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.
December 12th - holidays
- Virgin of Guadalupe Day (Mexico)
- Neutrality Day and Student Youth Day, celebrate the status of permanent positive neutrality recognized by the UN General Assembly Resolution on Permanent Neutrality of Turkmenistan on December 12, 1995 (Turkmenistan)
- Christian Feast Day
- Constitution Day, not a public holiday since 2005. (Russia)
- Feast of Masá'il ("Questions"), the first day of the 15th month of the Bahá'í calendar (Bahá'í Faith)
- Jamhuri Day, celebrate the independence of Kenya from Britain in 1963. (Kenya)
December 12th - events
- 2000 - The United States Supreme Court releases its decision in Bush v. Gore
- 1917 - In Nebraska, Father Edward J. Flanagan founds Boys Town as a farm village for wayward boys.
- 2006 - Peugeot produces its last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry.
- 2005 - Gebran Tueni, Lebanese journalist and politician, is assassinated.
- 2005 - The Young Turks (talk show), a liberal talk show, begins airing.
- 1991 - Russian Federation gains independence from the USSR.
- 1988 - The Clapham Junction rail crash kills thirty-five and injures hundreds after two collisions of three commuter trains – one of the worst train crashes in the United Kingdom.
- 1985 - Arrow Air Flight 1285 crashes after takeoff in Gander, Newfoundland killing 256, including 248 members of the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division.
- 1984 - Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya becomes the third president of Mauritania after a coup d'état against Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla while the latter was attending a summit.
- 1982 - Women's peace protest at Greenham Common – 30,000 women hold hands and form a human chain around the 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi) perimeter fence.
- 1979 - Coup d'état of December Twelfth: South Korean Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff General Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee.
- 1979 - President of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq, confers Nishan-e-Imtiaz on Nobel laureate Dr Abdus Salam.
- 1979 - Rhodesia changes its name to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
- 1979 - A major earthquake and tsunami kill 259 people in Colombia.
- 1969 - Strategy of tension: Piazza Fontana bombing – The offices of Banca Nazionale dell'Agricoltura in Piazza Fontana, Milan, are bombed.
- 1964 - Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta becomes the first President of the Republic of Kenya.
- 1963 - Kenya gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1958 - Guinea joins the United Nations.
- 1956 - Beginning of the Irish Republican Army's "Border Campaign".
- 1950 - Paula Ackerman, the first woman appointed to perform rabbinical functions in the United States, leads the congregation in her first services.
- 1948 - Malayan Emergency: Batang Kali Massacre – 14 members of the Scots Guards stationed in Malaysia allegedly massacre 24 unarmed civilians and set fire to the village.
- 1946 - A fire at a New York City ice plant spreads to a nearby tenement killing 37 people.
- 1942 - World War II: German troops begin Operation Winter Storm, an attempt to relieve encircled Axis forces during the Battle of Stalingrad.
- 1942 - A fire in a hostel in St. John's, Newfoundland kills 100 people.
- 1941 - World War II: Fifty four Japanese A6M Zero fighters raid Batangas Field, Philippines. Jesus Villamor and four Filipino fighter pilots fend them off; Cesar Basa is killed.
- 1941 - World War II: USMC F4F "Wildcats" sink the first 4 major Japanese ships off Wake Island.
- 1941 - World War II: UK declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
- 1941 - Adolf Hitler announces extermination of the Jews at a meeting in the Reich Chancellery
- 1940 - World War II: Approximately 70 people are killed in the Marples Hotel, Fitzalan Square, Sheffield as a result of a German air raid.
- 1939 - Winter War: Battle of Tolvajärvi – Finnish forces defeat those of the Soviet Union in their first major victory of the conflict.
- 1939 - HMS Duchess (H64) sinks after a collision with HMS Barham off the coast of Scotland with the loss of 124 men
- 1937 - Panay incident: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink US gunboat Panay on the Yangtze River in China.
- 1936 - Xi'an Incident: The Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek is kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang.
- 1935 - Lebensborn Project, a Nazi reproduction program, is founded by Heinrich Himmler.
- 1925 - The Majlis of Iran votes to crown Reza Khan as the new Shah of Persia.
- 1918 - Flag of Estonia is raised atop the Pikk Hermann for the first time.
- 1915 - President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai announces his intention to reinstate the monarchy and proclaim himself Emperor of China.
- 1911 - Delhi replaces Calcutta as the capital of India.
- 1911 - King George V of the United Kingdom and Mary of Teck are enthroned as Emperor and Empress of India.
- 1901 - Guglielmo Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio signal at Signal Hill in St John's, Newfoundland.
- 1897 - Belo Horizonte, the first planned city in Brazil, is founded.
- 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black U.S. congressman.
- 1862 - USS Cairo sinks on the Yazoo River, becoming the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
- 1787 - Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify the United States Constitution five days after Delaware became the first.
- 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Second Battle of Ushant – A Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt in HMS Victory, defeats a French fleet.
- 1531 - Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Seńora de Guadalupe.) An image appeared miraculously on the cloak of Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City.
- 1408 - The Order of the Dragon a monarchical chivalric order was created by Sigismund of Luxembourg, then King of Hungary.
- 1098 - First Crusade: Massacre of Ma'arrat al-Numan – Crusaders breach the town's walls and massacre about 20,000 inhabitants. After finding themselves with insufficient food, they resort to cannibalism.
- 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh.
December 12th - births
- 1915 - Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (d. 1998)
- 1991 - Daniel Magder, Canadian actor
- 1990 - Victor Moses, Nigerian-born British footballer
- 1990 - Seungri, Korean singer
- 1989 - Helen Flanagan, English actress
- 1988 - Ham Eun-jeong, Korean singer and actress
- 1986 - Perparim Hetemaj, Finnish footballer
- 1986 - Thomas Wansey, English actor
- 1986 - T. J. Ward, American football player
- 1985 - Chris Jennings, American football player
- 1985 - David Veikune, American football player
- 1984 - Daniel Agger, Danish footballer
- 1984 - Daniel Merrett, Australian Rules Football
- 1984 - Andy O'Neill, Brazilian Porn actor
- 1984 - Sohail Tanvir,Pakistani cricketer
- 1983 - Katrina Elam, American singer
- 1982 - Dmitry Tursunov, Russian tennis player
- 1982 - Ai Kato, Japanese actress
- 1981 - Ronnie Brown, American football player
- 1981 - Shane Costa, American baseball player
- 1981 - Pedro Ríos, Spanish footballer
- 1981 - Jeret Peterson, American aerial skier
- 1981 - Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1981 - Stephen Warnock, English footballer
- 1979 - Garrett Atkins, American baseball player
- 1979 - Nate Clements, American football player
- 1979 - Sharin Foo, Danish singer and bassist
- 1979 - John Salmons, American basketball player
- 1978 - Monica Barladeanu, Romanian actress
- 1978 - Louis (artist), Korean singer
- 1978 - Jennifer Rovero, American model
- 1977 - Nicole, Erica and Jaclyn Dahm, American triplet models
- 1977 - Bridget Hall, American supermodel
- 1977 - Orlando Hudson, American baseball player
- 1977 - Colin White, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Dan Hawkins, English guitarist (The Darkness)
- 1976 - Lloyd Owusu, English/Ghanaian football player
- 1975 - Mayim Bialik, American actress
- 1975 - Wesley Charles, Vincentian footballer
- 1975 - Craig Moore, Australian footballer
- 1974 - Nolberto Solano, Peruvian footballer
- 1973 - Walter Otta, Argentine footballer
- 1972 - Hank Williams III, American musician
- 1972 - Nicky Eaden, English footballer
- 1972 - Wilson Kipketer, Danish middle-distance runner
- 1972 - Kevin Parent, French Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1972 - Brandon Teena, American murder victim (d. 1993)
- 1972 - Yeoryios Theodoridis, Greek sprinter
- 1970 - Mädchen Amick, American actress
- 1970 - Jennifer Connelly, American actress
- 1970 - Regina Hall, American actress
- 1969 - Carrie Westcott, American model and actress
- 1968 - Kate Humble, English television presenter
- 1968 - Rory Kennedy, American documentarian
- 1968 - Laurie Williams, Jamaican cricketer (d. 2002)
- 1967 - Yuzo Koshiro, Japanese composer
- 1967 - Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Japanese composer
- 1967 - John Randle, American football player
- 1967 - Deke Sharon, American musician
- 1966 - Royce Gracie, Brazilian martial artist
- 1966 - Kouichi Nagano, Japanese voice actor
- 1966 - Último Dragón, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1965 - Will Carling, English rugby union footballer
- 1964 - Sabu, American professional wrestler
- 1964 - Haywood Jeffries, American football player
- 1963 - Ai Orikasa, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1962 - Tracy Austin, American tennis player
- 1962 - Mike Golic, American football player
- 1958 - Monica Attard, Australian journalist
- 1958 - Lucie Guay, Canadian canoer
- 1958 - Dag Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian musician
- 1958 - Sheree J. Wilson, American actress
- 1957 - Sheila E., American musician
- 1957 - Robert Lepage, French Canadian playwright
- 1957 - Susan Powter, Australian author and motivational speaker
- 1956 - Johan van der Velde, Dutch cyclist
- 1955 - Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek businesswoman
- 1955 - Eddy Schepers, Belgian cyclist
- 1954 - Liz Claman, American television anchor
- 1953 - Bruce Kulick, American guitarist (Kiss, Grand Funk Railroad)
- 1953 - Dave Meniketti, American guitarist
- 1952 - Brenton Broadstock, Australian composer and academic
- 1952 - Herb Dhaliwal, Canadian politician
- 1952 - Sarah Douglas, English actress
- 1952 - Cathy Rigby, American gymnast and actress
- 1950 - Rajnikanth, Indian actor
- 1950 - Billy Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1950 - Pedro Ferriz de Con, Mexican radio and TV news anchor
- 1949 - Bill Nighy, English actor
- 1948 - Tom Wilkinson, English actor
- 1946 - Emerson Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
- 1946 - Paula Wagner, American film executive
- 1945 - Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (d. 1997)
- 1944 - Kenneth Cranham, Scottish actor
- 1944 - Jean Doré, Canadian politician
- 1943 - Vassilis Alexakis, Greek-French writer
- 1943 - Dickey Betts, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1943 - Grover Washington, Jr., American saxophonist (d. 1999)
- 1942 - Peter Sarstedt, British musician
- 1940 - Sharad Pawar, Indian politician
- 1940 - Dionne Warwick, American singer
- 1940 - Frances Willard, American magician
- 1938 - Connie Francis, American singer
- 1937 - Buford Pusser, American law enforcement official (d. 1974)
- 1934 - Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, Mexican politician
- 1932 - Bob Pettit, American basketball player
- 1931 - Lionel Blair, English actor and choreographer
- 1930 - Bill Beutel, American journalist (d. 2006)
- 1929 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, Japanese musician
- 1929 - John Osborne, English dramatist (d. 1994)
- 1928 - Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-born Kyrgyz writer (d. 2008)
- 1927 - Robert Noyce, American inventor (d. 1990)
- 1925 - Vladimir Shainsky, Russian composer
- 1925 - Ahmad Shamlou, Iranian poet (d. 2000)
- 1924 - Ed Koch, American politician
- 1924 - Ray Cordeiro, Hong Kong radio personality
- 1924 - Robert Coogan, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1923 - Bob Barker, American television game show host
- 1923 - Bob Dorough, American jazz pianist/vocalist
- 1923 - Ken Kavanagh, Australian racing driver
- 1922 - Christian Dotremont, Belgian painter and writer (d. 1979)
- 1920 - Fred Kida, American comics artist
- 1919 - Olivia Barclay, English astrologer (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Dan DeCarlo, American cartoonist (d. 2001)
- 1918 - Joe Williams, American singer (d. 1999)
- 1917 - James Wall, American actor and stage manager (d. 2010)
- 1914 - Patrick O'Brian, English author (d. 2000)
- 1910 - Richard Sagrits, Estonian painter (d. 1968)
- 1909 - Karen Morley, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1909 - Hans Keilson, German-born Dutch writer and child psychologist
- 1908 - Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1993)
- 1907 - Roy Douglas, English composer and orchestrator
- 1905 - Mančs Sperber, Austrian writer (d. 1984)
- 1904 - Nicolas de Gunzburg, French magazine editor (d. 1981)
- 1903 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer (d. 1976)
- 1903 - Yasujir? Ozu, Japanese film director (d. 1963)
- 1902 - Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter (d. 2003)
- 1900 - Sammy Davis, Sr., American dancer (d. 1988)
- 1893 - Edward G. Robinson, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1892 - Milko Kos, Slovenian historian (d. 1972)
- 1892 - Herman Poto?nik, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929)
- 1887 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (d. 1974)
- 1876 - Alvin Kraenzlein, American athlete (d. 1928)
- 1875 - Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (d. 1953)
- 1870 - Walter Benona Sharp, American oil industry executive (d. 1912)
- 1866 - Alfred Werner, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1919)
- 1864 - Paul Elmer More, American essayist (d. 1937)
- 1863 - Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (d. 1944)
- 1862 - J. Bruce Ismay, British ocean liner executive and Titanic survivor (d. 1937)
- 1849 - William Kissam Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1920)
- 1845 - Bruce Price, American architect (d. 1903)
- 1821 - Gustave Flaubert, French writer (d. 1880)
- 1806 - Stand Watie, American Confederate general (d. 1871)
- 1805 - William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist (d. 1879)
- 1805 - Henry Wells, American banking executive (d. 1878)
- 1799 - Karl Briullov, Russian painter (d. 1852)
- 1792 - Alexander Ypsilantis, Greek prince (d. 1828)
- 1791 - Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria, wife of Napoleon (d. 1847)
- 1786 - William L. Marcy, American statesman (d. 1857)
- 1783 - Ner Alexander Middleswarth, American politician (d. 1865)
- 1779 - Madeleine Sophie Barat, French saint (d. 1865)
- 1745 - John Jay, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1829)
- 1724 - Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (d. 1816)
- 1712 - Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, Austrian military leader (d. 1780)
- 1659 - Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (d. 1739)
- 1610 - Saint Vasilije (d. 1671)
- 1574 - Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James I of England (d. 1619)
- 1418 - Albert VI of Austria (d. 1463)
- 1298 - Albert II of Austria (d. 1358)