WHAT ALL HAPPENED APRIL TO SEPTEMBER 1981
Find out what all happened April to September 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)

Gulf of Sidra Incident: United States fighters intercept and shoot down two Libyan Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets over the Gulf of Sidra. (19. August 1981)

Murder of Adam Walsh: the head of John Walsh's son is found. This inspires the creation of the television series America's Most Wanted. (10. August 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)

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

A massive riot in Brixton, South London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries. (11. April 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 Wonderland murders occurred in the early morning hours, allegedly masterminded by businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash. (1. July 1981)

Assemblée Nationale votes to abolish capital punishment in France. (18. September 1981)

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

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

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 Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. (3. April 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)

Mahathir Mohamad becomes Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister. (16. July 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)

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

The Washington Star ceases all operations after 128 years of publication. (7. August 1981)

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