Events from the year 1981 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia) (until January 20), Ronald Reagan (R-California) (starting January 20) Vice President: Walter Mondale (D-Minnesota) (until January 20), George H. W. Bush (R-Texas) (starting January 20) Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger (Minnesota) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Tip O'Neill (D-Massachusetts) Senate Majority Leader: Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) (until January 3), Howard Baker (R-Tennessee) (starting January 3) Congress: 96th (until January 3), 97th (starting January 3)
Events
January
January 16 – Women in Housing and Finance: conduct first meeting in New York City. January 19 – United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity. January 20 – Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the 40th president of the United States, and George H. W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd vice president. Minutes later, Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, ending the Iran hostage crisis. January 25 – Super Bowl XV: The Oakland Raiders defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 27–10 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
February
February 10 – A fire at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino kills eight and injures 198.
March
March 6 – After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News, Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time. March 19 – Three workers are killed and five are injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia. March 21 – Michael Donald is lynched in Mobile, Alabama. March 30 – President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady are also wounded. March 31 – The 53rd Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Robert Redford's directorial debut, Ordinary People, wins four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. David Lynch's The Elephant Man and Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull tie in receiving eight nominations each.
April
April 12 – The Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia (John Young, Robert Crippen) launches on the STS-1 mission, returning to Earth on April 14. April 18 – A Minor League Baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, becomes the longest professional baseball game in history: 8 hours and 25 minutes/33 innings (the 33rd inning is not played until June 23). April 26 – The 5.9 Westmorland earthquake shook the Imperial Valley of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), causing $1–3 million in damage.
May
May 15 – Donna Payant is murdered by serial killer Lemuel Smith, the first time a female correctional officer has been killed on-duty in the United States.
June
June – The United States enters the severe early 1980s recession, exactly a year after the more minor 1980 recession ended; the unemployment rate is 7.2% June 5 – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that five homosexual men in Los Angeles, California, have a rare form of pneumonia seen only in patients with weakened immune systems (the first recognized cases of AIDS). June 12 Major League Baseball goes on strike, forcing the cancellation of 38 percent of the schedule. Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg is released as the first film of the Indiana Jones film series. June 21 – Wayne Williams, a 23-year-old African American, is arrested and charged with the murders of two other African Americans. He is later accused of 28 others, in the Atlanta child murders. June 29 – Morris Edwin Robert, armed with a machine gun, holds hostages in the FBI section at the Atlanta, Georgia Federal Building. After three hours, the hostages are rescued and Robert is killed in a shootout with federal agents.