1981

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

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

1981 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	1981 MCMLXXXI
Ab urbe condita	2734
Armenian calendar	1430 ԹՎ ՌՆԼ
Assyrian calendar	6731
Bahá'í calendar	137–138
Balinese saka calendar	1902–1903
Bengali calendar	1388
Berber calendar	2931
British Regnal year	29 Eliz. 2 – 30 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2525
Burmese calendar	1343
Byzantine calendar	7489–7490
Chinese calendar	庚申年 (Metal Monkey) 4677 or 4617     — to — 辛酉年 (Metal Rooster) 4678 or 4618
Coptic calendar	1697–1698
Discordian calendar	3147
Ethiopian calendar	1973–1974
Hebrew calendar	5741–5742
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2037–2038
- Shaka Samvat	1902–1903
- Kali Yuga	5081–5082
Holocene calendar	11981
Igbo calendar	981–982
Iranian calendar	1359–1360
Islamic calendar	1401–1402
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 56 (昭和５６年)
Javanese calendar	1913–1914
Juche calendar	70
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4314
Minguo calendar	ROC 70 民國70年
Nanakshahi calendar	513
Thai solar calendar	2524
Tibetan calendar	ལྕགས་ཕོ་སྤྲེ་ལོ་ (male Iron-Monkey) 2107 or 1726 or 954     — to — ལྕགས་མོ་བྱ་ལོ་ (female Iron-Bird) 2108 or 1727 or 955
Unix time	347155200 – 378691199

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 4 – 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 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 26 – Serena Williams, American tennis player
• October 31 – Frank Iero MCR
• December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer and actress
• 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

Omar Bradley

Joe Louis

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

May

Bob Marley

Stefan Wyszyński

Soong Ching-ling

Ziaur Rahman

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

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

• Absence of Malice
• An American Werewolf in London
• Any Which Way You Can
• Arthur
• The Boat Is Full
• Bustin' Loose
• Chariots of Fire
• Escape to Victory
• Excalibur
• For Your Eyes Only
• The Four Seasons
• The Fox and the Hound
• The French Lieutenant's Woman
• Friday the 13th, Part 2
• The Great Muppet Caper
• Halloween II
• Heaven's Gate
• Mommie Dearest
• Omen III: The Final Conflict
• On Golden Pond
• Only When I Laugh
• Pennies From Heaven
• Pixote
• Quest For Fire
• Ragtime
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Reds
• Sogni d'oro
• Stevie
• Stripes
• Superman II
• Tarzan, the Ape Man
• They Don't Wear Black Tie

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