WHAT ALL HAPPENED MARCH TO JUNE 1981
Find out what all happened March to June 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)

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)

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)

Francis Hughes starves to death in the Maze Prison in a Republican campaign for political prisoner status to be granted to Provisional IRA prisoners. (12. May 1981)

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

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

Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27. (5. May 1981)

Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington. (25. June 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)

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)

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)

The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place - the STS-1 mission. (12. April 1981)

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

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

STS-1 – The first operational space shuttle, Columbia (OV-102) completes its first test flight. (14. April 1981)

The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 1.5 million units around the world. (5. March 1981)

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

President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. Another 2 people are wounded at the same time. (30. March 1981)

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