January 1981 calendar

January 1981
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31

Learn the most interesting events and historical facts that happened in January 1981.
The US president was Jimmy Carter (Democrat), the UK Prime Minister was Margaret Thatcher (Conservative), Pope St John Paul II was leading the Catholic Church.

But much more happened on January 1981: find out below

Historical Events

Which were the important events of January 1981?

Events

01 Jan 1981 International Year for the Disabled begins
02 Jan 1981 Sylvester Clarke knocks out spectator with brick, West Indies versus Pakistan.
03 Jan 1981 Mary Terstegge Meagher swims female record 100 metre butterfly (58.91s).
04 Jan 1981 Frankenstein opens and closes on Broadway
05 Jan 1981 Nightline with Ted Koppel extended from 20 minutes to 30 minutes
06 Jan 1981 50th hat trick in New York Islanders' history - John Tonelli scores five goals.
08 Jan 1981 Pirates of Penzance opens at Uris Theater in New York City, New York for 772 performances.
09 Jan 1981 Francisco Balsamao elected President of Portugal.
10 Jan 1981 John Severin sets 100-mile unicycle speed record, 9 hours 21 minutes.
11 Jan 1981 Tintypes closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 93 performances
12 Jan 1981 Dynasty with Joan Collins premieres on ABC-TV
13 Jan 1981 Barbara Sonntag, Colorado, crochets record 147 stitches/minutes for 30 minutes.
14 Jan 1981 FCC frees stations to air as many commercials an hour as they wish
15 Jan 1981 Hill Street Blues premieres on NBC-TV
16 Jan 1981 John Lennon releases Woman in the UK
17 Jan 1981 Philippino President Marcos ends state of siege
18 Jan 1981 Wendy O Williams arrested in Milwaukee for on-stage obscenity
19 Jan 1981 US and Iran sign agreement to release 52 American hostages
20 Jan 1981 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days freed
21 Jan 1981 Bernhard Goetz is assault for 1st time on a New York subway train
22 Jan 1981 40th Islander shut-out opponent-3-0 vs. Red Wings-Billy Smith 15th
23 Jan 1981 First Richard Nixon museum opens (San Clemente, California).
24 Jan 1981 Kim Hughes scores 213 versus India at Adelaide.
25 Jan 1981 Super Bowl XV: Oakland Raiders beat Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10 in New Orleans Super Bowl MVP: Jim Plunkett, Oakland, QB
26 Jan 1981 Sandeep Patil scores memorable 174 versus Australia at Adelaide Oval.
27 Jan 1981 The Indonesian passenger ship ''Tamponas 2'' catches fire and capsizes in the Java Sea, killing 580.
28 Jan 1981 Olympic Glory oil tanker at Galveston Bay, Texas, spills one million gallons of oil in a ship collision.
30 Jan 1981 8th American Music Awards: Kenny Rogers wins.
31 Jan 1981 The Tide Is High by Blondie hits #1
02 Jan 1981 One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Music charts

Which were the top hits in January 1981?
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Top #5 songs in the USA

John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over
Blondie - The Tide Is High
Leo Sayer - More Than I Can Say
Neil Diamond - Love On The Rocks
Barbra Streisand - Guilty

Top #5 songs in the UK

John Lennon - Imagine
John & Yoko & The Plastic Ono Band With The Harlem Community Choir - Happy Christmas (War Is Over)
Adam & The Ants - Antmusic
Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry
John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over