February 18, 1981 (Wednesday)
- In a 35-minute speech to a joint session of Congress, President of the United States Ronald Reagan outlined the details of a package of reforms that would reduce both inflation and unemployment by reducing federal government spending and cutting the federal income tax rate. The annual inflation rate, 13.58% at the beginning of 1981, had dropped to 6.16% by 1983 and 1.91% by 1987. The unemployment rate, 7.5% when Reagan took office, rose to a high of 10.8% at the end of 1982, falling to 5.3% at the end of Reagan's term.
- Born: Andrei Kirilenko, Russian pro basketball player ("AK47"), in Izhevsk; and Ivan Sproule, Northern Irish footballer, in Castlederg
- Died: Jack Northrop, 85, founder of Lockheed Corporation and Northrop Corporation
Read more about this topic: February 1981
Famous quotes containing the word february:
“In my experience, if you have to keep the lavatory door shut by extending your left leg, it’s modern architecture.”
—Nancy Banks-Smith, British columnist. Guardian (London, February 20, 1979)