At A Glance

17 December 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
17 December 1981 was a Thursday.
Irish Chart Song in 1981
The Irish chart song for 1981 was “Don't You Want Me” by 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 17 December is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 17 December 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 17 December 1981 was Last Quarter.

On this day: 17 December

  • 1960 Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
  • 1969 Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.
  • 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.
  • 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.
  • 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.

Famous people born on 17 December

  • Sarah Paulson, American actress (born 1974)
  • Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress (born 1975)
  • Bill Pullman, American actor (born 1953)
  • Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (1936–2025)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

Events of 1981 in Ireland

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

  • 1 March – Bobby Sands began a hunger strike in the Maze Prison (Long Kesh) near Lisburn (Northern Ireland).
  • 5 March – A petrol strike ended when 800 tanker drivers resumed work.
  • 10 April – Hunger striker Bobby Sands was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
More events of 1981 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in Ireland in 1981

Taoiseach

Garret FitzGerald

Petrol (per litre)

£1.25/gal

Loaf of Bread

£0.34

Average House

£25,000

Weekly Wage

£56

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.

Ruth Kearney11 November 1984ActressView their day →Katie Taylor2 July 1986Footballer & boxerView their day →Domhnall Gleeson12 May 1983ActorView their day →Jessie Buckley28 December 1989Actress & singerView their day →Kerry Condon9 January 1983ActressView their day →Nicola Coughlan9 January 1987ActressView their day →Vogue Williams2 October 1985Model & media personalityView their day →Aidan Turner19 June 1983ActorView their day →

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

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