1981 Newspaper Headlines Summary
Our collection of 1981 newspaper articles feature some of the most captivating headlines of the year. Such memorable 1981 headlines include Ronald Reagan succeeding Jimmy Carter to become the 40th President, and the death of Bob Marley. These are covered in authentic newspapers chronicling the events as they happened.
It was during this year that Reagan was shot in the chest in an attempted assassination, and MTV was launched on cable television in the United States.One of the most memorable events of this year was the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer to Prince Charles of England, where the whole world tuned in to watch the young couple wed. An authentic 1981 newspaper is a wonderful gift idea for anyone interested in history, or with a particular affinity with the year 1981.
January 19, 1981Â
United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release the 53 American hostages, after 14 months of captivity.
January 20, 1981
Ronald Reagan succeeds Jimmy Carter as the 40th President. Minutes later, Iran releases the fifty-two Americans who had been held captive for 444 days, ending the Iran hostage crisis.
February 10, 1981Â
A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel-Casino kills 8 people and injures 198.
March 29, 1981
The first London Marathon is held with 7,500 runners.
March 30, 1981
President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington D.C. hotel by John Hinckley Junior. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded.
April 18, 1981Â
A Minor League Baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, becomes the longest professional baseball game in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning is not played until June 23).
May 11, 1981
Bob Marley, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1945) dies.
May 13, 1981
Pope John Paul II is shot and nearly killed by Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish gunman, as he enters St. Peter’s Square in Rome to address a general audience.
May 15, 1981Â
Donna Payant is murdered by serial killers Lemuel Smith. This is the first time a female prison officer has been killed on-duty in the United States.
June, 1981Â
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 13, 1981
At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, Marcus Sarjeant fires six blank shots at the Queen of England.
July 9, 1981Â
The first release of Donkey Kong and the first debut of Mario.
July 29, 1981
Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
August 1, 1981Â
MTV (Music Television) is launched on cable television in the United States.
August 7, 1981Â
The Washington Star ceases publication after 128 years.
August 10, 1981Â
Exactly two weeks after his disappearance, the severed head of 6-year-old Hollywood, Florida native Adam Walsh is found in a canal in Vero Beach, Florida; to this day the rest of the boy’s body has never been recovered.
August 19, 1981Â
President Ronald Reagan appoints the first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor.
August 24, 1981
Mark David Chapman is sentenced to twenty years to life in prison, after being convicted of murdering John Lennon in Manhattan eight months earlier.
October 28, 1981
The heavy metal band Metallica forms in Los Angeles.
December 28, 1981Â
The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
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