Editing 1981 in science

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{{Year nav topic5|1981|science}}
{{Science year nav|1981}}

The year '''1981 in science''' and technology involved many significant events, listed below.

==Biology==
* September – [[Pantanal Matogrossense National Park]] designated in [[Brazil]].
* Publication of [[Stephen Jay Gould]]'s critique of [[biological determinism]], ''[[The Mismeasure of Man]]'', in the [[United States]].

== Chemistry ==
* A German research team led by [[Peter Armbruster]] and [[Gottfried Münzenberg]] at the [[GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research]] (GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung) in [[Darmstadt]] bombard a target of bismuth-209 with accelerated nuclei of chromium-54 to produce 5 atoms of the isotope [[Bohrium|bohrium-262]]
[[Image:Ibm pc 5150.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[IBM PC]] 5150]]
==Computer science==
* March 5 – The [[ZX81]], a pioneering British [[home computer]], is launched by [[Sinclair Research]], going on to sell over 1.5 million units worldwide.
* April 3 – The [[Osborne 1]], the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]] in [[San Francisco]].
* July 9 – [[Nintendo]] releases the arcade game ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'' featuring the debut of [[Mario]].
* August 12 – The [[IBM Personal Computer]] is released.<ref>{{cite web|first=Mary|last=Bellis|title=IBM History|url=http://inventors.about.com/od/computersandinternet/a/Ibm-History.htm|archive-url=http://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120427191240/http://inventors.about.com/od/computersandinternet/a/Ibm%2DHistory.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 27, 2012|publisher=About.com|accessdate=2011-11-30}}</ref>
* September 12 – The [[Chaos Computer Club]], a European association of [[Hacker (computer security)|hacker]]s, is established in Berlin by [[Wau Holland]] and others.

==Mathematics==
* [[Alexander Merkurjev]] proves the [[norm residue isomorphism theorem]] for the case {{nowrap|1=''n'' = 2}} and {{nowrap|1=ℓ = 2}}.

==Medicine==
* April 26 – Dr. [[Michael R. Harrison]] of the [[University of California, San Francisco]], performs the world's first human open [[fetal surgery]].
* June 5 – [[AIDS]] [[pandemic]] begins when the United States [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] reports an unusual cluster of [[Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP)|Pneumocystis pneumonia]] in five [[homosexuality|homosexual]] men in [[Los Angeles]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Pneumocystis pneumonia — Los Angeles|journal=[[Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report]]|volume=30|issue=21|pages=250–2|date=June 1981|pmid=6265753|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/june_5.htm|publisher=Centers for Disease Control|author1=Centers for Disease Control (CDC)}}</ref>
* [[Bruce Reitz]] leads the team that performs the first successful [[heart–lung transplant]] on Mary Gohlke at [[Stanford Hospital]].<ref name=Stanford> {{Cite web|url=http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2016/03/bruce-reitz-recalls-the-worlds-first-heart-lung-transplant.html|title=5 Questions: Bruce Reitz recalls first successful heart-lung transplant|website=News Center|language=en|access-date=2 February 2019}}</ref>
* [[LeCompte maneuver]] first performed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=LeCompte|first1=Y.|last2=Neveux|first2=J. Y.|last3=Leca|first3=F.|last4=Zannini|first4=L.|last5=Tu|first5=T. V.|last6=Duboys|first6=Y.|last7=Jarreau|first7=M. M.|date=November 1982|title=Reconstruction of the pulmonary outflow tract without prosthetic conduit|journal=[[The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery]]|volume=84|issue=5|pages=727–33|doi=10.1016/S0022-5223(19)38962-7 |issn=0022-5223|pmid=7132411|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* English psychiatrist [[Lorna Wing]] introduces the term "[[Asperger syndrome]]".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wing|first=L.|title=Asperger's syndrome: a clinical account|journal=[[Psychological Medicine]]|volume=11|issue=1|pages=115–29|year=1981|doi=10.1017/S0033291700053332|pmid=7208735|s2cid=16046498 |url=http://www.mugsy.org/wing2.htm|accessdate=2007-08-15|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Space exploration==
* April 12 – The first launch of a [[Space Shuttle]]: [[Space Shuttle Columbia|''Columbia'']] launches on the [[STS-1]] mission.
* October 6 – [[UoSAT-1]], the first modern [[microsatellite]], is launched into [[Low Earth orbit]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cook|first=Mike|date=June 1986|title=Way into the world of satellite telemetry|journal=[[The Micro User]]|volume=4|issue=4|pages=100–1|publisher=Database Publications|location=Stockport, UK|issn=0265-4040}}</ref>

==Technology==
* July 7 – [[Electric aircraft]] [[Solar Challenger]], designed by an [[United States|American]] team led by [[Paul MacCready]] and piloted by Stephen Ptacek, makes a 163-mile (262&nbsp;km) crossing of the [[English Channel]] using only [[solar power]] from wing-mounted [[photovoltaic cell]]s.
* July 17 – [[Hyatt Regency walkway collapse]]: [[Structural failure]] due to a late design change causes two internal suspended walkways at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in [[Kansas City, Missouri]] to collapse, killing 114.

==Awards==
* [[Nobel Prize]]s
** [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] – [[Nicolaas Bloembergen]], [[Arthur Leonard Schawlow]], [[Kai Manne Boerje Siegbahn|Kai M. Siegbahn]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]] – [[Kenichi Fukui]], [[Roald Hoffmann]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine]] – [[Roger W. Sperry]], [[David H. Hubel]], [[Torsten N. Wiesel]]
* [[Turing Award]] – [[Edgar F. Codd]]

==Births==

==Deaths==
* January 5
** [[Frederick Osborn]] (b. [[1889 in science|1889]]), [[Americans|American]] [[philanthropist]] and [[eugenicist]].
** [[Harold Urey]] (b. [[1893 in science|1893]]), American winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Cohen | first1 = K. P. | last2 = Runcorn | first2 = S. K. | author-link2 = Keith Runcorn| last3 = Suess | first3 = H. E. | last4 = Thode | first4 = H. G. | author-link4 = Harry Thode| title = Harold Clayton Urey 29 April 1893-5 January 1981 | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1983.0022 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 29 | pages = 622–659 | year = 1983 | jstor = 769815| doi-access = free }}</ref> 
* February 26 – [[Jennie Smillie Robertson]] (b. [[1878 in science|1878]]), [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[gynecological]] [[surgeon]].
* March 8 – [[Joseph Henry Woodger]], British theoretical biologist (b. [[1894 in science|1894]])<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Popper | first1=Karl | year=1981 | title=Obituary: Joseph Henry Woodger | journal=[[British Journal for the Philosophy of Science]] | volume=32 | issue=3 | pages=328–330 | doi=10.1093/bjps/32.3.328 }}</ref>
* March 9 – [[Max Delbrück]] (b. [[1906 in science|1906]]), [[Germans|German]] [[biologist]].<ref>{{Cite journal | author = William Hayes | author-link = William Hayes (geneticist)| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1982.0003 | title = Max Ludwig Henning Delbruck. 4 September 1906-10 March 1981 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | publisher=[[Royal Society]]|location=London|volume = 28 | pages = 58–90| year = 1982 | jstor = 769892 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
* April 3 – [[Leo Kanner]] (b. [[1894 in science|1894]]), [[Austrian Americans|Austrian American]] clinical [[Child and adolescent psychiatry|child psychiatrist]].
* May 11 – [[Odd Hassel]], Norwegian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. [[1897 in science|1897]])<ref>{{Citation|last=Pedersen|first=Bjørn|title=Odd Hassel|date=2019-09-24|url=http://snl.no/Odd_Hassel|work=Store norske leksikon|language=no|access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref>
* July 4 - [[Niels Erik Nørlund]] (b. [[1885 in science|1885]]), [[Denmark|Danish]] [[mathematician]].
* July 27 – [[Elizabeth Rona]] (b. [[1890 in science|1890]]), [[Hungarian American]] [[nuclear chemist]].
* July 31 – [[Ernest Melville DuPorte]] (b. [[1891 in science|1891]]), [[Black Canadians|Black Canadian]] [[Insect morphology|insect morphologist]].
* September 8 – [[Hideki Yukawa]], Japanese physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. [[1907 in science|1907]])<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Kemmer | first1 = N. | author-link = Nicholas Kemmer| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1983.0023 | title = Hideki Yukawa. 23 January 1907 – 8 September 1981 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 29 | pages = 660–676| year = 1983 | jstor = 769816| doi-access = free }}</ref>
* September 9 – [[Jacques Lacan]] (b. [[1901 in science|1901]]), French [[psychoanalyst]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lacan/|title=Jacques Lacan|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Stanford University|first=Adrian|last=Johnston|year=2018}}</ref>
* November 15 – [[Walter Heitler]] (b. [[1904 in science|1904]]), German physicist<br>[[Fellow of the Royal Society]]<ref name="frs">{{Cite journal | last1 = Mott | first1 = N. | author-link = Nevill Francis Mott| doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1982.0007 | title = Walter Heinrich Heitler. 2 January 1904 – 15 November 1981 | journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]] | volume = 28 | pages = 140–151| year = 1982 | jstor = 769896| doi-access = free }}</ref>
* November 17 
** [[Wilhelm Pelikan]] (b. [[1893 in science|1893]]), Austrian chemist.<ref>[https://steinerbooks.presswarehouse.com/browse/author/523454f0-d006-4472-8f4d-27fd69d3d317/Wilhelm-Pelikan?page=1 Wilhelm Pelikan]</ref>
** [[Sibyl M. Rock]] (b. [[1909 in science|1909]]), American mathematician.
* November 22 – [[Hans Adolf Krebs|Hans Krebs]] (b. [[1900 in science|1900]]), German [[medical doctor]] and [[biochemist]]; discoverer of the [[citric acid cycle]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kornberg|first1=H.|last2=Williamson|first2=D. H.|title=Hans Adolf Krebs. 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981|journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society|year=1984|volume=30|pages=350–385|doi=10.1098/rsbm.1984.0013|pmid=11616005|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* December 6 – [[Harry Harlow]] (b. [[1905 in science|1905]]), American [[psychologist]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1981 In Science}}
[[Category:1981 in science| ]]
[[Category:20th century in science]]
[[Category:1980s in science]]