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1981 Many notable technological advances happened in 1981 one of the most exciting was the First Flight of the Space ShuttleColumbia. This was also the first year that the Word Internet was mentioned and MS-DOS was released by Microsoft alongwith the first IBM PC. On the world stage the events that captured the imagination included Lady Diana Spencer marryingCharles Prince of Wales. In Politics a little known group before Solidarity inspire popular protests and a general strike inPoland and the government in the UK starts the process of privatization of Nationalized Industries which is later followed bymany other countries around the world.

Cost Of Living 1981How Much things cost in 1981 Yearly Inflation Rate USA 10.35%Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 875Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 15.75%Average Cost of new house $78,200 Median Price Of and Existing Home $66,400Average Income per year $21,050.00Average Monthly Rent $315.00Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.25Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds SterlingAverage House Price 24,188 Gallon of Petrol 1.32Yearly Inflation Rate UK 11.9%Interest Rates Year End Bank of England 14.38%

More Examples Tandy TRS 80 PC1 $149.95Sinclair ZX80 $199.9519 inch Color TV $399.95 Under Counter Dishwasher $249.95Set Of Brass Bamboo Nested Tables $119.99 Plums Lb. 39 Cents Miracle Whip $1.27Turkey Lb. 55 centsStar Wars Figure Set $29.99Ladies Felt Beret $5.50Men’s Leather Jacket $129.99Wellsboro, PennsylvaniaLog Cabin on 5 acres 3 bedroom 1 bath $19,900

1981 EventsAntigua

Antigua and Barbuda Gains Independence From Great BritainBangladesh

Attempted coup in Bangladesh and the President Ziaur Rahman is murderedEgypt

Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated France

The first high speed train service in Europe begins with the French TGV / high-speed train between Paris and LyonGermany

An unknown piece of music written by Mozart is discovered at the Bavarian State Library.More Information and Timeline for Mozart's undiscovered symphony.In February of 1981 it is announced that the Bavarian State Library in Germany had acquired a previously unknown piece of music written byfamed composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The piece of music was described as a three-movement symphony in F-Major that had beencomposed by Mozart at the age of nine while he had been living in London in 1765. The library stated that they had found the symphony in abundle of 107 manuscripts that had been purchased from an anonymous seller for about $300,000. They also announced that a concert wouldbe held to perform it.

GreeceEarthquake hits Athens, killing 16 people Iran

Iran releases 52 American hostages, who had been held for 444 daysNorthern Ireland

Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands dies on May 5th while on a hunger strike. During that time BobbySands was elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Poland Solidarity inspired popular protests and general strike lead to imposition of Marshal Law and eventual outlawing ofsolidarity party in Poland

Syria 147 passengers and crew of a Pakistan Airways are taken hostage and released in Syria

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United States Ronald Reagan becomes US President First Flight of US Space Shuttle Columbia

More Information for First Space Shuttle Mission.In April of 1981, NASA launched the very first Space Shuttle mission. The Space Shuttle Columbia successfully carried two ast ronauts, RobertCrippen and John Young, into space to complete the inaugural flight of the Space Shuttle program. The purpose of the mission was to test thestability of the new spacecraft and to safely launch the vehicle into space and return it to Earth so that the craft was reusable. The total length ofthe mission was two days, six hours, twenty minutes, fifty-three seconds .

Air traffic controllers strike causing chaos in the US and The US President Ronald Reagan Fires Them Anti-nuclear protesters invade the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Reactor in California

Researchers find the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Muhammad Ali finally retires with career record of 55 wins and 5 defeats US brings in new disability eligibility rules for those claiming disability affecting 500,000 who lose benefits The successful and popular film "Raiders of the Lost Ark" debuts in theaters across the United States.

More Information for Raiders of the Lost ArkThe popular film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” makes its debut in theaters throughout the United States during June of 1981. The comedy-drivenaction/adventure film, created by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, was the first to feature the character of Indiana Jones. Jones, portrayedby actor Harrison Ford, was a cavalier archaeology professor intent on protecting the world’s most precious artifacts, was an instant favorite ofmoviegoers. Raiders of the Lost Ark became the highest grossing film of 1981 and remains one of the most popular and highest grossing film ofall time

Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke admits her feature was fabricated and relinquished the Pulitzer Prize The first American test-tube baby, is born The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could require parental notification when teenage girls seek abortions. The introduction of the first Frequent Flyer Miles AAdvantage introduced by American Airlines (frequent flyer

miles can be redeemed for free air travel)USSR The Soviet Union launches the Venera 13 Space Probe .

More Information and Timeline for the Venera 13 SpacecraftThe Venera 13 Spacecraft is launched by the USSR on October 30th, 1981. Venera 13 was created, along with the identical Venera 14spacecraft, as two-part space crafts. One part was the lander that would be dropped to the surface of Venus to conduct experiments and theother was the bus that would carry the landers and relay data between the landers and Earth as well as conducting other experiments. TheVenera 13 spacecraft reached Venus on March 1, 1982 and successfully deposited its lander. Once on the surface of Venus it took the firstpanoramic color photos of the landscape and drilled into the surface of the planet to take a sample. The spacecraft also studied cosmicgamma-ray bursts. The craft stopped communicating results in March of 1983.

United Kingdom Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.

More Information for the Charles and Diana Royal WeddingThe Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place during July of 1981. The wedding, held a t St. Paul’s Cathedral inLondon, attracted crowds of more than 600,000 people to witness the historic event. 3,500 guests, many of them royalty or cel ebrities, attendedthe ceremony and an estimated 750 million people, worldwide, watched it on television. The Royal Wedding drew the public’s interest in suchan extreme way partially due to Lady Diana Spencer’s attractiveness and charm as well as the perception that Diana and Charles’ relationshipwas a modern fairy tale.

Rupert Murdoch shuts down the Sunday Times due to an industrial dispute Following plans between European Countries and the US to base Nuclear Missiles in Europe protesters including

those at Greenham Common picket US bases Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper is caught, and imprisoned for life for 13 counts of murder Sandra Day O'Connor is nominated to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Riots break out in a number of UK Cities including Brixton ( London ), Toxteth ( Liverpool ), and Moss Side (

Manchester ) Four senior Labour MP'S announce they will breakaway from Labour Party and set up the Social Democratic Party

SDP under the leadership of Roy Jenkins The First London Marathon is Run In England.

More Information for the first London MarathonThe first London Marathon is held in March of 1981. About 7,000 people participated in the first marathon with 6,255 participants completing the26 mile race. It was created by former Olympians Chris Brasher and John Disley with the intention to raise money for charity. Thousands ofspectators gathered along the route of the first race to cheer on the participants, and since it began it has been held during the spring everyyear, continuing to grow in size and popularity. The first winners were Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen for the men, crossing the finish linetogether, and Joyce Smith for the women.

Thatcher Government in England begin privatization of Nationalized Industries creating economic revival , thisformat is later emulated in many other countries throughout the world

Vatican City Pope John Paul II, is shot on on May 13th but not killed in Vatican City.

More Information and Timeline for the Pope Assassination AttemptOn May 13th of 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot by would-be assassin Mehment Ali Agca. The Pope survived the attack but sustainedgunshot wounds to his left hand, right a rm, and abdomen. Agca’s motive for the attempted assassination was unknown although at one point hesuggested that the KGB and the country of Bulgaria were behind it. In July of 1981 he was sentenced to prison for life in Italy. Soon after theshooting Pope John Paul II publicly stated that he had already forgiven Agca. In 2010, Agca was released from prison. Agca was a Turkishnational who had been previously convicted of the murder of a journalist in 1979 but had escaped his incarceration.

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Technology

Scientists identify The Aids Virus First Flight of US Space Shuttle Columbia The European Rocket "Ariane" is launched IBM in US launches it's first PC which uses Microsoft Software MS DOS The term INTERNET first mentioned Post It Notes launched by 3M Corp The Worlds Fastest Train The French TGV goes into service between Paris and Lyons

China Clones the first fish ( Golden Carp ) Artificially Produced Insulin becomes the worlds first genetically engineered protein to treat human diseaseDiabetes

MS-DOS released by Microsoft

Inventions Invented by Inventors and Country (or attributed to First Use)Space Shuttle USA Columbia was first reusable space vehicleScanning Tunneling Microscope Switzerland

Popular Culture 1981 MTV (Music Television) is launched August 1st Simon And Garfunkel Reunite for concert in New

Yorks Central ParkPopular Films

Raiders of the Lost Ark Superman II Nine to Five Any Which Way You Can Arthur The Cannonball Run For Your Eyes Only On Golden Pond Chariots of Fire

Popular Musicians John Lennon Blondie Dolly Parton " 9 to 5 " Sheena Easton Diana Ross and Lionel Richie with " Endless Love " Olivia Newton-John With " Physical " Roxy Music Bucks Fizz Adam and The Ants Michael Jackson Queen David Bowie

Major World Political Leaders 1981Australia Prime Minister Malcolm FraserBrazil President João FigueiredoCanada Prime Minister Pierre TrudeauChina Chairman of the People's Republic of China PostAbolishedFrance President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Till 21 MayFrance President François Mitterrand From 21 MayGermany Chancellor Helmut SchmidtIndia Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Italy Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani Till 28 June Italy Prime Minister Giovanni Spadolini From 28 JuneJapan Prime Minister Zenko SuzukiMexico President José López PortilloRussia / Soviet Union Chairman of the Council of People'sCommissars Leonid BrezhnevSouth Africa Prime Minister Pieter Willem BothaUnited States President Jimmy Carter Till January 20 ,United States President Ronald Reagan From January 20United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

Born This Year 1981

Jennifer Tisdale September 18thAllison Crowe November 16thBritney Spears December 2nd Justin Timberlake January 31 st

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