May 25, 1981 (Monday)
- Dressed as Spider-Man, professional acrobat Daniel Goodwin climbed up the side of the 1,454 foot high Sears Tower in Chicago, using climbing hooks and ropes, reaching the top after 7½ hours. Police unsuccessfully tried stop him by lowering a window-washing scaffold, but Goodwin moved sideways with the aid of suction cups along the glass facade. At the 55th floor, Goodwin and the police negotiated a deal, allowing him to climb to the roof of the 110 story tower, and then to be arrested.
- The Gulf Cooperation Council GCC) was created in Riyadh by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar as an economic and military alliance.
- The hijacking of a Turkish Airlines jet, with 90 hostages, on board, ended after passengers attacked the group. The DC-9, with 119 people on board, had landed in Bulgaria at Burgas, after being seized while en route from Istanbul to Ankara.
- Died: Rosa Ponselle, 84, American soprano
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