WHAT ALL HAPPENED JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1981
Find out what all happened January to September 1981

Baseball: Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his fifth no-hitter. (26. September 1981)

Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives. (13. 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)

The longest professional baseball game is begun in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The game is suspended at 4:00 the next morning and finally completed on June 23. (18. April 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)

A massive riot in Brixton, South London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries. (11. April 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)

A Richter Scale 6.9 magnitude earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000. (11. June 1981)

Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha. (24. May 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)

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)

President Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Prime Minister Mohammad-Javad Bahonar of Iran are assassinated in a bombing committed by the People's Mujahedin of Iran. (30. August 1981)

The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, D.C. (15. September 1981)

6 year old Adam Walsh, son of John Walsh is kidnapped in Hollywood, Florida and is found murdered two weeks later. (27. July 1981)

Belize is granted full independence from the United Kingdom. (21. September 1981)

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

An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68), killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others. (26. May 1981)

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

François Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic. (10. May 1981)

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