At A Glance

19 January 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
19 January 1981 was a Monday.
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 19 January is Capricorn.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 19 January 1981 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for January is Garnet.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 19 January 1981 was Full Moon.

On this day: 19 January

  • 1977 President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
  • 1978 The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
  • 1990 Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir due to an insurgency.
  • 1991 Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
  • 1993 Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.

Famous people born on January 19

  • Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress (1946–2026)
  • Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer (1944–2026)
  • Mac Miller, American rapper (1992–2018)
  • Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (1809–1849)

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.
More events of 1981 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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

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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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