At A Glance

16 January 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
16 January 1981 was a Friday.
Kent Music Report No. 1
The Kent Music Report No. 1 was “Shaddap You Face” by Joe Dolce Music Theatre.
Top Film of 1981
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1981 was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Best-Selling Vehicle of 1981
Australia's top-selling new vehicle in 1981 was the Holden Commodore.
Star sign
The star sign for 16 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 16 January 1981 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 16 January 1981 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 16 January

  • 1969 Space Race: Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of crewed spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
  • 1979 Iranian Revolution: The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
  • 1984 A radiation detector at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, United States, detects radioactivity after a truck carrying rebar accidentally passed through the laboratory's area, revealing a contamination incident that occurred in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the previous month.
  • 1991 Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War.
  • 1992 El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.

Famous people born on 16 January

  • Aaliyah, American singer and actress (1979–2001)
  • Lin-Manuel Miranda, American actor, playwright, and composer (born 1980)
  • Sade, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer (born 1959)
  • Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor (born 1985)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1981 in Australia

A selection from Wikipedia's '1981 in Australia'. Not a complete list.

  • 30 January – Sir Harry Gibbs is announced as the next Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in the wake of Sir Garfield Barwick's resignation.
  • 10 February – Townsville International Airport opens in Townsville
  • 19 March – The South Australian Parliament passes the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act 1981.

Life in Australia in 1981

Prime Minister

Malcolm Fraser

Monarch

Queen Elizabeth II

Petrol (per litre)

$0.34

Loaf of Bread

$0.65

Average House

$50,000

Weekly Wage

$250.00

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Famous Faces Born in the 1980s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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