UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
23 August 1981 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 23 August 1981 was a Sunday.
- 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 23 August is Virgo.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 23 August 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for August is Peridot.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 23 August 1981 was Waning Crescent.
On this day: 23 August
- 1975 The start of the Wave Hill walk-off by Gurindji people in Australia, lasting eight years, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 Paul Kelly song and an annual celebration.
- 1975 The Pontiac Silverdome opens in Pontiac, Michigan, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Detroit, Michigan.
- 1977 Waylon Jennings arrested in a drug raid.
- 1985 Hans Tiedge, top counter-spy of West Germany, defects to East Germany.
- 1989 Singing Revolution: Two million people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stand on the Vilnius–Tallinn road, holding hands.
Famous people born on 23 August
- River Phoenix, American actor (1970–1993)
- Kobe Bryant, American basketball player and businessman (1978–2020)
- Scott Caan, American actor (born 1976)
- Louis XVI (1754–1793)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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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.
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
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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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