UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
1 January 1981 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 1 January 1981 was a Thursday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon.
- Top Film of 1981
- The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1981 was Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Bestselling Novel of 1981
- “Noble House” by James Clavell was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1981.
- Top-Rated TV Show
- “Dallas” (CBS) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1981–82 season.
- Star sign
- The star sign for 1 January is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 1 January 1981 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for January is Garnet.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 1 January 1981 was Waning Crescent.
On this day: 1 January
- 1979 the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Taiwan Relations Act enter into force. Through the Communiqué, the United States establishes normal diplomatic relations with China. Through the Act, the United States guarantees military support for Taiwan.
- 1981 Greece is admitted into the European Community.
- 1982 Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 1983 The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
- 1984 The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
Famous people born on January 1
- Noah Kahan, American singer-songwriter (born 1997)
- J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1895–1972)
- Angourie Rice, Australian actress (born 2001)
- Lamine Camara, Senegalese footballer (born 2004)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Events of 1981 in the United States
A selection from Wikipedia's '1981 in the United States'. Not a complete list.
- March 31 – The 53rd Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Robert Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People, wins four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
- April 12 – The Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia (John Young, Robert Crippen) launches on the STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on April 14.
- June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg is released as the first film of the Indiana Jones film series.
Life in the US in 1981
President
Jimmy Carter
Gas (per gallon)
$1.31
Loaf of Bread
$0.54
Average House
$68,900
Weekly Wage
$285
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.
Hayden Panettiere21 August 1989Actress & singerView their day →Alan Ritchson28 November 1982ActorView their day →Anne Hathaway12 November 1982ActressView their day →Dakota Johnson4 October 1989Actress & modelView their day →Macklemore19 June 1983RapperView their day →Andrew Garfield20 August 1983ActorView their day →Julia Stiles28 March 1981ActressView their day →Taylor Swift13 December 1989Singer-songwriterView their day →Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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