At A Glance

20 April 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
20 April 1981 was a Monday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Kiss on My List” by Daryl Hall and John Oates.
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 20 April is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 April 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for April is Diamond.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 April 1981 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 20 April

  • 1961 Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
  • 1968 English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech.
  • 1972 Apollo program: The Apollo 16 Lunar Module Orion, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the Moon.
  • 1985 University of California, Riverside 1985 laboratory raid: Animal Liberation Front rescues 467 animals being tested in a lab at University of California, Riverside in Riverside, California, causing $700,000 in damages to the laboratory, in advocacy for animal rights.
  • 2008 Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.

Famous people born on April 20

  • Alexander Zverev, German tennis player (born 1997)
  • Jessica Lange, American actress (born 1949)
  • Andy Serkis, English actor and director (born 1964)
  • Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France, Emperor of French Second Empire (1808–1873)

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

Ronald Reagan

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.

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

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