At A Glance

26 November 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
26 November 1981 was a Thursday.
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 26 November is Sagittarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 26 November 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for November is Topaz.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 26 November 1981 was New Moon.

On this day: 26 November

  • 1970 In Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, 38 millimetres (1.5 in) of rain fall in a minute, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded.
  • 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery: In London, 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26 million are stolen from the Brink's-Mat vault at Heathrow Airport.
  • 1986 Iran–Contra affair: U.S. President Ronald Reagan announces the members of what will become known as the Tower Commission.
  • 1986 The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of committing war crimes as a guard at the Nazi Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
  • 1991 National Assembly of Azerbaijan abolishes the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan and renames several cities with Azeri names.

Famous people born on November 26

  • Tina Turner, American-Swiss singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (1939–2023)
  • Danny Welbeck, English footballer (born 1990)
  • Rita Ora, Kosovan-English singer-songwriter and actress (born 1990)
  • Maud of Wales (1869–1938)

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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