At A Glance

8 February 1981 at a glance

Day of the week
8 February 1981 was a Sunday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang.
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 8 February is Aquarius.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 8 February 1981 fell in the Year of the Rooster.
Birthstone
The birthstone for February is Amethyst.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 8 February 1981 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 8 February

  • 1960 Queen Elizabeth II issues an Order-in-Council, proclaiming the House of Windsor and declaring that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
  • 1963 The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba'ath Party.
  • 1971 South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration into the country.
  • 1974 The crew of Skylab 4, the last mission to visit the American space station Skylab, returns to Earth after 84 days in space.
  • 1983 A dust storm hits Melbourne, resulting in the worst drought on record and severe weather conditions in the city.

Famous people born on February 8

  • Mary Steenburgen, American actress (born 1953)
  • James Dean, American actor (1931–1955)
  • Kathryn Newton, American actress (born 1997)
  • John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1932)

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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