March 1981 - March 20, 1981 (Friday)

March 20, 1981 (Friday)

• The first world congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War convened, in Airlie, Virginia, with 80 physicians from 12 nations in attendance, and on the same day, the first American conference regarding a nuclear freeze campaign convened at Georgetown University. Journalist John Barron alleged later that both events, which came a month after Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev had called for a moratorium on building nuclear weapons, had been masterminded by the KGB, the Soviet intelligence agency.
• Died: Gerry Bertier, 27, who was later portrayed in the 2000 film Remember the Titans, in an automobile accident; and Irving Jaffee, 74, American speed skater, gold medalist in 5000 and 10000 in 1932.