WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO FEBRUARY 1981
Find out what all happened January to February 1981

A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky. (13. February 1981)

Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments (10. January 1981)

Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs). (18. January 1981)

In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies. (23. February 1981)

Twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, at age 69 the oldest man ever to be inaugurated as U.S. President, Iran releases 52 American hostages. (20. January 1981)

Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death. (25. January 1981)

John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Walesa. (15. January 1981)

A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time". (8. January 1981)

Greece is admitted into the European Community. (1. January 1981)

Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States. (1. January 1981)

Stardust Disaster: A fire in a Dublin nightclub kills 48 people (14. February 1981)

Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity. (19. January 1981)

A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino kills eight and injures 198. (10. February 1981)

Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. (21. January 1981)

100,000 US gallons (380 m3) of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 8 workers. (11. February 1981)

An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city. (24. February 1981)

Twenty-one association football spectators are trampled to death at Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a football match between Olympiacos F.C. and AEK Athens FC. (8. February 1981)

Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut. (28. January 1981)

The National Resistance Army of Uganda launches an attack on a Ugandan Army installation in the central Mubende District to begin the Ugandan Bush War. (6. February 1981)

One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. (2. January 1981)