Date in year · 1981 · The 1980s

April 11, 1981

On April 11, 1981, a massive riot in Brixton, south London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries. The year's #1 song was "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes. Antonis Fotsis, Bjørn Einar Romøren, Laura Bell Bundy would arrive in the same year.

Events

Births

Deaths

Year

1981

1980s

Featured · April 11, 1981

A massive riot in Brixton, south London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.

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.

Browse all of April 11

Around 1981

The year in brief

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.

Read the full year of 1981 →

What happened

On April 11, 1981

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.

Arrivals