October 1981 - October 30, 1981 (Friday)

October 30, 1981 (Friday)

• Thirty-eight years after he disappeared while flying a dive bomber, the body of U.S. Navy Lt. Lorne Parker Pelzer and his airplane were discovered in a remote canyon near California's Mount Shasta. Pelzer had been alone in Douglas SBD Dauntless on March 13, 1943, when the airplane vanished in a blizzard.
• Venera 13 was launched by the Soviet Union, followed five days later by Venera 14. The twin satellite explorers traveled to the surface of Venus, with Venera 13 landing first on March 1, 1982, and transmitting the first color pictures of the reddish brown soil on the second planet.
• Born: Ivanka Trump, American model, in New York City
• Died: Lew Jenkins, 64, former world lightweight boxing champion