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 8th - holidays
- Earliest day on which Auditor's Day can fall, while September 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday in September. (Church of Scientology)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Feast of 'Izzat (Might) – First day of the tenth month of the Bahá'í calendar. (Bahá'í Faith)
- Independence day, celebrates the independence of Macedonia from Yugoslavia in 1991.
- International Literacy Day (International)
- National day, also the feast of Our Lady of Meritxell. (Andorra)
- Navy Day (Pakistan)
- The first day of Fiestas de Santa Fe, marked by the burning of the Zozobra (New Mexico)
- Victory Day, also the feast of Our Lady of Victories or il-Vittorja (Malta)
September 8th - events
- 2005 - Two EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft land at a disaster aid staging area at Little Rock Air Force Base; the first time Russia has flown such a mission to North America.
- 2004 - NASA's unmanned spacecraft Genesis crash-lands when its parachute fails to open.
- 1994 - USAir Flight 427, on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport, suddenly crashes in clear weather killing all 132 aboard; resulting in the most extensive aviation investigation in world history and altering manufacturing practices in the industry.
- 1991 - The Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
- 1975 - Gays in the military: US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "I Am A Homosexual". He is later given a general discharge.
- 1974 - Watergate Scandal: US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
- 1971 - In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated, with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.
- 1970 - Hijacking (and subsequent destruction) of three airliners to Jordan by Palestinians; the events to follow would later become known as Black September
- 1968 - The Beatles perform their last live TV performance on the David Frost show. They perform their new hit "Hey Jude".
- 1967 - The formal end of steam traction in the North East of England by British Railways.
- 1966 - The Severn Bridge is officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
- 1966 - The first Star Trek series premieres on NBC.
- 1962 - Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a Constitution.
- 1962 - Last run of the famous Pines Express over the Somerset and Dorset Railway line (UK) fittingly using the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, 9F locomotive 92220 Evening Star.
- 1960 - In Huntsville, Alabama, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already activated the facility on July 1).
- 1959 - The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is established.
- 1954 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.
- 1951 - Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War.
- 1945 - Cold War: United States troops arrive to partition the southern part of Korea in response to Soviet troops occupying the northern part of the peninsula a month earlier.
- 1944 - World War II: London is hit by a V2 rocket for the first time.
- 1944 - World War II: Menton is liberated from Germany.
- 1943 - World War II: The O.B.S. (German General Headquarters for the Mediterranean zone) in Frascati is bombed by USAAF.
- 1943 - World War II: United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly announces the Allied armistice with Italy.
- 1941 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins. German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union's second-largest city, Leningrad.
- 1935 - US Senator from Louisiana, Huey Long, nicknamed "Kingfish", is fatally shot in the Louisiana capitol building.
- 1934 - Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 135 people.
- 1930 - 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.
- 1926 - Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.
- 1923 - Honda Point Disaster: nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast. Seven are lost, and twenty-three sailors killed.
- 1921 - 16-year-old Margaret Gorman wins the Atlantic City Pageant's Golden Mermaid trophy; pageant officials later dubbed her the first Miss America.
- 1914 - World War I: Private Thomas Highgate becomes the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war.
- 1900 - Galveston Hurricane of 1900: a powerful hurricane hits Galveston, Texas killing about 8,000 people.
- 1892 - The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited.
- 1888 - In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
- 1888 - In England the first six Football League matches are played.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Sabine Pass – on the Texas-Louisiana border at the mouth of the Sabine River, a small Confederate force thwarts a Union invasion of Texas.
- 1831 - William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1810 - The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a six-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrives at the mouth of the Columbia River and Astor's men establish the fur-trading town of Astoria, Oregon.
- 1796 - French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Bassano – French forces defeat Austrian troops at Bassano del Grappa.
- 1793 - French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Hondschoote.
- 1761 - Marriage of King George III of the United Kingdom to Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
- 1756 - French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.
- 1755 - French and Indian War: Battle of Lake George.
- 1727 - A barn fire during a puppet show in the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire, England kills 78 people, many of whom are children.
- 1565 - Pedro Menéndez de Avilés settles St. Augustine, Florida.
- 1565 - The Knights of Malta lift the Turkish siege of Malta that began on May 18.
- 1551 - The foundation day in Vitória, Brazil
- 1514 - Battle of Orsha – in one of the biggest battles of the century, Lithuanians and Poles defeat the Russian army.
- 1504 - Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Florence.
- 1449 - Battle of Tumu Fortress – Mongolians capture the Chinese emperor.
- 1380 - Battle of Kulikovo – Russian forces defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols, stopping their advance.
- 1331 - Stephen Uroš IV Dušan declares himself king of Serbia
- 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz, guaranteeing Jews safety and personal liberties and giving battei din jurisdiction over Jewish matters, is promulgated by Boleslaus the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland.
- 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem.
September 8th - births
- 1997 - Kimberlea Berg, English actress
- 1996 - Krystal Reyes, Filipina actress
- 1990 - Matt Barkley, American football player
- 1989 - Gylfi Sigurdsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1988 - Arrelious Benn, American football player
- 1988 - Caitlin Hill, Australian internet personality
- 1988 - Chantal Jones, American fashion model
- 1988 - Gustav Schäfer, German drummer (Tokio Hotel)
- 1987 - Wiz Khalifa, American hip-hop artist
- 1987 - Alexandre Bilodeau, Canadian freestyle skier
- 1986 - João Moutinho, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 - Matt Grothe, American football player
- 1985 - Yendi Phillips, Jamaican beauty pageant contestant
- 1984 - Vitaly Petrov, Russian racing driver
- 1984 - Peter Whittingham, English footballer
- 1984 - Bobby Parnell, American baseball player
- 1983 - Wali Lundy, American football player
- 1983 - Diego Benaglio, Swiss footballer
- 1983 - Will Blalock, American basketball player
- 1983 - Chris Judd, Australian football player
- 1983 - Lewis Roberts-Thompson, Australian footballer
- 1981 - Morten Gamst Pedersen, Norwegian footballer
- 1981 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
- 1980 - Teruyuki Moniwa, Japanese footballer
- 1980 - Slim Thug, American rapper
- 1979 - Pink, American singer
- 1978 - Gerard Autet, Spanish footballer
- 1978 - Emanuele Ferraro, Italian footballer
- 1978 - Gil Meche, American baseball player
- 1978 - Angela Rawlings, Canadian-American author and performer
- 1977 - Jay McKee, Canadian hockey player
- 1976 - Sjeng Schalken, Dutch tennis player
- 1976 - Gerald Drummond and Jervis Drummond, Costa Rican footballers
- 1976 - Brendan Kelly, American musician (The Lawrence Arms)
- 1976 - Sarah Kucserka, American screenwriter
- 1975 - Richard Hughes, English musician (Keane)
- 1975 - Elena Likhovtseva, Russian tennis player
- 1975 - Larenz Tate, American actor
- 1975 - Lee Eul-Yong, South Korean footballer
- 1975 - Chris Latham, Australian rugby player
- 1974 - Braulio Luna, Mexican footballer
- 1974 - Tanaz Eshaghian, Iranian-born American documentarian
- 1973 - Khamis Al-Owairan, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1973 - Troy Sanders, American bassist and frontman of Mastodon
- 1972 - Markus Babbel, German footballer
- 1972 - Os du Randt, South African rugby player
- 1972 - Giovanni Frezza, Italian actor
- 1972 - Lisa Kennedy, American television personality
- 1972 - Tomokazu Seki, Japanese voice actor
- 1972 - Phil Laak, Irish-born American professional poker player
- 1971 - Brooke Burke, American model
- 1971 - Daniel Petrov, Bulgarian boxer
- 1971 - David Arquette, American actor
- 1971 - Martin Freeman, English actor
- 1971 - Pierre Sévigny, French-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971 - Dustin O'Halloran, American pianist and composer
- 1970 - Neko Case, American musician
- 1970 - Latrell Sprewell, American basketball player
- 1970 - Yuji Nishizawa, Japanese hijacker
- 1970 - Paul DiPietro, Canadian-born Swiss ice hockey player
- 1970 - Andy Ward, Irish rugby player
- 1969 - Gary Speed, Welsh footballer
- 1969 - Oswaldo Ibarra, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1969 - Lars Bohinen, Norwegian footballer
- 1969 - Chris Powell, English footballer
- 1967 - Kimberly Peirce, American film director
- 1966 - Peter Furler, Australian musician (Newsboys)
- 1966 - Carola, Swedish singer
- 1965 - Darlene Zschech, Australian Christian Singer
- 1964 - Michael Johns, American business executive
- 1964 - Scott Levy, American professional wrestler
- 1964 - Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian musician (d. 2000)
- 1963 - Li Ning, Chinese gymnast
- 1963 - Brad Silberling, American television and film director
- 1963 - Hitoshi Matsumoto, Japanese comedian
- 1962 - Sergio Casal, Spanish tennis player
- 1962 - Christopher Klim, American novelist
- 1962 - Thomas Kretschmann, German actor
- 1962 - Jay Ziskrout, American punk bassist ex-Bad Religion
- 1961 - Paul Zanetti, Australian political cartoonist
- 1960 - Stefano Casiraghi, Italian businessman; husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco (d. 1990)
- 1960 - Aimee Mann, American musician
- 1960 - David Steele, English musician
- 1960 - Aguri Suzuki, Japanese racing driver
- 1959 - Daler Nazarov, Tajik composer and actor
- 1959 - Carmen Campagne, Canadian singer and children's entertainer
- 1958 - Michael Lardie, American musician
- 1958 - Mitsuru Miyamoto, Japanese voice actor
- 1957 - Heather Thomas, American actress
- 1956 - Mick Brown, American drummer (Dokken)
- 1956 - Maurice Cheeks, American basketball player and coach
- 1956 - Frank Tovey, British musician (d. 2002)
- 1955 - Terry Tempest Williams, American author and environmentalist
- 1955 - Julian Richings, English-born Canadian actor
- 1954 - Mark Lindsay Chapman, English film and television actor
- 1954 - Anne Diamond, English television presenter
- 1954 - Mark Foley, American politician
- 1954 - Michael Shermer, American science writer
- 1954 - Giorgos Toussas, Greek politician
- 1953 - Pascal Greggory, French actor
- 1951 - Nikos Karvelas, Greek composer
- 1950 - Zachary Richard, American singer and songwriter
- 1950 - Mike Simpson, American politician
- 1948 - Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)
- 1948 - Great Kabuki, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1947 - Ann Beattie, American writer
- 1947 - Valery Afanassiev, Russian pianist
- 1947 - Benjamin Orr, American bassist and singer (The Cars) (d. 2000)
- 1947 - Halldor Asgrimsson, former Prime Minister of Iceland
- 1946 - L. C. Greenwood, American football player
- 1945 - Ron Pigpen McKernan, American musician (Grateful Dead) (d. 1973)
- 1945 - Rogie Vachon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1944 - Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer
- 1943 - Adelaide C. Eckardt, American politician
- 1942 - Brian Cole, American musician (The Association) (d. 1972)
- 1941 - Bernie Sanders, American politician
- 1940 - Quentin L. Cook, LDS apostle
- 1939 - Carsten Keller, German field hockey player
- 1939 - Guitar Shorty, American musician
- 1938 - Kenichi Horie, Japanese adventurer
- 1937 - Barbara Frum, Canadian news anchor (d. 1992)
- 1937 - Virna Lisi, Italian actress
- 1937 - Sam Nunn, American politician
- 1934 - Rodrigue Biron, Canadian politician
- 1934 - Peter Maxwell Davies, British composer
- 1933 - Asha Bhosle, Indian singer
- 1933 - Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician; father of Heidi Fleiss
- 1933 - Michael Frayn, British playwright
- 1933 - Eric Salzman, American composer
- 1932 - Patsy Cline, American singer (d. 1963)
- 1931 - John Garrett, British politician (d. 2007)
- 1930 - Mario Adorf, Swiss-born German actor
- 1930 - Nguyen Cao Ky, South Vietnamese politician
- 1930 - Robert W. Firestone, American clinical psychologist, author of a number of books about psychological defenses, and visual artist.
- 1929 - Christoph von Dohnanyi, German conductor
- 1929 - Roger Byrne, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1927 - Harlan Howard, American country music songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1925 - Peter Sellers, English actor (d. 1980)
- 1924 - Mimi Parent, Canadian painter (d. 2005)
- 1924 - Marie-Claire Kirkland, Quebec politician
- 1924 - Grace Metalious, American novelist (d. 1964)
- 1924 - Jean-Paul Cloutier, Quebec politician
- 1922 - Sid Caesar, American comedian
- 1922 - Lyndon LaRouche, American politician
- 1921 - Harry Secombe, Welsh entertainer (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Gianni Brera, Italian journalist and writer (d. 1992)
- 1918 - Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1915 - Frank Cady, American actor
- 1915 - Frank Pullen, English businessman and racehorse owner (d. 1992)
- 1914 - Sir Denys Lasdun, English architect (d. 2001)
- 1910 - Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (d. 1994)
- 1901 - Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, South African politician (d. 1966)
- 1897 - Jimmie Rodgers, American singer and composer (d. 1933)
- 1896 - Howard Dietz, American lyricist and librettist (d. 1983)
- 1895 - Sara García, Mexican actress (d. 1980)
- 1894 - John Samuel Bourque, Quebec politician (d. 1974)
- 1889 - Robert Alphonso Taft, American politician (d. 1953)
- 1887 - George, Crown Prince of Serbia (d. 1972)
- 1886 - Siegfried Sassoon, English poet (d. 1967)
- 1884 - Théodore Pilette, Belgian racing driver (d. 1921)
- 1881 - Harry Hillman, American athlete (d. 1945)
- 1873 - Alfred Jarry, French playwright (d. 1907)
- 1873 - David O. McKay, ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1970)
- 1857 - Georg Michaelis, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1936)
- 1852 - Emperor Gwangmu of Korea (d. 1919)
- 1846 - Catchick Paul Chater, Hong Kong businessman(d. May 27, 1926)
- 1841 - Antonín Dvo?ák, Czech composer (d. 1904)
- 1841 - Charles J. Guiteau, American assassin of James A. Garfield (d. 1882)
- 1830 - Frédéric Mistral, French poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
- 1828 - Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, American Civil War soldier (d. 1914)
- 1828 - Clarence Cook, American writer and art critic (d. 1900)
- 1824 - Jaime Nunó, Spanish composer (d. 1908)
- 1814 - Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, French writer and historian (d. 1874)
- 1804 - Eduard Mörike, German poet (d. 1875)
- 1783 - Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig, Danish writer and philosopher (d. 1872)
- 1778 - Clemens Brentano, German poet (d. 1842)
- 1767 - August von Schlegel, German poet (d. 1845)
- 1750 - Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Jamapese sumo wrestler, the 4th Yokozuna (d. 1795)
- 1749 - Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, French aristocrat (d. 1793)
- 1749 - Marie-Louise, princesse de Lamballe, Italian-born French aristocrat (d. 1792)
- 1742 - Ozias Humphrey, English artist (d. 1810)
- 1672 - Nicolas de Grigny, French organist and composer (d. 1703)
- 1633 - Ferdinand IV of Germany (d. 1654)
- 1621 - Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French general (d. 1686)
- 1611 - Johann Friedrich Gronovius, German classical scholar (d. 1671)
- 1588 - Marin Mersenne, French mathematician (d. 1648)
- 1515 - Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar (d. 1585)
- 1474 - Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (d. 1533)
- 1380 - Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (d. 1444)
- 1271 - Charles Martel of Anjou, son of Charles II of Naples (d. 1295)
- 1207 - King Sancho II of Portugal (d. 1248)
- 1157 - King Richard I of England (d. 1199)
- 828 - Ali al-Hadi, Shia Imam (d. 868)
- 801 - Ansgar, German Christian archbishop (d. 865)