| 1981-07-31
General Omar Torrijos of Panama dies in a plane crash.
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| 1981-12-31
A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
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| 1981-06-07
The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera. The facility could have been used to make nuclear weapons.
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| 1981-09-25
Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the 102nd person sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and the first woman to hold the office.
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| 1981-11-23
Iran-Contra Affair: Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), giving the Central Intelligence Agency the authority to recruit and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
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| 1981-10-03
The Hunger Strike by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after seven months and ten deaths.
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| 1981-08-10
Murder of Adam Walsh: The head of John Walsh's son is found. Inspires the creation of the television series America's Most Wanted.
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| 1981-09-21
Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
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| 1981-08-28
The National Centers for Disease Control announce a high incidence of pneumocystis and Kaposi's sarcoma in gay men. These will soon be recognized as symptoms of an immune disorder, which will be called AIDS.
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| 1981-10-09
Abolition of capital punishment in France.
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| 1981-10-22
The TGV railway service between Paris and Lyon is inaugurated.
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| 1981-12-10
The United Nations General Assembly approves Pakistan's proposal for establishing nuclear free-zone in South Asia.
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| 1981-02-10
A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino kills eight and injures 198.
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| 1981-12-11
El Mozote massacre: Armed forces in El Salvador kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran Civil War.
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| 1981-09-25
Belize joins the United Nations.
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| 1981-05-13
Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
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| 1981-06-11
A Richter Scale 6.9 magnitude earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
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| 1981-06-24
The Humber Bridge is opened to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 17 years.
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| 1981-02-23
In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
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| 1981-01-21
Tehran releases American hostages after 444 days.
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| 1981-08-05
Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
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| 1981-02-11
100,000 US gallons (380 m3) of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 8 workers.
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| 1981-12-04
South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei "homeland" (not recognized by any government outside South Africa).
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| 1981-05-12
Francis Hughes starves to death in the Maze Prison in a Republican campaign for political prisoner status to be granted to Provisional IRA prisoners.
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| 1981-07-29
Marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer.
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| 1981-12-17
The Senegambia Confederation is founded.
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| 1981-05-31
Burning of Jaffna library, Sri Lanka, It is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century.
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| 1981-12-17
Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigade in Verona, Italy.
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| 1981-06-05
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five people in Los Angeles, California have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS.
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| 1981-05-21
Irish Republican hunger strikers Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O’Hara die on hunger strike in Maze prison.
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| 1981-04-27
Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
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| 1981-04-25
More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Japan.
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| 1981-05-10
François Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic.
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| 1981-01-28
Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
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| 1981-03-01
Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
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| 1981-09-15
The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
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| 1981-04-01
Daylight saving time is introduced in the USSR.
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| 1981-11-30
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).
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| 1981-02-14
Stardust Disaster: A fire in a Dublin nightclub kills 48 people
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| 1981-08-19
Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra.
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| 1981-08-07
The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication.
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| 1981-12-01
A Yugoslavian Inex Adria Aviopromet DC-9 crashes in Corsica killing all 180 people on-board.
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| 1981-04-18
The longest professional baseball game is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The game was suspended at 4:00 the next morning and finally completed on June 23.
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| 1981-07-31
A total solar eclipse occurs.
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| 1981-12-13
General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity.
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| 1981-11-01
Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.
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| 1981-09-15
Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations.
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| 1981-03-06
After 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
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| 1981-05-06
A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries.
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| 1981-09-15
The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C.
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| 1981-07-16
Mahathir bin Mohamad becomes Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister; his 22 years in office, ending with retirement on 31 October 2003, made him Asia's longest-serving political leader.
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| 1981-01-20
Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages. It is the first Presidential inauguration to be held at the west front of the Capitol.
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| 1981-08-12
The IBM Personal Computer is released.
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| 1981-06-25
Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
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| 1981-07-27
British television: On Coronation Street, Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton, which proves to be a national event scoring massive viewer numbers for the show.
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| 1981-12-19
Sixteen lives are lost when the Penlee lifeboat goes to the aid of the stricken coaster Union Star in heavy seas.
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| 1981-08-25
Voyager 2 spacecraft makes its closest approach to Saturn
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| 1981-10-03
The Communist Party of Namibia is founded at a conference in Angola.
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| 1981-08-24
Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.
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| 1981-10-14
Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected as the President of Egypt one week after the assassination murder of the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat. As of June 1, 2010, Mr. Mubarak is still the President of Egypt, having been re-elected several times.
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| 1981-04-12
The first launch of a Space Shuttle: Columbia launches on the STS-1 mission.
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| 1981-06-06
Bihar train disaster A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati river. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the actual figure is closer to 1,000 killed.
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| 1981-05-26
Prime Minister of Italy Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
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| 1981-08-01
MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles.
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| 1981-01-25
Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death.
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| 1981-10-06
President of Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated.
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| 1981-02-13
A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
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| 1981-04-14
STS-1 – The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight.
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| 1981-09-21
Sandra Day O'Connor is unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate as the first female Supreme Court justice.
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| 1981-10-05
Raoul Wallenberg becomes an honorary U.S. citizen.
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| 1981-02-24
An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city.
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| 1981-05-05
Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27.
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| 1981-07-31
42-day strike of Major League Baseball ends in the United States.
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| 1981-06-13
At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, a teenager, Marcus Sarjeant, fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II.
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| 1981-03-30
President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.
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| 1981-12-14
Arab-Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset passes The Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the area of the Golan Heights.
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| 1981-04-11
A massive riot in Brixton, South London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
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| 1981-01-01
The Republic of Greece is admitted into the European Community.
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| 1981-07-03
First mention in the New York Times of a disease that would later be called AIDS
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| 1981-09-14
Domitian becomes Emperor of the Roman Empire upon the death of his brother Titus.
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| 1981-01-19
Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
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| 1981-01-01
The Republic of Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.
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| 1981-07-17
A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
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| 1981-09-01
A coup d'état in the Central African Republic overthrows President David Dacko.
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| 1981-06-18
A disease cluster, which will later be known as AIDS, is recognized by medical professionals in San Francisco, California.
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| 1981-11-11
Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations.
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| 1981-02-24
Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
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| 1981-07-17
The opening of the Humber Bridge by HM The Queen in England.
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| 1981-12-01
The AIDS virus is officially recognized.
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| 1981-05-25
In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
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| 1981-09-18
Assemblée Nationale votes to abolish capital punishment in France.
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| 1981-10-27
The Soviet submarine U 137 runs aground on the east coast of Sweden.
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| 1981-07-01
The Wonderland Murders occurred in the early morning hours, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash.
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| 1981-08-03
Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front-Suxxali Reew Mi.
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| 1981-11-12
Space Shuttle program: Mission STS-2, utilizing the Space Shuttle Columbia, marks the first time a manned spacecraft is launched into space twice.
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| 1981-12-30
In the 39th game of his 3rd NHL season Wayne Gretzky scores 5 goals giving him 50 on the year setting a new NHL record previously held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy who earlier had each scored 50 goals in 50 games.
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| 1981-09-26
Baseball: Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter.
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| 1981-10-14
Citing official misconduct in the investigation and trial, Amnesty International charges the U.S. Federal Government with holding Richard Marshall of the American Indian Movement as a political prisoner.
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| 1981-10-22
The United States Federal Labor Relations Authority votes to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for its strike the previous August.
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| 1981-06-28
A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of Islamic Republic Party.
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