At A Glance

29 October 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
29 October 1981 was a Thursday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)” by Christopher Cross.
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 29 October is Scorpio.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 29 October 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 29 October 1981 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 29 October

  • 1967 Montreal's World Fair, Expo 67, closes with over 50 million visitors.
  • 1969 The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.
  • 1985 Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced as the winner of the first multi-party election in Liberia.
  • 1986 British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway.
  • 1991 The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.

Famous people born on October 29

  • Winona Ryder, American actress and producer (born 1971)
  • Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrian revolutionary and military leader, President of Syria (born 1982)
  • Bob Ross, American painter and television host (1942–1995)
  • Tracee Ellis Ross, American actress and producer (born 1972)

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

Ronald Reagan

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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