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1981 in science
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<h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li>September – <a href="/facts/Pantanal_Matogrossense_National_Park/WP8LGsQz">Pantanal Matogrossense National Park</a> designated in <a href="/facts/Brazil/QHkG46GL">Brazil</a>.</li> <li>Publication of <a href="/facts/Stephen_Jay_Gould/FtAcabjg">Stephen Jay Gould</a>'s critique of <a href="/facts/Biological_determinism/3m6amPFG">biological determinism</a>, <i><a href="/facts/The_Mismeasure_of_Man/yvLVQnyM">The Mismeasure of Man</a></i>, in the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li>A German research team led by <a href="/facts/Peter_Armbruster/0JylVokh">Peter Armbruster</a> and <a href="/facts/Gottfried_M%C3%BCnzenberg/V1IgAxhM">Gottfried Münzenberg</a> at the <a href="/facts/GSI_Helmholtz_Centre_for_Heavy_Ion_Research/KeCJHKP0">GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research</a> (GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) in <a href="/facts/Darmstadt/UzVdfNVQ">Darmstadt</a> bombard a target of bismuth-209 with accelerated nuclei of chromium-54 to produce 5 atoms of the isotope <a href="/facts/Bohrium/epvp3GWM">bohrium-262</a></li></ul> <h2 id="computer-science">Computer science</h2> <ul><li>March 5 – The <a href="/facts/ZX81/I0uDYb3n">ZX81</a>, a pioneering British <a href="/facts/Home_computer/CDEPVd1T">home computer</a>, is launched by <a href="/facts/Sinclair_Research/yrpr4FGp">Sinclair Research</a>, going on to sell over 1.5 million units worldwide.</li> <li>April 3 – The <a href="/facts/Osborne_1/TYLLMXyH">Osborne 1</a>, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the <a href="/facts/West_Coast_Computer_Faire/T6vuTUrb">West Coast Computer Faire</a> in <a href="/facts/San_Francisco/cb9l7hbC">San Francisco</a>.</li> <li>July 9 – <a href="/facts/Nintendo/dMrLpaHu">Nintendo</a> releases the arcade game <i><a href="/facts/Donkey_Kong_(arcade_game)/C6LxVrLl">Donkey Kong</a></i> featuring the debut of <a href="/facts/Mario/r7to5SPn">Mario</a>.</li> <li>August 12 – The <a href="/facts/IBM_Personal_Computer/yhcJGMPL">IBM Personal Computer</a> is released.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li> <li>September 12 – The <a href="/facts/Chaos_Computer_Club/XwXLlA5F">Chaos Computer Club</a>, a European association of <a href="/facts/Hacker_(computer_security)/4bAJ9F1A">hackers</a>, is established in Berlin by <a href="/facts/Wau_Holland/m94lbBLn">Wau Holland</a> and others.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Alexander_Merkurjev/DowcduN3">Alexander Merkurjev</a> proves the <a href="/facts/Norm_residue_isomorphism_theorem/0myRUsDm">norm residue isomorphism theorem</a> for the case <i>n</i> = 2 and ℓ = 2.</li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li>April 26 – Dr. <a href="/facts/Michael_R._Harrison/pnQWP9hx">Michael R. Harrison</a> of the <a href="/facts/University_of_California,_San_Francisco/tPU2yHuW">University of California, San Francisco</a>, performs the world's first human open <a href="/facts/Fetal_surgery/BDgIRwx2">fetal surgery</a>.</li> <li>June 5 – <a href="/facts/AIDS/RqLIEMuJ">AIDS</a> <a href="/facts/Pandemic/KaJe9rTu">pandemic</a> begins when the United States <a href="/facts/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention/NmoJNDV5">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> reports an unusual cluster of <a href="/facts/Pneumocystis_pneumonia_(PCP)/hrFCRv8b">Pneumocystis pneumonia</a> in five <a href="/facts/Homosexuality/gNy8Nvl0">homosexual</a> men in <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Bruce_Reitz/y0Yl52Gm">Bruce Reitz</a> leads the team that performs the first successful <a href="/facts/Heart%E2%80%93lung_transplant/ncmyCzPt">heart–lung transplant</a> on Mary Gohlke at <a href="/facts/Stanford_Hospital/WDD1UE9m">Stanford Hospital</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/LeCompte_maneuver/U5Nqyrga">LeCompte maneuver</a> first performed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li>English psychiatrist <a href="/facts/Lorna_Wing/Vluzpga1">Lorna Wing</a> introduces the term "<a href="/facts/Asperger_syndrome/TUpuw6Nn">Asperger syndrome</a>".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="space-exploration">Space exploration</h2> <ul><li>April 12 – The first launch of a <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle/7BoyetEv">Space Shuttle</a>: <a href="/facts/Space_Shuttle_Columbia/uF51RXWM"><i>Columbia</i></a> launches on the <a href="/facts/STS-1/DLnJNV3G">STS-1</a> mission.</li> <li>October 6 – <a href="/facts/UoSAT-1/xzfg5heb">UoSAT-1</a>, the first modern <a href="/facts/Microsatellite/SwfHbeXG">microsatellite</a>, is launched into <a href="/facts/Low_Earth_orbit/rq1TwayJ">Low Earth orbit</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>July 7 – <a href="/facts/Electric_aircraft/txU0ouMl">Electric aircraft</a> <a href="/facts/Solar_Challenger/San7ba6h">Solar Challenger</a>, designed by an <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">American</a> team led by <a href="/facts/Paul_MacCready/UxkqDs1R">Paul MacCready</a> and piloted by Stephen Ptacek, makes a 163-mile (262 km) crossing of the <a href="/facts/English_Channel/UPjaSEXf">English Channel</a> using only <a href="/facts/Solar_power/NpgmEbU2">solar power</a> from wing-mounted <a href="/facts/Photovoltaic_cell/3L814UCC">photovoltaic cells</a>.</li> <li>July 17 – <a href="/facts/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse/VEyvXWPb">Hyatt Regency walkway collapse</a>: <a href="/facts/Structural_failure/5aYoMIlw">Structural failure</a> due to a late design change causes two internal suspended walkways at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in <a href="/facts/Kansas_City,_Missouri/N8GxbWWR">Kansas City, Missouri</a> to collapse, killing 114.</li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize/3z1Y3oFL">Nobel Prizes</a> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Physics</a> – <a href="/facts/Nicolaas_Bloembergen/vbvgSQwb">Nicolaas Bloembergen</a>, <a href="/facts/Arthur_Leonard_Schawlow/ScTErtNV">Arthur Leonard Schawlow</a>, <a href="/facts/Kai_Manne_Boerje_Siegbahn/fhlqdykm">Kai M. Siegbahn</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Chemistry</a> – <a href="/facts/Kenichi_Fukui/3Pj2XcXw">Kenichi Fukui</a>, <a href="/facts/Roald_Hoffmann/DHMcXIff">Roald Hoffmann</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Medicine</a> – <a href="/facts/Roger_W._Sperry/u6bduW2R">Roger W. Sperry</a>, <a href="/facts/David_H._Hubel/L565w1o9">David H. Hubel</a>, <a href="/facts/Torsten_N._Wiesel/DGxnrzSe">Torsten N. Wiesel</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Turing_Award/HbEEp0GF">Turing Award</a> – <a href="/facts/Edgar_F._Codd/QCSbPYkK">Edgar F. Codd</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 5 <ul><li><a href="/facts/Frederick_Osborn/f6zKHPXk">Frederick Osborn</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1889_in_science/9NJ8uH5g">1889</a>), <a href="/facts/Americans/srd9GJ5U">American</a> <a href="/facts/Philanthropist/Xep5s0gd">philanthropist</a> and <a href="/facts/Eugenicist/e7w6aSUV">eugenicist</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Harold_Urey/j1bPXfDz">Harold Urey</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1893_in_science/N2wKwyPt">1893</a>), American winner of the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Nobel Prize in Chemistry</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li></ul></li> <li>February 26 – <a href="/facts/Jennie_Smillie_Robertson/DaG2jCsf">Jennie Smillie Robertson</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1878_in_science/MQME3dqx">1878</a>), <a href="/facts/Canadians/9y5ceYgk">Canadian</a> <a href="/facts/Gynecological/KKAAAcnb">gynecological</a> <a href="/facts/Surgeon/Hm0R9t6n">surgeon</a>.</li> <li>March 8 – <a href="/facts/Joseph_Henry_Woodger/xGTX6MQu">Joseph Henry Woodger</a>, British theoretical biologist (b. <a href="/facts/1894_in_science/butQ5Utu">1894</a>)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li>March 9 – <a href="/facts/Max_Delbr%C3%BCck/HDJ29RAX">Max Delbrück</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1906_in_science/9aKmEL28">1906</a>), <a href="/facts/Germans/F7mBCrJ4">German</a> <a href="/facts/Biologist/yJJGXyKR">biologist</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>April 3 – <a href="/facts/Leo_Kanner/NlGvxMpK">Leo Kanner</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1894_in_science/butQ5Utu">1894</a>), <a href="/facts/Austrian_Americans/lCxjBT33">Austrian American</a> clinical <a href="/facts/Child_and_adolescent_psychiatry/5xxLGlvx">child psychiatrist</a>.</li> <li>May 11 – <a href="/facts/Odd_Hassel/eYmysBvf">Odd Hassel</a>, Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. <a href="/facts/1897_in_science/1IcNGmU5">1897</a>)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li> <li>July 4 - <a href="/facts/Niels_Erik_N%C3%B8rlund/hP3kBQHV">Niels Erik Nørlund</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1885_in_science/UH5qqvQA">1885</a>), <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Danish</a> <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a>.</li> <li>July 27 – <a href="/facts/Elizabeth_Rona/NxmsMSER">Elizabeth Rona</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1890_in_science/psoT8gKJ">1890</a>), <a href="/facts/Hungarian_American/90LHj6mb">Hungarian American</a> <a href="/facts/Nuclear_chemist/aJulAlTD">nuclear chemist</a>.</li> <li>July 31 – <a href="/facts/Ernest_Melville_DuPorte/A850Gq1Q">Ernest Melville DuPorte</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1891_in_science/QJnrB8AD">1891</a>), <a href="/facts/Black_Canadians/kJ21edsr">Black Canadian</a> <a href="/facts/Insect_morphology/4xWSv1xa">insect morphologist</a>.</li> <li>September 8 – <a href="/facts/Hideki_Yukawa/Rz9vGmu3">Hideki Yukawa</a>, Japanese physicist, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (b. <a href="/facts/1907_in_science/6kN1ef3W">1907</a>)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li> <li>September 9 – <a href="/facts/Jacques_Lacan/TbUhdvAJ">Jacques Lacan</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1901_in_science/PbHMXfG4">1901</a>), French <a href="/facts/Psychoanalyst/gYCbGpPv">psychoanalyst</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li>November 15 – <a href="/facts/Walter_Heitler/nhLXAQQ4">Walter Heitler</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1904_in_science/qfWv7vt5">1904</a>), German physicist<a href="/facts/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society/cWs8TdC5">Fellow of the Royal Society</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li>November 17 <ul><li><a href="/facts/Wilhelm_Pelikan/KUIvbE5A">Wilhelm Pelikan</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1893_in_science/N2wKwyPt">1893</a>), Austrian chemist.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sibyl_M._Rock/e2wls7K3">Sibyl M. Rock</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1909_in_science/9XtDzVts">1909</a>), American mathematician.</li></ul></li> <li>November 22 – <a href="/facts/Hans_Adolf_Krebs/85r0QSC8">Hans Krebs</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1900_in_science/tY9grWXa">1900</a>), German <a href="/facts/Medical_doctor/qJ3woFvG">medical doctor</a> and <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a>; discoverer of the <a href="/facts/Citric_acid_cycle/EGJL9NXP">citric acid cycle</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a></li> <li>December 6 – <a href="/facts/Harry_Harlow/F79dJgrP">Harry Harlow</a> (b. <a href="/facts/1905_in_science/L89WrSLG">1905</a>), American <a href="/facts/Psychologist/J4l4QdX2">psychologist</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Bellis, Mary. "IBM History". About.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-30. <a href="http://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120427191240/http://inventors.about.com/od/computersandinternet/a/Ibm%2DHistory.htm" target="_blank">http://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120427191240/http://inventors.about.com/od/computersandinternet/a/Ibm%2DHistory.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (June 1981). "Pneumocystis pneumonia — Los Angeles". Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 30 (21). Centers for Disease Control: 250–2. PMID 6265753. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/june_5.htm" target="_blank">https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/june_5.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"5 Questions: Bruce Reitz recalls first successful heart-lung transplant". News Center. Retrieved 2 February 2019. <a href="http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/03/bruce-reitz-recalls-the-worlds-first-heart-lung-transplant.html" target="_blank">http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/03/bruce-reitz-recalls-the-worlds-first-heart-lung-transplant.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>LeCompte, Y.; Neveux, J. Y.; Leca, F.; Zannini, L.; Tu, T. V.; Duboys, Y.; Jarreau, M. M. (November 1982). "Reconstruction of the pulmonary outflow tract without prosthetic conduit". The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. 84 (5): 727–33. doi:10.1016/S0022-5223(19)38962-7. ISSN 0022-5223. PMID 7132411. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0022-5223%2819%2938962-7" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0022-5223%2819%2938962-7</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Wing, L. (1981). "Asperger's syndrome: a clinical account". Psychological Medicine. 11 (1): 115–29. doi:10.1017/S0033291700053332. PMID 7208735. S2CID 16046498. Retrieved 2007-08-15. <a href="http://www.mugsy.org/wing2.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mugsy.org/wing2.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Cook, Mike (June 1986). "Way into the world of satellite telemetry". The Micro User. 4 (4). Stockport, UK: Database Publications: 100–1. ISSN 0265-4040. <a href="/wiki/The_Micro_User" target="_blank">/wiki/The_Micro_User</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Cohen, K. P.; Runcorn, S. K.; Suess, H. E.; Thode, H. G. (1983). "Harold Clayton Urey 29 April 1893-5 January 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 29: 622–659. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1983.0022. JSTOR 769815. <a href="/wiki/Keith_Runcorn" target="_blank">/wiki/Keith_Runcorn</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Popper, Karl (1981). "Obituary: Joseph Henry Woodger". British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. 32 (3): 328–330. doi:10.1093/bjps/32.3.328. <a href="/wiki/British_Journal_for_the_Philosophy_of_Science" target="_blank">/wiki/British_Journal_for_the_Philosophy_of_Science</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>William Hayes (1982). "Max Ludwig Henning Delbruck. 4 September 1906-10 March 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 28. London: Royal Society: 58–90. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1982.0003. JSTOR 769892. <a href="/wiki/William_Hayes_(geneticist)" target="_blank">/wiki/William_Hayes_(geneticist)</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Pedersen, Bjørn (2019-09-24), "Odd Hassel", Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian), retrieved October 23, 2019 <a href="http://snl.no/Odd_Hassel" target="_blank">http://snl.no/Odd_Hassel</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Kemmer, N. (1983). "Hideki Yukawa. 23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 29: 660–676. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1983.0023. JSTOR 769816. <a href="/wiki/Nicholas_Kemmer" target="_blank">/wiki/Nicholas_Kemmer</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Johnston, Adrian (2018). "Jacques Lacan". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lacan/" target="_blank">https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lacan/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Mott, N. (1982). "Walter Heinrich Heitler. 2 January 1904 – 15 November 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 28: 140–151. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1982.0007. JSTOR 769896. <a href="/wiki/Nevill_Francis_Mott" target="_blank">/wiki/Nevill_Francis_Mott</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Wilhelm Pelikan <a href="https://steinerbooks.presswarehouse.com/browse/author/523454f0-d006-4472-8f4d-27fd69d3d317/Wilhelm-Pelikan?page=1" target="_blank">https://steinerbooks.presswarehouse.com/browse/author/523454f0-d006-4472-8f4d-27fd69d3d317/Wilhelm-Pelikan?page=1</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Kornberg, H.; Williamson, D. H. (1984). "Hans Adolf Krebs. 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 30: 350–385. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1984.0013. PMID 11616005. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1984.0013" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1984.0013</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>