1981 - What happened in 1981 ?

January 1981

Thursday 01:

The Republic of Palau achieves self-government; it is not yet independent from the United States of America.

Friday 02:

Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, is arrested.

Monday 19:

United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.

Tuesday 20:

Iran releases 52 American hostages bare minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. president.

Sunday 25:

Super Bowl XV: The Oakland Raiders defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10.

February 1981

Tuesday 10:

A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino kills eight and injures 198.

Wednesday 11:

100,000 gallons (380 m³) of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 8 workers

Monday 23:

23-F, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.

Tuesday 24:

Jean Harris is convicted of murdering Dr. Herman Tarnower, the author of the bestselling The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet.

March 1981

Thursday 05:

Cannibal Alferd Packer pardoned posthumously.

Friday 06:

After 19 years presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.

Thursday 19:

Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Sunday 29:

First running of the London Marathon

Monday 30:

President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., family friend of the Vice President.

April 1981

Saturday 11:

A massive riot in Brixton, South London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.

Sunday 12:

1989 - T.V Show Fast Forward starts on The ATN-7 Network (Australia)

Tuesday 14:

The Space Shuttle Columbia passes its first test flight.

Saturday 18:

A Minor League baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island becomes the longest professional baseball game in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning was not played until June 23rd).

Monday 27:

Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.

May 1981

Wednesday 06:

A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.

Monday 11:

Death of Reggae legend Bob Marley.

Wednesday 13:

Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Sunday 24:

First International Women's Day for Disarmament

Monday 25:

In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

June 1981

Friday 05:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California, have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (these were the first recognized cases of AIDS).

Saturday 06:

A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati river. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the actual figure is closer to 1,000 killed.

Sunday 07:

The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor.

Friday 12:

Major League Baseball players begin a 49 day strike over the issue of free-agent compensation.

Wednesday 24:

For what would be the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 17 years, the Humber Bridge, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, opens.

July 1981

Thursday 09:

Movement for the Labour Party (LD-MPT) legally recognized.

Tuesday 14:

MCLN bombs a popular cinema in Bangui, Central African Republic. Afterwards a declaration is issued, demanding withdrawal of French troops from the country.

Monday 20:

The United States suspends sales of F-16 fighter jets to Israel.

Monday 27:

British television: On Coronation Street, Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton, which proves to be a national event, with massive viewer numbers earned for the show.

Wednesday 29:

Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.

August 1981

Saturday 01:

First broadcasts by MTV. The first video played was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by the Buggles.

Monday 10:

The head of John Walsh's son Adam is found in Hollywood, Florida. This event will later prompt the U.S. Congress to pass the Missing Children's Act, giving the Federal Bureau of Investigation greater authority to track the disappearance of children. It also makes Walsh a national spokesman against crime and eventually leads to the establishment of America's Most Wanted.

Wednesday 12:

The IBM PC, an early personal computer, is introduced

Wednesday 19:

Gulf of Sidra Incident: Two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets intercept United States fighters over the Gulf of Sidra and are destroyed by them.

Friday 28:

The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of Pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. Soon, these will be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.

September 1981

Tuesday 15:

The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, DC.

Wednesday 16:

Sugar Ray Leonard defeats Thomas Hearns by a knockout in round 14 in Las Vegas to unify boxing's world Welterweight championship.

Monday 21:

Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.

Wednesday 23:

Jack Henry Abbott, best-selling author, is arrested for murder.

Saturday 26:

Baseball: Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter.

October 1981

Saturday 03:

The Hunger Strike by Irish Republican Army prisoners at the Maze jail in Belfast ends after seven months and 10 deaths.

Tuesday 06:

Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated.

Thursday 15:

Professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson leads what is thought to be the first audience wave in Oakland, California.

Thursday 22:

The United States Federal Labor Relations Authority votes to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for its strike the previous August.

Tuesday 27:

The Soviet submarine U 137 runs aground on the east coast of Sweden.

November 1981

Sunday 01:

Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.

Friday 13:

The first Friday the 13th event held by motorcyclists in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada.

Monday 23:

Iran-Contra scandal: Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), giving the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.

Sunday 29:

Off Santa Catalina Island, 43-year-old actress Natalie Wood drowns during a boating accident.

Monday 30:

Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe (the meetings ended inconclusively on December 17).

December 1981

Tuesday 01:

A Yugoslavian Inex Adria Aviopromet DC-9 crashes in Corsica killing 178.

Friday 11:

The Salvadoran armed forces massacre 900 villagers in the El Mozote massacre

Saturday 12:

The Chaos Computer Club was founded in Berlin.

Thursday 17:

U.S. army officer James Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy

Monday 28:

The HBO pay cable television service expanded its schedule offering to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.