October 1981 - October 23, 1981 (Friday)

October 23, 1981 (Friday)

• Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, a surgeon in Egypt, was arrested as part of the roundup of dissidents following the assassination of Anwar Sadat. Zawahiri spent three years in prison, where he was tortured. "The torture broke Zawahiri," noted one author later, "and transformed him as well into an embittered fanatic, determined to inflict deadly harm on Egypt's secular authorities and its Western friends."
• The Spider, the first lunar module to be tested in outer space for docking with a lunar orbiter fell out of orbit and burned up in the Earth's atmosphere. From March 3 to March 13, 1969, the craft had been operated by astronaut Alan Bean during the Apollo 9 mission, and confirmed that a module could be released from orbit and then reconnected for a lunar landing.
• Born: Michael Fishman, American child actor ("D.J. Conner" on Roseanne), in Los Angeles
• Died: Reg Butler, 69, English sculptor