WHAT ALL HAPPENED MAY TO DECEMBER 1981
Find out what all happened May to December 1981

Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated. (6. October 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)

Two police officers and an armored car guard are killed during an armed robbery in Rockland County, NY, carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground. (20. October 1981)

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

The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries. (21. May 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)

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)

General Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law in Poland to prevent dismantling of the communist system by Solidarity. (13. December 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)

Pope John Paul II appoints Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. (25. November 1981)

Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations. (11. November 1981)

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

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

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

Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe. (The meetings end inconclusively on December 17.) (30. November 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)

In the 39th game of his third NHL season, Wayne Gretzky scores five goals, giving him 50 on the year and setting a new NHL record previously held by Maurice Richard and Mike Bossy, who earlier had each scored 50 goals in 50 games. (30. December 1981)

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

Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel's Knesset ratifies the Golan Heights Law, extending Israeli law to the occupied Golan Heights. (14. December 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)