1981

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

 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 25 – 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 
 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 
 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 
 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 
 April 8 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
 April 12 – Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)

 May 
 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 
 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 
 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 
 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 

 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 
 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 
 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 
 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