1981

HIV and AIDS identified
Anwar el-Sadat assassinated
Israel annexes the Golan Heights

First flight of US Space Shuttle
Pope John Paul II wounded by gunman
Picasso's "Guernica" returned to Spain
Ferdinand Marcos ends 8 years of martial law in the Philippines
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer married
US-Iran agreement frees 52 hostages held in Teheran since 1979
1st flight of US Space Shuttle
President Reagan wounded by gunman
Judge Sandra Day O'Connor - first woman on Supreme Court
US air traffic controllers strike
Richard Petty wins the Daytona 500 for the 7th time
Aspartame
MS-DOS
Songs - "The Boy From New York City" (Manhattan Transfer), "Bette Davis Eyes"
Film - "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "The French Lieutenant's Woman", "Chariots of Fire", "On Golden Pond", "Reds"
TV - "Hill Street Blues"
Britney Spears, Serena Williams, and Dominique Moceanu born
Samuel Barber, Bill Haley, Bob Marley, William Soroyan, Harry Chapin, Roy Wilkins, Moshe Dayan, Natalie Wood, William Holden, and Hoagy Carmichael die