Back Roads
Plays a drifter opposite Sally Field in Back Roads, a comedy
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1981 in United States of America — Page 2
Explore 78 historical events and records for United States of America in 1981.
Historical records for United States of America in 1981
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 38 of 78 unique records.
78Unique records
2 of 2Page
32Named events on this page
33Named people on this page
7Places on this page
Other events (month unknown)
Bech is Back
Publication of "Rabbit Is Rich". Publication of "Bech is Back"
Beyond Therapy New York Premiere
Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy premiered in New York, satirizing psychotherapy and mismatched romantic relationships.
Big Bang
Alan Guth proposes early period of inflation of universe, Guth proposes that the a number of difficulties with the standard model of the expanding universe could be explained by an enormous expansion very early in the history of the universe
Chief of Staff
Appointed Chief of Staff
Education
At the age of 26, receives a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver
Education
Hired by Stanford University as an Assistant Professor in Political Science (1981-1987)
Emmy Award Jeffersons Actress
Isabel Sanford won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work as Louise Jefferson on The Jeffersons.
Endless Love
Tom Cruises first film role comes in a small role in Endless Love, a drama/romance film starring Brooke Shields
Endless Love
Tom Cruises first film role comes in a small role in Endless Love, a drama/romance film starring Brooke Shields
Foreign Relations Work
Develops a Senate role in foreign policy debates.
Government
Repeals the 1975 Congress ban & supports UNITA in Angola
Inflation
Guth publishes the inflationary universe model as an extension of Big Bang theory
Intense Pulsed Neutron Source Operation
Leads development of the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source, which begins operation at Argonne.
Invention of De Lorean Car
The De Lorean Car goes on the market
Larissa First Detected
Reitsema helps detect a possible new Neptunian moon during observations associated with a stellar occultation.
Larissa Observation
Lebofsky participates in the ground-based observations that first reveal the moon later confirmed as Larissa.
Larissa Observation
Tholen participates in observations that detect the body later confirmed by Voyager 2 as Neptune's moon Larissa.
Larissa Occultation Detection
Hubbard helps identify evidence for the moon later named Larissa during ground-based occultation observations.
Libel-Hunt
Hunt is awarded $650,000 in a libel lawsuit against Liberty Lobby, after it published an article by Victor Marchetti in its newspaper The Spotlight accusing Hunt of involvement in the conspiracy to kill John F. Kennedy
Looker
Writes & directs, "Looker"
Metallica
The early incarnation of the band goes through a number of members, including Dave Mustaine and Ron McGovney
Metallica
The early incarnation of the band goes through a number of members, including Dave Mustaine and Ron McGovney
Rabbit Is Rich
Publication of "Rabbit Is Rich". Publication of "Bech is Back"
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Co-creates the Indiana Jones character and serves as executive producer on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Retirement
Ali retires permanently with a career record of 56 wins (37 by knockout) and 5 losses, and as a three-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion
Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Releases Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, focusing almost entirely on edited and improvised guitar solos.
The Dogs of War
Walken stars in the action adventure The Dogs of War, directed by Jack Cardiff
The Dogs of War
Cimino wrote the script for The Dogs of War starring Christopher Walken and was also signed to direct but subsequently abandoned the project, the film is eventually made with a heavily rewritten script in 1981
The Dogs of War
Walken stars in the action adventure The Dogs of War, directed by Jack Cardiff
The River Tour
Tours extensively behind The River, strengthening his reputation as a marathon live performer.
Tinseltown Rebellion
Releases Tinseltown Rebellion, mixing live material, new songs and criticism of the contemporary music business.
Toby Award Woman of the Year Actress
Lauren Bacall earned another Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the central role in Woman of the Year.
UNITA
Repeals the 1975 Congress ban & supports UNITA in Angola
United States Ratifies Protocol One
The United States deposited ratification of Additional Protocol One in November covering territories within the treaty's geographic application.
Uranus Retargeting
Mission planning commits Voyager 2 to the trajectory carrying it onward from Saturn to Uranus.
Voyager 2 Uranus Mission Extension
Supports extending Voyager 2 beyond Saturn toward Uranus after the successful primary planetary encounters.
You Are What You Is
Releases You Are What You Is, combining dense studio production with satire of politics, religion and popular culture.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.