November 4 - Ronald Reagan elected president. 1981 January 20 - Hostages from U.S. embassy in Iran are released minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as President. March 30 - President Reagan is shot by John Hinckley but recovers. April - Space shuttle Columbia makes first flight. A Soviet submarine runs aground near a restricted Swedish naval base.
Captain blames navigation error, bad weather.
April 2 - Argentine forces invade the Falkland Islands. A British task force leaves England on April 5. June 6 - Israeli forces invade Lebanon. June 14 - Argentine troops in Port Stanley surrender to British forces, Falkland Islands war essentially over. November 10 - Leonid Brezhnev dies.