At A Glance

23 June 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
23 June 1981 was a Tuesday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Medley: Intro 'Venus'/Sugar, Sugar/No Reply/I'll Be Back/Drive My Car/Do You Want to Know a Secret/We Can Work It Out/I Should Have Known Better/Nowhere Man/You're Going to Lose That Girl/Stars on 45” by Stars on 45.
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 23 June is Cancer.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 23 June 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for June is Pearl.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 23 June 1981 was Waning Gibbous.

On this day: 23 June

  • 1969 Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
  • 1969 IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry.
  • 1972 Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about illegally using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
  • 1972 Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds.
  • 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog is released in North America on the Sega Genesis platform, beginning the popular video game franchise.

Famous people born on June 23

  • Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (1894–1972)
  • Alan Turing, English mathematician and computer scientist (1912–1954)
  • Zinedine Zidane, French footballer and manager (born 1972)
  • Joel Edgerton, Australian actor (born 1974)

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

Or

Browse by Year

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)

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →