UK, 
US, 
Australia & 
IrelandAt A Glance
25 December 1981 at a glance
- Day of the week
- 25 December 1981 was a Friday.
- Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
- The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John.
- 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 25 December is Capricorn.
- Chinese zodiac
- In the Chinese zodiac, 25 December 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
- Birthstone
- The birthstone for December is Turquoise.
- Moon phase
- The moon phase on 25 December 1981 was New Moon.
On this day: 25 December
- 1962 The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
- 1963 Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
- 1968 Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
- 1977 Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
- 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.
Famous people born on December 25
- Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (1642–1727)
- Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada (born 1971)
- Nawaz Sharif, Pakistani politician, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan (born 1949)
- Humphrey Bogart, American actor (1899–1957)
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.
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)
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 →