1981

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s – 1980s – 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years:	1978 1979 1980 – 1981 – 1982 1983 1984

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Ancient Olympiads' not found.

1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday in the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January 20 – Hostages from the Iran hostage crisis are released at the same time when Ronald Reagan is inaugurated for the first time as President of the United States.
January 21 – The first DeLorean automotive is released in Northern Ireland.
January 27 – The Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas 2 catches fire and capsizes in the Java Sea, killing 580.
January 29 – Adolfo Suárez resigns as Prime Minister of Spain.
February 4 – Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.
February 8 – Polish Prime Minister Józef Pinkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.
February 14 – The Stardust Nightclub Fire in Dublin, Ireland kills 48 people in the deadliest fire in the country's history.
February 25 – Adolfo Suárez leaves his office as Prime Minister of Spain.
March 30 – Shortly after being inaugurated, John Hinckley, Jr. tries to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. He survives the attack.
May 11 – Jamaican singer Bob Marley dies from cancer at the age of 36.
July 9 - Donkey Kong, a Nintendo arcade game, was released in Japan
July 16 - Mahathir Mohamad becomes Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving until October 31, 2003.
July 29 – Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
September – Little Miss Bossy, the first book in the Little Miss series (the female counterpart to the Mr. Men series) is first published.
November 9 – Céline Dion's first album is released in Canada.

Births

January 15 - Pitbull , American rapper
January 17 - Ray J, American singer, record producer, and actor
January 20 - Miriam Rivera , Mexican model and television personality, died 2019
January 21 -
- Izabella Miko , Polish Actress, Model, Dancer
- Michel Teló , Brazilian singer, dancer and composer
January 22 -
- Willa Ford, American singer, songwriter, actress, and model
- Beverley Mitchell, American actress, singer, and model
- Ben Moody, American guitarist, vocalist, and composer, member of the band Evanescence
January 25 – Alicia Keys, American singer
January 28 – Elijah Wood, American actor
January 31 – Justin Timberlake, American singer and actor
February 11 – Kelly Rowland, American singer
February 17 -
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor
- Paris Hilton, American actress, model
February 24 – Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
March 3 – Justin Gabriel, South African professional wrestler
April 28 – Jessica Alba, actress
June 5 – Sebastien Lefebvre, Canadian Musician-Simple Plan
June 7 – Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
June 9 – Natalie Portman, Israeli actress
July 30 – Hope Solo, American goal keeper
August 8 – Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
September 4 – Beyoncé Knowles, American singer and actress
September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
September 23 - Natalie Horler , German singer
September 26 – Serena Williams, American tennis player
October 31 – Frank Iero MCR
December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
December 13 - Amy Lee , American singer, member of the band Evanescence
December 27 – Patrick Sharp, Canadian professional ice hockey player

Deaths

January

Harold Urey

Beulah Bondi

January 5 – Harold Urey, American physical chemist (b. 1893)
January 10 – Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
January 11 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1888)
January 16 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
January 23 – Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
January 25 – Adele Astaire, American dancer and entertainer (b. 1896)

February

Bill Haley

February 9 – Bill Haley, American rock and roll music pioneer (b. 1925)
February 18 – Ibrahim Abdel Hady Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1896)
February 26 - Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)

March

Max Delbrück

March 1 – Roberto Francisco Chiari Remon, 31st President of Panama (b. 1905)
March 4 – Torin Thatcher, British actor (b. 1905)
March 9 – Max Delbrück, German-American biophysicist (b. 1906)
March 22 – John S. McCain Jr., United States Navy admiral (b. 1911)

April

Error creating thumbnail:

Omar Bradley

Joe Louis

April 8 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
April 12 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)

May

Bob Marley

Error creating thumbnail:

Stefan Wyszyński

Error creating thumbnail:

Soong Ching-ling

Ziaur Rahman

Error creating thumbnail:

Giuseppe Pella

May 3 – Nargis, Indian actress (b. 1929)
May 11 – Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician (b. 1945)
May 18 – Arthur O'Connell, American actor, acting on stage, film and television (b. 1908)
May 28 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1901)
May 29 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese political figure and spouse of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1893)
May 30 – Sven Andersson, Swedish footballer (b. 1907)
May 30 – Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
May 31 – Gyula Lóránt, Hungarian footballer (b. 1923)
May 31 – Giuseppe Pella, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1902)

June

Terry Fox

June 9 – Allen Ludden, American game show host (b. 1917)
June 23 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1907)
June 28 – Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (b. 1958)

July

William Wyler

July 3 – Ross Martin, Polish-born American radio, stage, film and television actor (b. 1920)
July 7 – Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi, President of South Yemen (b. 1920)
July 27 – William Wyler, French-American director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1902)
July 29 – Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)

August

Melvyn Douglas

Béla Guttmann

Mohammad-Ali Rajai

August 1 – Paddy Chayefsky, American playwright, screenwriter and novelist (b. 1923)
August 4 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
August 28 – Béla Guttmann, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1899)
August 30 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, President of Iran (b. 1933)
August 30 – Mohammad Javad Bahonar, Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1933)
August 30 – Vera-Ellen, American actress (b. 1921)

September

Albert Speer

Robert Montgomery

Rómulo Betancourt

September 1 – Albert Speer, German architect (b. 1905)
September 8 – Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian guru (b. 1897)
September 23 – Chief Dan George, Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (b. 1899)
September 27 – Robert Montgomery, American actor (b. 1904)
September 28 – Rómulo Betancourt, 47th & 54th President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
September 29 – Bill Shankly, Scottish football manager (b. 1913)

October

Error creating thumbnail:

Gloria Grahame

Anwar Sadat

Moshe Dayan

October 5 - Gloria Grahame, American actress (b. 1923)
October 6 – Anwar Sadat, 3rd President of Egypt (b. 1918)
October 16 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915)
October 19 – Dan Coe, Romanian footballer (b. 1941)
October 24 - Edith Head, American costume designer (b. 1897)

November

William Holden

Natalie Wood

November 5 – Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa (b. 1924)
November 7 – Will Durant, American historian, philosopher and writer (b. 1885)
November 12 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
November 25 - Jack Albertson, American actor, singer, comedian, musician, and dancer (b. 1907)
November 29 – Natalie Wood, American actress (b. 1938)

December

Ferruccio Parri

December 8 – Ferruccio Parri, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1890)

Movies released

Hit songs

"The Tide Is High" – Blondie
"Celebration" – Kool & The Gang (2)
"9 To 5" – Dolly Parton (2)
"I Love A Rainy Night" – Eddie Rabbitt (2)
"Keep On Loving You" REO Speedwagon (1)
"Rapture" – Blondie (2)
"Kiss On My List" – Daryl Hall & John Oates (3)
"Morning Train (9 To 5)" – Sheena Easton
"Bette Davis Eyes" – Kim Carnes
"Stars On 45 Medley" – Stars On 45 (1)
"The One That You Love" – Air Supply (1)
"Jessie's Girl" – Rick Springfield
"Endless Love" – Diana Ross & Lionel Richie (9)
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" – Christopher Cross (3)
"Private Eyes" – Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Physical" – Olivia Newton-John

New books

Ill Seen Ill Said – Samuel Beckett
Arabian Nights and Days – Naguib Mahfouz
La Bicyclette Bleue (The Blue Bicycle) – Régine Deforges
Bliss – Peter Carey
Creation – Gore Vidal
Cujo – Stephen King
Distant Star – Samuel R. Delany
Famous Last Words – Timothy Findley
Flames Across the Border – Pierre Berton
Giants of the Ottawa Valley – Joan Finnegan
The Glitter Dome – Joseph Wambaugh
The Golden Age of Science Fiction – Kingsley Amis
Goodbye, Janette – Harold Robbins
Gorky Park – Martin Cruz Smith
Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving
An Indecent Obsession – Colleen McCullough
Licence Renewed – John Gardner
Little Miss – Roger Hargreaves
Masquerade – Kit Williams
Midnight's Children – Salman Rushdie
No Time for Tears – Cynthia Freeman
Noble House – James Clavell
Other People: A Mystery Story – Martin Amis
Red Dragon – Thomas Harris
Strata – Terry Pratchett
Tar Baby – Toni Morrison
The Third Deadly Sin – Lawrence Sanders

1981 Media

April 12: First Space Shuttle launch: Columbia, April 12, 1981
August 1, 1981: MTV cable network begins
November 1: Antigua and Barbuda.

1981 by topic
Arts, history, and science
Archaeology Architecture Art Literature Poetry Music Science
Countries

Lists of leaders
State leaders Colonial governors Religious leaders
Birth and death categories
Births Deaths
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Establishments Disestablishments
Works category
Works
v t e