June 19, 1981 (Friday)
- Celine Dion made her debut at age 13, on a local Montreal talk show, the Michel Jasmin Show, in conjunction with her first single, Ce n'était qu'un rêve (literally, "It Was Just a Dream")
- In what was described as "a make-or-break proposition" for the European Space Agency and its efforts to have its own space program, the third launch of an Ariane rocket was successful (the 1979 mission reached orbit, but a 1980 launch failed). Lifting off from French Guiana, the 155 foot tall rocket carried into orbit the Meteostat 2 weather satellite, and India's first geostationary satellite, the APPLE (Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment.
- Superman II premiered in the United States, more than 7 months after its world premiere in Australia on December 4, 1980. Prior to its American debut, it had been seen in seven European nations, as well as Argentina and Japan.
- Died: Henri Busignies, 76, electronics inventor who had 140 patents for aerial navigation; Lotte Reiniger, 82, German-born silhouette animator; and Juan Jose Crespo, Basque nationalist, in the 66th day of his hunger strike at Carabanchel Prison
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