Year retrospective · 1980s

1981

1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1981st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 981st year of the 2nd millennium, the 81st year of the 20th century, and the 2nd year of the 1980s decade.

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Decade

1980s

Defining moment · 1981

Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He died twenty-six days later.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army, officially known as the Irish Republican Army and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It argued that the all-island Irish Republic continued to exist, and it saw itself as that state's army, the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence.

See april 10 in detail

Timeline

Defining events of 1981

1981 Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands is elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He died twenty-six days later.

Paramilitary force active from 1969 to 2005

The Provisional Irish Republican Army, officially known as the Irish Republican Army and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It argued that the all-island Irish Republic continued to exist, and it saw itself as that state's army, the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence.
1981 A massive riot in Brixton, south London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.

Clashes between police and protesters in London in 1981

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. It resulted from racial discrimination against the local black community by the mainly white police, notably over the police's increased use of stop-and-search in the area, and tensions resulting from the deaths of 13 black teenagers and young adults in the suspicious New Cross house fire that January. The main riot on 11 April, dubbed "Bloody Saturday" by Time magazine, resulted in 279 injuries to police and 45 injuries to members of the public; over a hundred vehicles were burned, including 56 police vehicles; almost 150 buildings were damaged, thirty of which were burnt out, and many shops were looted.
1981 The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.

Partially reusable launch system and space plane

S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. S.
1981 STS-1: The first operational Space Shuttle, Columbia, completes its first test flight.

First Space Shuttle mission, first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia

STS-1 was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. 5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two—commander John W.
1981 More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

Nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Japan

The Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant is located in the city of Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC). 98 sq mi) with 94% of it being green area that the company is working to preserve.
1981 Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery.

Michael R. S. He is often referred to as the father of fetal surgery.
1981 The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
1981 Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.
1981 The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it and killing two Japanese sailors.
1981 MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.