1981

1981 (MCMLXXXI) was .
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 Suarez resigns as Prime Minister of Spain.
February 4 - Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.
February 8 - Polish Prime Minister Jozef Pinkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.
February 25 - Adolfo Suarez 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.
July 9 - Donkey Kong, a Nintendo arcade game, was released in Japan
July 29 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
November 9 - Celine 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 - Beyonce 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 Delbruck, 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 Wyszynski, 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 Lorant, 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 - Bela 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 - Romulo 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) - Regine 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