The News In 1981
- Ronald Reagan became president of the US
 - Minutes after Ronald Reagan becomes president, Iran released 52 American hostages that had been held captive for 444 days
 - President Reagan was shot in the chest by would be assassin John Hinkley
 - Space shuttle Columbia, the world's first reusable spacecraft, was sent into space
 - A suspended walkway in the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed, killing 113
 - A female former lover filed a "palimony" suit against tennis star Billie Jean King
 - President Reagan appointed Sandra Day O'Connor to be the first woman on the Supreme Court
 - The Pac-Man video game was introduced in the US
 - Alicia Keys, Elijah Wood, Kelly Rowland, Anna Kournikova, and Britney Spears were born
 - Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series
 - Oakland Raiders won Superbowl XV
 - New York Islanders won the Stanley Cup
 - Raiders of the Lost Ark was the top grossing film
 - "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes spent the most time at the top of the US charts
 - MTV debut on cable television, playing music videos 24 hours a day
 - Gimme a Break premiered this year
 









