About the day » Friday April 17, 1981Calender converter

• Aurelie MEZZAFONTE, Marseille († 1981)

• Adrianus Paulus Schiebaan (72), Rotterdam
• Barteldina Lupke Ezenga (79), Groningen, Groningen, Nederland
• Adraan Middel (71), Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
• Baukje Jans Ophuis (83), Boelenslaan, Achtkarspelen, Friesland, Nederland
• Baukje Ophuis (83), Surhuisterveen
• Alfred Jules Francis BOENS (58), Amiens Frankrijk
• Bernard MECKER (79), Grentzingen (68960, Haut-Rhin, France)
• Anatole Proth (84), Leopoldsburg
• Annigjen ROMKES (65)
• Aard Bults (57), Enschede Glanerbrug

• 1979 » Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 » Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer, boxer, and manager
• 1980 » Fabián Vargas, Colombian footballer
• 1981 » Chris Thompson, English runner
• 1981 » Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer-songwriter
• 1981 » Jenny Meadows, English runner
• 1981 » Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
• 1981 » Zhang Yaokun, Chinese footballer
• 1982 » Brad Boyes, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1982 » Chuck Kobasew, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1975 » Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (b. 1888)
• 1976 » Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
• 1977 » William Conway, Irish cardinal (b. 1913)
• 1983 » Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1939)
• 1984 » Claude Provost, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1933)
• 1987 » Cecil Harmsworth King, English publisher (b. 1901)
• 1987 » Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1923)
• 1988 » Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-American sculptor and educator (b. 1900)
• 1990 » Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (b. 1936)
• 1993 » Turgut Özal, Turkish engineer and politician, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)

• Koningin Beatrix (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from April 30, 1980 till April 30, 2013 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, December 19, 1977 to Friday, September 11, 1981 the cabinet Van Agt I, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA/KVP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from Friday, September 11, 1981 to Saturday, May 29, 1982 the cabinet Van Agt II, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 14.2 million citizens.
• January 21 » Production of the iconic DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
• March 27 » The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.
• June 24 » The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It remained the world's longest bridge span for 17years.
• July 17 » A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
• July 29 » After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
• December 4 » South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei "homeland" (not recognized by any government outside South Africa).

The temperature on April 17, 1981 was between 1.3 °C and 10.4 °C and averaged 5.8 °C. There was 10.7 hours of sunshine (76%). The almost cloudless was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the east-northeast.