WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO AUGUST 1981
Find out what all happened May to August 1981

The Wonderland murders occurred in the early morning hours, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash. (1. July 1981)

In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. (25. May 1981)

A jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries. (6. May 1981)

Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work. (5. August 1981)

A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of Islamic Republic Party. (28. June 1981)

MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. (1. August 1981)

The Humber Bridge is opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It would be the world's longest single-span suspension bridge for 17 years. (24. June 1981)

In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French Prime Minister François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing that the Soviets had been stealing American technological research and development. (19. July 1981)

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issues its "Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China", laying the blame for the Cultural Revolution on Mao Zedong. (27. June 1981)

A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri killing 114 people and injuring more than 200. (17. July 1981)

The Israeli Air Force destroyed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera. (7. June 1981)

Senegalese opposition parties, under the leadership of Mamadou Dia, launch the Antiimperialist Action Front – Suxxali Reew Mi. (3. August 1981)

British television: on Coronation Street, Ken Barlow marries Deirdre Langton, which proves to be a national event scoring massive viewer numbers for the show. (27. July 1981)

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight. (18. June 1981)

The IBM Personal Computer is released. (12. August 1981)

The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that five people in Los Angeles, California, have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems, in what turns out to be the first recognized cases of AIDS. (5. June 1981)

Irish Republican hunger strikers Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O'Hara die on hunger strike in Maze prison. (21. May 1981)

At the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London, a teenager, Marcus Sarjeant, fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II. (13. June 1981)

The burning of Jaffna library in Sri Lanka. It is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century. (31. May 1981)

Bihar train disaster: a passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati river. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the actual death toll is closer to 1,000. (6. June 1981)