June 24, 1981 (Wednesday)
- Miracle of Međugorje: Six young people in Yugoslavia first saw what they believed to be an apparition of The Virgin Mary. Ivanka Ivankovic, who saw it first, was joined by her sister Vicka Ivankovic, Mirjana and Ivan Dragicevic, Marija Pavlovic and Jakov Colo. Although the local Catholic bishop, Pavo Zanic, felt that the apparitions had been "a case of collective hallucination", Pope John Paul II approved pilgrimages to the area in 1986, and tens of thousands of believers have visited Međugorje (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina) since then.
- Soldiers in the army of Uganda killed 86 people, mostly women and children, in a massacre at the city of Arua.
- Died: Paul Butler, 89, multimillionaire who founded Butler Aviation Company and who was largely responsible for the creation of Oak Brook, Illinois. Butler, whose net worth was estimated at between 50 and 125 million dollars, was struck by a car while standing in the street in front of his home to take photographs.
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