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.
August 1st - holidays
- World Scout Day, anniversary of the first day of the Brownsea Island Camp in , where Robert Baden-Powell began scouting.
- August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army. (People's Republic of China)
- Armed Forces Day (Angola and Lebanon)
- Beginning of Autumn observances:
- Christian Feast Day Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
- Alphonso Maria de' Liguori
- Æthelwold of Winchester
- Eusebius of Vercelli
- Exuperius of Bayeux
- Felix of Girona
- Peter Apostle in Chains
- Earliest date on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
- Earliest date on which International Friendship Day can fall, celebrated on the first Sunday of August.
- Feast of Kamál (Perfection); First day of the eighth month of the Bahá'í calendar. (Bahá'í Faith)
- Liberation of Haile Selassie from slavery. (Rastafari movement)
- National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
- National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
- Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
- Statehood Day (Colorado)
- The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London)
- Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)
August 1st - events
- 2009 - A shooting attack at the Gay and Lesbian Association building in Tel-Aviv, Israel, results in the deaths of two people.
- 2007 - The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour.
- 2004 - A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 in Asunción, Paraguay.
- 2001 - An agreement is reached on the position of the minority Albanian language in the Republic of Macedonia.
- 2001 - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia join the European Environment Agency.
- 2001 - Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a Ten Commandments monument installed in the judiciary building, leading to a lawsuit to have it removed and his own removal from office.
- 1996 - Michael Johnson breaks the 200m world record by 0.30 seconds with a time of 19.32 seconds at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1995 - The first Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
- 1993 - The Great Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
- 1984 - Commercial peat-cutters discovers a the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, North West England.
- 1981 - MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.
- 1980 - Buttevant Rail Disaster kills 18 and injures dozens of train passengers in Ireland.
- 1980 - Vigdís Finnbogadóttir becomes the first democratically elected female head of state
- 1977 - Former Lockheed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers crashes the news helicopter he is flying in Los Angeles
- 1975 - CSCE Final Act creates the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
- 1968 - The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
- 1967 - Israel annexes East Jerusalem.
- 1966 - Charles Whitman kills 15 people at The University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
- 1966 - Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official People's Republic of China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1964 - The Belgian Congo is renamed the Republic of the Congo.
- 1960 - Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
- 1960 - Communist Party of Independence and Work is banned in Senegal.
- 1960 - Islamabad declared as the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
- 1957 - The United States and Canada form the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
- 1948 - The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations is founded.
- 1944 - Anne Frank makes the last entry in her diary.
- 1944 - Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
- 1941 - The first Jeep is produced.
- 1937 - Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
- 1927 - The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.
- 1914 - Germany declares war on Russia at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilises because of World War I
- 1907 - Start of First Scout camp on Brownsea Island.
- 1902 - The United States buys the rights to the Panama Canal from France.
- 1894 - The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
- 1876 - Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
- 1855 - First ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
- 1842 - Lombard Street Riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- 1840 - Labourer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated.
- 1838 - Non-labourer slaves in most of the British Empire are emancipated.
- 1834 - Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force.
- 1832 - The Black Hawk War ends.
- 1831 - A new London Bridge opens.
- 1828 - Bolton and Leigh Railway opens to freight traffic.
- 1820 - London's Regent's Canal opens.
- 1801 - First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
- 1800 - The Act of Union 1800 is passed in which merges the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1798 - French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay) – Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
- 1759 - Seven Years' War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
- 1664 - The Ottoman Empire is defeated in the Battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
- 1619 - First African slaves arrive in Jamestown, Virginia.
- 1498 - Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
- 1492 - Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile drive the Jews out of Spain.
- 1291 - The Swiss Confederation is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
- 1203 - Isaac II Angelus, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexius IV Angelus co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
- 902 - Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabid army.
- 607 - Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
- 527 - Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
- 69 - Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
- -30 - Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
August 1st - births
- 1999 - Khamani Griffin, American actor
- 1991 - Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
- 1990 - Jack O'Connell, English actor (Skins)
- 1989 - Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
- 1989 - Tiffany Hwang, Korean-American singer
- 1987 - Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
- 1987 - Rumi Hiiragi, Japanese actress
- 1986 - Lucas Simón, Argentine footballer
- 1986 - Anton Stralman, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1986 - Andrew Taylor, English footballer
- 1986 - Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
- 1985 - Adam Jones (baseball), American baseball player
- 1984 - Valery Ortiz, Puerto Rican actress
- 1984 - Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
- 1984 - Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
- 1983 - David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
- 1982 - Ai Tominaga, Japanese model and actress
- 1981 - Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
- 1981 - Ashley Parker Angel, North American singer and actor
- 1980 - Mancini, Brazilian footballer
- 1979 - Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
- 1979 - Jason Momoa, American actor
- 1979 - Honeysuckle Weeks, Welsh-born actress
- 1978 - Dhani Harrison, English musician
- 1978 - Edgerrin James, American football player
- 1978 - Andy Blignaut, Former Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1977 - Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Damien Saez, French musician, songwriter, and author
- 1977 - Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese professional wrestler and boxer
- 1976 - Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
- 1976 - Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
- 1976 - Hasan ?a?, Turkish footballer
- 1976 - Cristian Stoica, Romanian-born Italian rugby player
- 1975 - Teresa Mak, Hong Kong actress
- 1974 - Beckie Scott, Canadian cross-country skiing athlete
- 1973 - Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
- 1973 - Gregg Berhalter, American footballer
- 1973 - Tempestt Bledsoe, American actress
- 1973 - Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian athlete
- 1973 - Eduardo Noriega, Spanish actor
- 1972 - Devon Hughes, American professional wrestler
- 1972 - Nicke Royale, Swedish musician (The Hellacopters)
- 1972 - Tanya Reid, Canadian actress
- 1970 - David James, English footballer
- 1969 - Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player
- 1969 - David Wain, American actor
- 1969 - Graham Thorpe, Former England cricketer
- 1968 - Dan Donegan, American musician (Disturbed)
- 1968 - Stacey Augmon, American basketball player
- 1968 - Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player
- 1967 - Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player
- 1966 - James St. James, American author and nightlife personality
- 1965 - Sam Mendes, British stage and film director
- 1964 - Adam Duritz, American musician (Counting Crows)
- 1963 - Coolio, American rapper
- 1963 - Demián Bichir, Mexican actor
- 1963 - John Carroll Lynch, American actor
- 1963 - Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut
- 1963 - Lynette Sadleir, New Zealand Olympic synchronised swimmer
- 1963 - Dean Wareham, New Zealand musician (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean and Britta)
- 1962 - Jacob Matlala, South African boxer
- 1962 - Jesse Borrego, American actor
- 1960 - Chuck D, American activist and rapper (Public Enemy)
- 1960 - Richard Roeper, American columnist and film critic
- 1959 - Joe Elliott, English musician (Def Leppard)
- 1959 - Otomo Yoshihide, Japanese musician
- 1958 - Michael Penn, American singer and songwriter
- 1958 - Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player
- 1958 - Rob Buck, American musician (10,000 Maniacs) (d. 2000)
- 1958 - Tor Håkon Holte, Norwegian cross country skier
- 1956 - Tom Leykis, American radio personality
- 1955 - Trevor Berbick, Jamaican boxer (d. 2006)
- 1955 - Arun Lal, Former Indian cricketer
- 1954 - Benno Möhlmann, German footballer
- 1953 - Robert Cray, American singer
- 1953 - Howard Kurtz, American journalist
- 1952 - Zoran ?in?i?, Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
- 1952 - Yajurvindra Singh, Former Indian cricketer
- 1951 - Tommy Bolin, American musician (Deep Purple) (d. 1976)
- 1951 - Pete Mackanin, American baseball player
- 1950 - Jim Carroll, American poet and actor (d. 2009)
- 1950 - Bunkhouse Buck, American professional wrestler
- 1949 - Kurmanbek Bakiyev, President of Kyrgyzstan
- 1949 - Ray Nettles, professional football player (d. 2009)
- 1947 - Chris L. Barnard, Welsh footballer
- 1947 - Dennis Zine, Los Angeles city councilman
- 1946 - Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist
- 1946 - Boz Burrell, British musician (King Crimson, Bad Company) (d. 2006)
- 1945 - Douglas D. Osheroff, American physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1945 - Sandi Griffiths, American singer, The Lawrence Welk Show
- 1942 - Jerry Garcia, American musician (The Grateful Dead) (d. 1995)
- 1942 - André Gagnon, French Canadian pianist and composer
- 1942 - Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor
- 1941 - Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1940 - Mervyn Kitchen, Former Somerset cricketer and cricket international umpire
- 1940 - Ram Loevy, Israeli screenwriter and director
- 1937 - Al D'Amato, United States Senator from New York
- 1936 - W.D. Hamilton, British evolutionary biologist (d. 2000)
- 1936 - Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer (d. 2008)
- 1935 - Geoff Pullar, Former England cricketer
- 1934 - John Beck, Former New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
- 1933 - Dom DeLuise, American actor and comedian (d. 2009)
- 1933 - Jesse Corti, Venezuelan-born actor and comedian
- 1933 - Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player
- 1933 - Dušan T?eštík, Czech historian (d. 2007)
- 1932 - Meir Kahane, American founder of the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
- 1932 - Meena Kumari, Indian film actress (d. 1972)
- 1931 - Trevor Goddard, Former South African cricketer
- 1930 - Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (d. 2002)
- 1930 - Lionel Bart, English song-writer (d. 1999)
- 1930 - Julie Bovasso, American actor and writer (d. 1991)
- 1929 - Ann Calvello, Roller Derby queen (d. 2006)
- 1926 - Theo Adam, German bass-baritone
- 1925 - Ernst Jandl, Austrian writer (d. 2000)
- 1924 - Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-born physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1924 - Marcia Mae Jones, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1924 - Frank Worrell, Former West Indian cricketer (d. 1967)
- 1923 - Val Bettin, American voice actor
- 1921 - Jack Kramer, American tennis player (d. 2009)
- 1916 - Anne Hébert, French Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1916 - Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal
- 1914 - J. Lee Thompson, British film director (d. 2002)
- 1912 - Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1911 - Jackie Ormes, American cartoonist (d. 1985)
- 1910 - James Henry Govier, British artist (d. 1974)
- 1910 - Walter Scharf, American composer (d. 2003)
- 1910 - Mohammad Nissar, Indian cricketer (d. 1963)
- 1907 - Eric Shipton, British mountaineer (d. 1977)
- 1901 - Pancho Villa, Filipino world boxing champion (d. 1925)
- 1900 - Otto Nothling, Former Australian cricketer and rugby union footballer (d. 1965)
- 1894 - Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
- 1893 - King Alexander I of Greece (d. 1920)
- 1892 - Kinsan Ginsan, Japanese identical twins who lived to ages 107 and 108, respectively.
- 1891 - Karl Kobelt, Swiss politician (d. 1968)
- 1889 - Walter Gerlach, German physicist (d. 1979)
- 1885 - George de Hevesy, Hungarian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1966)
- 1881 - Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician (d. 1940)
- 1871 - John Lester, American cricketer (d. 1969)
- 1861 - Sammy Jones, Former Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
- 1858 - Hans Rott, Austrian composer (d. 1884)
- 1858 - Gaston Doumergue, French President (d. 1937)
- 1856 - George Coulthard, Former Australian rules footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
- 1843 - Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln; 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
- 1837 - Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, American labor organizer (d. 1930)
- 1819 - Herman Melville, American writer (d. 1891)
- 1818 - Maria Mitchell, American astronomer (d. 1889)
- 1815 - Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer, politician, and author (d. 1882)
- 1779 - Francis Scott Key, American lawyer and lyricist (d. 1843)
- 1779 - Lorenz Oken, German naturalist (d. 1851)
- 1770 - William Clark, American explorer (d. 1838)
- 1744 - Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French scientist (d. 1829)
- 1738 - Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
- 1714 - Richard Wilson, Welsh painter (d. 1782)
- 1713 - Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1780)
- 1630 - Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English statesman (d. 1673)
- 1626 - Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi, kabbalist, and founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement (d. 1676)
- 1579 - Luís Vélez de Guevara, Spanish writer (d. 1644)
- 1555 - Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
- 1545 - Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and religious reformer (d. 1622)
- 1377 - Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan (d. 1433)
- 1313 - Emperor K?gon of Japan (d. 1364)
- 126 - Pertinax, Roman Emperor (d. 193)
- -10 - Claudius, Roman Emperor (d. 54)