UK, 
US, 
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IrelandAt A Glance
17 May 1981 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 17 May 1981 was a Sunday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes.
- 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 17 May is Taurus.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 17 May 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for May is Emerald.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 17 May 1981 was Waxing Gibbous.
On this day: 17 May
- 1980 General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
- 1980 On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.
- 1983 The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world's largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds [1.9 kt]), in response to the Appalachian Observer's Freedom of Information Act request.
- 1983 Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
- 1984 Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend", sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
Famous people born on May 17
- Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1973)
- Bill Paxton, American actor and director (1955–2017)
- Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (1936–2010)
- Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host (1956–2022)
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.
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
Ronald Reagan
Gas (per gallon)
$1.31
Loaf of Bread
$0.54
Average House
$68,900
Weekly Wage
$285
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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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