January 2
January 2
The Yorkshire Ripper is apprehended
The so‑called Yorkshire Ripper is finally caught by British police, ending one of the largest manhunts in history. For five years, investigators had pursued every lead in an effort to…
A Year In History: 1981
This Year in History:
1981
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
January 12
January 12
“Dynasty” premieres on ABC
The oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) prepares to marry his former secretary, the beautiful and innocent Krystle (Linda Evans), in the three‑hour television movie that kicks off the prime‑time…
January 15
January 15
“Hill Street Blues” begins run
On January 15, 1981, Hill Street Blues, television’s landmark cops‑and‑robbers drama, debuts on NBC. When the series first appeared, the police show had largely been given up for dead. Critics…
January 20
January 20
Iran Hostage Crisis ends
On January 20, 1981, minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are…
January 20
January 20
Ronald Reagan becomes president
Ronald Reagan, former Western movie actor and host of television’s popular “Death Valley Days” is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. More than any president since…
January 22
January 22
Final portrait of John and Yoko appears on the cover of “Rolling Stone”
After the shocking assassination of John Lennon, thousands of mourners gathered spontaneously outside his and Yoko Ono’s Central Park West apartment building, the Dakota. Tens of thousands more gathered six…
January 25
January 25
Chairman Mao’s widow sentenced to death
Jiang Qing, the widow of Chinese leader Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death for her “counter‑revolutionary crimes” during the Cultural Revolution. Originally an actress in Communist theater and film, her…
February 19
February 19
United States calls situation in El Salvador a communist plot
The U.S. government releases a report detailing how the “insurgency in El Salvador has been progressively transformed into a textbook case of indirect armed aggression by communist powers.” The report…
February 21
February 21
Dolly Parton cements her crossover success as “9 to 5” hits #1
In 1980, Dolly Parton brought the full range of her talents to bear on a project that would cement her crossover from country music to mainstream superstardom. That project was…
March 6
March 6
Walter Cronkite signs off as anchorman of “CBS Evening News”
On March 6, 1981, CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite signs off with his trademark valediction, “And that’s the way it is,” for the final time. Over the previous 19…
March 9
March 9
Japanese power plant leaks radioactive waste
A nuclear accident at a Japan Atomic Power Company plant in Tsuruga, Japan, exposes 59 workers to radiation on March 9, 1981. The officials in charge failed to timely inform…
March 30
March 30
President Reagan shot
On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by a drifter named John Hinckley Jr. The president had just finished addressing…
April 12
April 12
The space shuttle Columbia is launched for the first time
The space shuttle Columbia is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, becoming the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space. Piloted by astronauts Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young,…
May 5
May 5
IRA militant Bobby Sands dies
On May 5, 1981, imprisoned Irish‑Catholic militant Bobby Sands dies after refusing food for 66 days in protest of his treatment as a criminal rather than a political prisoner by…
May 11
May 11
Reggae star Bob Marley dies at 36
In what would prove to be the next to the last concert of his tragically short life, Bob Marley shared the bill at Madison Square Garden with the hugely popular…
May 13
May 13
Pope John Paul II shot
Near the start of his weekly general audience in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope John Paul II is shot and seriously wounded while passing through the square in an open…
May 22
May 22
Atlanta child murderer is traced using rare nylon fiber
Police staking out a bridge over the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Georgia, hear a loud splash, and begin chasing Wayne Williams as he attempts to drive away in a station…
June 5
June 5
First scientific report on AIDS is published
On June 5, 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes an article in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing five cases of a rare lung infection, PCP,…
June 6
June 6
Train derails in India, killing hundreds
More than 500 passengers are killed when their train plunges into the Bagmati River in India on June 6, 1981. The rail accident—the worst in India to that date—was believed…
June 20
June 20
Stars on 45 single reaches the top of the pop charts
It was the summer of 1981, and after an 11‑year hiatus, the sound of the Fab Four once again ruled the radio airwaves. Only instead of John, Paul, George and…
