1981

1981 in other calendars
Gregorian calendar	1981; MCMLXXXI
Ab urbe condita	2734
Armenian calendar	1430; ԹՎ ՌՆԼ
Assyrian calendar	6731
Bahá'í calendar	137–138
Balinese saka calendar	1902–1903
Bengali calendar	1388
Berber calendar	2931
British Regnal year	29 Eliz. 2 – 30 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2525
Burmese calendar	1343
Byzantine calendar	7489–7490
Chinese calendar	庚申年 (Metal Monkey); 4677 or 4617; — to —; 辛酉年 (Metal Rooster); 4678 or 4618
Coptic calendar	1697–1698
Discordian calendar	3147
Ethiopian calendar	1973–1974
Hebrew calendar	5741–5742
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2037–2038
- Shaka Samvat	1902–1903
- Kali Yuga	5081–5082
Holocene calendar	11981
Igbo calendar	981–982
Iranian calendar	1359–1360
Islamic calendar	1401–1402
Japanese calendar	Shōwa 56; (昭和５６年)
Javanese calendar	1913–1914
Juche calendar	70
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4314
Minguo calendar	ROC 70; 民國70年
Nanakshahi calendar	513
Thai solar calendar	2524
Tibetan calendar	阳金猴年; (male Iron-Monkey); 2107 or 1726 or 954; — to —; 阴金鸡年; (female Iron-Rooster); 2108 or 1727 or 955
Unix time	347155200 – 378691199

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s – 1980s – 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years:	1978 1979 1980 – 1981 – 1982 1983 1984

1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday in the Gregorian calendar, the 981st year of the 2nd millennium, the 81st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1980s decade

Events

January 20 – Hostages from the Iran hostage crisis are released at the same time when Ronald Reagan is inaugurated for the first time as President of the United States.
January 21 – The first DeLorean automotive is released in Northern Ireland.
January 27 – The Indonesian passenger ship Tamponas 2 catches fire and capsizes in the Java Sea, killing 580.
January 29 – Adolfo Suárez resigns as Prime Minister of Spain.
February 4 – Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Prime Minister of Norway.
February 8 – Polish Prime Minister Józef Pinkowski resigns and is replaced by General Wojciech Jaruzelski.
February 14 – The Stardust Nightclub Fire in Dublin, Ireland kills 48 people in the deadliest fire in the country's history.
February 25 – Adolfo Suárez leaves his office as Prime Minister of Spain.
March 30 – Shortly after being inaugurated, John Hinckley, Jr. tries to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. He survives the attack.
May 11 – Jamaican singer Bob Marley dies from cancer at the age of 36.
July 9 - Donkey Kong, a Nintendo arcade game, was released in Japan
July 16 - Mahathir Mohamad becomes Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving until October 31, 2003.
July 29 – Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
September – Little Miss Bossy, the first book in the Little Miss series (the female counterpart to the Mr. Men series) is first published.
November 9 – Céline Dion's first album is released in Canada.

May 3 – Nargis, Indian actress (b. 1929)
May 11 – Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician (b. 1945)
May 18 – Arthur O'Connell, American actor, acting on stage, film and television (b. 1908)
May 28 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1901)
May 29 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese political figure and spouse of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1893)
May 30 – Sven Andersson, Swedish footballer (b. 1907)
May 30 – Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
May 31 – Gyula Lóránt, Hungarian footballer (b. 1923)
May 31 – Giuseppe Pella, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1902)

July 3 – Ross Martin, Polish-born American radio, stage, film and television actor (b. 1920)
July 7 – Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi, President of South Yemen (b. 1920)
July 27 – William Wyler, French-American director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1902)
July 29 – Robert Moses, American urban planner (b. 1888)