, Canadian politician (d. 1956)
- 1859 - Frank Dawson Adams, Canadian geologist (d.1942)
- 1857 - Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist (d. 1935)
- 1854 - David Dunbar Buick, American automobile pioneer (d. 1929)
- 1839 - Ira Davenport, American magician (d. 1911)
- 1826 - Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician (d. 1866)
- 1820 - Émile Augier, French dramatist (d. 1889)
- 1773 - Jonathan Alder, American settler (d. 1849)
- 1771 - Johann August Apel, German jurist and writer (d. 1816)
- 1743 - Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician (d. 1794)
- 1739 - John Rutledge, 2nd (appointed) Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1800)
- 1730 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian army officer (d. 1794)
- 1688 - Maria Luisa of Savoy, first queen of Philip V of Spain (d. 1714)
- 1687 - Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian (d. 1772)
- 1677 - Stephen Hales, English physiologist, chemist, and inventor (d. 1761)
- 1657 - Sophia Alekseyevna, regent of Russia (d. 1704)
- 1639 - Hans Herr, Mennonite bishop (d. 1725)
- 1630 - Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (d. 1694)
- 1550 - Pope Paul V (d. 1621)
- 1271 - Wenceslas II of Bohemia and Poland (d. 1305)
- 1192 - Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (d. 1219)
- 879 - King Charles III of France (d. 929)