1981 in the United States explained
Events from the year 1981 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia) (until January 20)
Ronald Reagan (R-California) (starting January 20)
Walter Mondale (D-Minnesota) (until January 20)
George H. W. Bush (R-Texas) (starting January 20)
Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) (until January 3)
Howard Baker (R-Tennessee) (starting January 3)
Events
January
February
March
April
May
- May 11 – The Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley dies at age 36 from cancer.
- May 15 - Donna Payant is murdered by serial killer Lemuel Smith, the first time a female correctional officer has been killed on-duty in the United States.
June
- June - The United States enters the severe early 1980s recession, exactly a year after the more minor 1980 recession ended; the unemployment rate is 7.2%
- June 5 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California, have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS).
- June 12
- June 21 - Wayne Williams, a 23-year-old African American, is arrested and charged with the murders of two other African Americans. He is later accused of 28 others, in the Atlanta child murders.
- June 29 - Morris Edwin Robert, armed with a machine gun, holds hostages in the FBI section at the Atlanta, Georgia Federal Building. After three hours, the hostages are rescued and Robert is killed in a shootout with federal agents.
July
- July 7 - President Reagan nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.
- July 8 - California Governor Jerry Brown, faced with a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation, chooses to delay the aerial spraying of malathion, in favor of continuing ground-based eradication efforts.
- July 9 - First release of Donkey Kong and debut of Mario.
- July 10 - Walt Disney Productions' 24th feature film, The Fox and the Hound, is released after a six-month delay due to the departure of Don Bluth and his animation team from the studio. The film receives mixed-to-positive reviews and is a box office success.
- July 17
Two skywalks filled with people at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri collapse into a crowded atrium lobby, killing 114.
- Israeli aircraft bomb Beirut, destroying multi-story apartment blocks containing the offices of PLO associated groups, killing approximately 300 civilians and resulting in worldwide condemnation and a U.S. embargo on the export of aircraft to Israel.[1]
- July 27 - Adam Walsh, 6, is kidnapped from a Sears store in Hollywood, Florida.
August
Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi sends 2 Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept 2 U.S. fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The American jets destroy the Libyan fighters.
- President Ronald Reagan appoints the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
- August 24 - Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, after being convicted of murdering John Lennon in Manhattan eight months earlier.
- August 31 - A bomb explodes at the U.S. Air Force base in Ramstein, West Germany, injuring 20 people.
September
- September 10 - Picasso's painting "Guernica" is moved from New York City to Madrid.
- September 11 - A small plane crashes into the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California, damaging the venue beyond repair.
- September 15 - The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world, at 150 years old, when it operates under its own power outside Washington, DC.
- September 17 - Ric Flair defeats Dusty Rhodes to win his first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Kansas City.
- September 19 - Simon & Garfunkel perform The Concert in Central Park, a free concert in New York in front of approximately half a million people.
- September 25
- Sandra Day O'Connor takes her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The Rolling Stones begin their Tattoo You tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia.
October
November
December
Ongoing
Births
January
- January 1
- January 2
- January 3 - Eli Manning, football player
- January 4
- January 5
- January 6
- January 7
- January 8 - Genevieve Cortese, actress
- January 9
- January 10
- January 11 - Mary Beth Decker, model and television personality
- January 12 - Quentin Griffin, football player
- January 13
- January 14 - Trieste Kelly Dunn, actress
- January 15
- January 16 - Kurt Sauer, ice hockey player
- January 17
- January 19 - Elizabeth Tulloch, actress
- January 20
- January 21
- January 22
- January 23
- January 24 - Carrie Coon, actress
- January 25 - Alicia Keys, singer, pianist and actress
- January 26 - Ronald Dupree, basketball player
- January 27 - Gorilla Zoe, rapper
- January 28 - Elijah Wood, actor and producer
- January 29 - Jonny Lang, musician
- January 30 - Jonathan Bender, basketball player
- January 31 - Justin Timberlake, singer/songwriter, actor, record producer, and member of NSYNC
February
- February 1
- February 2
- February 3
- February 4 - Dennis Dottin-Carter, football player
- February 5
- February 6
- February 7 - Jim Parrack, actor
- February 8 - Dawn Olivieri, actress
- February 9 - The Rev, drummer for Avenged Sevenfold (d. 2009)
- February 10
- February 11
- Jake Eaton, football player and athletic director
- Kelly Rowland, singer and actress
- February 13 - Joshua Deahl, judge
- February 15
- February 17
- February 18
- February 19
- February 20
- February 21 - Katie Edwards-Walpole, politician
- February 23
- February 24 - Rob Bowen, baseball player
- February 25 - Oliver Celestin, football safety player
- February 26
- February 27
- February 28
March
- March 1
- March 2
- March 3
- March 5 - Chris Arreola, boxer
- March 6 - Ellen Muth, actress
- March 8 - B. Dolan, rapper, spoken word artist, activist, screenwriter, and composer
- March 9
- March 10 - Kristen Maloney, Olympic gymnast
- March 11
- March 13
- March 15 - Young Buck, rapper
- March 16
- March 17 - Kyle Korver, basketball player
- March 18 - Vanessa Lee Evigan, actress
- March 19 - Benny Fine, co-founder of React Media, LLC
- March 20
- March 21 - Juju Castaneda, media personality, author, actress, and businesswoman
- March 22
- March 23
- March 24
- March 25 - Casey Neistat, YouTube personality
- March 27
- March 28
- March 29
- March 30
- March 31
April
- April 1 - Dewitt Ellerbe, football player
- April 2
- April 3
- April 4
- April 5
- April 6
- April 7
- April 8
- April 9
- April 10
- April 12
- Tulsi Gabbard, politician
- Paul Rust, actor and comedian
- JP Sears, comedian and internet personality
- April 13
- April 16
- April 18
- April 19
- April 21 - Paul Curtman, politician
- April 22 - Ken Dorsey, football player
- April 24 - Taylor Dent, tennis player
- April 26 - Michael Dorman, New Zealand-born actor
- April 27 - Drew Elliott, fashion model and television personality
- April 28
- April 29
- April 30
May
- May 1 - Wes Welker, football player
- May 2 - Robert Buckley, actor
- May 3
- May 4
- May 5
- May 6 - Bubba Dickerson, golfer
- May 7 - Monzavous Edwards, American-born Nigerian sprinter
- May 10 - Koko Archibong, Nigerian-born basketball player
- May 11
- May 12 - Rami Malek, actor
- May 13
- May 15 - Jamie-Lynn Sigler, actress
- May 16 - Dwan Edwards, football player
- May 17
- May 18
- May 20
- May 21
- May 22
- May 23
- May 24 - Elijah Burke, wrestler
- May 25 - Logan Tom, Olympic volleyball player
- May 26
- May 27
- May 28
- May 29
- May 30
- May 31 - Jake Peavy, baseball player
June
- June 1
- June 2
- June 3
- June 4
- June 6
- June 7
- June 8
- Alex Band, musician
- Ashley Biden, social worker, activist, philanthropist, fashion designer, and daughter of U.S. President Joe Biden
- DJ Cobra, deejay
- Rachel Held Evans, Christian columnist, blogger and author (died 2019)
- John E. James, businessman, veteran, and political candidate
- Sara Watkins, violinist
- June 9
- Drew Anderson, baseball player
- Natalie Portman, Israeli-born actress
- June 10
- June 11 - Andy Dean, radio talk show host, political commentator, and media executive
- June 12
- June 13 - Chris Evans, actor
- June 15
- June 16
- June 17
- June 18 - Scooter Braun, media proprietor, record executive, and investor
- June 19
- June 20 - Demarco Castle, singer and rapper
- June 21
- June 22 - Monty Oum, animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- June 24
- June 27
- June 28
- Antoine Becks, Canadian-born musician, singer, producer, and actor
- June 29
- June 30
July
- July 1
- July 2
- July 3 - Colin Frangicetto, guitarist
- July 4
- July 5 - Ryan Hansen, actor
- July 6
- July 7
- July 8 - Lance Gross, actor, model and photographer
- July 9 - Michelle Collins, comedian
- July 11 - Andre Johnson, football player
- July 12 - Phil Dumatrait, baseball player
- July 13
- July 14 - Teri Reeves, actress
- July 15
- July 16 - Jessica Clemmons, singer/songwriter
- July 17
- July 17 - Luke Dowler, songwriter, performer, and producer
- July 19
- July 20
- July 21
- July 22 - Kevin Eakin, football player
- July 23 - Jacob Frey, politician, mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota (2018–present)
- July 24
- July 26
- Peter Depp, stand-up comedian, gay rights activist, anti-bullying activist, writer, and actor
- Clifford Dukes, football player
- July 27 - Dash Snow, artist (died 2009)
- July 28
- July 29
- July 30
- July 31
August
- August 1
- August 2
- Dylan Dreyer, television meteorologist and news correspondent
- Rich Edson, journalist for Fox News
- Ebi Ere, American-born Nigerian basketball player
- August 3 - Travis Willingham, voice actor
- August 4
- August 5
- August 6
- August 7 - Randy Wayne, actor
- August 8
- August 9 - Pam Dreyer, ice hockey player
- August 12
- August 13
- August 14
- August 15
- Nate Butler, songwriter, music producer, vocal producer, and recording artist
- Adam Craig, mountain bike cyclist
- August 17 - Clinton Romesha, U.S. Army Veteran in the Afghan War and Medal of Honor recipient
- August 18 - Jeff Bourns, amputee tennis player
- August 20
- August 21
- John Beck, football player and coaching consultant
- Ross Thomas, actor
- Cameron Winklevoss, investor, Olympic rower, and co-founder of Winklevoss Capital Management, Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, and ConnectU
- Tyler Winklevoss, investor, Olympic rower, and co-founder of Winklevoss Capital Management, Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, and ConnectU
- August 22
- August 23 - Anthony Dobbins, American-born Italian basketball player
- August 24 - Chad Michael Murray, fashion model, actor and spokesperson
- August 25
- August 26
- August 27
- August 28
- August 29
- August 30 - Cole Escovedo, mixed martial artist
- August 31
September
- September 1
- September 2 - Dan Ramos, politician (d. 2023)
- September 4
- September 5 - Aaron Bay-Schuck, music industry executive and CEO and co-chairman of Warner Records
- September 7 - Jeremy Arel, YouTuber and Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist
- September 8
- September 9
- September 11
- September 12
- September 13 - EJay Day, singer/songwriter
- September 14
- September 15
- Daniel Brummel, singer/songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist
- Ben Schwartz, actor, voice actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer
- September 16
- September 18 - Jennifer Tisdale, actress
- September 19
- September 20 - Shemia Fagan, politician
- September 21 - Nicole Richie, actress, singer, and socialite
- September 22
- September 23
- September 24
- September 25
- Rocco Baldelli, baseball player
- Jason Bergmann, baseball player
- Nat Cassidy, actor, writer, and musician
- Jennifer Carroll Foy, politician
- Van Hansis, actor
- Lee Norris, actor
- Alondra Cano, politician
- Christina Milian, R&B singer and actress
- Serena Williams, tennis player
- September 27
- September 28
- September 29
- September 30
October
- October 2
- October 3
- October 4 - Curtis Deloatch, football player
- October 5
- October 7
- October 8 - Brett Dietz, football player and coach
- October 9
- October 10
- October 12
- October 13
- October 14 - Boof Bonser, baseball player
- October 15
- October 16
- October 17
- October 20
- October 21
- October 22
- October 24 - Tila Tequila, model and television personality
- October 25
- October 26 - Sam Brown, actor and comedian
- October 28
- October 29 - Amanda Beard, Olympic swimmer
- October 30
- October 31
November
- November 1
- November 2 - Ai, Japanese-born singer/songwriter
- November 3
- November 4
- November 5
- November 6
- November 8
- November 9
- November 10
- November 11 - Susan Kelechi Watson, actress
- November 13
- November 14
- November 15
- November 16 - Caitlin Glass, voice actress
- November 17
- November 18
- November 19 - Marcus Banks, basketball player
- November 20 - Carlos Boozer, basketball player
- November 21
- November 22 - Rolando Delgado, mixed martial artist and trainer
- November 24
- November 25
- November 26
- November 28 - Erick Rowan, wrestler
- November 29
- November 30
December
- December 2 - Britney Spears, singer, dancer, and actress
- December 3
- December 4 - Lila McCann, singer
- December 6
- December 7
- December 8
- December 9 - Katie Cook, comic artist and writer
- December 11
- December 12
- December 13
- December 15 - Thomas Herrion, football player (died 2005)
- December 16
- December 17 - Nick Baumgartner, Olympic snowboarder
- December 18 - Javarus Dudley, football player
- December 19 - Drake Diener, basketball player
- December 20
- December 21
- December 23
- December 25 - Tawny Ellis, film producer and daughter of stuntman turned director David R. Ellis
- December 26
- December 27
- December 28
- December 29
- Meena Dimian, broadcaster, writer, actor, and international television personality
- Ericka Dunlap, beauty pageant winner, Miss America 2003, and Miss America 2004
- December 30
- December 31
Full date unknown
- Jessica D. Aber, attorney
- Josh Abramson, entrepreneur and co-founder of CollegeHumor
- Katrina Andry, visual artist and printmaker
- Antigirl, multidisciplinary artist and graphic designer
- Will Aronson, composer
- Clint Baclawski, photography and installation artist
- Annie Baker, playwright and teacher
- Nathan Baskerville, politician
- Benjamin Beaton, judge
- Lukas Biewald, entrepreneur and founder and CEO of Figure Eight Inc.
- Brandon B. Brown, politician
- Katie Brown, rock climber
- Aileen Cannon, judge
- Beau Carey, painter and educator
- Lindsay Nicole Chambers, actor
- Elizabeth Chomko, playwright, film director, screenwriter, and actress
- Zachary Cotler, filmmaker, poet, and novelist
- Nick Courtright, poet
- Amber Cowan, artist and educator
- Donald Cumming, actor, musician, and singer/songwriter
- Ryan Dahl, software engineer, creator of JavaScript as TypeScript
- Angela Davis, chef, food blogger, recipe developer, and cookbook author
- Adriana DeMeo, actress
- Kevin Deutsch, criminal justice journalist and author
- Abigail DeVille, sculptor and installation artist
- Francesca DiMattio, artist
- Leila Djansi, Ghanaian-born filmmaker
- Lucy Dodd, painter and installation artist
- Kate Durbin, writer, digital and performance artist
- Lydia Edwards, politician
- Brian Elliot, social entrepreneur and speaker on technology, innovation, and social impact
- Corrie Erickson, oil painter, graphic designer, and illustrator
- Arlen Escarpeta, Belizean-born actor
- Rachael Eubanks, politician
- Mark Evitts, composer, producer, string arranger, and multi-instrumentalist
- JB McCuskey, politician
- Emily Young McQueen, wheelchair racer
- Frankie Shaw, actress and filmmaker
- Weirdo, fine artist (born Jeff Jacobson)
Deaths
See also: Deaths in 1981.
- January 5
- January 7 - John Pascal, playwright, screenwriter, author and journalist (b. 1932)
- January 8 - Matthew Beard, child film actor (b. 1925)
- January 10
- January 11 - Beulah Bondi, actress (b. 1888)
- January 13 - Robert Kellard, film actor (b. 1915)
- January 25 - Adele Astaire, dancer (b. 1896)
- January 29 – Kipp Hamilton, American actress (b. 1934)
- February 9
- February 15 – Mike Bloomfield, blues guitarist and composer (b. 1943)
- February 22 - Ilo Wallace, wife of Henry A. Wallace, Second Lady of the United States (born 1888)
- March 5 - Yip Harburg, lyricist (b. 1896)
- March 7 - Bosley Crowther, film critic (b. 1905)
- March 9 - Max Delbrück, biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906 in Germany)
- March 30 – DeWitt Wallace, magazine publisher (b. 1889)
- April 4 - Brad Johnson, actor (b. 1924)
- April 5
- April 7 - Norman Taurog, film director (b. 1899)
- April 8 - Omar N. Bradley, U.S. Army General (b. 1893)
- April 12 - Joe Louis, African American heavyweight boxer (b. 1914)
- April 15 - John Thach, naval aviator and admiral (b. 1905)
- April 26
- April 27 - John Aspinwall Roosevelt, businessman and philanthropist (b. 1916)
- April 28 - Cliff Battles, American footballer (Boston Redskins) (b. 1910)
- May 9 - Nelson Algren, novelist (b. 1909)
- May 11 - Bob Marley, reggae musician (b. 1945 in Jamaica)
- May 18
- May 22 – Boris Sagal, director and producer (b. 1923)
- May 23 - George Jessel, actor and entertainer (b. 1898)
- May 28 - Mary Lou Williams, jazz pianist (b. 1910)
- June 1 - Carl Vinson, U.S. Congressman (b. 1883)
- June 9 - Allen Ludden, television game show host (b. 1917)
- June 10 – Jenny Maxwell, American actress (b. 1941)
- July 1 – George Voskovec, Czech-American actor (b. 1905)
- July 3 – Ross Martin, actor (b. 1920)
- July 10 - Ken Rex McElroy, murder victim (b. 1934)
- July 16 – Harry Chapin, singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and activist (b. 1942)
- July 27
- July 29 - Robert Moses, urban planner (b. 1888)
- August 1 – Paddy Chayefsky, playwright, screenwriter and novelist (b. 1923)
- August 4 – Melvyn Douglas, actor
- August 15 - Carol Ryrie Brink, author (b. 1895)[4]
- August 30 – Vera-Ellen, actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1921)
- September 3 – Harold Houser, admiral, 35th Governor of American Samoa (b. 1897)
- September 22 – Harry Warren, composer and songwriter (b. 1893)
- September 27 – Robert Montgomery, actor, director, and producer (b. 1904)
- October 5 – Gloria Grahame, actress (b. 1923)
- October 24 – Edith Head, costume designer (b. 1897)
- November 2 – Wally Wood, comic book writer, artist, and independent publisher (b. 1927)
- November 3 - H. C. Westermann, sculptor and printmaker (b. 1922)
- November 7 - Will Durant, philosopher and writer (b. 1885)
- November 12 - William Holden, film actor (b. 1918)
- November 17 - Sibyl M. Rock, mathematician (b. 1909)
- November 21 – Harry von Zell, actor, singer, and announcer (b. 1906)
- November 25 – Jack Albertson, actor (b. 1907)
- November 27 - Lotte Lenya, singer (b. 1898 in Vienna)
- November 29 - Natalie Wood, actress (b. 1938)
- December 2 - Wallace Harrison, architect (b. 1895)
- December 3 – Walter Knott, farmer and founder (b. 1889)
- December 6 - Harry Harlow, psychologist (b. 1905)
- December 13 - Pigmeat Markham, African American vaudevillian (b. 1904)
- December 27 - Hoagy Carmichael, composer and singer (b. 1899)
See also
Notes and References
- The Bombing of Beirut. Journal of Palestine Studies. 11. 1. 1981. 218–225. 10.1525/jps.1981.11.1.00p0366x.
- http://www.chickenshow.com/events/ April 11, 2012
- Web site: Anthony Ervin. International Olympic Committee. 12 March 2020.
- Book: Bernice E.. Cullinan. Diane Goetz. Person. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. New York. Continuum. 2005. 112. 978-0-82641-778-7.