1981

Years: 1978 1979 1980 - 1981 - 1982 1983 1984
Decades: 1950s 1960s 1970s - 1980s - 1990s 2000s 2010s
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century 1981 in aviation 1981 in film 1981 in literature 1981 in music 1981 in sports 1981 in television 1981 state leaders 1981 religious leaders 1981 international organization leaders

Events

Thursday, January 1, 1981 - Greece enters the European Community
Thursday, January 1, 1981 - Palau becomes self-governing
Monday, January 19, 1981 - United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity
Tuesday, January 20, 1981 - Ronald Reagan succeeds Jimmy Carter as President of the United States of America
Tuesday, January 20, 1981 - Minutes after Ronald Reagan becomes president, Iran releases 52 American hostages that had been held captive for 444 days

Friday, March 6, 1981 - After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
Thursday, March 19, 1981 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Sunday, March 29, 1981 - First running of the London Marathon
Monday, March 30, 1981 - President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr., whose family had connections with the vice president. Two police officers and James Brady are also wounded.

Wednesday, May 6, 1981 - A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
Wednesday, May 13, 1981 - Pope John Paul II is shot at and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, as he entered St. Peter's Square in Rome to address a general audience. (Two days after Christmas in 1983, Pope John Paul went to the prison to meet and forgive his would-be assassin)
Thursday, May 21, 1981 - In France, socialist François Mitterrand becomes president of the Republic.
Monday, May 25, 1981 - In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Saturday, May 30, 1981 - Bangladesh President Ziaur Rahman assassinated in Chittagong.

Wednesday, August 5, 1981 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
Friday, August 7, 1981 - The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
Wednesday, August 19, 1981 - Gulf of Sidra incident (1981). Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi sends two Sukoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two US fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets destroyed the Libyan fighters.

Tuesday, October 6, 1981 - Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a parade by army members who were part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization, who opposed his negotiations with Israel
Wednesday, October 14, 1981 - Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated.
Wednesday, October 21, 1981 - Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.

Tuesday, December 1, 1981 - A Yugoslavian DC-9 crashes into a mountain while approaching Ajaccio Airport in Corsica killing 178.
Friday, December 4, 1981 - South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).
Sunday, December 13, 1981 - Wojciech Jaruzelski declares the state of martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity
Tuesday, December 15, 1981 - A car bomb destroys the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 61 people. This is the first modern suicide bombing. Syrian intelligence is blamed.
Monday, December 28, 1981 - The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born (Norfolk, Virginia).

US President Ronald Reagan appoints the first female US Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor
The Pac-Man video game is introduced in the US
IBM PC released
Millenium Renactment of the translation of Saint Edward the Martyr's relics from Wareham to Shaftesbury
Mauritania abolishes the institution of slavery.