September 1, 1981 (Tuesday)

• 1981 Pacific typhoon season#Typhoon Agnes (Pining) struck South Korea
  South Korea
  The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
  
  , bringing with it the heaviest rainfall seen on the Korean peninsula in the 20th century, with as much as 28 inches (71 cm) falling over the next two days. The final toll was 120 people dead or missing.
• David Dacko
  David Dacko
  David Dacko was the first President of the Central African Republic , from August 14, 1960 to January 1, 1966, and the third president of the CAR from September 21, 1979 to September 1, 1981...
  
  , who had recently been re-elected, quit as President of the Central African Republic, turned over control to army commander General Andre Kolingba
  André Kolingba
  André-Dieudonné Kolingba was the fourth president of the Central African Republic , from 1 September 1981 until 1 October 1993. He took power from President David Dacko in a bloodless coup d'état in 1981 and lost power to Ange-Félix Patassé in a democratic election held in 1993...
  
  . General Kolingba remained in power until 1993.
• Died: Albert Speer
  Albert Speer
  Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
  
  , 76, German Nazi architect and war minister; and Ann Harding
  Ann Harding
  Ann Harding was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress.-Early years:Born Dorothy Walton Gatley at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, to George G. Gatley and Elizabeth "Bessie" Crabb. The daughter of a career army officer, she traveled often during her early life...
  
  , 79, American actress

September 2, 1981 (Wednesday)

• Mohammad Reza Mahdavi
  Mohammad Reza Mahdavi
  Mohammad Reza Mahdavi is an Iranian retired football defender in the Iran Pro League. He has also previously played for the Iran national football team and was in the squad for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup....
  
   was approved as Iran
  Iran
  Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
  
  's third Prime Minister in as many months.

September 3, 1981 (Thursday)

• The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
  The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women is an international convention adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly....
  
   (CEDAW), adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 18, 1979, went into effect by its own terms after being ratified by at least 20 nations.
• In Egypt
  Egypt
  Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
  
  , a nationwide arrest of 1,536 people, most of them Islamist activists, was carried out on orders of President Anwar Sadat
  Anwar Sadat
  Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
  
  . One of those seized was Mohammed Islambouli, leader of the Islamic Association branch at Assiut University
  Assiut University
  Assiut University is a public university in Asyut, Egypt. The University was established in 1957 to encourage research, education and community services in Upper Egypt.Languages of Instruction are Arabic and English...
  
  . His younger brother, Egyptian army Lt. Khalid Islambouli, a member of the group Jihad, was so outraged that he vowed to get revenge on Sadat. A few days later, Khalid was assigned to be part of a military parade scheduled for October 6 to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt's attack on Israel in the Yom Kippur War, and used the opportunity to conspire with fellow members of Jihad to carry out an assassination.
• Born: Fearne Cotton
  Fearne Cotton
  Fearne Cotton is an English television and radio presenter who is known for presenting a number of popular TV programmes such as Top of the Pops and the Red Nose Day telethon. In 2007, she became the first regular female presenter of BBC Radio 1's Chart Show...
  
  , British television presenter, in Northwood

September 4, 1981 (Friday)

• The United States Department of Agriculture
  United States Department of Agriculture
  The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
  
   issued proposed new regulations concerning nutritional requirements for the federally subsidized school lunch program. Both ketchup
  Ketchup
  Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
  
   and pickle relish were classified as vegetables for purposes of defining a balanced meal. The USDA withdrew the proposal three weeks later after a reporter from the Washington Post called attention to the new rules.
• An explosion at a mine in Záluží
  Záluží (Beroun District)
  Záluží is a village in Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 480 inhabitants. Ludmila Mottlova is mayor.-External links:*...
  
  , Czechoslovakia
  Czechoslovakia
  Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
  
  , killed 65 people. Another 40 were rescued.
• Louis Delamare, France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
  's ambassador to Lebanon
  Lebanon
  Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
  
  , was assassinated in Beirut
  Beirut
  Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
  
  . Delamare was being driven home when four gunmen pulled alongside his BMW and opened fire.
• At 8:51 a.m. on the day of its bicentennial, Los Angeles
  Los Ángeles
  Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
  
   got what was nicknamed "the birthday quake", a tremor of 5.8 magnitude, the strongest since the 1971 quake that had killed 65 people.
• Sobhuza II celebrated his 60th anniversary as King of Swaziland, in a ceremony attended by Egypt's President Sadat and Britain's Princess Margaret. Sobhuza was the first monarch since Queen Victoria to observe a diamond jubilee.
• Born: Beyoncé Knowles
  Beyoncé Knowles
  Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
  
  , American actress and R&B singer (Destiny's Child
  Destiny's Child
  Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
  
  ), in Houston

September 5, 1981 (Saturday)

• Pope Shenuda III, head of the Coptic Christian Church of Egypt
  Egypt
  Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
  
  , was deposed from his job by President Anwar Sadat
  Anwar Sadat
  Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
  
  , who charged that Muslim and Christian extremists were conspiring to overthrow the government. Three years after Sadat's assassination, Shenuda, who had been exiled to the monastery of Saint Bishoi, was allowed by President Hosni Mubarak to return to Cairo.
• John Barnes
  John Barnes (footballer)
  John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
  
  , who would become England's greatest black soccer football player, made his professional debut at age 17, playign for the last 15 minutes of Watford F.C.
  Watford F.C.
  Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
  
  's game against Oldham Athletic
  Oldham Athletic A.F.C.
  Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...
  
  .
• In the largest jailbreak from a Communist nation, 154 inmates escaped from a jail in Bydgoszcz, Poland
  Poland
  Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
  
  . The mass breakout happened after prisoners rioted after a 17-year old burglary suspect had been shot during an attempted escape.

September 6, 1981 (Sunday)

• Nawal El Saadawi
  Nawal El Saadawi
  Nawal El Saadawi , born October 27, 1931, is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist, physician and psychiatrist. She has written many books on the subject of women in Islam, paying particular attention to the practice of female genital mutilation in her society....
  
   was arrested as part of the roundup of Sadat's opponents, and stayed in the Barrage Prison until November 25. She later recounted the story in her book, Mozakerati fi signel nissa (Memoirs from the Women's Prison, 1983)

September 7, 1981 (Monday)

• The People's Court
  The People's Court
  The People's Court is a US television court show in which small claims court cases are heard, though what is shown is actually a binding arbitration....
  
  made its syndicated television debut on 39 television stations in the United States. Created by producer Ralph Edwards
  Ralph Edwards
  Ralph Livingstone Edwards was an American radio and television host and television producer.-Early career:Born in Merino, Colorado , Edwards worked for KROW-AM in Oakland, California while he was still in high school...
  
  , the show presented real small claims court cases, with the litigants agreeing to dismiss court proceedings and to go before retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Wapner. Of the $800 provided by the producers for each case, the amount not awarded to the plaintiff ($750 maximum) would be divided evenly between both sides. The very first case saw a landlady receive an award of $614 from
• The first issue of the American weekly newsmagazine Education Week
  Education Week
  Education Week is a United States national newspaper covering K-12 education. It is published by Editorial Projects in Education , a non-profit organization, which is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland...
  
  was published.
• Died: Edwin Link, 77, American inventor who created the first flight simulator

September 8, 1981 (Tuesday)

• Stephen King
  Stephen King
  Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
  
  's horror novel about a crazed St. Bernard dog, Cujo
  Cujo
  Cujo is a psychological horror novel by Stephen King. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982, and was made into a film in 1983....
  
  , was first published.
• Born: Jonathan Taylor Thomas
  Jonathan Taylor Thomas
  Jonathan Taylor Thomas is an American actor, voice actor, former child star, and teen idol...
  
  , American TV actor, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
  
  
• Died: Hideki Yukawa
  Hideki Yukawa
  né , was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate.-Biography:Yukawa was born in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto. In 1929, after receiving his degree from Kyoto Imperial University, he stayed on as a lecturer for four years. After graduation, he was interested in...
  
  , 74, Japanese theoretical physicist, 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics
  Nobel Prize in Physics
  The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
  
   laureate; and Roy Wilkins
  Roy Wilkins
  Roy Wilkins was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was in his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ....
  
  , 80, leader of the NAACP.

September 9, 1981 (Wednesday)

• India
  India
  India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
  
  n newspaper owner Jagat Narain, 92, was assassinated by three gunmen after publishing articles critical of Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
  Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
  Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was the leader of the Damdami Taksal, a Sikh religious group based in India, who supported implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. In 1981, Bhindranwale was arrested for his suspected involvement in the murder of Jagat Narain, the proprietor of the Hind...
  
   and Sikh demands for a separate nation. On September 20, Bhindranwale surrendered to the police, but was released on October 14 by orders of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
  Indira Gandhi
  Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...
  
  .
• Born: Julie Gonzalo
  Julie Gonzalo
  Julie Gonzalo is an Argentine-American actress. She is known for her roles as Parker Lee in Veronica Mars, Shelby in A Cinderella Story and Maggie Dekker in Eli Stone. She has been in two movies with Chad Michael Murray: Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story...
  
  , Argentinian actress, in Buenos Aires
  Buenos Aires
  Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
  
  , Croatian football (soccer) Player Ivan Elez
  Ivan Elez
  Ivan Elez is a Croatian football player. He currently plays for as a left winger for HNK Šibenik in the Prva HNL....
  
  
• Died: Jacques Lacan
  Jacques Lacan
  Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who made prominent contributions to psychoanalysis and philosophy, and has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Giving yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, Lacan influenced France's...
  
  , 80, French psychiatrist and founder of the Lacanian technique of psychoanalysis

September 10, 1981 (Thursday)

• Picasso's painting "Guernica
  Guernica (painting)
  Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, Basque Country, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces, on 26 April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War...
  
  " was returned to the Museo del Prado
  Museo del Prado
  The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of...
  
   in Madrid after having been kept at New York's Museum of Modern Art
  Museum of Modern Art
  The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
  
   since 1939. Transfer of the painting had been kept secret until its arrival.
• In a hastily called referendum
  Referendum
  A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
  
  , voters in Egypt overwhelmingly endorsed his crackdown against religious and political opponents, with a reported 99.45% of nearly 11 million ballots in favor, and only 33,561 against.
• John Carta, a 35 year old unemployed stonemason from New Rochelle, New York
  New Rochelle, New York
  New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
  
  , became the first person to parachute on to the World Trade Center
  World Trade Center
  The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
  
  . Carta jumped from a plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet, then guided himself to a landing on to the observation deck on Tower Two.

September 11, 1981 (Friday)

• A small plane crashed into the Swing Auditorium
  Swing Auditorium
  Swing Auditorium was an indoor arena located on E Street in San Bernardino, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It had a capacity of 10,000 patrons.Named for Senator Ralph E...
  
   in San Bernardino, California
  San Bernardino, California
  San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
  
  , damaging the venue beyond repair.
• Born: Dylan Klebold, American murderer, in Wichita
  Wichita, Kansas
  Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
  
   (d. 1999)
• Died: Frank McHugh
  Frank McHugh
  Francis Curray "Frank" McHugh was an American film and television actor.Born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, McHugh came from a theatrical family. His parents ran a stock theatre company and as a young child he performed on stage...
  
  , 83, American film actor

September 12, 1981 (Saturday)

• The Smurfs
  The Smurfs
  The Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
  
  began a nine season run on NBC Saturday morning television.
• The National Assembly of France voted 329-129 to remove most of the powers of the prefects in France's 95 departments, in the first step toward decentralization of government. The bill still needed to pass the Senate and the signature of President Mitterrand to become law.
• Born: Jennifer Hudson
  Jennifer Hudson
  Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
  
  , American singer and actress, in Chicago
  Chicago
  Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
  
  
• Died: Eugenio Montale
  Eugenio Montale
  Eugenio Montale was an Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975.- Early years :...
  
  , 84, Italian writer, 1975 Nobel Prize in Literature
  Nobel Prize in Literature
  Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
  
   laureate

September 13, 1981 (Sunday)

• Two days of elections began in Norway
  Norway
  Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
  
  , and the Labor Party lost its majority in the 155 member Storting. Labor, let by Gro Harlem Brundtland
  Gro Harlem Brundtland
  Gro Harlem Brundtland is a Norwegian Social democratic politician, diplomat, and physician, and an international leader in sustainable development and public health. She served three terms as Prime Minister of Norway , and has served as the Director General of the World Health Organization...
  
  , retained 67 seats, but the Conservatives, led by supply side economist Kare Willoch
  Kåre Willoch
  Kåre Isaachsen Willoch is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He served as Minister of Trade and Shipping in 1963 and 1965–1970, and as Prime Minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986...
  
  , claimed victory with 54 seats and a potential coalition of 79.

September 14, 1981 (Monday)

• Entertainment Tonight
  Entertainment Tonight
  Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
  
  made its syndicated debut in various television markets.
• Nikolai Glushkov
  Nikolai Glushkov
  Nikolay Glushkov is a former Deputy Director-General of Aeroflot and a former Finance Manager of AvtoVAZ.Glushkov had been AvtoVAZ's Finance Chief until he left his job in autumn 1995 and was appointed as Deputy General Director of Aeroflot on request from Yevgeny Shaposhnikov in February...
  
  , Chairman of the State Prices Commission in the Soviet Union
  Soviet Union
  The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
  
  , confirmed rumors that had caused a run on stores, announcing sharp price increases for the following day, doubling the price of gasoline from the equivalent of $1.06 a gallon to $2.12. Glushkov also increased prices on tobacco and liquor, saying that it was in response by requests from workers "to limit the demand for them". He also said that prices for synthetic fabrics, household appliances, medicines and some watches would be cut by up to 37%, and noted that meat, dairy and bread prices had been unchanged for nearly 20 years.

September 15, 1981 (Tuesday)

• General Frederick J. Kroesen, commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, was slightly injured in an assassination attempt in West Germany. Two rocket-propelled grenades were fired at his armor-plated car as he was being driven through Heidelberg
  Heidelberg
  -Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
  
  .
• The John Bull
  John Bull (locomotive)
  John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981...
  
  became the oldest operable steam locomotive
  Steam locomotive
  A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
  
   in the world, at 150 years old, when it operated under its own power outside Washington, DC.
• Died: Harold Bennett
  Harold Bennett
  Harold Bennett was an English actor best remembered for having played 'Young Mr. Grace' in the 1970s British sitcom Are You Being Served?.-Biography:...
  
  , 81, British actor

September 16, 1981 (Wednesday)

• World Boxing Council
  World Boxing Council
  The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
  
   champion Sugar Ray Leonard
  Sugar Ray Leonard
  Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
  
   and World Boxing Association
  World Boxing Association
  The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
  
    champion Thomas Hearns
  Thomas Hearns
  Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...
  
   fought at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for the world welterweight boxing championship. In the 14th round, Leonard won in a technical knockout, pounding away with Hearns on the ropes, until referee Davey Pearl stopped the fight.
• In Britain
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
  , the Liberal Party
  Liberal Party (UK)
  The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
  
   conference voted 1,688-112 for an electoral pact with the new Social Democratic Party
  Social Democratic Party (UK)
  The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
  
  .
• Born: Alexis Bledel
  Alexis Bledel
  Alexis Bledel is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rory Gilmore in the television series Gilmore Girls and Lena Kaligaris in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.-Early life:Bledel was born Kimberly Alexis Bledel in Houston, Texas...
  
  , American actress, in Houston

September 17, 1981 (Thursday)

• The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
  Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
  The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is part of the Presidential Libraries System of the National Archives and Records Administration, a federal agency. Unlike most other presidential libraries and museums, Ford's are two geographically separate buildings. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential...
  
   was dedicated at Grand Rapids, Michigan
  Grand Rapids, Michigan
  Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
  
   in a ceremony attended by the three heads of government of North America. U.S. President Ronald Reagan
  Ronald Reagan
  Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
  
  , Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
  Pierre Trudeau
  Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
  
  , and Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo
  José López Portillo
  José López Portillo y Pacheco was the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982.Born in Mexico City, López Portillo studied Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico before beginning his political career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1959.He held several positions in the...
  
   met in a "minisummit" at breakfast in Reagan's hotel suite, and comedian Bob Hope
  Bob Hope
  Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
  
   later entertained the 38th President and his guests.
• Ric Flair
  Ric Flair
  Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
  
  defeated Dusty Rhodes to win his first World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship in Kansas City
  Kansas City, Missouri
  Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
  
  .
• Died: Rafael Méndez
  Rafael Méndez
  Rafael Méndez was a popular Mexican virtuoso solo trumpeter.Méndez was born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, Mexico...
  
  , 75, Mexican-born trumpet virtuoso

September 18, 1981 (Friday)

• EINECS, the European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances, was issued by the European Community, containing the first list of every chemical substance in the EC nations.
• The Memphis Group
  Memphis Group
  The Memphis Group was an Italian design and architecture group started by Ettore Sottsass that designed Post Modern furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glass and metal objects from 1981-1987.-Origins:...
  
  , a collection of innovative post-modern furniture designers led by Ettore Sottsass
  Ettore Sottsass
  Ettore Sottsass was an Italian architect and designer of the late 20th century. His body of designs included furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting and office machine design.-Early career:...
  
  , debuted its work at in Milan
  Milan
  Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
  
  , Italy
  Italy
  Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
  
  .
• An Aeroflot passenger airplane with 33 people on board was making its approach for a landing at the Russian city of Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky
  Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky
  Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky is a town and the administrative center of Nizhneilimsky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located east of Bratsk and west of the northern tip of Lake Baikal, from the Ilim River and north of Irkutsk...
  
   when it was struck by a Soviet Army helicopter on a training mission. All 33 on the plane, and 7 on the helicopter, were killed.

September 19, 1981 (Saturday)

• Simon & Garfunkel reunited to perform The Concert in Central Park
  The Concert in Central Park
  The Concert in Central Park is a live album by Simon & Garfunkel. On September 19, 1981 the folk-rock duo reunited for a free concert on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, attended by more than 500,000 people. They released a live album from the concert the following March...
  
  , a free concert in New York in front of approximately half a million people.
• The 80-year old Brazilian river boat Sobral Santos capsized in the Amazon River
  Amazon River
  The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
  
  , Óbidos, Brazil, killing at least 300 people.

September 20, 1981 (Sunday)

• For the first time, China
  China
  Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
  
   launched three satellites into orbit, on a rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
  Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
  Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is a People's Republic of China space vehicle launch facility .The facility is part of Dongfeng Aerospace City , and is located in the Gobi desert, Ejin Banner , Alxa League , Inner Mongolia, situated about 1,600 km from Beijing.- History :It was founded in 1958,...
  
  . The feat led some observers to speculate that China had gained the ability to launch multiple nuclear warheads or that it had set up an early warning system against missile attacks.
• Karen Williams, a stewardess on board World Airways
  World Airways
  World Airways, Inc. is an American airline headquartered at the HLH Building in Peachtree City, Georgia. For the most part, the company operates non-scheduled services. Its main aircraft and maintenance base is Tampa International Airport.-History:...
  
   Flight 32, a DC-10, was crushed to death in the airplane's service elevator during a flight from Baltimore to London.

September 21, 1981 (Monday)

• Belize
  Belize
  Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
  
  , formerly the British Honduras
  British Honduras
  British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
  
   attained independence, with George Price
  George Cadle Price
  George Cadle Price PC was the first Prime Minister of Belize and is considered to have been one of the principal architects of the country's independence, and is today referred to by many as "the Father of the Nation"....
  
   serving as its first Prime Minister, and Dame Minita Gordon
  Elmira Minita Gordon
  Dame Elmira Minita Gordon, GCMG, GCVO was Governor-General of Belize from its independence in 1981 to 1993. She was the first woman in a Commonwealth Realm to assume the position of Governor General. As Governor General she also held the title of Patron to the Scout Association of Belize and the...
  
   as its Governor-General.
• The appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor
  Sandra Day O'Connor
  Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
  
   was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, 99-0, for her to become the 102nd justice of the United States Supreme Court.
• Born: Nicole Richie
  Nicole Richie
  Nicole Camille Richie is an American fashion designer, author, actress, singer and television personality. Her father was Peter Michael Escovedo, a musician who played for a brief time with Lionel Richie, and her mother Karen was the executive assistant for Sheila Escovedo...
  
  , American actress, singer and socialite, in Berkeley, California
  Berkeley, California
  Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
  
  

September 22, 1981 (Tuesday)

• The initial public offering
  Initial public offering
  An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
  
   of stock in The Home Depot
  The Home Depot
  The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
  
   was made at $12.00 per share as the company was listed on the NASDAQ
  NASDAQ
  The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
  
   exchange. The stock was worth 20 times as much within two years, and with 13 successive stock splits over the next 18 years, the value of a 1981 share of stock was worth 370 times as much, so that initial investment of $5,000 in 1981 would have been worth $1.8 million in 1999. By 2010, the $5,000 investment would have been worth more than six million dollars.
• Born: Alexei Ramirez
  Alexei Ramírez
  Alexei Fernando Ramírez is a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop for the Chicago White Sox...
  
  , Cuban-born Major League Baseball player, in Pinar del Río
  Pinar del Río
  Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...
  
  
• Died: Harry Warren
  Harry Warren
  Harry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
  
  , 87, American songwriter and three time Oscar winner

September 23, 1981 (Wednesday)

• U.S. National Security Adviser Richard Allen announced plans by the Reagan Administration to create a radio station
  Radio Martí
  Radio y Televisión Martí is a radio and television broadcaster based in Miami, Florida, financed by the United States government , which transmits Spanish radio broadcasts to Cuba...
  
   that would broadcast to Cuba
  Cuba
  The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
  
  , patterned after Radio Free Europe
  Radio Free Europe
  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress that provides news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East "where the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"...
  
  . Though initially set to launch in January 1982, Radio Marti
  Radio Martí
  Radio y Televisión Martí is a radio and television broadcaster based in Miami, Florida, financed by the United States government , which transmits Spanish radio broadcasts to Cuba...
  
   did not start transmission until May 20, 1985.
• Died: Chief Dan George, 82, Canadian First Nations actor

September 24, 1981 (Thursday)

• A day after meeting for the first time, U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig
  Alexander Haig
  Alexander Meigs Haig, Jr. was a United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
  
  , and U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko
  Andrei Gromyko
  Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko was a Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet . Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1987. In the West he was given the...
  
   issued a joint statement that the two nations would resume discussions on controlling the growth of nuclear weapons in Europe, beginning on November 30 in Geneva
  Geneva
  Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
  
  .
• The largest crowd ever to attend a greyhound racing
  Greyhound racing
  Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
  
   event in the United States- 21,000 people- turned out at Southland Greyhound Park
  Southland Greyhound Park
  Southland Greyhound Park is a greyhound racing park and casino in West Memphis, Arkansas. Over 400 greyhound races take place at the Park each year. Simulcast thoroughbred and greyhound races from other tracks around the United States are also offered....
  
   in West Memphis, Arkansas
  West Memphis, Arkansas
  West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 27,666 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 28,181 in 2005, and 31,329 in 2011 ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs...
  
  , wagering 1.3 million dollars on the racing dogs.

September 25, 1981 (Friday)

• The Sydney Tower
  Sydney Tower
  Sydney Tower Eye is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, and the second tallest in Australia...
  
  , fifth tallest building in the world opened to the public.
• The Rolling Stones
  The Rolling Stones
  The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
  
   began their 40-city Tattoo You
  Tattoo You
  Tattoo You is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. The follow-up to Emotional Rescue, it proved to be a big critical and commercial success...
  
   tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, playing before a crowd of 90,000.
• Sandra Day O'Connor
  Sandra Day O'Connor
  Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
  
   took her seat as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

September 26, 1981 (Saturday)

• Believed to have become extinct in 1975, the Black-footed Ferret
  Black-footed Ferret
  The Black-footed Ferret , also known as the American polecat or Prairie Dog Hunter, is a species of Mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations...
  
   (Mustela nigripes) was rediscovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming
  Meeteetse, Wyoming
  Meeteetse is a town in Park County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 351 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Meeteetse is located at ....
  
   by a dog, which had attacked and killed the animal. The following month, a live ferret was found in the same area.
• The Boeing 767
  Boeing 767
  The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
  
   airliner made its first flight, taking off from Everett, Washington
  Everett, Washington
  Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
  
   at 11:55 am. Piloted by Tom Edmonds and Lew Wallick, along with John Britt, the jet reached an altitude of 17,000 feet and a speed of 260 miles per hour, and landing again at 1:58 p.m.
• Born: Serena Williams
  Serena Williams
  Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
  
  , American professional tennis player, ranked #1 in the world on five occasions from 2002 through 2010; in Saginaw, Michigan
  Saginaw, Michigan
  Saginaw is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw was once a thriving lumber town and manufacturing center. Saginaw and Saginaw County lie in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan...
  
  ; and Christina Milian
  Christina Milian
  Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....
  
  , American R&B singer and actress, in Jersey City, New Jersey
  Jersey City, New Jersey
  Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
  
  

September 27, 1981 (Sunday)

• The first commercial run of the TGV
  TGV
  The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
  
   high speed rail service train began, traversing the 300 mile distance between Paris
  Paris
  Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
  
   and Lyon
  Lyon
  Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
  
  s. At 6:15 am, the Train a Grande Vitesse pulled out of the Gare de Lyon in Paris with 772 passengers, then accelerated along the high speed line at Saint-Florentin
  Saint-Florentin, Yonne
  Saint-Florentin is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.-Twin towns:Saint-Florentin is twinned with Zeltingen-Rachtig, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-References:*...
  
   at 156 miles per hour, arriving in Lyons at 9:05 am.
• The hijacking of a Yugoslavian JAT Boeing 727 was thwarted after a fire alarm was sounded and the 101 passengers and 7 crew escaped unharmed. The plane had been seized the night before during a flight from Dubrovnik
  Dubrovnik
  Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
  
   to Belgrade
  Belgrade
  Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
  
  , flew to Athens
  Athens
  Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
  
   for refueling, then landed at the Cypriot city of Larnaka, where the escape took place.
• Died: Robert Montgomery
  Robert Montgomery (actor)
  Robert Montgomery was an American actor and director.- Early life :Montgomery was born Henry Montgomery, Jr. in Beacon, New York, then known as "Fishkill Landing", the son of Mary Weed and Henry Montgomery, Sr. His early childhood was one of privilege, since his father was president of the New...
  
  , 77, American actor

September 28, 1981 (Monday)

• After stock analyst Joseph Granville
  Joseph Granville
  Joseph E. Granville , often called Joe Granville, is a financial writer and investment speaker. He popularized the use of "on balance volume", a technique of technical analysis that attempts to predict future prices of stocks, commodities, and other financial assets traded on financial markets for...
  
   had predicted over the weekend that a "Blue Monday" would see stock prices fall, record sell-offs took place. In Tokyo, where the markets opened first, the Nikkei 225
  Nikkei 225
  The , more commonly called the Nikkei, the Nikkei index, or the Nikkei Stock Average , is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange . It has been calculated daily by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper since 1950. It is a price-weighted average , and the components are reviewed once a year...
  
   fell 302.84 points, the largest single-day drop on record, and when the London Stock Exchange
  London Stock Exchange
  The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
  
   opened, the FTSE Index
  FTSE 100 Index
  The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
  
   dropped a record 29.4 points. Less drastic declines happened in Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
  
  , Singapore
  Singapore
  Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
  
  , Hong Kong
  Hong Kong
  Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
  
  , Frankfurt
  Frankfurt
  Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
  
  , Zurich
  Zürich
  Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
  
   and Paris
  Paris
  Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
  
  . Stock prices fell initially in New York and Toronto, but rallied later in the day. Tokyo and London made strong recoveries the next day.
• Died: Rómulo Betancourt
  Rómulo Betancourt
  Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello , known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was President of Venezuela from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Accion Democratica, Venezuela's dominant political party in the 20th century...
  
  , 73, former President of Venezuela

September 29, 1981 (Tuesday)

• President Reagan issued Executive Order 12324 to halt the flow of refugees from Haiti
  Haiti
  Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
  
   into the United States. Since 1978, almost 50,000 Haitian citizens fled the regime of Jean-Claude Duvalier
  Jean-Claude Duvalier
  Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971...
  
   and most were detained in South Florida. Reagan ordered the U.S. Coast Guard to intercept and board any refugee vessels and return them to their nation of origin.
• U.S. Senator William Proxmire
  William Proxmire
  Edward William Proxmire was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989.-Personal life:...
  
   (D-Wisconsin) completed a filibuster
  Filibuster
  A filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
  
   at 10:27 a.m., yielding the floor after beginning a speech of more than 16 hours the day before. Proxmire, famous for his monthly "Golden Fleece Award
  Golden Fleece Award
  The Golden Fleece Award is presented to those public officials in the United States whom the judges feel waste public money.Established in 1975 by former U.S. Senator William Proxmire , and issued until 1988, it was revived by the Advisory Board of the Taxpayers for Common Sense in 2000...
  
  " for wasteful government spending, had spoken out against U.S. Senate approval of a bill to raise the debt ceiling above one trillion dollars. The cost of his speech to taxpayers, most of it for printing in the Congressional Record, was estimated at $64,674.
• Police found four people shot to death in an expensive home in Columbia, South Carolina
  Columbia, South Carolina
  Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
  
  , known as the "devil house".
• Died: Bill Shankly
  Bill Shankly
  William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
  
  , 68, British football manager who won multiple championships for Liverpool F.C.
  Liverpool F.C.
  Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
  
  

September 30, 1981 (Wednesday)

• The United States' debt ceiling was raised to one trillion dollars for the first time in history, the day after the U.S. Senate, by a margin of 64-34, approved an increase of the government's credit limit from $985 billion to $1,079,000,000,000. President Reagan signed the legislation at 8:15 pm in Washington.
• Pakistani commandos stormed a hijacked Indian Airlines jet and rescued all 45 hostages, two hours before a deadline for action. The plane had been seized the day before by three Sikh nationalists, then flown to Lahore
  Lahore
  Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
  
  .
• Born: Cecelia Ahern
  Cecelia Ahern
  Cecelia Ahern is an Irish novelist, since 2004. In addition to publishing several novels, she has also contributed a number of short stories to various anthologies, for which all her royalties go to charity.Ahern also created and produced the ABC comedy Samantha Who? starring Christina Applegate...
  
  , Irish novelist, in Dublin