1981 CE

Ronald Reagan is shot after leaving a hotel; Pope John Paul II is wounded in an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square; Anwar Sadat is assassinated in Cairo; the 1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing kills 8 Iranian officials; the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse in Kansas City kills 114; MTV launches; STS-1 sends the Space Shuttle Columbia on its first flight; Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer get married; and the IBM Personal Computer debut.

In the 1980s, the 20th century.

1981 at a glance

World population: about 4.53 billion Our World in Data
United States: Jimmy Carter, then Ronald Reagan (President) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
United Kingdom: Elizabeth II (Queen); Margaret Thatcher (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
Soviet Union: Leonid Brezhnev (General Secretary); Leonid Brezhnev (Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet); Nikolai Tikhonov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
People's Republic of China: Hua Guofeng, then Hu Yaobang (Chairman); Deng Xiaoping (Paramount Leader); Ye Jianying (NPC Standing Committee Chairman) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
France: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, then François Mitterrand (President); Raymond Barre, then Pierre Mauroy (Prime minister) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
East Germany: Erich Honecker (Chairmen of the State Council); Willi Stoph (Chairman) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
West Germany: Karl Carstens (President); Helmut Schmidt (Chancellor) Wikipedia rev. 1371751893
$1 in 1981: $3.71 in September 2026 dollars BLS CPI-U
Gallon of gas (U.S. average): $1.38 ($4.48 in September 2026) BLS
Most weeks at No. 1 in 1981: “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes; “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie, 9 weeks each Wikipedia rev. 1378862615

Who led every country in 1981 →Born in 1981? What it cost, who led, what was No. 1 →

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 1 – Palau becomes a self-governing territory.source
1 January – Greece joins European Communities.Greece source
January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis.source
February 4 – Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.source
February 9 – Polish Prime Minister Józef Pińkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.source
March 11 – Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet is sworn in as President of Chile for another 8-year term.source
13 March: The Israeli government expropriates several hundred acres of land in the West Bank for the purposes of expanding the settlement of Shavei Shomron.Palestine source
April 12 – The National Constitution Drafting Commission is formed, chaired by Amos Sawyer, with the goal of producing a new constitution.Liberia source
April 26 – French presidential election: A first-round runoff results between Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterrand.source
May 6 - Citing Libya's support of international terrorism, the United States ordered the closure of the Libyan Embassy in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Ali Houderi was summoned to the U.S. State Department, and told to withdraw the 27 diplomats and their families within one week. The U.S. Embassy in Libya had closed in 1980. Diplomatic relations were restored in 2004.Libya source
May 21 – François Mitterrand becomes the first socialist President of the French Fifth Republic.source
24 May – AKEL and the Democratic Rally both won 12 of the 35 seats in the parliament in parliamentary elections. Voter turnout was 95.7%.Cyprus source
May 25 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created among Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.source
June 18 – The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is founded.source
June 22 – Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr is deposed.source
July 7 – United States President Ronald Reagan nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.source
July 10 – Mahathir Mohamad becomes the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia.source
September 1 – Gregorio Conrado Álvarez is inaugurated as a military de facto President of Uruguay.source
September 18 – France's National Assembly votes to abolish Capital punishment in France.source
September 21 – Belize, formerly British Honduras, gains its independence from the United Kingdom.source
September 25 – Sandra Day O'Connor takes her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.source
October 5 – Raoul Wallenberg posthumously becomes an honorary citizen of the United States.source
October 21 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.source
October 22 – The founding congress of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Organization faction led by Hareram Sharma and D. P. Singh begins.source
October 26 – Urho Kekkonen, the 8th President of Finland, resigns after being the longest-serving Finnish president since 1956.source
November 1 – Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from the United Kingdom.source
November 9 – Slavery in Mauritania is abolished by Edict No. 81-234.source
Cambodia by Kim Wilde was releasedCambodia source
December 4 – South Africa grants Ciskei independence, not recognized outside South Africa.source
December 10 – During the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, Spain signs the Protocol of Accession to NATO.source
December 28 – Rwandan parliamentary election, 1981Rwanda source
Sri Lanka obtains Full Member status of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1981, making them the eighth Test playing nation.Sri Lanka source

Conflict & Security

5 January – For the first time since Iraq had invaded its territory in September, Iran launched a counterattack, concentrating its armies at Sousangerd. After 18 months, Iraqi forces had been driven out of Iran, which then began a drive toward capturing Iraqi territory. The war would continue until 1988.Iraq source
January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments.source
February 23 – 1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt ("23-F"): Antonio Tejero, with members of the Guardia Civil, enters the Spanish Congress of Deputies and stops the session where Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo is about to be named president of the government. The coup fails after being denounced by King Juan Carlos.source
March 1 – 1981 Irish hunger strike: Bobby Sands, a Provisional Irish Republican Army member, begins a hunger strike for political status at HM Prison Maze (Long Kesh) in Northern Ireland, dying on May 5, the first of 7 IRA and 3 INLA hunger strikers to die.source
March 30 – Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan: U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.source
April 3 - After two days, the attempted coup d'état was put down as thousands of troops took back control of Bangkok without a fight. Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda had taken King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the royal family with him to the city of Korat after General Sant Chipatima had seized control on Wednesday.Thailand source
April 11 – 1981 Brixton riot: Rioters in south London, UK, throw petrol bombs, attack police and loot shops.source
April 12 – The first National Redemption Day is celebrated, with Foreign Minister Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh giving a speech celebrating the anniversary of the 1980 coup.Liberia source
April 21 - Soldiers of the Army of Guatemala entered the village of Acul, near Santa Maria Nebaj in the Guatemalan highlands, and executed most of the adult men for suspected collaboration with leftist guerillas. "Within two weeks," an investigator for the government noted in 1997, "the village was empty, and the army burned every house and field of corn in Acul". The village was rebuilt two years later.Guatemala source
May 13 – Pope John Paul II assassination attempt: Pope John Paul II is shot by Mehmet Ali Ağca, a Turkish gunman, as he enters St. Peter's Square in Vatican City to address a general audience. The Pope recovers.source
June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first film of the Indiana Jones franchise is released in theaters in the United States.source
July 3 – The Toxteth riots in Liverpool, England, start after a mob prevents a youth from being arrested. Shortly afterward, the Chapeltown riots in Leeds start amid increased racial tension.source
July 10 – 1981 Handsworth riots in Birmingham begin, followed by further 1981 England riots in several urban areas including Liverpool and Leeds.source
July 17 – Lebanese Civil War: Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut, destroying multi-story apartment blocks containing the offices of PLO-associated groups, killing approximately 300 civilians and resulting in worldwide condemnation and a U.S. embargo on the export of aircraft to Israel.source
August 19 – Gulf of Sidra incident: Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two U.S. Navy fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The U.S. jets destroy the Libyan fighters.source
August 23 – South African troops attack SWAPO bases in Xangongo and Ongiva, Angola, during Operation Protea.source
August 31 – A bomb explodes at the United States Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, injuring 20 people.source
September 4–12. Major Soviet military exercise Zapad’81 (West’81) takes place in Belarus and the Baltic States.Poland source
September 7 – British plantation company Guthrie is taken over by the Malaysian government after successfully purchasing shares to become the major shareholder. This is famously called the 'Dawn Raid attack'.source
September 27–29 – Iran–Iraq War: Iranian forces break the Siege of Abadan in Operation Samen-ol-A'emeh.source
October 14 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat during a parade, by servicemen who belong to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization led by Khalid Islambouli and oppose his negotiations with Israel.source
29 October - withdrawal of Libyan forces from Chadian territory, completed by 16 November. The Libyans were to be replaced by an OAU Inter-African Force (IAF).Libya source
November 23 – Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.source
November 25–26 – 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt: A group of mercenaries led by Mike Hoare take over Mahe airport. Most of them escape by a commandeered Air India passenger jet; six are later arrested.source
2 December: The December 1981 Gaza general strike breaks out as part of the protests against the Civil Administration, sparked by the Israeli government's decision to appoint General Yosef Luntz as the head of the Civil Administration in Gaza.Palestine source
December 11 – Boxing: Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick; this proves to be Ali's last-ever fight.source
December 11 – El Mozote massacre: In El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians.source
December 13 – Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland, to prevent the dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.source
December 31 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the PNDC led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.source
Ali Duba is promoted to Syrian military general.Syria source

Exploration & Expansion

10 February – Townsville International Airport opens in TownsvilleAustralia source
July 19 – The 1981 Springbok Tour commences in New Zealand, amid controversy over the support of apartheid.source
July 21 – Panda Tohui is born in Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, the first panda to ever be born and survive in captivity outside of China.source
24 July – American mediator Philip Habib brokered a cease-fire between Israel and the PLO, temporarily halting the Lebanese Civil War.Israel source
July – Passports reintroduced for New Zealanders travelling to Australia. The Australian Royal Commission of Inquiry into Drugs says the exemption was exploited; travel had not required passports following the 1972 Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement.New Zealand source
September 1 – The Spanish writer Corín Tellado visits the country.Chile source
October 14–21. A delegation of Solidarity visits France.Poland source
December 7 – Rotary International charters the Rotary Club of Grand Baie, Mauritius.source
Marylebone Cricket Club cricket team visited Bangladesh and played a number of friendly matches with the Bangladesh team.Bangladesh source
The Netherlands men's national field hockey team are victorious at the 1981 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy in Karachi, Pakistan.Netherlands source
The England cricket team tours Sri Lanka in February 1982. The tour included two One Day International (ODI) matches and one Test match.Sri Lanka source

Religion & Belief

January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican.source
February 17–22 – Pope John Paul II visits the Philippines.source
February 17–22 – First papal visit of Pope John Paul II in the country; during the visit, he beatified Lorenzo Ruiz.Philippines source
April 2–6. First council of Independent Students’ Association takes place in Kraków.Poland source
2 June - Completion of St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, after 82 years.Northern Ireland source
12 June - Abdus Sattar handed the key of historical 32 Dhanmondi House to Sheikh HasinaBangladesh source
14 June – Haim Shirman (born 1904), Russian (Ukraine)-born Israeli scholar of medieval Spanish Jewish poetry.Israel source
July 29 – A worldwide television audience of over 750 million people watch the Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London, UK.source
15 September – Christian Calmes is appointed Grand Marshal of Luxembourg.Luxembourg source
November 12 – The Church of England General Synod votes to admit women to holy orders.source
Scots songwriter and singer, Dick Gaughan recorded Scottish poet, Robert Burns 1783 poem Now Westlin' Winds"source
The State Council of the People's Republic of China lists the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guilin as those where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.source
Pétur Sigurgeirsson became the eleventh Bishop of Iceland, succeeding Sigurbjörn Einarsson in the position.Iceland source
Yang di-Pertuan Agong: Sultan Ahmad ShahMalaysia source

Economy & Finance

January 1 – Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.source
January 11 – Iran dropped a demand that the United States deposit 24 billion dollars in gold into an Algerian bank as a condition of the release of 52 U.S. Embassy workers being held hostage in Tehran, settling instead for the release of the nearly 8 billion dollars of Iranian assets that had been frozen in American banks.Iran source
1 March - Bobby Sands begins the 1981 Irish hunger strike in the Maze Prison (Long Kesh) near Lisburn.Northern Ireland source
April 4 – UK pop group Bucks Fizz's song "Making Your Mind Up" wins the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland.source
4 April – Representing Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Pascal finishes eleventh in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song C'est Peut-Etre Pas L'Amerique.Luxembourg source
May 1 – Pensions in Chile: The new Chilean pension system, based on private pension funds, begins.source
22 May – The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation is formed.Singapore source
August 3–6. Negotiations between the government and Solidarity in Warsaw. Food supply situation, economic reform and trade unions bills are discussed. The negotiations end in a fiasco; the government accuses Solidarity of terminating the talks.Poland source
7 September – Permodalan Nasional Berhad leads a "Dawn Raid" on the London Stock Exchange with 51 per cent of Guthrie shares acquired in just 10 minutes.Malaysia source
Launch of the second Five-Year Economic and Social Transformation Plan (1982-1987)Libya source
November – The Unified Socialist Party of Mexico is founded by a merger of four parties.Mexico source
December 8 – Arthur Scargill becomes President-elect of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain).source

Technology & Infrastructure

January 21 – The first DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.source
2 March – The establishment of Construction and Planning Agency in Taipei.Taiwan source
1 April – Daylight saving time was implemented for the first time in the USSRSoviet Union source
April 12: The Python roller-coaster is opened in the Efteling theme park.Netherlands source
April 15 – The first Coca-Cola bottling plant in China is opened.source
22 April: The Israeli government indicates that it may be willing to back down from its controversial plans to takeover the Palestinian Jerusalem District Electricity Company.Palestine source
May – Daniel K. Ludwig abandons the Jari project in the Amazon basin.source
June 18 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter makes its first flight at Groom Lake (Area 51), Nevada.source
June 20–21. First All-Polish meeting of independent publishers takes place in Warsaw. Among participating offices, are ABC (Kraków), Alternatywy (Gdańsk), 3 Maja (Warsaw), Krąg (Warsaw), Młoda Polska (Gdańsk), Spotkania (Lublin-Kraków-Warsaw), NOWa (Warsaw).Poland source
June 27 – The first game of paintball is played, in Henniker, New Hampshire, United States.source
July 9 – Donkey Kong is released in Japan by Nintendo, marking the first release in both the Donkey Kong and Mario series of games. The arcade game proves to be Nintendo's first major hit.source
August 1 – The first 24-hour video music channel MTV (Music Television) is launched in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.source
August 9 – 1981 Major League Baseball strike ends in the United States, and Major League Baseball resumes with the All-Star Game in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium.source
August 12 – The original Model 5150 IBM PC (with a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 processor) is released in the United States at a base price of $1,565.source
September 15 – The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world, at 150 years old, when it operates under its own power outside Washington, D.C.source
17 September – The new Rajang Area Security Command (RASCOM) headquarters was officially opened in Sibu, Sarawak.Malaysia source
September 26 – The Boeing 767 airliner makes its first flight.source
September 26 – The Sydney Tower opens to the public in Australia.source
September 27 – TGV high-speed rail service between Paris and Lyon, France, begins.source
Luxor AB presents the ABC 800 computer.source
Abahani KC won 1981 Dhaka First Division League title.Bangladesh source
Liberia's first ambassador to the People's Republic of China, John Daniel Cox, retires.Liberia source

Science & Discovery

11 February – Franz Sondheimer (born 1926), German-born Israeli-British chemist.Israel source
30 March – The Canberra Raiders are accepted as the fourteenth team in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) for 1982 & making them the first team based outside of New South Wales.Australia source
April 12 – The Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia, with NASA astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen, launches on the STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on April 14. It is the first time a crewed reusable spacecraft has returned from orbit.source
22 May – Reimar Riefling, classical pianist, music teacher, and music critic (born 1898)Norway source
June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg is released as the first film of the Indiana Jones film series.United States source
June 27 – The E-mu Emulator sampler keyboard with floppy disk operation is unveiled at NAMM international Sound & Music Expo, Chicago. Production Model Serial Number 001 is issued to Stevie Wonder.source
13 July – The South African rugby union team ("Springboks") arrives in New Zealand to begin the 1981 Springbok TourNew Zealand source
July 17 – The government of British Columbia name a 2,639 m peak in the Rocky Mountains after Terry Fox.Canada source
1 August — Launch of the MK2 Volkswagen Polo, which makes use of a larger estate-like bodyshell, although it is still marketed as a hatchback.Germany source
August 27 – North Korea fires a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. SR-71 Blackbird spy plane flying in South Korean and international airspace. The missile misses and the airplane is unharmed.source
October 10 – The Ministry for Education of Japan issues the jōyō kanji.source
October 10 - Ministry of Education issues jōyō kanji.Japan source
October 30 – Venera program: Venera 13 is launched to Venus.source
November 4 – Venera program: Venera 14 is launched to Venus.source
November 22 – The Edmonton Eskimos (14–1–1) barely stave off defeat and win a record 4th consecutive Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League, at the 69th Grey Cup at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders (5–11–0) with a score of 26–23 in the final three seconds, after being down 20–1 at halftime.source
Polybius, an urban legend game, is said to have been released in Portland, Oregon; there is no evidence for its existence.source

Health & Medicine

February 12 – Moslem rebels attack a Philippine Army unit in Pata Island, Sulu, killing 119–124 troops in the worst outbreak of fighting since the 1974 rebel offensive of Jolo.Philippines source
1 April – The opening of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in Banqiao City, Taipei County.Taiwan source
April 5: Hennie Kuiper wins Tour of Flanders cycling race.Netherlands source
June 5 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, the first recognized cases of AIDS.source
September 5–10. First round of National Congress of Solidarity Delegates takes place in Gdańsk, at Hala Olivia. Solidarity has 9,5 million members. Of all its regions, most numerous is Upper Silesia - Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (Region Śląsko-Dąbrowski) - 1,4 mln members, Mazovia - 911,000 members, and Lower Silesia - 900,000 members. During the Congress, The Message to Working People of Eastern Europe is issued, as well as a Letter to Polonia of the Whole World.Poland source
12 September – The new Singapore General Hospital is officially opened.Singapore source
4 November: Israeli authorities order Birzet University closed for two months, additionally carrying out arrests of several of the university's administration and the student council.Palestine source
December 28 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.source
31 December – Camille Polfer steps down as Mayor of Luxembourg City after only two years, due to ill health, and is succeeded by his daughter, Lydie the following day.Luxembourg source
Around the end of 1981, China becomes the first country ever to reach a population of 1 billion.source
Cuba suffers a major outbreak of dengue fever, with 344,203 cases.source
Use of crack cocaine, a smokeable form of the drug, first reported in the United States and Caribbean.source
A national census was conducted in 1981.Iceland source

Crime & Justice

25 January and 7 February - Adrian Lim, a self-professed medium, Catherine Tan Mui Choo and Hoe Kah Hong murders two children as "sacrifices" in a case known as the Toa Payoh ritual murders. This case becomes the second-longest murder trial in Singapore at that time, taking 41 days to complete. The three suspects are found guilty and sentenced to hang. The sentences are carried out on 25 November 1988.Singapore source
2 March 1981 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 is hijacked by armed men belonging to Al-Zulfiqar. At the time, it was the longest hijacking in history.Pakistan source
5 March – 1981 North Korean local electionsNorth Korea source
March 15 - Three hijackers holding hostages aboard a Pakistani jetliner surrendered to Syrian authorities, ending a 13-day ordeal.Syria source
May 15 – A prison officer, 31-year-old Donna Payant, disappears at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York. She is later found to have been murdered by convicted serial killer Lemuel Smith. It is the first time a female prison officer has been killed while on duty in the United States.source
May 22 – Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder in England.source
Aer Lingus flight 164 is hijacked just before landing at London Heathrow airport. The flight continues on to France before the hijacker who reportedly demanded for the releasing of the third secret of Fatima, is subdued.source
July 1 – Wonderland murders: The Wonderland Gang of cocaine dealers is brutally murdered in Los Angeles. Eddie Nash is suspected of involvement, but will never be convicted.source
August 24 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering John Lennon in Manhattan eight months earlier.source
29 August – 1981 Vienna synagogue attack: Palestinian terrorists killed two people and wounded 30 attending a Bar Mitzvah in Vienna.Israel source
September 10 – Picasso's painting Guernica is moved from New York to Madrid.source
September – Little Miss Bossy, the first book in the Little Miss series (the female counterpart to the Mr. Men series) is first published, in the U.K.source
11 October – A Malay rubber tapper named Jaafar Patola killed six people and wounded 25 others in Parit Setan, a village near Benut, Johor before being shot dead by police.Malaysia source
3 November – 3 November – Former prime minister Bülent Ecevit receives prison sentence for making political statements.Turkey source
December 17 – American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is kidnapped in Verona by the Italian Red Brigades.source
Palestinian terrorist Ziad Abu Ein is extradited from the United States to Israel.Palestine source
Srimulat, comedian group from Central Java performed on TVRI Jakarta for the first time. It makes the comedian group was known by Indonesian people and had been a legendary comedian group.source

Disasters & Accidents

17 January – Cargo ship Deniz Sönmez sinks near Crete, resulting in 32 fatalities.Turkey source
January 20 – On Jimmy Carter's last day as 39th President of the United States, he had hoped that the 52 American hostages in Iran would be allowed to leave before his term expired at noon. At 6:18 am Washington time, the escrow papers were completed to transfer $7,970,000,000 in Iranian assets from U.S. banks to the Bank of England. At 8:04 am EST, the Algerian intermediaries notified both the U.S. and Iran that the transfer was complete. The Boeing 727 carrying the hostages, Air Algérie Flight 133, was boarded at 8:20 pm Tehran time (11:50 am EST), but did not depart until 35 minutes later, after Ronald Reagan was sworn into office as the 40th U.S. President.Iran source
January 27 – The Indonesian passenger ship Tampomas II catches fire and capsizes in the Java Sea, killing 580 people.source
February 8 – In Greece, 20 fans of Olympiacos F.C. and 1 fan of AEK Athens die, while 54 are injured, after a stampede at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, possibly because Gate 7 does not open immediately after the end of the game.source
February 14 – Stardust fire: A fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours kills 48 young people and injures 214. In 2024 these will be declared as unlawful killings.source
February 26 – A U.S. Air Force C-130 plane crashes into the South China Sea, near Subic Bay Naval Base, killing 23 of 24 American, Philippine, Australian, and New Zealand military personnel aboard.Philippines source
March 31 - At 2:40 pm in Bangkok, Indonesian commandos successfully rescued all hostages on board the hijacked Garuda Indonesia Flight 206, after getting permission from Thai authorities.Thailand source
May 22: FC Utrecht play their final match at Galgenwaard Stadium. Supporters taking keepsakes would dismantle a substantial part of the structure.Netherlands source
May 31 – Burning of Jaffna library, one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the century.source
31 May–1 June – Burning of Jaffna Public Library: A mob of Sinhalese civilians riot and set fire to the Jaffna Public Library in an arson attack. It was one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm in the 20th century.Sri Lanka source
June 6 – Bihar train disaster: Seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train fall off the tracks into the Bagmati River in Bihar, India, killing between 500 and 800.source
June 10 – Alfredo Rampi, a 6-year-old boy, falls into an artesian well in Vermicino, near Rome. After nearly three days of failed rescue attempts followed with bated breath from all over Italy, Alfredo dies inside the well, at a depth of 60 m.source
July 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.source
31 July – A Belgian fighter jet collides with the 285 m Dudelange Radio Tower, destroying the tower and killing a couple in a nearby house.Luxembourg source
22 August – The crash of Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103 over Taipei.Taiwan source
September 4 – An explosion at a mine in Záluží, Czechoslovakia, kills 65 people.source
September 15 – Our Lady of Akita in Japan cries for the last time, on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.source
September 20 – The overcrowded ferry boat Sobral Santos II capsizes in the Amazon River, Óbidos, Brazil, killing at least 300 people.source
September 22 – A Northrop F-5 crashes during a military exercise, in Babaeski, Turkey, killing 1 crew and 65 soldiers on ground.source
October 16 – Gas explosions at a coal mine at Hokutan, Yūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan, kill 93 people.source
October 27 – Soviet submarine S-363 runs aground outside the Karlskrona, Sweden, military base, leading to a minor international incident.source
December 1 – An Inex-Adria Aviopromet McDonnell Douglas MD-80 strikes a mountain peak and crashes while approaching Ajaccio Airport in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board.source
December 8 – The No. 21 Mine explosion in Whitwell, Tennessee, kills 13.source
December 15 – 1981 Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut: An Islamic Dawa Party car bomb destroys the Iraqi Embassy in Lebanon, killing 61 people in one of the earliest significant post-World War II suicide attacks.source
December 20 – The Penlee lifeboat disaster: While attempting to rescue those on board the Union Star off the coast of South-West Cornwall (England), the lifeboat Solomon Browne is lost with all crew. Sixteen people in all are killed.source

Climate & Environment

January 24 – An earthquake of Ms magnitude in Sichuan, China, kills 150 people. Japan suffers a less serious earthquake on the same day.source
January 25 – In South Africa the largest part of the town Laingsburg is swept away within minutes by one of the strongest floods ever experienced in the Great Karoo.source
Until late January – Constant heavy rains that began on December 19, 1980, batter eastern Mindanao, resulting to massive flooding in several areas along Agusan River, particularly on January 18—the worst since 1962. President Marcos declares Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur, disaster areas. The total damage is placed at $13 million. By January 29, there are 204 people reported dead.Philippines source
February 24 – A powerful Ms magnitude earthquake hits Athens, killing 22 people, injuring 400 people and destroying several buildings and 4,000 houses, mostly in Corinth and the nearby towns of Loutraki, Kiato and Xylokastro.source
24 February – The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake shook the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing 22, injuring 400, and causing $812 million in damage.Greece source
May 26 – The Italian Forlani government resigns over its links to the fascist Masonic cell Propaganda Due.source
June 11 – The 6.6 Mw Golbaf earthquake affected the Kerman province with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII+ (Severe), killing 1,400–3,000, and injuring many.Iran source
11 June - Hunger striker Kieran Doherty is elected TD for Cavan–Monaghan in Dáil Éireann in the 1981 Irish general election.Northern Ireland source
July 23–29 – Strong temperature drops are recorded in much of the country. Snow falls in cities like La Serena and Copiapó, where previously thought impossible.Chile source
July 30 – 1981 Polish hunger demonstrations: As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, take to the streets in Łódź to protest about food ration shortages in Communist Poland.source
October 8 – Tropical Storm Lidia strikes 23 mi south of Los Mochis, with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h). Heavy rainfall associated with the cyclone caused moderate damage in northwestern Mexico, and at least seventy-three deaths can be attributed to the storm.Mexico source
October 22 - November 13. General strike in Zielona Góra Voivodeship, sparked by a conflict at State Agricultural Farm in a village of Lubogóra, where chairman of local Solidarity had been fired.Poland source
November 23 – 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak, the largest recorded tornado outbreak in European history.source
Sultan of Kelantan: Sultan Ismail PetraMalaysia source

Culture & Society

January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz following his death on December 24.source
March 17 – In Italy, the Propaganda Due Masonic lodge is discovered.source
March 29 – The first London Marathon starts, with 7,500 runners.source
April 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 is not played until June 23).source
4 May – The European Law Students' Association (ELSA) is founded in Vienna by law students from Austria, West Germany, Poland and Hungary.Austria source
May 6 – A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., from among 1,421 other entries.source
June 1: Football club N.E.C. is established in Nijmegen as a team expansion of SC NEC.Netherlands source
June 7 – Operation Opera: The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor, killing ten Iraqi troops and a French technician.source
7 June – Israel bombs the nearly completed but not operational Iraqi nuclear reactor 18 miles south of Baghdad in an operation known as Operation Opera. It was the world's first attack on a nuclear plant.Iraq source
June 13 – At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, teenager Marcus Sarjeant fires 6 blank shots close to Queen Elizabeth II, startling her horse.source
July 16–21 – England become the first team this century to win a cricket Test match after the follow-on when they beat Australia by 18 runs at Headingley cricket ground, Leeds, England.source
September 17 – Ric Flair defeats Dusty Rhodes to win his first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Kansas City.source
September 19 – Solidarity Day march, in support of organized labor, draws approximately 250,000 people in Washington, D.C.source
September 30 - The International Olympic Committee awards the 1988 Summer Olympics to the city of Seoul, South Korea.South Korea source
December 14–15. Rallies at Warsaw University, Wrocław University of Technology and Warsaw University of Technology.Poland source
Mohammedan SC won the title of Bangladesh Federation Cup.Bangladesh source
CS Mindelense won the Cape Verdean Football ChampionshipCape Verde source
Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation.United Arab Emirates source

Births

8 January – Ioannis Kokkodis, swimmerGreece source
27 May – Saud Alsanousi, novelist and journalistKuwait source
August 10 - Shadi Hamsho, professional boxerSyria source
December 6 – Kimmie Weeks, human rights activistLiberia source

Deaths

March 23 – Mike Hailwood, 40, British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, he initially left Formula One after being injured badly at the 1974 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, he retired to New Zealand, where he was involved with a marine engineering business, death due to fatal injuries from a car accident, when his executive car collided with a lorry which made an illegal turn through the barriers. Hailwood died two days following the accident.source
April 8 – Omar Bradley, 88, American military officer,in 1950, Bradley was serving as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the early phase of the Korean War, he had to deploy a force that was a shadow of its World War II counterpart, in his second memoir, Bradley stated that not arguing more forcefully in 1948 and 1949 for a sufficient defense budget "was a mistake... perhaps the greatest mistake I made in my postwar years in Washington."source
April 12 – Joe Louis, 66, American professional boxer, he was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 until 1949, he was a focal point of anti-Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II because of his historic rematch with the German boxer Max Schmeling in 1938, cardiac arrestsource
May 11 – The Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley dies at age 36 from cancer.source
May 11 – Bob Marley, 36, Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist, he was a longtime member of the Rastafari movement, whose culture was a key element in the development of reggae, he became an ardent proponent of Rastafari, taking its music out of the socially-deprived areas of Jamaica and onto the international music scene, he was a pan-Africanist and believed in the unity of African people worldwide, many of his songs had anti-imperialist and pan-Africanist themes, death due to acral lentiginous melanoma, the most common melanoma in people with dark skin, by the time of his death, the cancer had also spread to his lungs and brain.source
May 30 – Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman is assassinated in Chittagong.source
May 30 – Ziaur Rahman, 45, Bangladeshi military leader and politician, he served two terms as the Chief of Army Staff (1975, 1975–1978), he also served as the president of Bangladesh from 1977 until his death in 1981, he is credited as a solid administrator with pragmatic policies who contributed to the economic recovery of Bangladesh by liberalizing trade and promoting private sector investments.assassinated by members of the Bangladesh Army. Following Rahman's death, Muhammed Abul Manzur led a failed coup d'état. Manzur soon lost the support of his own troops.source
June 16 – Thomas Playford IV, 84, Australian politician, he was a member of the politically prominent Playford family, he served as the Premier of South Australia from 1938 until 1965, he had the longest tenure in office for a state or territory leader in Australian history; remaining in power for almost 27 years,his economic policies favored industrialization and economic growth, when Playford left office in 1965, South Australia's population had doubled from 600,000 in the late 1930s to 1.1 million, the highest proportionate rate among the states; the state'seconomy had done likewise, and personal wealth had increased at the same rate, second only to Victoria, during Playford's 27 years in power, employment in manufacturing in South Australia had increased by 173%; Western Australia was in second place with 155% growth, while the national average was during the period was 129%, heart attack. Playford had received medical treatment for heart disease since his first heart attack in June 1971source
25 June – Saleh Yousefi Kurdish politician.(b.1918)Iraq source
August 14 – Thomas Weh Syen and four other members of the People's Redemption Council are executed by firing squad for an attempted coup.Liberia source
August 30 – 1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing: Eight people, including the country's president and prime minister, are killed when a briefcase explodes in the building. The office of Iran's Prosecutor General blames the People's Mujahedin of Iran.source
September 1 – Albert Speer, 76, German architect and Nazi Party politician, he served as the Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production from 1942 until 1945, he briefly served as the Minister of Industry and Production of the Flensburg Government in May 1945,he was one of the defendants at the International Military Tribunal and was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in 1946,he revised his prison writings into two autobiographical books, Inside the Third Reich and Spandau: The Secret Diaries, he later published a biographical work about Heinrich Himmler and Himmler's Schutzstaffel (SS) under the English title The Slave State: Heinrich Himmler's Masterplan for SS Supremacy, stroke while visiting London to participate in the BBC show Newsnightsource
September 9 – Jacques Lacan, 80, French psychoanalyst, psychiatrist and alleged charlatan,Lacan's phallocentric analysis is viewed as providing a useful means of understanding gender biases and imposed roles, Lacan was criticised for being aggressive with his clients, often physically hitting them, sometimes sleeping with them, and charging "exorbitant amounts of money" for each session.source
September 29 – Bill Shankly, 68, Scottish footballer, manager of Liverpool F.C. from 1959 until 1974,cardiac arrest.source
October 6 – Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated during a military parade.source
October 6 – Anwar Sadat, 62, Egyptian politician and military officer, he served as the president from Egypt from 1970 until his death in 1981, and he had previously served two terms as the Vice President of Egypt (1964, 1969-1970), he was assassinated by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad during the annual victory parade held in Cairo, his death has been attributed to a conspiracy of Islamic nationalists, anti-imperialists, and pro-Palestinian groups opposed to Sadat's peace initiative with Israel and the United States, relating to the Camp David Accords.source
17 November: Yusuf Khatib, head of the Ramallah Village League, and his son are assassinated by Palestinian militants. Following the assassination, the Israeli government begins distributing weapons to Village League members.Palestine source
December 29 – Miroslav Krleža, writer (born 1893).Croatia source