What happened in 1981

“Bette Davis Eyes”

Kim Carnes · 9 weeks at #1 in 1981

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1. Jan 3(Just Like) Starting OverJohn Lennon4 wks
2. Jan 31The Tide Is HighBlondie1 wk
3. Feb 7CelebrationKool & The Gang2 wks
4. Feb 219 To 5Dolly Parton2 wks
5. Feb 28I Love A Rainy NightEddie Rabbitt2 wks
6. Mar 21Keep On Loving YouREO Speedwagon1 wk
7. Mar 28RaptureBlondie2 wks
8. Apr 11Kiss On My ListDaryl Hall John Oates3 wks
9. May 2Morning Train (Nine To Five)Sheena Easton2 wks
10. May 16Bette Davis EyesKim Carnes9 wks
11. Jun 20MedleyStars On 451 wk
12. Jul 25The One That You LoveAir Supply1 wk
13. Aug 1Jessie's GirlRick Springfield2 wks
14. Aug 15Endless LoveDiana Ross & Lionel Richie9 wks
15. Oct 17Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)Christopher Cross3 wks
16. Nov 7Private EyesDaryl Hall John Oates2 wks
17. Nov 21PhysicalOlivia Newton-John6 wks

Dates are the first chart week at #1 in 1981; weeks count only those in 1981.Find the #1 song on your birthday →

1. Jan 1Greece is admitted into the European Community.
2. Jan 2One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
3. Jan 15Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from the Polish trade union Solidarity at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
4. Jan 19Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
5. Jun 12Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise, was released.
6. Jul 7US President Ronald Reagan nominates Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States.
7. Aug 1"Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles became the first music video broadcast on the American cable television network MTV.
8. Aug 24Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon.
9. Sep 21Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
10. Sep 22During a military exercise, a Turkish Air Force Northrop F-5 crashes in Babaeski as a result of pilot error, killing one crew member and also 65 soldiers on the ground.
11. Sep 25Belize joins the United Nations.
12. Sep 25Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
13. Nov 16About 30 million people watched the fictional couple Luke Spencer and Laura Webber wed on the television show General Hospital in the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history.
14. Nov 30Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe. (The meetings end inconclusively on December 17.)

Event summaries from Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Each links to its article.

• U.S. President

  Jimmy Carter → Ronald Reagan

• UK Prime Minister

  Margaret Thatcher

• Prime Minister of Canada

  Pierre Trudeau

• President of France

  Valéry Giscard d'Estaing → François Mitterrand

• German Chancellor

  Helmut Schmidt

• Prime Minister of Japan

  Zenkō Suzuki

• Soviet leader

  Leonid Brezhnev

Everyone who held the office at some point in 1981, from Wikidata.

A selection of the best-documented titles on Wikidata, by first release year; not a box-office ranking.

• Eli ManningAmerican football player · Jan 3
• Jared KushnerAmerican real estate investor and political figure · Jan 10
• PitbullAmerican rapper and producer · Jan 15
• Carrie CoonAmerican actress · Jan 24
• Alicia KeysAmerican singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress · Jan 25
• Elijah WoodAmerican actor and producer · Jan 28
• Justin TimberlakeAmerican singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor · Jan 31
• Uzo AdubaAmerican actress · Feb 10
• Paris HiltonAmerican model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman · Feb 17
• Joseph Gordon-LevittAmerican actor, director, and producer · Feb 17

From Wikipedia’s “On this day”, CC BY-SA 4.0.