The Eighties Club
The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s
The Daily News - October 1981
[NOTE: Some of the events described in a day's news may have occurred on the previous day.]

Thursday, 1 October 1981
President Reagan defends proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia, says it won't pose threat to Israel or compromise U.S. national security; Sen. Robert Packwood introduces resolution of disapproval signed by numerous senators ..... Iran denies it bombed Kuwaiti oil field, blames Iraq ..... All-savers certificates go on sale for first time ..... Egyptian President Anwar Sadat issues ultimatum to Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi re: Libyan raids into Sudan ..... Egyptian Vice-president Hosni Mubarak travels to U.S. for meetings with Reagan and secretary of state ..... Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners claims responsibility for car bombing at PLO headquarters in Beirut; PLO blames Israel ..... Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, MO reopens following skywalk collapse, July 17 ..... China successfully launches three satellites ..... World chess championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi opens in Merano, Italy ..... Reagan budget and tax cuts go into effect today (beginning of fiscal year); in press conference, president promises "safety net" for poor remains intact ..... Construction error delays startup of California's Diablo Canyon nuclear plant ..... Trial of Elvis Presley's physician, Dr. George Nichopolous, accused of illegally prescribing drugs, opens in Memphis, TN ..... Former Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr announces formation of government-in-exile ..... East and West Germany engage in major spy swap ..... Christie's auctions off Judy Garland's slippers from The Wizard of Oz.
Friday, 2 October 1981
President Reagan announces decision to go ahead with MX missile, B1 bomber, Trident submarine ..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig meets with Saudi Prince Saud re: proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Administration closing majority of public health clinics ..... Lech Walesa reelected as union president in election held by Poland's Solidarity ..... International Olympic Committee admits two women as members ..... Award given current and former inmates of Worcester, MD county jail due to health conditions there ..... Chester Gould's "Dick Tracy" celebrates 50th anniversary ..... Increased number of shark attacks off Florida coast reported.
Saturday, 3 October 1981
Sen. John Tower critical of President Reagan's decision to deploy MX missiles in hardened Titan silos ..... Joint army reserve/National Guard military exercises underway in northern Florida ..... IRA halts hunger striking in Northern Ireland ..... Funeral held in New Orleans, LA for closing of public health hospital ..... U.S. team of John McEnroe and Peter Fleming win Davis Cup match ..... Ali Khamenei elected as Iran's new president; executions of opponents to Ayatollah Khomeini's regime continue ..... Prince Charles reportedly gives self salary increase ..... Mike Weaver defeats Quick Tillis for heavyweight boxing title.
Sunday, 4 October 1981
Remains of Lee Harvey Oswald exhumed, authenticated, then reburied ..... Solidarity's Lech Walesa demands that Polish government's food price hikes be rolled back ..... Pope John Paul II makes first appearance in St. Peter's Square since assassination attempt ..... Anatoly Karpov wins game in world chess championship ..... Proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia supported by former presidents Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon ..... Environmental crisis reported in Pleasantville, NJ due to chemical waste pit ..... Britain pledges reforms in Maze Prison following IRA's halting of hunger strikes there.
Monday, 5 October 1981
Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman disagrees with President Reagan's MX missile deployment decision, supports multiple placement system ..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig tells Senate Foreign Relations Committee that joint operation of AWACS in proposed sale to Saudi Arabia not feasible ..... British high court strips Playboy's London casinos of licenses ..... Conflict arising between Polish government and Solidarity re: cigarette price hike ..... Proposed merger between Sears and Coldwell Banker announced ..... Raoul Wallenberg, who helped Jews escape Nazis in World War II, granted honorary U.S. citizenship ..... Rescue of Israeli patrol boat accidentally run aground on Saudi Arabian coast reported ..... Senate subcommittee begins hearings on proposed Constitutional amendment to ban abortions ..... France announces six-month price freeze in effort to halt inflation ..... British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launches investigation into allegations that carmaker John DeLorean mishandled funds.
Tuesday, 6 October 1981
Egyptian President Anwar Saday assassinated while reviewing military parade; two Moslem extremist groups claim responsibility; U.S. concerned re: Mideast peace in wake of killing; Egyptian ambassador to U.S. says Sadat's policies will be continued; Sen. Henry Jackson suspects Libyan involvement in assassination; three American military officers wounded in attack on Sadat; celebrations reported in Libya, Syria, Iraq ..... Train carrying potentially dangerous chemicals derails in Marysville, WA ..... New Jersey governor releases closed court files on kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh's baby due to suit brought by wife of convicted kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann ..... British authorities agree to two demands made by IRA prisoners in Belfast prison.

Gunmen open fire on review stand, killing Egyptian President Anwar Sadat

Wednesday, 7 October 1981
President Reagan not planning to attend funeral of slain Egyptian President Anwar Sadat on Saturday, attends memorial service held at National Cathedral; Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter part of U.S. delegation to be led by Secretary of State Alexander Haig; Vice-President Hosni Mubarak takes oath as Egypt's interim president; Haig praises Mubarak's commitment to Mideast peace process; mass arrests of alleged dissidents occur; assassins said to be members of outlawed Moslem Brotherhood ..... Congress approves pay raise for armed forces ..... TWA and American Airlines join United Airlines in fare war ..... House Foreign Affairs Committee rejects proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis warns of possible long flight delays due to air traffic controllers' strike ..... Reagan administration expresses support for Federal Reserve Board's tight money policy to battle inflation ..... Andrew Young, Sidney Marcus leading contenders in mayoral race, Atlanta, GA.
Thursday, 8 October 1981
Egyptian security forces reportedly clash with Islamic fundamentalists in crackdown following assassination of Anwar Sadat by Moslem extremists; American forces in region remain on increased alert; concern over security at funeral said to be reason for President Reagan's absence ..... Reagan may invoke emergency waiver to sell AWACS to Saudi Arabia despite congressional opposition ..... Bobby Unser announced winner of disputed decision re: Indianapolis 500 ..... Solidarity ends first national conference in Poland ..... Chase Manhattan Bank drops prime lending rate ..... Jimmy Carter threatens to sue Washington Post for libel re: article involving First Lady Nancy Reagan ..... Results of Navy's drug raid on USS Midway revealed, 17 pounds of marijuana found ..... Sears acquires brokerage firm of Dean Witter Reynolds ..... Princess Juliana Edenia Antonio, Netherlands, dies.
Friday, 9 October 1981
New Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak expresses dedication to peace process begun by slain predecessor, Anwar Sadat, accepts President Reagan's invitation to come to Washington next year; former presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter arrive in Egypt for Saturday's funeral; Mubarak meets with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin; Sudan, Oman and Morocco only three Arab nations represented at funeral ..... Los Angeles Times says Egyptian security forces discovered assassination plot three weeks ago ..... Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini calls for revolution in Egypt ..... PLO official assassinated in Rome; PLO blames Israel, but renegade Palestinian group claims responsibility ..... Anatoly Karpov wins another game against Viktor Korchnoi in world chess championship ..... Agriculture Dept. imposes new regulations on food stamp distribution in effort to reduce fraud; dept. says 1981 corn crop biggest in U.S. history ..... Roger Sperry, Torsten Wiesel, David Hubel share Nobel Prize for medicine ..... Naval Research Lab releases photos of comet colliding with sun two years ago ..... Administration steps up pressure on senators to approve sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Navy says two sailors have died of drug overdoses aboard USS Midway.

Korchnoi v. Karpov, world chess championship

Saturday, 10 October 1981
Funeral for slain Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat held in Cairo; exiled Gen. Saad el Shazli threatens more violence in Egypt ..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig meets with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin re: proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Terrorist bombing of Irish Guards Regiment in London reported, IRA claims responsibility ..... Protesters in Bonn, W. Germany demonstrate against President Reagan's nuclear policy ..... National Organization for Women pushes for ERA ratification at Washington DC convention ..... Voyager II said to have discovered hottest point in universe near Saturn's moons ..... FBI and CIA deny report that they uncovered Libyan plot to assassinate Reagan ..... Chicago priests place ad in newspaper criticizing administration's cuts in social programs ..... Taiwan and China celebrate 1911 Revolution.
Sunday, 11 October 1981
Egyptian interior minister denies assassination attempt was made against him ..... Secretary of State Alexander Haig meets with Egyptian defense minister in Cairo re: next month's military exercise, Operation Bright Star ..... Former President Richard Nixon meets with officials in Saudi Arabia ..... Russian mechanic surrenders to Soviet authorities after forcing way into U.S. embassy, Moscow.
Monday, 12 October 1981
State Dept. officials meet in Khartoum to plan increased U.S. presence in Sudan due to threat to that country posed by Libya; U.S. steps up military shipments to Sudan and Egypt ..... Libya pushes into western Sahara, region also claimed by Morocco ..... In Egypt, army officer arrested in connection with assassination of Anwar Sadat ..... Israel criticizes former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford for their recommending that U.S. recognize PLO; Carter criticizes Reagan administration's Mideast policy but supports proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... VP George Bush urges Dominican Republican to resist Cuban interference in its affairs ..... Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson participate in ERA rally ..... Glasses for the legally blind are introduced ..... Jaycees continue barring women from becoming members ..... British authorities clear carmaker John DeLorean of financial wrongdoing.
Tuesday, 13 October 1981
Hosni Mubarak elected as Egyptian president ..... Terrorist bombing reported at Cairo airport; Egyptian police and Moslem fundamentalists clash in Giza ..... Former President Richard Nixon in Jordan to meet with King Hussein ..... Yale Professor James Tobin wins Nobel Prize in Economics ..... Prime lending rate declines ..... Flooding reported in North Texas; zoo animals drown in Gainesville ..... Spain's King Juan Carlos visits White House ..... Warning strikes protest rising food prices in Poland ..... W. German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt has pacemaker implanted.
Wednesday, 14 October 1981
Administration steps up campaign for sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia despite rejection of plan by House ..... AWACS enroute for Mideast to detect any aggression by Libya against Egypt or Sudan ..... Egyptian foreign minister expresses commitment to defend Sudan against Libyan invasion ..... Offce of UN High Commissioner for Refugees receives Nobel Peace Prize ..... Chinese submarine explodes while attempting missile launch in South China Sea ..... Flooding continues in parts of Texas and Oklahoma ..... President Reagan invokes executive privilege, orders Interior Secretary James Watt to withhold information requested by Congress re: foreign ownership of mineral rights on federal lands ..... Textile workers strike in Zyrardow, Poland ..... Lawsuit brought by some former hostages held in Iran who are dissatisfied with government's compensation ..... Rose Garden ceremony held for Rep. Eugene Atkinson, who switches from Democratic to Republican Party ..... Chicago Bears football team being sued for consumer fraud by disgruntled fan.
Thursday, 15 October 1981
Senate Foreign Relations Committee rejects President Reagan's proposal to sell AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Pentagon considers sending F-16 fighters to Egypt, in addition to AWACS, for upcoming military exercise "Bright Star" ..... Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger in France to recruit French support in opposing Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi ..... Chase Manhattan Bank lowers prime rate ..... OMB Director David Stockman calls for further budget cuts ..... House votes to continue peanut and sugar price supports ..... Elias Canetti (Tower of Babel) receives Nobel Prize for Literature ..... CIA seeks exemption from public disclosure re: Freedom of Information Act ..... Rev. Sun Myung Moon indicted for income tax fraud ..... New York Yankees win American League pennant.
Friday, 16 October 1981
Libyan bombing raids on Sudanese villages may have been fewer than previously believed ..... Moshe Dayan dies in Tel Aviv, Israel ..... Confessed spy Joseph Helmich, Jr. is sentenced ..... President Reagan continues to lobby for proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia despite congressional opposition ..... Los Alamos, NM nuclear laboratory trying to locate source of accidental leak of plutonium last Wednesday ..... Coal mine disaster reported in Sapporo, Japan ..... Reagan administration reportedly proposing major changes in banking regulations ..... U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reports on extent of police brutality ..... Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak cracks down on Islamic fundamentalists ..... Flooding continues in northern Texas and southern Oklahoma ..... Reagan administration said to be pressuring Justice Dept. to drop Seattle school desegregation case ..... British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher defends economic policies at conservative party conference.
Saturday, 17 October 1981
Former President Richard Nixon meets with Moroccan King Hassan ..... Attorney General William French Smith heads U.S. delegation to funeral of Moshe Dayan in Israel ..... IRA responsible for car bombing of commander of British Marines ..... Bomb found at Bogota, Colombia airport where VP Bush's plane had recently landed ..... Polish Communist party attempting to crack down on Solidarity; textile workers continue striking to protest food shortages ..... President Reagan meets with top aides re: further proposed budget cuts.
Sunday, 18 October 1981
Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski replaces Stanislaw Kania as head of Poland's Communist Party ..... Andreas Papandreau elected prime minister of Greece ..... President Reagan acknowledges U.S. is in recession ..... Demonstration in Barcelona protests Spain's joining NATO ..... Reagan and French President Francois Mitterand commemorate joint U.S.-French victory at Battle of Yorktown.
Monday, 19 October 1981
President Reagan and French President Francois Mitterand attend ceremonies at Yorktown, VA commemorating joint American-French victory there ..... Sierra Club and Friends of Earth presenting petition to Senate leaders for removal of Interior Secretary James Watt ..... Prime Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski reportedly issues crisis orders to Polish troops ..... Kenichi Fukui and Raold Hoffman win Nobel Prize for chemistry; Kai Siegbahn, Nicolaas Bloembergen and Arthur Schawlow win Nobel Prize for physics ..... In Mexico, hydroplane racer Bill Muncey dies in competition ..... LA Dodgers defeat Montreal Expos for NL pennant, will meet New York Yankees in World Series ..... Egyptian armed forces purged of Moslem extremists ..... U.S. concerned over election of Andreas Papandreau to presidency of Greece due to his call for removal of American military presence from that country.
Tuesday, 20 October 1981
Maj. Gen. Robert Schweitzer of National Security Council says U.S., USSR headed for nuclear conflict; Schweitzer fired following publication of comment in Washington Post ..... Treasury Secretary Donald Regan says administration considering alcohol and tobacco excise tax; administration abandons plan to phase out 50% of public health hospitals .....T exaco ceases production of costly gasahol ..... Senate vote on proposed sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia scheduled for next week.....Police and Solidarity members clash in Polish city .....T errorist attack on Jewish synagogue reported in Antwerp, Belgium ..... PLO leader Yasser Arafat meets with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev; USSR recognizes PLO, provides it full diplomatic status ..... Pre-trial hearing for John Hinckley, Jr., would-be-assassin of President Reagan, takes place ..... Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger heads U.S. delegation at NATO meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland; Reagan's comments re: nuclear war limited to Europe of concern there.
Wednesday, 21 October 1981
President Reagan departs for North-South summit in Cancun ..... NATO makes plans to counter anti-nuclear movement in Europe ..... Weather Underground members Kathy Boudin, Judith Clark and Dave Gilbert arrested following armored car robbery in Nyack, NY; Brinks guard and police officers slain ..... Trial date for suspected child slayer Wayne Williams set in Atlanta ..... Police and anti-government demonstrators clash in Poland ..... Sen. Robert Byrd issue formal statement in opposition to sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Rev. Sun Myung Moon returning to U.S. to face tax evasion charges ..... Ted Turner testifies at House subcommittee hearing on television violence ..... Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev criticizes Reagan's statement re: limiting nuclear warfare to Europe.

Kathy Boudin in custody

Thursday, 22 October 1981
National Labor Relations Board officially decertifies PATCO, air traffic controllers' union ..... Board scare forces early closure of Chicago Board of Trade and Philadelphia stock exchange ..... Federal debt passes $1 trillion mark ..... Congress considers administration's call for further budget cuts ..... General Motors reports 3rd quarter losses ..... Hunger march held in northern Poland; labor strikes reported in several cities ..... China opposed to administration's proposed arms sales to Taiwan ..... FBI investigates alleged alliance between Weather Underground remnants and Black Liberation Army ..... Rev. Sun Myung Moon claims racism behind tax evasion charges against him ..... In Oklahoma, FBI uncovers largest county kickback scandal in U.S. history ..... Administration wants legislative authority to halt future waves of illegal aliens ..... Aerosol can factory explodes in Holbrook, MA ..... French President Francois Mitterand asks Organization of African Unity to send military forces to Chad to stop Libyan incursions.
Wednesday, 23 October 1981
At North-South conference in Cancun, President Reagan rejects global negotiations to deal with energy needs of under-developed countries, meets with Saudi Crown Prince Faud re: proposed AWACS sale to Saudi Arabia ..... Administration killing regulations requiring automatic restraint systems in autos ..... US ambassador to Italy, Maxwell Rabb, called home due to alleged Libyan plot to asassinate him ..... State Dept. responds to Soviet allegations that U.S. and NATO are preparing to intervene militarily in Poland; Polish troops used to counter growing labor and food unrest; Solidarity calls for nationwide strike next week ..... Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says assassination of Anwar Sadat part of plot to overthrow government ..... Earthquake reported near Los Angeles ..... Washington Post apologizes to Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter for article accusing them of bugging Blair House rooms of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
Thursday, 24 October 1981
FBI confirms Weather Underground part of network of radical organizations, investigating links to IRA and foreign terrorist groups ..... Anti-nuke demonstrations take place in London and Rome ..... Fundamentalist school in Louisville, Nebraska closed for not meeting state education standards ..... Wildcat strikes continue in Poland despite government's use of troops to help combat food shortages ..... OMB Director David Stockman reportedly pressing for revenue increases ..... Amtrak cuts back services, increases ticket prices.
Friday, 25 October 1981
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner scuffles with disgruntled fans in hotel elevator ..... 200,000 demonstrate against cruise missile in Brussels ..... Allison Roe wins NYC Women's Marathon; Alberto Salazar wins NYC Men's Marathon ..... Author Ariel Durant is dead.
Saturday, 26 October 1981
Haitian refugees drown when boat capsizes off Florida coast ..... Romanian President Nicolai Ceausescu calls for withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Eastern Europe in exchange for no U.S. missiles in Western Europe ..... Court rejects lawsuit brought by former American hostages against U.S. and Iran ..... SEC inquiry launched into alleged insider trading re: stocks of Santa Fe International, soon to be sold to Kuwaiti oil company ..... Sen. Robert Dole, chair of Senate Finance Committee, acknowledges plans to increases taxes in a few years ..... Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin resumes Palestinian autonomy talks with Egyptian foreign minister ..... IRAs warn authorities of bombing of London restaurant ..... Some of the charges against Elvis Presley's physician Dr. George Nichopoulos dismissed ..... Costume designer Edith Head dies .....T errorist bombing occurs in Beirut ..... AFL-CIO not inviting President Reagan to upcoming convention ..... FTC considering removing regulation requiring advertisers to back up claims ..... Further delays in start of operations at California's Diablo Canyon nuclear plant.
Sunday, 27 October 1981
U.S. to send emergency food aid to Poland ..... FBI reports arrest of Cynthia Boston, spokeswoman for Republic of New Africa in connection with last week's Brinks robbery; Weather Underground's Jeffrey Jones and Eleanor Raskin, and Black Panther Nathaniel Burns, arraigned ..... CIA investigating charges that some of its former agents are still involved with Libya ..... Teachers in Philadelphia ordered by court to end strike ..... President Reagan expected to win victory in tomorrow's Senate vote on sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Senate Intelligence Committee opposes Reagan plan to ease restrictions on domestic surveillance by CIA ..... Consumer Price Index is revised ..... Kurt Waldheim and Salim Ahmed Salim in race for post of UN Secretary General ..... Aviation Week & Space Technology claims USSR has new killer satellite in orbit.
Monday, 28 October 1981
Senate approves sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia ..... Warsaw Pact military council meets in Hungary..... Nationwide strike orchestrated by Solidarity goes into effect; coal miners continue to strike despite yesterday's poison gas attack ..... Soviet submarine runs aground in Swedish territorial waters ..... Senate subcommittee investigating corruption in labor unions; General Accounting Office critical of Labor Dept. inquiry into Teamsters' pension fund allegations ..... Cuba criticizes Secretary of State Alexander Haig for alleged Haig remark re: Cuban troops in Nicaragua ..... Air traffic controllers officially end strike ..... Ford Motor Co. announces 3rd quarter losses ..... Cincinnati Zoo reports birth of white Bengal tigers ..... Andrew Young defeats Sidney Marcus in Atlanta's mayoral race ..... Rubik's Cube competition held in Paris, France ..... LA Dodgers defeat NY Yankees 4 games to 2 and win 78th World Series.
Tuesday, 29 October 1981
OPEC members meeting in Geneva agree on unified oil price; increase in gasoline and home heating oil prices expected as consequence ..... Swedish officials formally protest presence of Soviet sub grounded in Sweden's territorial waters ..... Jamaica severs diplomatic relations with Cuba ..... Chrysler reports 3rd quarter losses ..... Philadelphia Phillies baseball team is sold ..... President Reagan denies rumors of possible reorganization of foreign policy team and alleged dissatisfaction with national security advisor and secretary of state ..... Wildcat strikes reported throughout Poland ..... Libyan troops put on display of force in Chad's capital in effort to oust government there ..... Inmates riot, take hostages, at prison in Graterford, PA.
Wednesday, 30 October 1981
Swedish officials anticipate release of Soviet submarine grounded in Sweden's territorial waters once diplomatic demands are met; standoff continues between Swedish troops and submarine crew .... . Federal Reserve Board lowers discount rate ..... Treasury Secretary Donald Regan admits administration's goal of balanced budget by 1984 won't be met ..... USAF B-52 bomber crashes on Colorado mesa ..... Chad's president orders Libyan troops out of his country ..... PLO leader Yasser Arafat approves Saudi Arabia's Mideast peace plan ..... USSR launches unmanned Venus probe ..... Weather Underground member David Gilbert arrested in connection with recent Brinks robbery ..... House Intelligence Committee cautions against administration plan to ease restrictions on CIA domestic activities ..... Countdown begins for Wednesday launch of space shuttle Columbia, with astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly ..... Saudi Arabia cuts oil production following yesterday's OPEC agreement ..... Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige predicts U.S. trade deficit with Japan ..... President's daughter Maureen Reagan enters race for senate seat in California.
Thursday, 31 October 1981
Greenpeace frees whale used in government experiment re: torpedo retrieval ..... Blacks and Hispanics clash in California rehabilitation center ..... Train derailment reported in Buffalo, NY ..... FAA marks two years since fatal accident involving large passenger jet ..... Senate Budget Committee considers tax increase to meet budget shortfall ..... Hostage situation continues in Pennsylvania's Graterford prison ..... Polish parliament calls for end to strikes, praises Solidarity's efforts to stop labor unrest.