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 14th - holidays
- Christian Feast Day:
- Day of the Cathedral of Living Pillar (Georgian Orthodox Church)
- National Education Day, formerly Teachers' Day (Poland)
- Nyerere Day (Tanzania)
- World Standards Day (International)
October 14th - events
- 1998 - Eric Robert Rudolph is charged with six bombings including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1994 - The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Foreign Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the establishment of the Oslo Accords and the framing of the future Palestinian Self Government.
- 1982 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs.
- 1981 - Citing official misconduct in the investigation and trial, Amnesty International charges the U.S. Federal Government with holding Richard Marshall of the American Indian Movement as a political prisoner.
- 1981 - Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected as the President of Egypt one week after the assassination of the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat.
- 1979 - The first Gay Rights March on Washington, D.C., the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, demands "an end to all social, economic, judicial, and legal oppression of lesbian and gay people", and draws 200,000 people.
- 1973 - In the Thammasat student uprising over 100,000 people protest in Thailand against the Thanom military government; 77 are killed and 857 are injured by soldiers.
- 1969 - The United Kingdom introduces the British fifty-pence coin, which replaces, over the following years, the British ten-shilling note, in anticipation of the decimalization of the British currency in , and the abolition of the shilling as a unit of currency anywhere in the world.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: 27 soldiers are arrested at the Presidio of San Francisco in California for their peaceful protest of stockade conditions and the Vietnam War.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps will send about 24,000 soldiers and Marines back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours of duty in the combat zone there.
- 1968 - The first live telecast from a manned spacecraft, the Apollo 7, launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the U.S.A.
- 1968 - An earthquake rated at 6.8 on the Richter Scale destroys the Australian town of Meckering, Western Australia, and it also ruptures all nearby main highways and railroads.
- 1968 - Jim Hines of the United States of America becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympic Games held in Mexico City with a time of 9.95 seconds.
- 1967 - The Vietnam War: The folk singer Joan Baez is arrested concerning a physical blockade of the U.S. Army's induction center in Oakland, California.
- 1966 - The city of Montreal, Quebec, begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid-transit system.
- 1964 - Leonid Brezhnev becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and thereby, along with his allies - such as Alexei Kosygin - the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), ousting the former monolithic leader Nikita Khrushchev, and sending him into retirement as a nonperson in the USSR.
- 1962 - The Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot fly over the island of Cuba and take photographs of Soviet missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads being installed and erected in Cuba.
- 1958 - The American Atomic Energy Commission, with supporting military units, carries out an underground nuclear weapon test at the Nevada Test Site, just north of Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 1958 - The District of Columbia's Bar Association votes to accept African-Americans as member attorneys.
- 1957 - Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Canadian Monarch to open up an annual session of the Canadian Parliament, presenting her Speech from the Throne in Ottawa, Canada.
- 1956 - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers (see Neo-Buddhism).
- 1952 - Korean War: United Nations and South Korean forces launch Operation Showdown against Chinese strongholds at the Iron Triangle. The resulting Battle of Triangle Hill is the biggest and bloodiest battle of 1952.
- 1949 - Eleven leaders of the American Communist Party are convicted, after a nine-month trial in a Federal District Court, of conspiring to advocate the violent overthrow of the U.S. Federal Government.
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: Chinese Communist forces occupy the city of Guangzhou (Canton), in Guangdong, China.
- 1947 - Captain Chuck Yeager of the U.S. Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound - over the high desert of Southern California - and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight.
- 1944 - Athens, Greece, is liberated by British Army troops entering the city as the Wehrmacht pulls out during World War II. This clears the way for the Greek government-in-exile to return to its historic capital city, with George Papandreou, Sr., as the head-of-government.
- 1943 - Prisoners at the Nazi German Sobibor extermination camp in Poland revolt against the Germans, killing eleven SS guards, and wounding many more. About 300 of the Sobibor Camp's 600 prisoners escape, and about 50 of these survive the end of the war.
- 1943 - The American Eighth Air Force loses 60 B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers in aerial combat during the second mass-daylight air raid on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factories in western Nazi Germany.
- 1940 - Balham subway station disaster, in London, England, occurs during the Nazi Luftwaffe air raids on Great Britain.
- 1939 - The German Kriegsmarine submarine (U-boat) U-47 sinks the British battleship HMS Royal Oak within her harbor at Scapa Flow, Scotland.
- 1938 - The first flight of the Curtiss Aircraft Company's P-40 Warhawk fighter plane.
- 1933 - Nazi Germany withdraws from The League of Nations.
- 1926 - The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, is first published.
- 1925 - An Anti-French uprising in French-occupied Damascus, Syria. (All French inhabitants flee the city.)
- 1920 - Part of Petsamo Province is ceded by the Soviet Union to Finland.
- 1913 - Senghenydd Colliery Disaster, the United Kingdom's worst coal mining accident, occurs, and it claims the lives of 439 miners.
- 1912 - While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, is shot and mildly wounded by John Schrank, a mentally-disturbed saloon keeper. With the fresh wound in his chest, and the bullet still within it, Mr. Roosevelt still carries out his scheduled public speech.
- 1910 - The English aviator Claude Grahame-White lands his Farman Aircraft biplane on Executive Avenue near the White House in Washington, D.C..
- 1908 - The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, clinching the World Series. It would be their last one to date.
- 1888 - Louis Le Prince films first motion picture: Roundhay Garden Scene.
- 1884 - The American inventor, George Eastman, receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film.
- 1882 - University of the Punjab is founded in a part of India that later became West Pakistan.
- 1867 - The 15th and the last military Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate resigns in Japan, returning his power to the Emperor of Japan and thence to the re-established civil government of Japan
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Bristoe Station – Confederate troops under the command of General Robert E. Lee fail to drive the American Union Army completely out of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- 1843 - The British arrest the Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell for conspiracy to commit crimes.
- 1840 - The Maronite leader Bashir II surrenders to the British Army and then is sent into exile on the islands of Malta.
- 1812 - Work on London's Regent's Canal starts.
- 1808 - The Republic of Ragusa is annexed by France.
- 1806 - Battle of Jena-Auerstädt France defeats Prussia.
- 1805 - Battle of Elchingen, France defeats Austria.
- 1773 - The first recorded Ministry of Education, the Komisja Edukacji Narodowej (Polish for Commission of National Education), is formed in Poland.
- 1773 - Just before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, several of the British East India Company's tea ships are set ablaze at the old seaport of Annapolis, Maryland.
- 1758 - Seven Years' War: Austria defeats Prussia at the Battle of Hochkirk.
- 1656 - Massachusetts enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The marriage of church-and-state in Puritanism makes them regard the Quakers as spiritually apostate and politically subversive.
- 1586 - Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England.
- 1582 - Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1322 - Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence.
- 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings – In England on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, the Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeat the English army and kill King Harold II of England.
- 222 - Pope Callixtus I is killed by a mob in Rome's Trastevere after a 5-year reign in which he has stabilized the Saturday fast three times per year, with no food, oil, or wine to be consumed on those days. Callixtus is succeeded by cardinal Urban I.
October 14th - births
- 1992 - Savannah Outen, American singer
- 1991 - Shona McGarty, English actress
- 1990 - Alexandra Krosney, American actress
- 1989 - Mia Wasikowska, Australian actress
- 1988 - Will Atkinson, English footballer
- 1988 - MacKenzie Mauzy, American actress
- 1988 - Max Thieriot, American actor
- 1988 - Mario Titone, Italian footballer
- 1986 - Tom Craddock, English footballer
- 1986 - Skyler Shaye, American actress
- 1985 - Sherlyn, Mexican actress
- 1985 - Daniel Clark, American actor
- 1985 - Digão, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 - Alexandre Sarnes Negrão, Brazilian racing driver
- 1984 - LaRon Landry, American football player
- 1983 - Vanessa Lane, American porn star
- 1983 - Lin Dan, Chinese badminton player
- 1982 - Cosmin Curiman, Romanian football player
- 1982 - Ryan Hall, American marathoner
- 1982 - Matt Roth, American football player
- 1981 - Gautam Gambhir, Indian cricketer
- 1981 - Boof Bonser, American baseball player
- 1980 - Paul Ambrosi, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1980 - Scott Kooistra, American football player
- 1980 - Niels Lodberg, Danish footballer
- 1980 - Terrence McGee, American football player
- 1980 - Ben Whishaw, English actor
- 1979 - Stacy Keibler, American actress and professional wrestler
- 1978 - Justin Brannan, American musician, writer
- 1978 - Ryan Church, American baseball player
- 1978 - Paul Hunter, English snooker player (d. 2006)
- 1978 - Steven Thompson, Scottish footballer
- 1978 - Usher, American singer and actor
- 1978 - Javon Walker, American football player
- 1977 - Kelly Schumacher, Canadian basketball player
- 1977 - Bianca Beauchamp, adult model
- 1977 - Jonathan Kerrigan, English actor
- 1977 - Jeff Garcia, American voice actor
- 1977 - Tina Dico, Danish singer-songwriter
- 1976 - Nataša Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
- 1976 - Henry Mateo, Dominican baseball player
- 1976 - Ben Pridmore, World Memory Champion
- 1976 - Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lankan Cricketer
- 1975 - Floyd Landis, American cyclist
- 1975 - Shaznay Lewis, English singer (All Saints)
- 1974 - Natalie Maines, American musician (Dixie Chicks)
- 1974 - Jessica Drake, American porn star
- 1974 - Joseph Utsler, American musician
- 1974 - Viktor Röthlin, Swiss marathoner
- 1973 - Lasha Zhvania, Georgian politician
- 1973 - Sergio Pinheiro, Portuguese Folk Singer
- 1971 - Jorge Costa, Portuguese footballer
- 1970 - Jim Jackson, American basketball player
- 1970 - Daniela Peštová, Czech supermodel
- 1970 - Jon Seda, Puerto Rican actor
- 1970 - Pär Zetterberg, Swedish football player
- 1969 - Christophe Agou, French photographer
- 1969 - David Strickland, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1969 - P. J. Brown, American basketball player
- 1968 - Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer
- 1968 - Johnny Goudie, American musician
- 1967 - Savanna Samson, American porn star
- 1967 - Pat Kelly, American baseball player
- 1967 - Jason Plato, English Racing driver
- 1967 - Sylvain Lefebvre, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 - Stephen A. Smith, American sports journalist
- 1966 - Mark Nyman, English Scrabble player
- 1965 - Jüri Jaanson, Estonian rower
- 1965 - Constantine Koukias, Australian composer
- 1965 - Steve Coogan, English actor
- 1965 - Karyn White, American singer
- 1964 - Olu Oguibe, American artist
- 1964 - Joe Girardi, American baseball player and manager
- 1964 - Jim Rome, American sports talk show host
- 1964 - David Kaye, Canadian actor
- 1963 - Yim Jae-beom, South Korean singer
- 1963 - Lori Petty, American actress
- 1962 - Jaan Ehlvest, Estonian chess player
- 1961 - Isaac Mizrahi American fashion designer
- 1960 - Steve Cram, English athlete
- 1959 - A.J. Pero, American drummer (Twisted Sister)
- 1958 - Thomas Dolby, English musician
- 1958 - Aino-Maija Luukkonen, Finnish politician
- 1957 - Michel Després, Quebec politician
- 1954 - Carole Malone, English newspaper columnist
- 1953 - Shelley Ackerman, American astrologer
- 1953 - Greg Evigan, American actor
- 1952 - Nikolai Andrianov, Soviet gymnast
- 1952 - Harry Anderson, American actor
- 1950 - Joey Travolta, American actor
- 1949 - Katy Manning, English-born Australian actress
- 1949 - Katha Pollitt, American writer
- 1949 - Dave Schultz, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1948 - Engin Ar?k, Turkish nuclear physicist (d. 2007)
- 1948 - David Ruprecht, American game show host
- 1947 - Lukas Resetarits, Austrian cabaret artist
- 1947 - Norman Harris, American musician (The Trammps)
- 1946 - Justin Hayward, English musician (Moody Blues)
- 1946 - James Robert Kennedy, American football coach
- 1946 - Craig Venter, American biologist
- 1946 - Al Oliver, American baseball player
- 1946 - Dan McCafferty, Scottish musician (Nazareth)
- 1945 - Colin Hodgkinson, English musician (Whitesnake)
- 1944 - Udo Kier, German actor
- 1942 - Evelio Javier, Filipino politician and civil servant (d. 1986)
- 1941 - Art Shamsky, American baseball player
- 1941 - Jerry Glanville, American football coach
- 1940 - Perrie Mans, South African snooker player
- 1940 - Cliff Richard, English singer
- 1940 - Christopher Timothy, British actor
- 1939 - Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer
- 1939 - Rocky Thompson, American golfer
- 1938 - John W. Dean III, American Watergate figure
- 1938 - Empress Farah Diba of Iran
- 1938 - Ron Lancaster, American-born Canadian football player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1935 - La Monte Young, American composer
- 1932 - Anatoly Larkin, Russian-American physicist (d. 2005)
- 1932 - Enrico di Giuseppe, American tenor (d. 2005)
- 1932 - Dyanne Thorne, American actress
- 1931 - Nikhil Banerjee, Indian classical musician (d. 1986)
- 1930 - Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire (d. 1997)
- 1929 - Yvon Durelle, Canadian boxer (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Frank E. Resnik, American business executive (d. 1995)
- 1927 - Bill Justis, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982)
- 1927 - Roger Moore, English actor
- 1918 - Marcel Chaput, French Canadian politician (d. 1991)
- 1916 - C. Everett Koop, 13th United States Surgeon General
- 1914 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2006)
- 1914 - Dick Durrance, American skier (d. 2004)
- 1914 - Harry Brecheen, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1911 - Lê Ð?c Th?, Vietnamese general and politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1990)
- 1910 - John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1909 - Bernd Rosemeyer, German racecar driver (d. 1938)
- 1909 - Dorothy Kingsley, American screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1908 - Ruth Hale, American playwright and actress (d. 2003)
- 1907 - Allan Jones, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
- 1906 - Hannah Arendt, German political theorist and writer (d. 1975)
- 1906 - Imam Hassan al Banna, Egyptian religious figure (d. 1949)
- 1904 - Christian Pineau, French World War II resistance fighter (d. 1995)
- 1902 - Learco Guerra, Italian cyclist (d. 1963)
- 1894 - E. E. Cummings, American poet (d. 1962)
- 1893 - Lillian Gish, American actress (d. 1993)
- 1892 - Sumner Welles, American diplomat (d. 1961)
- 1890 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and 34th President of the United States (d. 1969)
- 1888 - Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand writer (d. 1923)
- 1882 - Eamon de Valera, Irish politician and patriot (d. 1975)
- 1882 - Charlie Parker, English cricketer (d. 1959)
- 1873 - Ray Ewry, American athlete (d. 1937)
- 1873 - Jules Rimet, French football administrator (d. 1954)
- 1869 - Joseph Duveen, British art dealer (d. 1939)
- 1861 - Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer (d. 1944)
- 1853 - Ciprian Porumbescu, Romanian composer (d. 1883)
- 1842 - Joe Start, American baseball player (d. 1927)
- 1840 - Dimitri Pisarev, Russian writer and social critic (d. 1868)
- 1806 - Preston King, U.S. Senator from New York (d. 1865)
- 1801 - Joseph Plateau, Belgian physicist (d. 1883)
- 1790 - Thursday October Christian (d. 1831)
- 1784 - King Ferdinand VII of Spain (d. 1833)
- 1733 - François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (d. 1798)
- 1726 - Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, English sailor and politician (d. 1813)
- 1712 - George Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1770)
- 1687 - Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician (d. 1768)
- 1644 - William Penn, English founder of Pennsylvania (d. 1718)
- 1643 - Emperor Bahadur Shah I of India (d. 1712)
- 1633 - James II of England and VII of Scotland (d. 1701)
- 1630 - Sophia of Hanover, Princess Palatine and Electress of Saxony (d. 1714)
- 1499 - Claude of France, wife of Francis I of France (d. 1524)
- 1493 - Shimazu Tadayoshi, Japanese warlord (d. 1568)
- 1404 - Marie of Anjou, queen of France (d. 1463)
- 1257 - King Przemysl II of Poland (d. 1296)