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

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.

Thursday 21:

Pierre Mauroy becomes Prime Minister of France.

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).

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.

Tuesday 16:

Ken Taylor honoured for helping six Americans escape from Iran during hostage crisis

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.

Friday 17:

Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby killing 114.

Monday 20:

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

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.

Wednesday 05:

Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

Friday 07:

1981 -The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.

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.

Monday 24:

Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.

September 1981

Friday 11:

The Pee-wee Herman Show airs as a special on HBO.

Saturday 19:

Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel reunite for a free concert in New York's Central Park

Sunday 20:

A coup d'état in the Central African Republic overthrows President David Dacko.

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.

Monday 05:

Raoul Wallenberg becomes an honorary U.S. citizen.

Wednesday 14:

Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated.

Thursday 15:

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

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 16:

Luke and Laura marry on General Hospital; it is the highest-rated hour in daytime television history.

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 04:

South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).

Sunday 13:

General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland

Monday 28:

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

Wednesday 30:

Wayne Gretzky scores his 50th goal in 39 games, an NHL record to this day.