November 1981 - November 17, 1981 (Tuesday)

November 17, 1981 (Tuesday)

• In a meeting of the National Security Council at the White House, President Reagan made the decision to support the Contras, a 500 man force that would fight the leftist government of Nicaragua and protect the right-wing government of El Salvador against rebels.
• The occultation of the star Sigma Sagittarii by the planet Venus permitted astronomers to gather information about the second planet's atmosphere by measuring the decrease of light from the star. The last occultation by Venus of a star had been July 7, 1959, when Venus was directly between the Earth and Regulus.
• Born: Sarah Harding, British singer (Girls Aloud), in Ascot, Berkshire; her bandmate, Kimberley Walsh, was born three days later in Bradford