Some significant events that occurred in the year 1981 include:

• January 20 - Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States.
• March 30 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded in an assassination attempt in Washington, D.C.
• April 12 - The first launch of NASA's Space Shuttle program takes place, with the Columbia spacecraft lifting off from Kennedy Space Center.
• May 13 - Pope John Paul II is shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City.
• July 29 - Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer marry at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England.
• August 1 - MTV (Music Television) begins broadcasting in the United States.
• September 25 - Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in as the first female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
• October 6 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated by Islamic extremists during a military parade in Cairo.