WHAT ALL HAPPENED FEBRUARY TO JULY 1981
Find out what all happened February to July 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)

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

More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of a nuclear power plant in Tsuruga, Japan. (25. April 1981)

After 19 years of presenting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time. (6. March 1981)

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

U.S. President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada's former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979-81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor. (16. June 1981)

The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it. (9. April 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)

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)

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)

The opening of the Humber Bridge by Queen Elizabeth II in England, United Kingdom. (17. July 1981)

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

The Prime Minister of Italy Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due). (26. May 1981)

Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world's first human open fetal surgery. (26. April 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)

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)

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

A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London. (29. July 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)