At A Glance

22 December 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
22 December 1981 was a Tuesday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Don't You Want Me” by The Human League.
Top Film of 1981
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1981 was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Star sign
The star sign for 22 December is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 22 December 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 22 December 1981 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 22 December

  • 1974 Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration.
  • 1975 U.S. President Gerald Ford creates the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to the 1970s energy crisis.
  • 1978 The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for the reform and opening up.
  • 1987 In Zimbabwe, the political parties ZANU and ZAPU reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi.
  • 1989 Romanian Revolution: Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife Elena flee Bucharest in a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers.

Famous people born on 22 December

  • Ralph Fiennes, English actor (born 1962)
  • Ted Cruz, Canadian-American lawyer and politician (born 1970)
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (1960–1988)
  • Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (1887–1920)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1981 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1981 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 30 March – Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire released.
  • 4 April – Bucks Fizz representing the United Kingdom win the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Making Your Mind Up.
  • 10 April – Bobby Sands, an IRA member on hunger strike in the Maze prison, Northern Ireland, is elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone in a by election.

Life in 1981

Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

50p

Loaf of Bread

37p

Average House

£24,188

Weekly Wage

£135.00

Or

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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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