1981 Events

1981 Anthrax (band) is formed
Anthrax was formed in mid-1981 by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker. They found the band's name in a biology textbook and claimed it because it sounded sufficiently evil to them. John...
1981 Bad Religion releases the self-titled EP
Bad Religion was the first release of punk band Bad Religion. It contained only six short songs, and played in just under ten minutes. It was initially released in a 7" format, and soon a...
1981 Early Report of the First Online Newspaper
Channel 4 KRON in San Francisco reports on the first use of the Internet by newspapers. Eight newspapers are in the network. Watch the video and see how much has changed since 198...
1981 Elena Kagan Graduates Summa Cum Laude From Princeton University
A native of New York City, Kagan earned an A.B. with highest honors in history in 1981. She received the 1981 Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship and attended Worcester C...
1981 Ford Cargo is First Produced
The Ford Cargo is a cab over engine truck model formerly manufactured in USA by Ford, but now made by Freightliner Trucks and sold as the Sterling Cargo or the Freightliner Cargo. It is c...
1981 Ford Del Rey is First Produced
The Ford Del Rey is a midsized car produced by the Ford Motor Company in Brazil from 1981 to 1991. It was a remake from the popular Ford Corcel. Like the Corcel, the Del Rey was designed ...
1981 Ford Escort is First Produced
The Ford Escort is a compact car that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. The North American Escort adopted both the badge and the general design of a redesigned European model, a...
1981 Ford Meteor is First Produced
Dating from 1981, Ford Meteor was the name given to the sedan version of the Ford Laser, based on the Mazda Familia (323) in markets including Australia and South Africa.[1][2] Following ...
1981 "Gallipoli" Is Released
Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army du...
1981
to 1987
Joe Biden chairs US Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Biden was a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 and on which he served as ranking minority member from 1981 until 1987 an...
1981 Kellogg's Introduces Nutri-Grain Cereal Bars
Nutri-Grain is a brand of breakfast cereal and breakfast bar made by the Kellogg Company. In Australia and New Zealand, Nutri-Grain is a popular Kellogg breakfast cereal made from corn...
1981 Michael Jordan Earns a Basketball Scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In 1981, Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of Omega Psi Phi and majored in cultural geography. As a freshman...
1981 Midway Releases Ms. Pac-Man as an Unauthorized Sequel
Ms. Pac-Man is an arcade video game produced by Midway as an unauthorized sequel to Pac-Man. It was released in North America in 1981 and became one of the most popular video games of all...
1981
to 2010
Milestones in Personal Technology
1981 Nintendo Releases Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu) is an arcade game developed by Nintendo, released in 1981. It is an early example of the platform genre, as the gameplay focuses on maneuvering the main...
1981 Norman Hsu Receives Degree from Wharton School
Hsu was born and raised in Hong Kong; his ancestors are from Shanghai. He then came to the United States at age 18, obtained a B.S. degree in computer science from the University of Ca...
1981 Oscar De La Renta Redesigns the Boy Scout Uniform
The most complete overhaul of the Boy Scout uniform in nearly 60 years occurred in 1980. Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta donated his services for a two-year project of remaking all uni...
1981 PlayCable, First 'Online' Video Game Content Provider
Talk about innovation! In 1981, Mattel finalized a deal to deliver Intellivision games to homes across the nation via existing cable TV networks. Just call your local cable provider and r...
1981
to 1982
Wayne Gretzky Becomes First NHL Player to Break the 200-Point Mark
During the 1981–82 season, he surpassed a record that had stood for 35 years: 50 goals in 50 games. Set by Maurice "Rocket" Richard during the 1944–45 NHL season and tied by Mike Bossy du...
1981 Jan 1 The Rolling Stones Release 'Slow Rollers'
Slow Rollers is a compilation album of ballads by The Rolling Stones released in 1981. It is a follow-up to the compilation of rock and roll numbers a year earlier called Solid Rock. This...
1981 Jan 3 Senator Robert Byrd Elected as Minority Leader
Senator Byrd rose from the hardscrabble hollows of West Virginia to spend 12 years as Senate Democratic leader. He was majority leader from 1977 to 1981 and again from 1987 to 1989, and m...
1981 Jan 19 Iran Hostage Crisis Ends with the Signing of the Algiers Accords
On January 20, 1981, as Ronald Reagan became President, the hostages were flown from Teheran to Europe, and on to New York. The crisis was over. The lasting effects of the crisis we...
1981 Jan 20
to 1989 Jan 20
 George H.W. Bush Serves as US Vice President
As Vice President, Bush generally took on a low-profile while recognizing the constitutional limits of the office; he avoided decision-making or criticizing Reagan in any way. As had beco...
1981 Jan 20 Ronald Reagan Delivers His First Inaugural Address
The first inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States was held on January 20, 1981. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Ro...
1981 Jan 20 Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States
For the first time, an inauguration ceremony was held on the terrace of the West Front of the Capitol. Chief Justice Warren Burger administered the oath of office to the former broadcaste...
1981 Jan 25 Super Bowl XV - Raiders 27, Eagles 10
Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following...
1981 Feb 2 Boston College defeats Boston University, 5-2
1981 Feb 2 Harvard defeats Northeastern, 10-2
1981 Feb 2 "Killers" by Iron Maiden Is Released
Killers is the second album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on February 2, 1981 in the UK, and June, 1981 in the US. The album was the first of their albums to feature g...
1981 Feb 3 Rainbow release Difficult to Cure
Difficult to Cure is the fifth studio album released by Rainbow, in 1981, and marked a further commercialisation of the band's sound. Blackmore openly stated his liking for Foreigner and ...
1981 Feb 9 Boston University defeats Northeastern, 9-2
1981 Feb 9 Charlie Brenneman Is Born
Charlie Brenneman (born February 9, 1981) is a professional mixed martial arts fighter and winner of the first season of the popular television show Pros vs Joes. He is currently training...
1981 Feb 9 Harvard defeats Boston College, 2-0
Goals by Bill Larson and David Burke and the superb netminding of Wade Lau carried Harvard to a 2-0 upset of Boston College for the Beanpot hockey championship last night at Boston Garden...
1981 Feb 12 Rush release Moving Pictures
Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. The album was recorded and mixed October to November 1980 at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec and released February ...
1981 Feb 14 Stardust Fire
The fire at the Stardust Club in Dublin in February 1981 was responsible for the deaths of 48 people. The investigation and subsequent Inquiry revealed a large number of factors which had...
1981 Feb 26 Judas Priest release Point of Entry
Point of Entry is the seventh album from the British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released on 26 February 1981. In 1980 Judas Priest garnered some airplay with "Breaking the L...
1981 Feb 27 FDA Approves Sandoz's Restoril
Restoril is a sleeping aid used in the short-term treatment of insomnia, a condition in which patients have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night. Restoril belo...
1981 Mar "Chariots Of Fire" Is Released
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film loosely based on historical events surrounding the British athletic team before and during the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. The story follows Har...
1981 Mar Stephen King publishes Roadwork
Roadwork is a novel by Stephen King, published in 1981 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books. ...
1981 Mar 8
to 1981 Mar 13
 1981 International Special Olympics Winter Games
8-13 March 1981 The Second International Special Olympics Winter Games are held at the Village of Smugglers' Notch and Stowe, Vermont, with more than 600 Alpine and cross-country skiers ...
1981 Mar 8
to 1981 Aug 30
 The Lord Of The Rings Radio Series Is Released
In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments. This followed a previous 12-part BBC Rad...
1981 Mar 9 The Rolling Stones Release 'Sucking in the Seventies'
Sucking in the Seventies is the fourth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. As the successor to 1975's Made in the Shade, it covers material from 1974's It'...
1981 Mar 11 "Diva" Is Released
Diva is a 1981 film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier (under the pseudonym Delacorta). It is one of the first French films to let go ...
1981 Mar 16 Accept releases Breaker
Breaker is the third album released by the heavy metal band Accept. It was once again recorded at Delta-Studio in Wilster with Dirk Steffens producing, and was the first Accept album engi...
1981 Mar 27 Ozzy Osbourne Releases "Blizzard of Ozz" in the US
Blizzard of Ozz is a heavy metal album by Ozzy Osbourne, recorded in Surrey, UK and released on September 20, 1980 in the UK and on March 27, 1981 in the U.S.. This is Osbourne's first...
1981 Mar 30 Attempted Assassination of US President Ronald Reagan
The Reagan assassination attempt occurred on March 30, 1981, just 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washi...
1981 Mar 30 Indiana Beats North Carolina in Final Four
The 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball....
1981 Mar 31 53rd Academy Awards
The 53rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1980, were presented March 31, 1981, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies, which were presided over by John...
1981 Apr Funkadelic releases The Electric Spanking of War Babies
The Electric Spanking of War Babies is the twelfth studio album by American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War and...
1981 Apr Stephen King publishes Danse Macabre
Danse Macabre (1981) is a non-fiction book by Stephen King, about horror fiction in print, radio, film and comics, and the genre's influence on United States popular culture. Danse Mac...