World | Australia He Wasn't Just a World Leader, He Held a Drinking Record Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke is dead at 89 By Newser Editors Posted May 16, 2019 11:35 AM CDT Copied Former Australian Prime Minster Bob Hawke, right, enjoys a drink while watching Australia and Pakistan during their cricket test match in Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) A former Australian prime minister by the name of Bob Hawke died Thursday, and the 89-year-old is getting due consideration for his four terms as prime minister from 1983 to 1991. But Hawke also has an unusual entry on his resume, especially for a world leader—he's in the Guinness record book for drinking. More specifically, Hawke put down 2.5 pints in 11 seconds in 1955, while a student at Oxford University, reports the AP. "This feat was to endear me to some of my fellow Australians more than anything else I ever achieved," Hawke wrote in his autobiography. In fact, a 2012 video of a then 82-year-old Hawke chugging a full beer at a cricket match is approaching 2 million views on YouTube. For a more standard roundup of Hawke as a politician—he focused on trade union issues— see this post at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which has big moments from his career. Read These Next Conan O'Brien finally speaks on deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner. Need a solid 'air hack'? Book your flight on this day. Trump aide gives punny response to Springsteen. Trump sets 10% tariff, then raises it. Report an error