At A Glance

3 December 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
3 December 1981 was a Thursday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Begin the Beguine (Volver a Empezar)” by Julio Iglesias.
Top Film of 1981
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1981 was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Star sign
The star sign for 3 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 3 December 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 3 December 1981 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 3 December

  • 1973 Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
  • 1979 In Cincinnati, 11 fans are suffocated in a crush for seats on the concourse outside Riverfront Coliseum before a Who concert.
  • 1979 Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini becomes the first Supreme Leader of Iran.
  • 1982 A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri, that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
  • 1989 In a meeting off the coast of Malta, U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact may be coming to an end.

Famous people born on 3 December

  • Jenna Dewan, American actress and dancer (born 1980)
  • Amanda Seyfried, American actress (born 1985)
  • Ozzy Osbourne, English singer-songwriter (1948–2025)
  • Brendan Fraser, American actor and producer (born 1968)

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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