Events
January
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
**
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
enters the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, predecessor of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
**
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
becomes a self-governing territory.
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
–
Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
: The
FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of
Morazán and
Chalatenango departments.
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
–
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
receives a
delegation led by Polish
Solidarity
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
leader
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...
at the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
.
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
–
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
is
sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the
Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...
.
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– The first
DeLorean automobile, a
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
with
gull-wing doors
In the automotive industry, a gull-wing door, also known as a falcon-wing door or an up-door, is a car door that is hinged at the roof rather than the side, as pioneered by Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, first as a race car in 1952 ( W194), and then a ...
, rolls off the
production line
A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...
in
Dunmurry
Dunmurry (; ) is an urban townland in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dunmurry is in the Collin electoral ward for the local government district of Belfast City Council.
History
Until the end of the 18th century, Dunmurry was largely an agricultura ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
*
January 24
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
* 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
*1438 – The Cou ...
– An
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
of magnitude in
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, China, kills 150 people. Japan suffers a less serious earthquake on the same day.
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
– In South Africa the largest part of the town
Laingsburg is swept away within minutes by one of the strongest floods ever experienced in the
Great Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi- desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ex ...
.
*
January 27
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
* 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...
– The
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n passenger ship ''Tamponas 2'' catches fire and capsizes in the
Java Sea
The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...
, killing 580 people.
February
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...
–
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Brundtland (; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician (Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–89, and 1990–96) and as the director-general of the World Health Organizati ...
becomes
Prime Minister of Norway
The prime minister of Norway ( no, statsminister, which directly translates to "minister of state") is the head of government and chief executive of Norway. The prime minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior government department ...
.
*
February 8
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
– In Greece, 20 fans of
Olympiacos F.C.
Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP ('' ...
and 1 fan of
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...
die, while 54 are injured, after a stampede at the
Karaiskakis Stadium
The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Καραϊσκάκη, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the ...
in
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
, possibly because Gate 7 does not open immediately after the end of the game.
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
* 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...
– Polish Prime Minister
Józef Pińkowski
Józef Pińkowski (; 17 April 1929 – 8 November 2000) was a Polish Communist politician who served as 51st Prime Minister of Poland from 1980 to 1981.
By profession Pińkowski was an economist. In 1971 he became a member of the central commit ...
resigns, and is replaced by General
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party be ...
.
*
February 14
Events Pre-1600
* 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
* 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis ...
–
Stardust fire
The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine's Day) 1981. Some 800 people had attended a disco there, of whom 48 died and 214 were injure ...
: A fire at the Stardust nightclub in
Artane, Dublin
Artane, sometimes spelt Artaine (), historically TartaineDublin, 1862: Thom's ''Almanac and Official Directory'' is a northside suburb of Dublin city, Ireland.
Artane is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Coolock. Neighbouring dis ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the early hours kills 48 people and injures 214.
*
February 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
* 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of ...
–
22 –
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
visits the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
–
1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt ("23-F"):
Antonio Tejero
Antonio Tejero Molina (born 30 April 1932) is a Spanish former Lieutenant Colonel of the Guardia Civil, and the most prominent figure in the failed coup d'état against the newly democratic Spanish government on 23 February 1981.
Career
Tejer ...
, with members of the
Guardia Civil
The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...
, enters the
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid.
It has 350 members elect ...
and stops the session where
Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo
Leopoldo Ramón Pedro Calvo-Sotelo y Bustelo, 1st Marquess of Ría de Ribadeo (; 14 April 1926 – 3 May 2008), usually known as Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, was Prime Minister of Spain between 1981 and 1982.
Early life and career
Calvo-Sotelo was b ...
is about to be named president of the government. The coup fails after being denounced by King
Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
.
*
February 24
Events Pre-1600
* 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.
* 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence.
* 13 ...
– A powerful, magnitude earthquake hits
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, killing 22 people, injuring 400 people and destroying several buildings and 4,000 houses, mostly in
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
and the nearby towns of
Loutraki
Loutraki ( el, Λουτράκι) is a seaside resort on the Gulf of Corinth, in Corinthia, Greece. It is located west of Athens and northeast of Corinth. Loutraki is the seat of the municipality Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi. The tow ...
,
Kiato
Kiato ( el, Κιάτο) is a town in the northern part of Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Sikyona. Kiato is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, near the mouth of the river Asopos. It has much tourist activit ...
and
Xylokastro
Xylokastro ( el, Ξυλόκαστρο) is a seaside town or village and a former municipality in Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xylokastro-Evrostina, of which it is a unit ...
.
March
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
–
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republicanism, Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government ...
:
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze ...
, a
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...
member, begins a
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
for
political status
In international law three categories of Political status are usually recognized:
#Independent countries e.g.: France, Canada
#Internal independent countries which are under the protection of another country in matters of defense and foreign affa ...
at
HM Prison Maze
Her Majesty's Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as The Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house alleged paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to Sept ...
(Long Kesh) in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, dying on
May 5
Events Pre-1600
* 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
*1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
* 1260 – Ku ...
, the first of 7 IRA and 3 INLA hunger strikers to die.
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the venerati ...
–
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an military dictator
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
is sworn in as
President of Chile
The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...
for another 8-year term.
*
March 17
Events Pre-1600
* 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
* 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eigh ...
– In Italy the
Propaganda Due
Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge under the Grand Orient of Italy, founded in 1877. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it transformed into a criminal, clandestine, anti-communist, anti-Soviet, anti-leftist, pseudo-Masonic, a ...
Masonic lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
is discovered.
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
*1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends ...
– Two or three workers are killed and 4 injured during a ground test of
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' at
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
in the United States.
*
March 29
Events Pre-1600
* 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
* 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of ...
– The first
London Marathon
The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...
starts, with 7,500 runners.
*
March 30
Events Pre-1600
* 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
* 1282 &ndas ...
–
Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
On March 30, 1981, President of the United States Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C. as he was returning to his limousine after a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton. Hinckley believed the attac ...
: U.S. President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by
John Hinckley, Jr.; 2 police officers and Press Secretary
James Brady
James Scott Brady (August 29, 1940 – August 4, 2014) was an American public official who served as assistant to the U.S. president and the seventeenth White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. In 1981, Brady b ...
are also wounded.
April
*
April 4
Events Pre-1600
* 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
* 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
* 611 – ...
– UK pop group
Bucks Fizz
Bucks Fizz were a British pop group that achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comp ...
's song ''
Making Your Mind Up
"Making Your Mind Up" is a song by the British pop group Bucks Fizz. It was the winner of the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, representing the , and was composed by Andy Hill and John Danter. Released in March 1981, it was Bucks Fizz's debut si ...
'' wins the
1981 Eurovision Song Contest in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
.
*
April 11
Events Pre-1600
* 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
* 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
* 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferra ...
–
1981 Brixton riot
The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981.J. A. Cloake & M. R. Tudor. ''Multicultural Britain''. Oxford Unive ...
: Rioters in south London, UK, throw petrol bombs, attack police and loot shops.
*
April 12
Events Pre-1600
* 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
* 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted ...
– The
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
program:
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' with
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
astronauts
John Young John Young may refer to:
Academics
* John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow
* John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...
and
Robert Crippen
Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937) is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as Pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttl ...
launches on the
STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on
April 14
Events Pre-1600
* 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum.
* 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...
. It is the first time a crewed reusable spacecraft has returned from orbit.
![Space Shuttle Columbia launching](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_launching.jpg)
*
April 15
Events Pre-1600
* 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
* 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
– The first
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
bottling plant in China is opened.
*
April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
* 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...
– A
Minor League Baseball game between the
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...
and the
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...
at
McCoy Stadium
McCoy Stadium is a former baseball stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1970 through 2020, it served as home field of the Pawtucket Red Sox (PawSox), a Minor League Baseball farm team, affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Completed in 1942, the st ...
in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...
, becomes the
longest professional baseball game
The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, two teams from the Triple-A International League, played the longest game in professional baseball history. It lasted 33 innings, with 8 hours and 25 minutes of playing time. 32 innings were playe ...
in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning is not played until
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
).
*
April 26
Events Pre-1600
* 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
*1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 1 ...
–
French presidential election
Presidential elections in France determine who will serve as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra for the French side for the next five years.
Until 2002, the elections were held every seven years. They are always held on a Sunday. Si ...
: A first-round runoff results between
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...
and
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
.
May
* May –
Daniel K. Ludwig abandons the
Jari project
The Jari project was an attempt to create a tropical tree farm in Brazil for producing pulp for paper.
Background
The Jari project was a brainchild of US entrepreneur and billionaire Daniel K. Ludwig. In the 1950s he noticed that demand for pa ...
in the
Amazon basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
.
*
May 1
Events Pre-1600
* 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
* 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
* 1169 &ndas ...
–
Pensions in Chile The Chile pension system (Spanish: ''Sistema Previsional'') refers to old-age, disability and survivor pensions for workers in Chile. The pension system was changed by José Piñera, during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, on November 4, 1980 from ...
: The new
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an pension system, based on private
pension fund
A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any plan, fund, or scheme which provides retirement income.
Pension funds typically have large amounts of money to invest and are the major investors in listed and priva ...
s, begins.
*
May 4
Events Pre-1600
* 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''.
* 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are ...
– The
European Law Students' Association
The European Law Students' Association (ELSA) is an international, independent, non-political, non-profit, non-governmental organisation run by and for law students. ELSA-activities comprise a large variety of academic and professional events t ...
(ELSA) was founded in Vienna by law students from Austria, West Germany, Poland and Hungary.
*
May 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
* 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Sp ...
– A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects
Maya Lin
Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer and sculptor. In 1981, while an undergraduate at Yale University, she achieved national recognition when she won a national design competition for the planned Vietnam Veterans Memoria ...
's design for the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those s ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
from 1,421 other entries.
*
May 13
Events Pre-1600
*1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book '' Revelations of Divine Love''.
* 1501 – Amerigo Vespu ...
–
Pope John Paul II assassination attempt
On 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck twice and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately and ...
:
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
is shot by
Mehmet Ali Ağca
Mehmet Ali Ağca (; born 9 January 1958) is a Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on 1 February 1979, and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on 13 May 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After serving ...
, a
Turkish gunman, as he enters
St. Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...
in
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
to address a general audience. The Pope recovers.
*
May 15
Events Pre-1600
* 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
* 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...
– A prison officer, 31-year-old
Donna Payant
Donna Payant née Collins (March 22, 1950 – May 15, 1981) was a New York state corrections officer who was murdered while on duty at Green Haven Correctional Facility. She was one of 50 women serving as a Correction Officer at Green Haven Cor ...
, disappears at Green Haven Correctional Facility in New York. She is later found to have been murdered by convicted serial killer
Lemuel Smith
Lemuel Warren Smith (born July 23, 1941), is an American convicted serial killer who was the first convict to kill an on-duty female corrections officer. Smith was already in prison for the murders of at least five people when he murdered priso ...
. It is the first time a female prison officer has been killed while on duty in the United States.
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
–
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
becomes the first socialist President of the
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republic, republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of France, Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. ...
.
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
* 11 ...
– Serial killer
Peter Sutcliffe
Peter William Sutcliffe (2 June 1946 – 13 November 2020) was an English serial killer who was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper (an allusion to Jack the Ripper) by the press. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting t ...
is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder in England.
*
May 25
Events Pre-1600
* 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
*240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
– In
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
, the
Gulf Cooperation Council
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...
is created between
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
*
May 26
Events Pre-1600
* 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
* 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire take ...
– The Italian government resigns over its links to the fascist Masonic cell
Propaganda Due
Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge under the Grand Orient of Italy, founded in 1877. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it transformed into a criminal, clandestine, anti-communist, anti-Soviet, anti-leftist, pseudo-Masonic, a ...
.
*
May 30
Events Pre-1600
* 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...
–
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
President
Ziaur Rahman
Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d' ...
is assassinated in
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
.
*
May 31
Events Pre-1600
* 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.
* 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat K ...
–
Burning of Jaffna library
The burning of the Jaffna Public Library ( ta, யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு, ''Yāḻ potu nūlakam erippu''; Sinhala: යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය ගිනිබත් කි ...
, one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the century.
June
*
June 5
Events Pre-1600
*1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
*1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...
– The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
in the United States report that 5
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
men in Los Angeles have a rare form of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
seen only in patients with weakened
immune system
The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
s, the first recognized cases of
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
.
*
June 6
Events Pre-1600
* 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...
–
Bihar train disaster
In the Indian state of Bihar, on June 6, 1981, a passenger train carrying more than 800 passengers between Mansi (Dhamara Pul) and Saharsa, India derailed and plunged into the river Bagmati while it was crossing a bridge.
After five days, more th ...
: Seven coaches of an overcrowded passenger train fall off the tracks into the
Bagmati River
, "Tiger Gate")
, source1_location = Shivapuri, Sundarijal, Kathmandu, Nepal
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, mouth = Confluence with Kamala River
, mouth_location = Jagmohra, Bihar, India
, mouth_coord ...
in
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, India, killing between 500 and 800.
* June 7 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor killing ten Iraqi troops and a French technician.
* June 10 – Alfredo Rampi, a 6-year-old boy, falls into an artesian well in Vermicino, near Rome. After nearly three days of failed rescue attempts followed with bated breath from all over Italy, Alfredino dies inside the well, at a depth of 60 meters.
* June 13 – At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, teenager Marcus Sarjeant fires 6 blank shots close to Queen Elizabeth II, startling her horse.
* June 18
** The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States is founded.
** The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter makes its first flight at Groom Lake (Area 51), Nevada.
* June 22 – Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr is deposed.
* June 27
** The first game of paintball is played, in Henniker, New Hampshire, United States.
** The E-mu Emulator sampler keyboard with floppy disk operation is unveiled at NAMM international Sound & Music Expo, Chicago. Production Model Serial Number 001 is issued to Stevie Wonder.
July
* July 1 – Wonderland murders: The Wonderland Gang of cocaine dealers is brutally murdered in Los Angeles. Eddie Nash is suspected of involvement, but will never be convicted.
* July 3 – The Toxteth riots in Liverpool, England, start after a mob saves a youth from being arrested. Shortly afterward, the Chapeltown riots (1981), Chapeltown riots in Leeds start after increased racial tension.
* July 7 – United States President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
nominates the first woman, Sandra Day O'Connor, to the Supreme Court of the United States.
* July 9 – ''Donkey Kong (video game), Donkey Kong'' is released, marking the first ''Donkey Kong'' and Mario smash hit arcade game developed by Nintendo in Japan.
* July 10
** Mahathir bin Mohamad becomes the 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia.
** 1981 Handsworth riots in Birmingham begin, followed by further 1981 England riots in several urban areas including Liverpool and Leeds.
* July 16–July 21, 21 – England become the first team this century to win a cricket Test match after the follow-on when they beat Australia by 18 runs at Headingley cricket ground, Leeds, England.
* July 17
** Hyatt Regency walkway collapse: 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, Lebanese Civil War#Israeli bombing of 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.
* July 19 – The 1981 Springbok Tour commences in New Zealand, amid controversy over the support of apartheid.
* July 21 – Panda Tohui is born in Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, the first panda to ever be born and survive in captivity outside of China.
* July 29 – A worldwide television audience of over 750 million people watch the Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London, UK.
* July 30 – 1981 Polish hunger demonstrations: As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, take to the streets in Łódź to protest about food ration shortages in People's Republic of Poland, Communist Poland.
August
* August 1 – The first 24-hour video music channel MTV (Music Television) is launched in the United States and airs its first video, ''Video Killed the Radio Star'' by The Buggles.
* August 9 – 1981 Major League Baseball strike ends in the United States, and Major League Baseball resumes with the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star Game in Cleveland's Cleveland Stadium, Municipal Stadium.
* August 12 – The original Model 5150 IBM PC (with a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 processor) is released in the United States at a base price of $1,565.
* August 19 – Gulf of Sidra incident (1981), Gulf of Sidra incident: Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi sends two Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets to intercept two U.S. Navy fighters over the Gulf of Sidra. The U.S. jets destroy the Libyan fighters.
* August 23 – South African troops attack SWAPO bases in Xangongo and Ongiva, Angola, during Operation Protea.
* August 24 – Mark David Chapman is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murdering John Lennon in Manhattan eight months earlier.
* August 27 – North Korea fires a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. SR-71 Blackbird spy plane flying in South Korean and international airspace. The missile misses and the airplane is unharmed.
* August 30 – 1981 Iranian Prime Minister's office bombing: Eight people, including the country's president and prime minister, are killed when a briefcase, planted by People's Mujahedin of Iran, explodes in the building.
* August 31 – A bomb explodes at the United States Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, injuring 20 people.
September
* September 1 – Gregorio Conrado Álvarez is inaugurated as a military List of Presidents of Uruguay, de facto President of Uruguay.
* September 4 – An List of accidents and disasters by death toll#Coal mine disasters, explosion at a mine in Záluží (Beroun District), Záluží, Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovakia, kills 65 people.
* September 7 – British plantation company, Guthrie (company), Guthrie was taken over by the Government of Malaysia, Malaysian government after successfully purchasing shares to become the major shareholder. This is famously called the 'Dawn Raid attack'.
* September 10 – Picasso's painting ''Guernica (Picasso), Guernica'' is moved from New York to Madrid.
* September 15
** Our Lady of Akita in Japan cries for the last time, on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.
** The ''John Bull (locomotive), John Bull'' becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world, at 150 years old, when it operates under its own power outside Washington, D.C.
* September 17 – Ric Flair defeats Dusty Rhodes to win his first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City.
* September 18 – France's National Assembly votes to abolish Capital punishment in France.
* September 19 – Solidarity Day march, in support of organized labor, draws approximately 250,000 people in Washington, D.C.
* September 20 – The overcrowded ferry boat ''Sobral Santos II'' capsizes in the Amazon River, Óbidos, Brazil, killing at least 300 people.
* September 21 – Belize, formerly British Honduras, gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
* September 25 – Sandra Day O'Connor takes her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
* September 26
** The Boeing 767 airliner makes its first flight.
** The Sydney Tower opens to the public in Australia.
* September 27 – TGV high-speed rail service between Paris and Lyon, France, begins.
* September 27–September 29, 29 – Iran–Iraq War: Iranian forces break the Siege of Abadan in Operation Samen-ol-A'emeh.
October
* October 5 – Raoul Wallenberg becomes a posthumously honorary citizen of the United States.
* October 10 – The Ministry for Education of Japan issues the jōyō kanji.
* October 14 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat during a parade, by servicemen who belong to the Egyptian Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Islamic Jihad organization led by Khalid Islambouli and oppose his negotiations with Israel.
* October 16 – Gas explosions at a coal mine at Hokutan, Yūbari, Hokkaidō, Japan, kill 93 people.
* October 21 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
* October 22 – The founding congress of the Nepal Workers and Peasants Organisation (Hareram Sharma), Nepal Workers and Peasants Organization faction led by Hareram Sharma and D. P. Singh begins.
* October 27 – Soviet submarine S-363 runs aground outside the Karlskrona, Sweden, military base, leading to a minor international incident.
November
![Flag of Antigua and Barbuda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Flag_of_Antigua_and_Barbuda.svg)
* November 1 – Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.
* November 9 – Slavery in Mauritania is abolished by Edict No. 81-234.
* November 12 – The Church of England General Synod votes to admit women to holy orders.
* November 22 – The Edmonton Eskimos (14-1-1) barely stave off defeat and win a record 4th consecutive Grey Cup in the Canadian Football League, at the 69th Grey Cup at Montréal's Olympic Stadium defeating the Ottawa Rough Riders (5-11-0) 26–23 in the final three seconds; after being down 20–1 at halftime.
* November 23
** Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
signs the Classified information, top secret National Security Decision Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorizing the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit and support Contras, Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
** 1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak, the largest recorded tornado outbreak in European history.
* November 25–November 26, 26 – 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt: A group of Mercenary, mercenaries led by Mike Hoare take over Mahé, Seychelles, Mahe airport. Most of them escape by a commandeered Air India passenger jet; six are later arrested.
December
* December 1 – An Adria Airways, Inex-Adria Aviopromet McDonnell Douglas MD-80 Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, strikes a mountain peak and crashes while approaching Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport, Ajaccio Airport in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board.
* December 4 – South Africa grants Ciskei independence, not recognized outside South Africa.
* December 7 – Rotary International charters the Rotary Club of Grand Baie, Mauritius.
* December 8
** The No. 21 Mine explosion in Whitwell, Tennessee kills 13.
** Arthur Scargill becomes President-elect of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain).
* December 10 – During the Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels, Spain signs the Enlargement of NATO, Protocol of Accession to NATO.
* December 11
** Boxing: Muhammad Ali loses to Trevor Berbick; this proves to be Ali's last-ever fight.
** El Mozote massacre: In El Salvador, army units kill 900 civilians.
* December 13 –
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party be ...
declares martial law in Poland, to prevent the dismantling of the communist system by
Solidarity
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
.
* December 15 – A car bomb destroys the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 61 people; Syrian intelligence is blamed.
* December 17 – American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is kidnapped in Verona by the Italian Red Brigades.
* December 20 – The Penlee lifeboat disaster: While attempting to rescue those on board the ''Union Star'' off the coast of South-West Cornwall, the lifeboat ''Solomon Browne'' is lost with all crew. Sixteen people in all are killed.
* December 28 – The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Jordan Carr, is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
* December 31 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President of Ghana, President Hilla Limann's People's National Party (Ghana), PNP Limann government, government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council, PNDC led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
Date unknown
* January to March – :ja:五六豪雪, Heavy snow causes many houses and buildings to collapse in northwestern Japan; 152 are killed.
* Cuba suffers a major outbreak of dengue fever, with 344,203 cases.
* Use of crack cocaine, a smokeable form of the drug, first reported in the United States and Caribbean.
* Luxor AB presents the ABC 800 computer.
* Polybius (urban legend), Polybius, an urban legend game, is said to have been released in Portland, Oregon; there is no evidence for its existence.
* The State Council of the People's Republic of China lists the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Guilin as those where the protection of historical and cultural heritage, as well as natural scenery, should be treated as a priority project.
* Pepsi enters China.
* China becomes the first country to ever reach a population of 1 billion around the end of 1981.
Births
January
![Justin Timberlake by Gage Skidmore 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Justin_Timberlake_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
** Mladen Petrić, Croatian football player
* January 2 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
* January 3 – Eli Manning, American football player
* January 4 – Joe Bishop-Henchman, American attorney and politician
* January 5 – Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman), Canadian DJ/producer
* January 6 – Rinko Kikuchi, Japanese actress
* January 8
** Xie Xingfang, Chinese badminton player
** Genevieve Cortese, American actress
* January 9 – Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
–
** Jared Kushner, American investor
** Chris Pozniak, Canadian footballer
* January 11 – Jamelia, British singer
*
January 15
Events Pre-1600
* 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
* 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of ...
** Howie Day, American singer
** El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese footballer
** Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull, American hip-hop musician and record producer
* January 17 – Ray J, American rapper and singer
* January 19 – Lucho González, Argentine footballer
**Elizabeth Tulloch, American actress
*
January 20
Events Pre-1600
* 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
* 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
* 1156 &ndas ...
** Owen Hargreaves, Canadian-born English footballer
** Jason Richardson, American basketball player
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– Izabella Miko, Polish actress and dancer
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
** Alicia Keys, American singer, pianist and actress
** Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)
* January 26 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan conductor
*
January 27
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
* 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...
** Yaniv Katan, Israeli footballer
** Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
* January 28 – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
* January 29 – Tenoch Huerta, Mexican actor
* January 30 – Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer
* January 31
** Gemma Collins, English media personality and businesswoman
**Justin Timberlake, American actor and musician
February
![Kelly Rowland March 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Kelly_Rowland_March_2020.png)
* February 2 – Emily Rose (actress), Emily Rose, American actress
* February 3 – Ben Sigmund, New Zealand footballer
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...
** Paulien van Deutekom, Dutch speed skater (d. 2019)
** Fahmi Fadzil, Malaysian politician
* February 5 – Nora Zehetner, American actress
*
February 8
Events Pre-1600
* 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
*1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al ...
** Dawn Olivieri, American actress
** Jim Parrack, American actor
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
* 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...
– Tom Hiddleston, British actor
* February 10
** Uzo Aduba, American actress
** Holly Willoughby, English television presenter
* February 11
** Kelly Rowland, American singer and actress
** Edoardo Molinari, Italian golfer
* February 12 – Selena Li, Hong Kong actress
*
February 17
Events Pre-1600
* 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
* 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of ...
** Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor and film director
** Paris Hilton, American model, heiress, and socialite
* February 18 – Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
*
February 23
Events Pre-1600
* 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
* 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
– Josh Gad, American actor, comedian, and singer
*
February 24
Events Pre-1600
* 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.
* 1303 – The English are defeated at the Battle of Roslin, in the First War of Scottish Independence.
* 13 ...
– Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
* February 25
** Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer
** Shahid Kapoor, Indian actor
**Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Mexican actor
* February 27
** Josh Groban, American singer
** Mat Yeung, Hong Kong actor
March
![Julia Stiles by David Shankbone cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Julia_Stiles_by_David_Shankbone_cropped.jpg)
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
– Will Power, Australian racing driver
* March 2 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
* March 3
** Julius Malema, South African politician
** László Nagy (handballer), László Nagy, Hungarian handball player
* March 5 – Hanna Alström, Swedish actress
* March 10
** Samuel Eto'o, Cameroonian footballer* March 12
** Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese professional wrestler
** Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the venerati ...
– Matthias Schweighöfer, German actor, director and producer
* March 13 – Olena Kot, Ukrainian journalists.
* March 15 – Young Buck, American rapper
*
March 17
Events Pre-1600
* 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
* 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eigh ...
– Kyle Korver, American basketball player
* March 18
** Fabian Cancellara, Swiss road bicycle racer
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
*1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends ...
– Kolo Touré, Ivorian football player
* March 26 – Luke Ford, Canadian-Australian actor
* March 28
** Dan Petronijevic, Canadian actor
** Julia Stiles, American actress
*
March 29
Events Pre-1600
* 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
* 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of ...
– Megan Hilty, American actress and singer
* March 31 – Maarten van der Weijden, Dutch Olympic swimmer
April
![Kapil sharma](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Kapil_sharma.jpg)
* April 1
** Aslı Bayram, Turkish German model and actress
** Aimee Chan, Chinese-Canadian actress
** Nolan Yonkman, Canadian hockey player
*
* April 2
** Kapil Sharma, Indian stand- up comedian and actor
* April 6
** Lucas Licht, Argentine footballer
* April 7
** Óscar Alberto Pérez, Venezuelan rebel leader and detective (d. 2018)
**Suzann Pettersen, Norwegian golfer
* April 8
** Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
** Taylor Kitsch, Canadian actor and model
** Ofer Shechter, Israeli actor
* April 9 – Milan Bartovič, Slovak hockey player
*
April 11
Events Pre-1600
* 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
* 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
* 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferra ...
**Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
**Luis Flores (basketball), Luis Flores, Dominican basketball player
* April 16 - Russell Harvard, deaf American actor
*
April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
* 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...
** Jang Na-ra, Korean actress and singer
** Audrey Tang, Taiwanese software programmer
* April 19
** Hayden Christensen, Canadian-American actor
** Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
* April 25
** Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
** Anja Pärson, Swedish alpine skier
** Krzysztof Tuduj, Polish politician
*
April 26
Events Pre-1600
* 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
*1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 1 ...
– Matthieu Delpierre, French football player
* April 28 – Jessica Alba, American actress and businesswoman
* April 29 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor
May
![Sm album3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Sm_album3.jpg)
*
May 1
Events Pre-1600
* 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
* 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
* 1169 &ndas ...
– Alexander Hleb, Belarusian football player
*
May 5
Events Pre-1600
* 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
*1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
* 1260 – Ku ...
– Craig David, English singer
* May 8 – Stephen Amell, Canadian actor
* May 11
** Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
** Daisuke Matsui, Japanese football player
* May 12
** Rami Malek, American actor
** Kentaro Sato (composer), Kentaro Sato, Japanese composer
*
May 13
Events Pre-1600
*1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book '' Revelations of Divine Love''.
* 1501 – Amerigo Vespu ...
– Rebecka Liljeberg, Swedish actress
*
May 15
Events Pre-1600
* 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
* 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...
** Patrice Evra, Senegalese-born French footballer
** Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress
** Zara Tindall, British elite equestrienne
* May 16 – Joseph Morgan (actor), Joseph Morgan, English actor
* May 17 – Shiri Maimon, Israeli pop/R&B singer, TV show host and actress
* May 19
** Sani Bečirovič, Slovenian basketball player
** Bong Tae-gyu, South Korean actor
** Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
** Georges St-Pierre, Canadian mixed martial arts fighter
* May 20
** Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
** Rachel Platten, American singer-songwriter
** Mark Winterbottom, Australian racing driver
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
– Anna Rogowska, Polish pole vaulter
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
* 11 ...
** Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
** Melissa Gregory, American figure skater
* May 23 - Dessa, American Doomtree singer
* May 24 – Andy Lee (comedian), Andy Lee, Australian comedian and musician
*
May 25
Events Pre-1600
* 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
*240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
– Logan Tom, American volleyball player
*
May 26
Events Pre-1600
* 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
* 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire take ...
– Anthony Ervin, American swimmer
* May 27 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
* May 29
** Justin Chon, American actor
** Andrey Arshavin, Russian football player
June
![Simon Ammann (2011)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Simon_Ammann_%282011%29.jpg)
* June 1
** Brandi Carlile, American singer and songwriter
** Amy Schumer, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
* June 3 – Mike Adam, Canadian curler
* June 4
** T.J. Miller, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
** Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
** Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
*
June 5
Events Pre-1600
*1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
*1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...
– Sébastien Lefebvre, Canadian musician (Simple Plan)
* June 7
** Larisa Oleynik, American actress
** Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
* June 9
** Celina Jaitly, Indian actress
** Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
** Anoushka Shankar, British musician and daughter of Ravi Shankar
* June 12 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model
* June 13 – Chris Evans (actor), Chris Evans, American actor
* June 14 – Lonneke Engel, Dutch model
* June 15 – Veljo Reinik, Estonian actor
* June 17 – Amrita Rao, Indian actress
* June 18 – Ella Chen, Taiwanese singer
* June 21
** Simon Delestre, French equestrian
** Brandon Flowers, American singer and keyboardist
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
– Joe Taslim, Indonesian actor and martial artist
* June 24 – Júnior Assunção, Brazilian mixed martial artist
* June 25
** Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
** Carlo Prater, Brazilian mixed martial artist
** Sheridan Smith, English actress
* June 27 – Majida Issa, Colombian actress
* June 28 – Mara Santangelo, Italian tennis player
* June 29
** Joe Johnson (basketball), Joe Johnson, American basketball player
** Maria Maya, Brazilian actress
July
![Alonso 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Alonso_2016.jpg)
* July 1
** Orlando Cruz, Puerto Rican boxer
** Tim Reddy, International Man of Mystery
* July 3
** Evgeny Postny, Israeli chess grandmaster
** Tevita Leo-Latu, New Zealand rugby league footballer
* July 4 – Tahar Rahim, French actor
* July 5
** Gianne Albertoni, Brazilian model
** Ryan Hansen, American actor
* July 6
** Omar Naber, Slovenian singer, songwriter and guitar player
** Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
** Synyster Gates, American guitarist
* July 8 – Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
* July 11 – Susana Barreiros, Venezuelan judge
* July 12 – Bojana Novakovic, Serbian-Australian actress
* July 13
** Hassan Al Kontar, Refugees of the Syrian Civil War, Syrian refugee
** Ágnes Kovács, Hungarian swimmer
* July 15 – Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Malaysian footballer
* July 17 – Mélanie Thierry, French actress
* July 18 – Michiel Huisman, Dutch actor, musician and singer-songwriter
* July 19 – Nikki Osborne, Australian actress
* July 21
** Paloma Faith, English singer, songwriter and actress
** Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Joaquín, Spanish footballer
* July 22
** Clive Standen, Northern Irish actor
** Josh Lawson, Australian actor
* July 23 –
** Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
** Steve Jocz, Sum 41 ex-drummer
* July 24
** Summer Glau, American actress
** Nayib Bukele, 46th President of El Salvador
* July 25 – Finn Bálor (aka Fergal Devitt), Irish professional wrestler
* July 26 – Maicon Douglas Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
* July 27 – Li Xiaopeng (gymnast), Li Xiaopeng, Chinese gymnast
* July 29 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish double Formula 1 world champion
* July 30 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (d. 2017)
August
![Jan Frodeno 2015 Ironman European Championship Frankfurt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Jan_Frodeno_2015_Ironman_European_Championship_Frankfurt.jpeg)
* August 3 – Fikirte Addis, Ethiopian fashion designer
* August 4
** Abigail Spencer, American actress
** Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, American actress and member of the British royal family
* August 5 – Anna Rawson, Australian professional golfer
* Jesse Williams (actor), Jesse Williams, American actor, director, producer and activist
* August 6 - Leslie Odom Jr., American actor
* August 8
** Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
** Meagan Good, American actress
** Harel Skaat, Israeli singer
* August 9 – Li Jiawei, Singaporean Olympic table tennis player
* August 10
** Natsumi Abe, Japanese singer and actress
** Taufik Hidayat, Indonesian badminton player
* August 12
** Djibril Cissé, French footballer
** Steve Talley, American actor
* August 14
** Scott Lipsky, American tennis player
** Kofi Kingston, Ghanaian professional wrestler
* August 15
** Zaka Alao, French basketball player
** Tosyn Bucknor, Nigerian media personality (d. 2018)
** Song Ji-hyo, South Korean actress
** Oh Jin-hyek, South Korean archer
* August 17 – Hinde Boulbayem
* August 18 – Jan Frodeno, German triathlete
* August 19 - Nate Burleson, American football player, TV host
* August 20 – Ben Barnes (actor), Ben Barnes, English actor (Caspian X, Prince Caspian)
* August 21 – Jarrod Lyle, Australian golfer (d. 2018)
* August 24 – Chad Michael Murray, American actor
* August 25 – Rachel Bilson, American actress
* August 27 – Patrick J. Adams, Canadian actor and director
* August 29
** Jay Ryan (actor), Jay Ryan, New Zealand actor
** Karim Darwish (squash), Karim Darwish, Egyptian squash player
September
![Serena Williams at 2013 US Open](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Serena_Williams_at_2013_US_Open.jpg)
* September 1 – Park Hyo-shin, Korean singer
* September 4 – Beyoncé, American actress and R&B singer (Destiny's Child)
* September 8 – Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
* September 9
** Julie Gonzalo, Argentine-American actress and producer
** Nancy Wu, Hong Kong actress
* September 10 – Marco Chiudinelli, Swiss tennis player
* September 12 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
* September 14
** Jordi Mestre, Spanish actor and model (d. 2020)
** Ashley Roberts, American singer (The Pussycat Dolls)
** Miyavi, Japanese musician
* September 15 – Ben Schwartz, American actor
* September 16
** Alexis Bledel, American actress and model
** Fan Bingbing, Chinese actress
* September 18 – Jennifer Tisdale, American actress
* September 23 – Natalie Horler, German singer (Cascada)
* September 26
** Asuka (wrestler), Asuka, Japanese professional wrestler
** Christina Milian, American R&B singer and actress
** Serena Williams, American tennis player
* September 30
** Cecelia Ahern, Irish author, daughter of Bertie Ahern
** Dominique Moceanu, Romanian-American gymnast
October
![191112 전지현 (3)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/191112_%EC%A0%84%EC%A7%80%ED%98%84_%283%29.jpg)
* October 1 – Roxane Mesquida, French actress
* October 3 – Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish international
* October 5 – Enrico Fabris, Italian speed skater
* October 8 – Chris Killen, New Zealand footballer
* October 9 – Rupert Friend, English actor
* October 12
** Engin Akyürek, Turkish actor
** Brian J. Smith, American actor
** Tom Guiry, American actor
* October 15
** Elena Dementieva, Russian tennis player
** Guo Jingjing, Chinese diver
* October 16 – Caterina Scorsone, Canadian actress
* October 19 – Dmitri Shlyakhtin, former Russian professional football player
* October 20 – Stefan Nystrand, Swedish swimmer
* October 21 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian football player
* October 23 – Huo Siyan, Chinese actress
* October 24
** Tila Tequila, Vietnamese-American model
** Mallika Sherawat, Indian actress
* October 25 – Shaun Wright-Phillips, English footballer
* October 26 – Guy Sebastian, original Australian Idol 2003 singer
* October 28
** Milan Baroš, Czech footballer
* October 29
** Amanda Beard, American swimmer
** Kate Bedingfield, American White House official; Communications Director
* October 30
** Jun Ji-hyun, South Korean actress
** Ivanka Trump, American model and advisor
* October 31 – Frank Iero, American guitarist (My Chemical Romance)
November
![Yfke-sturm-1326186044](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Yfke-sturm-1326186044.jpg)
* November 2
** Tatiana Totmianina, Russian figure skater
** Ai (singer), Ai, Japanese-American singer-songwriter
** Katharine Isabelle, Canadian actress
* November 4 – Lakshmi Menon (model), Lakshmi Menon, Indian model
* November 8 – Joe Cole, English footballer
* November 11
** Natalie Glebova, Russian-born Canadian beauty queen
** Raphael Gualazzi, Italian singer and pianist, Eurovision Song Contest, Eurovision Song Contest 2011 runner-up
** Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, The Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
* November 14 – Russell Tovey, British actor
* November 15 – Lorena Ochoa, Mexican golfer
* November 16 - Kate Miller-Heidke, Australian singer, songwriter and actress
* November 18
** Allison Tolman, American actress
** Nasim Pedrad, Iranian-American actress and comedian
* November 19 – Yfke Sturm, Dutch model
* November 20
** Andrea Riseborough, English actress
** Kimberley Walsh, British singer (Girls Aloud)
* November 22 – Song Hye-kyo, South Korean actress
* November 25 – Xabi Alonso, Spanish footballer
* November 26
** Natasha Bedingfield, British singer-songwriter
** Jon Ryan, Canadian National Football League football player from Regina, Saskatchewan
* November 27 – Bruno Alves, Portuguese footballer
* November 29 – Bakhyt Sarsekbayev, Kazakh Olympic boxer
December
![Arakawa 2009 Festa On Ice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Arakawa_2009_Festa_On_Ice.JPG)
* December 2 – Britney Spears, American singer-songwriter, choreographer
* December 3
**Brian Bonsall, American actor and musician
**David Villa, Spanish footballer
* December 6 – Lior Suchard, Israeli mentalist
* December 9 – Dia Mirza, Bollywood actress
* December 11
** Kevin Phillips (actor), Kevin Phillips, American film actor
** Javier Saviola, Argentine soccer player
* December 13 – Amy Lee, American pianist/singer-songwriter (Evanescence)
* December 14 – Amber Chia, Malaysian model and actress
* December 15
** Michelle Dockery, British actress
** Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian football player
** Firman Utina, Indonesian football player
* December 16 – Krysten Ritter, American actress, musician, author, and model
* December 20 – Leo Bertos, New Zealand footballer
* December 24 – Dima Bilan, Russian pop-singer
* December 26 – Nikolai Nikolaeff, Australian actor
* December 27
** Yuvraj Singh, Indian cricketer
** Emilie de Ravin, Australian actress
* December 28
** Sienna Miller, American-born English actress
** Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
* December 29 – Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater
Deaths
January
![Adele Astaire in 1919](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Adele_Astaire_in_1919.jpg)
*
January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...
** Kazimierz Michałowski, Polish archaeologist (b. 1901)
** Mauri Rose, American race car champion (b. 1906)
* January 3
** Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria (b. 1883)
** Marvin Opler, American anthropologist (b. 1914)
* January 5
** Harold Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1893)
** Lanza del Vasto, Italian-born philosopher, poet and activist (b. 1901)
* January 6 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish novelist (b. 1896)
*
January 10
Events Pre-1600
*49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
* 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
** Katharine Alexander, Katherine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
** Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
* January 11 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1889)
* January 12 – John Fearns Nicoll, Sir John Nicoll, British colonial governor (b. 1899)
* January 13 – Robert Kellard, American actor (b. 1915)
* January 16 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
* January 19 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– Allyn Joslyn, American actor (b. 1901)
* January 23 – Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
*
January 25
Events Pre-1600
* 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate.
* 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
– Adele Astaire, American actress (b. 1896)
*
January 27
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
* 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...
– Leo Collard, Léo Collard, Belgian Socialist politician (b. 1902)
* January 29 – Lajos Korányi, Hungarian footballer (b. 1907)
* January 30 – John Gordon (archbishop), John Gordon, Irish Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1912)
* January 31 – Cozy Cole, American jazz drummer (b. 1909)
February
![Mrs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Mrs._Henry_Wallace.jpg)
* February 1
** Wanda Hendrix, American actress (b. 1928)
** Ernst Pepping, German composer (b. 1901)
** Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
* February 2 – Hugh Joseph Addonizio, Italian-born American politician and Mayor of Newark (b. 1914)
*
February 4
Events Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...
– Mario Camerini, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1895)
* February 6 – Frederica of Hanover, Queen Consort of the Hellenes and wife of King Paul of Greece (b. 1917)
* February 7 – Hermann Esser, German journalist and editor of the Nazi newspaper ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (b. 1900)
*
February 9
Events Pre-1600
* 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
* 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
* 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...
** Bill Haley (musician), Bill Haley, American rock musician, member of Bill Haley & The Comets (b. 1925)
** Jack Z. Anderson, U.S. Representative from California (b. 1904)
* February 10 – Hubert Shirley-Smith, British civil engineer (b. 1901)
* February 12 – Bruce Fraser, 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, British admiral (b. 1888)
* February 15
** Karl Richter (conductor), Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)
** Mike Bloomfield, American blues guitarist (b. 1943)
* February 18
** John Knudsen Northrop, American airplane manufacturer (b. 1895)
** Ibrahim Abdel Hady Pasha, Egyptian politician, 28th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1896)
* February 20
** Bernard B. Brown, American sound engineer and composer (b. 1898)
** Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, French magazine editor and playboy (b. 1904)
* February 22
** Michael Maltese, American screenwriter (b. 1908)
** Curtis Bernhardt, German film director (b. 1899)
** Ilo Wallace, wife of Henry A. Wallace, Second Lady of the United States (b. 1888)
* February 25
** Leonard Howell, Founder of Rastafarianism (b. 1898)
** Gunichi Mikawa, Japanese admiral (b. 1888)
* February 26 – Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896)
* February 27 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (b. 1920)
March
![Douglas Lowe 1926](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Douglas_Lowe_1926.jpg)
*
March 1
Events Pre-1600
*509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first Roman triumph, triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
* 293 – Emperor ...
– Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón, 14th President of Panama (b. 1903)
* March 4 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
* March 5 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
* March 6 – George Geary, English cricketer (b. 1893)
* March 7
** Peter Birch (bishop), Peter Birch, Irish Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1911)
** Kirill Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)
** Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling, German-Danish tennis player (b. 1908)
* March 9 – Max Delbrück, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906)
* March 10 – Flavio Calzavara, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the venerati ...
– Kazimierz Kordylewski, Polish astronomer (b. 1903)
* March 14 – Paolo Grassi, Italian actor (b. 1919)
* March 15 – René Clair, French film director (b. 1898)
* March 20 – Gerry Bertier, American college football player (b. 1953)
* March 21 – Mark Donskoy, Russian Soviet film director (b. 1901)
* March 22
** John S. McCain Jr., American admiral (b. 1911)
** Gil Puyat, Filipino businessman and politician, Senator of the Philippines and Senate President (b. 1907)
* March 23
** Claude Auchinleck, Sir Claude Auchinleck, British field marshal (b. 1884)
** Mike Hailwood, English motorcycle racer (b. 1940)
** Beatrice Tinsley, English astronomer (b. 1941)
* March 26 – Cyril Dean Darlington, English biologist, geneticist and eugenicist, (b. 1903)
*
March 29
Events Pre-1600
* 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
* 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of ...
– Eric Williams, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
*
March 30
Events Pre-1600
* 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro- Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
* 1282 &ndas ...
** Sherman Edwards, American songwriter (b. 1919)
** Douglas Lowe (athlete), Douglas Lowe, British Olympic athlete (b. 1902)
** DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (b. 1889)
* March 31 – Frank Tieri (mobster), Frank Tieri, American gangster (b. 1904)
April
![Prince Asaka Yasuhiko 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Prince_Asaka_Yasuhiko_02.jpg)
* April 3 – Juan Trippe, airline entrepreneur (b. 1899)
* April 5
** Lucile Godbold, American Olympic athlete (b. 1900)
** Maurice Zbriger, Canadian violinist, composer and conductor (b. 1896)
**Bob Hite, American musician (Canned Heat) (b. 1943)
* April 6 – Alfredo Guarini, Italian director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1901)
* April 7 – Norman Taurog, American film director (b. 1899)
* April 8
** Gopal Chandra Bhattacharya, Indian entomologist (b. 1895)
** Omar Bradley, American army general (b. 1893)
*
April 12
Events Pre-1600
* 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
* 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
* 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted ...
** Joe Louis, American boxer (b. 1914)
** Hendrik Andriessen, Dutch composer (b. 1892)
* April 13 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
*
April 15
Events Pre-1600
* 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings.
* 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
** John Thach, American naval aviator and admiral (b. 1905)
** Lorenzo Guerrero, former President of Nicaragua (b. 1900)
* April 17 – Ludwik Sempoliński, Polish actor (b. 1899)
*
April 18
Events Pre-1600
* 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The ''patrician'' Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
* 1428 – Peace of Ferrara betw ...
– James H. Schmitz, German-born writer (b. 1911)
* April 22 – Murder of Marcia King, Marcia King, murder victim (b. 1959)
* April 23
** Nietta Zocchi, Italian actress (b. 1909)
** Josep Pla, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1897)
*
April 26
Events Pre-1600
* 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
*1348 – Czech king Karel IV founds the Charles University in Prague, which was later named after him and was the first university in Central Europe.
* 1 ...
** Jim Davis (actor), Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
** Madge Evans, American actress (b. 1909)
** Muhammad Lafir, Sri Lankan snooker player (b. 1930)
* April 27 – John Aspinwall Roosevelt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1916)
* April 28 – Cliff Battles, American football player (Boston Redskins) and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (b. 1910)
May
![Giuseppe Pella](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Giuseppe_Pella.jpg)
*
May 1
Events Pre-1600
* 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
* 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
* 1169 &ndas ...
– Barry Jones (actor), Barry Jones, American actor (b. 1893)
* May 3 – Nargis, Indian actress (b. 1929)
*
May 5
Events Pre-1600
* 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
*1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
* 1260 – Ku ...
–
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze ...
, Irish republican hunger striker (b. 1954)
*
May 6
Events Pre-1600
* 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
* 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Sp ...
– Frank O'Grady, Australian public servant (b. 1900)
* May 7 – Hiromichi Yahara, Imperial Japanese Army officer (b. 1902)
* May 8 – Prince Andrei Alexandrovich of Russia (b. 1897)
* May 9
** Nelson Algren, American author (b. 1909)
** Margaret Lindsay, American actress (b. 1910)
* May 11
** Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
** Bob Marley, Jamaican singer, songwriter and musician (b. 1945)
* May 12 – Benjamin Sheares, Singaporean politician and professor, 2nd President of Singapore (b. 1907)
*
May 13
Events Pre-1600
*1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book '' Revelations of Divine Love''.
* 1501 – Amerigo Vespu ...
– Ben Andrews (actor), Ben Andrews, American actor (b. 1942)
* May 14 – J. Posadas, Argentine politician (b. 1912)
* May 17 – Hugo Friedhofer, German-American film composer (b. 1901)
* May 18
** Eleonore Baur, German Nazi and only woman to participate in Munich Beer Hall Putsch (b. 1885)
** Arthur O'Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
** William Saroyan, American author (b. 1908)
* May 20 – Dositej, Metropolitan of Skopje (b. 1906)
*
May 21
Events Pre-1600
* 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
* 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is Siege of Syracuse ...
– Yuki Shimoda, American actor (b. 1921)
*
May 22
Events Pre-1600
* 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
* 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
* 11 ...
– Boris Sagal, Ukrainian-American television and film director (b. 1923)
* May 23
** George Jessel (actor), George Jessel, American actor (b. 1898)
** Donald Macintyre (Royal Navy officer), Donald Macintyre, British naval officer and naval historian (b. 1904)
* May 24
** Jaime Roldós Aguilera, 33rd President of Ecuador (b. 1940)
** Jack Warner (actor), Jack Warner, British actor (b. 1895)
*
May 25
Events Pre-1600
* 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
*240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
* 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Tol ...
** Rosa Ponselle, American soprano (b. 1897)
** Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian radio astronomer (b. 1912)
** A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan Tamil teacher and politician (b. 1916)
* May 28
** John Bryan Ward-Perkins, British archaeologist (b. 1912)
** Mary Lou Williams, American jazz pianist (b. 1910)
** Stefan Wyszyński, Polish Roman Catholic prelate, archbishop and Servant of God (b. 1901)
* May 29 – Soong Ching-ling, Acting head of State of the People's Republic of China (b. 1893)
*
May 30
Events Pre-1600
* 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres ...
** Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
** Peter Lindgren (actor), Peter Lindgren, Swedish actor (b. 1915)
**
Ziaur Rahman
Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d' ...
, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
*
May 31
Events Pre-1600
* 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.
* 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat K ...
** Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, British economist (b. 1914)
** Gyula Lóránt, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1923)
** Giuseppe Pella, Italian politician, 31st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1902)
June
![Zarah Leander](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Zarah_Leander.jpg)
* June 1 – Carl Vinson, American politician (b. 1883)
* June 2 – Rino Gaetano, Italian musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
*
June 5
Events Pre-1600
*1257 – Kraków, in Poland, receives city rights.
*1283 – Battle of the Gulf of Naples: Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon, destroys the Neapolitan fleet and captures Charles II of Naples, Charles ...
– Miguel Contreras Torres, Mexican actor, director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1899)
* June 10
** Jenny Maxwell, American actress (b. 1941)
** Phelps Phelps, 38th Governor of American Samoa and United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (b. 1897)
* June 12 – Mahmoud Fawzi, Egyptian diplomat and political figure, 35th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1900)
* June 13 – George Walsh, American actor (b. 1889)
* June 14 – Ronald Holmes, Sir Ronald Holmes, British government official in Hong Kong (b. 1913)
* June 16 – Thomas Playford IV, Sir Thomas Playford, Australian politician, Premier of South Australia (b. 1896)
* June 17 – Sir Richard O'Connor, British general (b. 1889)
* June 19
** Billy Cook (actor), Billy Cook, American actor (b. 1928)
** Anya Phillips, American co-founder of New York City's Mudd Club (b. 1955)
** Lotte Reiniger, German-born silhouette animator (b. 1899)
* June 22
** Henri Bouillard, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1908)
** Lane Sisters, Lola Lane, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
*
June 23
Events Pre-1600
* 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
* 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
* 1280 – The Spanish Re ...
– Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (b. 1907)
* June 28
** Mohammad Beheshti, Chief Justice of Iran (b. 1928)
** Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (b. 1958)
July
![Robert Moses with Battery Bridge model](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Robert_Moses_with_Battery_Bridge_model.jpg)
* July 1
** Marcel Breuer, Hungarian-born American architect (b. 1902)
** George Voskovec, Czech-American actor, writer, dramatist and director (b. 1905)
* July 3 – Ross Martin, American actor (b. 1920)
* July 7 – Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi, South Yemenite socialist leader, 1st President of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) (b. 1920)
* July 8 – Joe McDonnell (hunger striker), Joe McDonnell, Irish republican hunger striker (b. 1951)
* July 10 – Giorgio De Lullo, Italian actor and director (b. 1921)
* July 16 – Harry Chapin, American singer and songwriter (b. 1942)
* July 27 – William Wyler, American movie director (b. 1902)
* July 28 – Stanley Rother, Stanley Francis Rother, American priest, martyr, and Blessed (b. 1935)
* July 29 – Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)
* July 31 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian leader (b. 1929)
August
![Guttmann 1953 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Guttmann_1953_%28cropped%29.JPG)
* August 1
** Paddy Chayefsky, American screenwriter (b. 1923)
** Álvaro de Laiglesia, Spanish writer (b. 1922)
* August 2
** Delfo Cabrera, Argentine athlete (b. 1919)
** Stefanie Clausen, Danish diver (b. 1900)
* August 4 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
* August 14 – Karl Böhm, Austrian conductor (b. 1894)
* August 15
** Carlo Buscaglia, Italian football player (b. 1909)
** Karl Gero, Duke of Urach, Lichtenstein noble (b. 1899)
* August 18
** Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and arranger (b. 1894)
** Anita Loos, American screenwriter (b. 1888)
* August 19 – Jessie Matthews, English dancer, singer and actress (b. 1907)
* August 22 – Glauber Rocha, Brazilian filmmaker (b. 1939)
* August 26 – Roger Nash Baldwin, American social activist (b. 1884)
* August 27 – Valeri Kharlamov, Soviet ice hockey player (b. 1948)
* August 28 – Béla Guttmann, Hungarian-born Association footballer and coach (b. 1899)
* August 29 – Lowell Thomas, American writer and broadcaster (b. 1892)
* August 30
** Mohammad-Ali Rajai, 47th Prime Minister of Iran and 2nd President of Iran (assassinated) (b. 1933)
** Mohammad-Javad Bahonar, Iranian theologian and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Iran (assassinated) (b. 1933)
** Vera-Ellen, American actress and dancer (b. 1921)
September
![RB 1975](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/RB_1975.jpg)
* September 1
** Ann Harding, American actress (b. 1902)
** Albert Speer, German Nazi architect and war minister (b. 1905)
* September 2 – Enid Lyons, Australia politician (b. 1897)
* September 7 – Christy Brown, Irish writer and painter (b. 1932)
* September 8
** Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
** Roy Wilkins, American civil rights activist (b. 1901)
* September 9
** Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist (b. 1901)
** Ricardo Balbín, Argentine politician, leader of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) (b. 1904)
** Robert Askin, Sir Robert (Bob) Askin, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1907)
* September 11 – Frank McHugh, American actor (b. 1898)
* September 12 – Eugenio Montale, Italian writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
* September 14 – Charles L. Melson, American admiral (b. 1904)
* September 15
** Harold Bennett, British actor (b. 1899)
** Rafael Méndez, Mexican-born trumpet virtuoso (b. 1906)
* September 21 – Nigel Patrick, English actor (b. 1912)
* September 22 – Harry Warren, American songwriter (b. 1893)
* September 23 – Chief Dan George, Canadian actor and writer, tribal chief of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation (b. 1899)
* September 24 – Patsy Kelly, American actress (b. 1910)
* September 27 – Robert Montgomery (actor), Robert Montgomery, American actor and director (b. 1904)
* September 28
** Rómulo Betancourt, 2-time President of Venezuela (b. 1908)
** Sir Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth, British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative cabinet minister (b. 1923)
* September 29
** Javad Fakoori, Iranian military officer, former minister of Defence (b. 1913)
** Mousa Namjoo, Iranian military officer, minister of Defence (b. 1938)
** Bill Shankly, British football manager (b. 1913)
October
![Anwar Sadat cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Anwar_Sadat_cropped.jpg)
* October 2
** Harry Golden, American journalist (b. 1902)
** Hazel Scott, American jazz singer and pianist (b. 1920)
* October 3 – Chrysostom Blashkevich, Soviet Order of Saint Benedict, Benedict monk (b. 1915)
* October 4 – Freddie Lindstrom, American baseball player (New York Giants (MLB), New York Giants) and a member of the MLB Hall of Fame (b. 1905)
* October 5 – Gloria Grahame, American actress (b. 1923)
* October 6 – Anwar Sadat, 37th Prime Minister of Egypt and 3rd President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (assassinated) (b. 1918)
* October 13
** Antonio Berni, Argentine painter (b. 1905)
** Nils Asther, Danish-born actor (b. 1897)
* October 16
** Stanley Clements, American actor (b. 1926)
** Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (b. 1915)
* October 22 – Michael Granger (actor), Michael Granger, American actor (b. 1923)
* October 24 – Edith Head, American costume designer (b. 1897)
* October 25 – Barbara Bedford (actress), Barbara Bedford, American actress (b. 1903)
* October 27 – John Warburton (actor), John Warburton, British actor (b. 1899)
* October 29 – Georges Brassens, French singer and songwriter (b. 1921)
November
![Natalie Wood publicity 1963](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Natalie_Wood_publicity_1963.jpg)
* November 2 – Wally Wood, American cartoonist (b. 1927)
* November 3 – Jean Eustache, French film director (b. 1938)
* November 7 – Will Durant, American philosopher and writer (b. 1885)
* November 10 – Abel Gance, French film director (b. 1889)
* November 12 – William Holden, American actor (b. 1918)
* November 13 – Gerhard Marcks, German sculptor (b. 1889)
* November 15
** Walter Heitler, German physicist (b. 1904)
Fellow of the Royal Society
** Enid Markey, American actress (b. 1894)
* November 22
** Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
** Hans Adolf Krebs, German physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1900)
* November 25
** Jack Albertson, American actor and comedian (b. 1907)
** Morris Kirksey, American athlete (b. 1895)
* November 26 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess grandmaster (b. 1901)
* November 27 – Lotte Lenya, Austrian singer and actress (b. 1898)
* November 29 – Natalie Wood, American actress (b. 1938)
December
![Mehmet Shehu -28partizan-29](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Mehmet_Shehu_-28partizan-29.jpg)
* December 2 – Wallace Harrison, American architect (b. 1895)
* December 6 – Harry Harlow, American psychologist (b. 1905)
* December 7 – William Edmunds (actor), William Edmunds, Italian stage and screen character actor (b. 1886)
* December 8 – Ferruccio Parri, Italian partisan and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1905)
* December 13 – Cornelius Cardew, English composer (b. 1936)
* December 15
** Catherine T. MacArthur, American philanthropist (b. 1909)
** Karl Struss, American cinematographer (b. 1886)
* December 17
** Franz Dahlem, German politician. (b. 1892)
** Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1913)
* December 18 – Enrique Hertzog, Bolivian politician, 42nd President of Bolivia (b. 1896)
* December 23
** Luther H. Evans, American political scientist and librarian, 3rd Director General of the UNESCO (b. 1902)
** Reginald Miles Ansett, Australian businessman and aviator (b. 1909)
* December 26 – Suat Hayri Urguplu, Turkish politician, 11th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1903)
* December 27 – Hoagy Carmichael, American jazz composer (b. 1899)
* December 28 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-born American film director (b. 1885)
Date unknown
* Ahmad Toukan, Prime Minister of Jordan (b. 1903)
* Teófilo Tabanera, Argentine engineer and air force officer (b. 1909)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur Leonard Schawlow, Kai Siegbahn
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Kenichi Fukui, Roald Hoffmann
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Medicine – Roger Wolcott Sperry, David H. Hubel, Torsten Wiesel
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Elias Canetti
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
* Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences – James Tobin
References
External links
Protocol of Accession
{{DEFAULTSORT:1981
1981,