At A Glance

29 August 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
29 August 1981 was a Saturday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Japanese Boy” by Aneka.
Top Film of 1981
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1981 was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Star sign
The star sign for 29 August is Virgo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 29 August 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 29 August 1981 was New Moon.

On this day: 29 August

  • 1966 The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
  • 1975 El Tacnazo: Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Peruvian Prime Minister carries out a coup d'état in the city of Tacna, forcing the sitting President of Peru, Juan Velasco Alvarado, to resign and assuming his place as the new President.
  • 1982 Meitnerium, a synthetic chemical element with the atomic number 109, is first synthesized at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany.
  • 1991 Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union suspends all activities of the Soviet Communist Party.
  • 1997 Netflix is launched as an internet DVD rental service.

Famous people born on 29 August

  • Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (1958–2009)
  • Liam Payne, English singer-songwriter from One Direction (1993–2024)
  • Carla Gugino, American actress (born 1971)
  • Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, and producer (1923–2014)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

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

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →