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 12th - holidays
- Earliest date on which Programmers' Day can fall, while September 13 is the latest, celebrated on the 256th day of the year. (Russia and programmers around the world)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Commemoration of the mass hanging of the Saint Patrick's Battalion. (Mexico)
- Defenders Day (Maryland)
- National Day (Cape Verde)
- National Revolution Day (Ethiopia)
September 12th - events
- 2008 - The 2008 Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train kills 25 people.
- 2007 - Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada is convicted of the crime of plunder.
- 2005 - Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
- 2003 - The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
- 2003 - In Fallujah, US forces mistakenly shoot and kill eight Iraqi police officers.
- 2001 - Ansett Australia, Australia's first commercial interstate airline, collapses due to increased strain on the international airline industry, leaving 10,000 people unemployed.
- 1999 - Indonesia announces it will allow international peace-keepers into East Timor.
- 1994 - Frank Eugene Corder crashes a single-engine Cessna 150 into the White House's south lawn, striking the West wing and killing himself.
- 1992 - NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission. On board are Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spaceship, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.
- 1992 - Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Shining Path, is captured by Peruvian special forces; shortly thereafter the rest of Shining Path's leadership fell as well.
- 1990 - The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German re-unification.
- 1988 - Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica; it turns towards Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula 2 days later, causing an estimated $5 billion in damage.
- 1983 - A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros.
- 1983 - The USSR vetoes a UN Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet shooting down of a Korean civilian jetliner on September 1.
- 1980 - Military coup in Turkey.
- 1979 - Indonesia is hit with an earthquake that measures 8.1 on the Richter scale.
- 1977 - South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko is killed in police custody.
- 1974 - Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup by the Derg, ending a reign of 58 years.
- 1974 - Juventude Africana Amilcar Cabral is founded in Guinea-Bissau.
- 1970 - Palestinian terrorists blow up three hijacked airliners in Jordan, continuing to hold the passengers hostage in various undisclosed locations in Amman.
- 1966 - Gemini 11, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder (except for the Apollo lunar missions)
- 1964 - Canyonlands National Park is designated as a National Park.
- 1959 - Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color.
- 1959 - The Soviet Union launches a large rocket, Lunik II, at the moon.
- 1958 - Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit.
- 1952 - Strange occurrences, including a monster sighting, take place in Flatwoods, West Virginia.
- 1948 - Invasion of the State of Hyderabad by the Indian Army on the day after the Pakistani leader Jinnah's death.
- 1944 - World War II: The liberation of Serbia from Nazi Germany and the Chetniks continues. Bajina Bašta in western Serbia is among those liberated cities. Near Trier, American troops enter Germany for the first time.
- 1943 - World War II: Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, is rescued from house arrest on the Gran Sasso in Abruzzi, by German commando forces led by Otto Skorzeny.
- 1942 - World War II: RMS Laconia, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks with a heavy loss of life.
- 1942 - World War II: First day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge during the Guadalcanal campaign. U.S. Marines protecting Henderson Field on Guadalcanal are attacked by Imperial Japanese Army forces.
- 1940 - Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France.
- 1940 - An explosion at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, New Jersey kills 51 people and injures over 200.
- 1938 - Adolf Hitler demands autonomy and self-determination for the Germans of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
- 1933 - Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives the idea of the nuclear chain reaction.
- 1930 - Wilfred Rhodes ends his 1110-game first-class career by taking 5 for 95 for H.D.G. Leveson Gower's XI against the Australians.
- 1919 - Adolf Hitler joins the German Workers Party.
- 1910 - Premiere performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Munich (with a chorus of 852 singers and an orchestra of 171 players. Mahler's rehearsal assistant conductor was Bruno Walter)
- 1906 - The Newport Transporter Bridge is opened in Newport, South Wales by Viscount Tredegar.
- 1897 - Tirah Campaign: Battle of Saragarhi
- 1890 - Salisbury, Rhodesia, is founded.
- 1885 - Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, a world record scoreline in professional football.
- 1874 - The District of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada is founded.
- 1857 - The SS Central America sinks about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the San Francisco Gold Rush.
- 1848 - Switzerland becomes a Federal state.
- 1847 - Mexican-American War: the Battle of Chapultepec begins.
- 1846 - Elizabeth Barrett elopes with Robert Browning.
- 1814 - Battle of North Point: an American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812.
- 1683 - Austro-Ottoman War: Battle of Vienna – several European armies join forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire.
- 1609 - Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen.
- 1229 - The Aragonese army under the command of James I of Aragon disembarks at Santa Ponça, Majorca, with the purpose of conquering the island.
- 1213 - Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Battle of Muret.
- -490 - Battle of Marathon: The conventionally accepted date for the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians and their Plataean allies, defeat the first Persian invasion force of Greece.
September 12th - births
- 1988 - Amanda Jenssen, Swedish singer
- 1986 - Dimitrios Regas, Greek sprinter
- 1986 - Emmy Rossum, American actress and singer
- 1986 - Joanne Jackson, British swimmer
- 1984 - September, Swedish singer
- 1983 - Carly Smithson, Irish singer
- 1983 - Daniel Muir, football player
- 1983 - Sergio Parisse, Argentina-born Italian rugby player
- 1983 - Clayton Richard, American baseball player
- 1982 - Nana Ozaki, Japanese model
- 1982 - Zoran Planinic, Croatian basketball player
- 1981 - Alan Arruda, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 - Jennifer Hudson, American actress and singer
- 1981 - Staciana Stitts, American swimmer
- 1980 - Josef Vaší?ek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1980 - Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player
- 1980 - Sean Burroughs, American baseball player
- 1980 - Fernando Cesar de Souza, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 - Gus G., Greek guitarist (Firewind, Dream Evil)
- 1980 - Joe Loeffler, American musician (former bassist for Chevelle)
- 1978 - Elisabetta Canalis, Italian model and actress
- 1978 - Benjamin McKenzie, American actor
- 1978 - Ruben Studdard, American singer
- 1977 - Nathan Bracken, Australian cricketer
- 1977 - Grant Denyer, Australian television personality and TV Host
- 1977 - Jeff Irwin, American musician
- 1977 - James McCartney, British musician and son of ex-Beatle Paul McCartney
- 1977 - Idan Raichel, Israeli musician
- 1977 - David Thompson, English footballer
- 1976 - Bizzy Bone (Bryon Anthony McCane), American rapper, (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
- 1976 - Maciej ?urawski, Polish footballer
- 1974 - Caroline Aigle, First female French fighter pilot (d. 2007)
- 1974 - Nuno Valente, Portuguese footballer
- 1974 - Jennifer Nettles, American country singer, part of Sugarland
- 1973 - Darren Campbell, British athlete
- 1973 - Ki-Jana Carter, American football player
- 1973 - Martin Lapointe, Canadian hockey player
- 1973 - Paul Walker, American actor
- 1972 - Jason Statham, English actor
- 1970 - Nathan Larson, American guitarist and composer (Shudder To Think, Hot One)
- 1969 - Ángel Cabrera, Argentine golfer
- 1969 - James Frey, American writer
- 1969 - Shigeki Maruyama, Japanese golfer
- 1968 - Ler LaLonde, American guitarist (Primus)
- 1968 - Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian
- 1968 - Richard Snell, former South African cricketer
- 1967 - Pat Listach, American baseball player
- 1967 - Louis C.K., American stand-up comedian, writer, actor, producer and director
- 1966 - Darren E. Burrows, American actor
- 1966 - Ben Folds, American musician
- 1966 - Vezio Sacratini, Italian ice hockey player
- 1965 - Einstein Kristiansen, Norwegian cartoonist, designer and TV host
- 1965 - John Norwood Fisher, American musician
- 1965 - Vernon Maxwell, American basketball player
- 1964 - Dieter Hecking, German footballer
- 1963 - Paul Bellini, Canadian screenwriter, comedian
- 1962 - Dino Merlin, Bosnian singer
- 1962 - Amy Yasbeck, American actress
- 1961 - Mylène Farmer, French singer and songwriter
- 1961 - Kathem Al Saher, Iraqi singer
- 1960 - Stefanos Korkolis, Greek songwriter and pianist
- 1959 - Scott Brown, United States senator from Massachusetts
- 1958 - Wilfredo Benitez, American boxer
- 1957 - Rachel Ward, English actress
- 1957 - Hans Zimmer, German composer
- 1956 - Barry Andrews, British musician
- 1956 - Sam Brownback, American politician
- 1956 - Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (???), Hong Kong artist, singer, actor, director (d. 2003)
- 1956 - Ricky Rudd, American race car driver
- 1956 - Walter Woon, law professor and former Nominated Member of Parliament and Attorney-General of Singapore
- 1955 - Peter Scolari, American actor
- 1954 - Adrian Adonis, American professional wrestler (d. 1988)
- 1952 - Gerry Beckley, American musician (America)
- 1952 - Neil Peart, Canadian drummer and author (Rush)
- 1951 - Bertie Ahern, Irish politician
- 1951 - Norm Dubé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1951 - Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby union player (d. 2007)
- 1951 - Joe Pantoliano, American actor
- 1951 - Gerald Stano, American serial killer (d. 1998)
- 1950 - Mike Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1950 - Marguerite Blais, Canadian journalist, radio host and politician
- 1950 - Gustav Brunner, Austrian engineer
- 1949 - Irina Rodnina, Russian figure skater
- 1948 - Luis Lima, Argentinian tenor
- 1947 - Bjørn Floberg, Norwegian actor
- 1944 - Leonard Peltier, American activist
- 1944 - Barry White, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1943 - Maria Muldaur, American singer
- 1943 - Michael Ondaatje, Sri Lankan-born writer
- 1942 - Michel Drucker, French journalist and television host
- 1942 - François Tavenas, Canadian academic (d. 2004)
- 1940 - Linda Gray, American actress
- 1940 - Mickey Lolich, American baseball player
- 1940 - Patrick Mower, English actor
- 1939 - Henry Waxman, American politician
- 1938 - Claude Ruel, French Canadian ice hockey coach
- 1937 - George Chuvalo, Canadian boxer
- 1934 - Glenn Davis, American athlete (d. 2009)
- 1934 - Jaegwon Kim, Korean-born American philosopher
- 1933 - Tatiana Doronina, Russian actress
- 1931 - Sir Ian Holm, English actor
- 1931 - George Jones, American singer
- 1928 - Ernie Vandeweghe, Former football,basketball,and baseball player
- 1927 - Mathé Altéry, French singer
- 1925 - Stan Lopata, American baseball player
- 1922 - Ellen Demming, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1922 - Mark Rosenzweig, American brain researcher (d. 2009)
- 1921 - Stanis?aw Lem, Polish writer (d. 2006)
- 1917 - Pierre Sévigny, Canadian politician (d. 2004)
- 1916 - Tony Bettenhausen, American race car driver (d. 1961)
- 1915 - Frank McGee, American journalist (d. 1974)
- 1914 - Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh actor (d. 1999)
- 1914 - Rais Amrohvi, Pakistani poet and psychoanalyst (d. 1988)
- 1913 - Jesse Owens, American athlete (d. 1980)
- 1913 - Eiji Toyoda, Japanese industrialist
- 1909 - Donald MacDonald, O.C., LL.D. former president of the Canadian Labour Congress and politician (d. 1986)
- 1907 - Louis MacNeice, Irish poet (d. 1963)
- 1902 - Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, President of Brazil (d. 1976)
- 1901 - Ben Blue, Canadian actor and comedian (d. 1975)
- 1901 - Shmuel Horowitz, Russian-born Israeli agronomist (d. 1999)
- 1898 - Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (d. 1963)
- 1898 - Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-born American artist (d. 1969)
- 1897 - Irene Joliot-Curie, French physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 1956)
- 1895 - Freymóður Jóhannsson, Icelandic artist (d. 1973)
- 1892 - Alfred A. Knopf, American publisher (d. 1984)
- 1891 - Pedro Albizu Campos, advocate for Puerto Rican independence (d. 1965)
- 1888 - Maurice Chevalier, French singer and actor (d. 1972)
- 1880 - H. L. Mencken, American journalist and author (d. 1956)
- 1875 - Matsunosuke Onoe, Japanese actor (d. 1926)
- 1855 - Simon-Napoléon Parent, Canadian politician (d. 1920)
- 1852 - H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1928)
- 1830 - William Sprague IV, American politician (d.1915)
- 1818 - Richard Gatling, American weapons inventor (d. 1903)
- 1812 - Richard Hoe, American inventor and industrialist (d. 1886)
- 1797 - Samuel Joseph May, American Abolitionist (d. 1871)
- 1740 - Johann Heinrich Jung, German author (d. 1817)
- 1725 - Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer (d. 1792)
- 1690 - Peter Dens, Flemish Catholic theologian (d. 1775)
- 1688 - Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (d. 1731)
- 1605 - William Dugdale, English antiquarian (d. 1686)
- 1575 - Henry Hudson, English explorer (d. 1611)
- 1494 - King Francis I of France (d. 1547)
- 1492 - Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (d. 1519)