What was going on when I was born?

President Reagan has given ''acquiescence and acceptance'' to forming a re-election committee, a senior White House official said today. The President's approval was his biggest step toward a formal re-election announcement. The official said Mr. Reagan signaled his approval to James A. Baker 3d, the White House chief of staff, in an unpublicized meeting last week in which Mr. Baker presented plans for the committee. The group would be formed Oct. 17 to raise funds for the 1984 campaign.

The Swedish Academy today awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature to the British novelist William Golding, author of ''Lord of the Flies,'' whose books plumb the nature of evil in man. But a senior member of the jury, in a rare public dissent, challenged the decision. Appearing as is traditional at the stroke of 1 P.M., Lars Gyllensten, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, announced the unexpected choice in the ancient institution's offices in the Stockholm stock exchange. An academy citation said the 72-year-old Mr. Golding had won the prize ''for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today.'' Seventh Briton to Win Mr. Golding, who learned of the award in the Wiltshire village where he lives and writes, became the seventh British author to win the literary prize since it was first given in 1901. Established by the will of the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the prize is worth $191,815, or 1.5 million Swedish kronor.

A dispatch by United Press International in Sports Pages yesterday about the sale of illegal drugs to horse trainers and veterinarians misidentified Joseph Faraldo and gave an incorrect name for the judge in the case. Mr. Faraldo is president of the New York Standardbred Owners Association and has no connection with the defendant in a trial at Uniondale, L.I., where Judge Jacob Mishler is presiding.

Three radicals convicted of murder in the $1.6 million Brink's armored car robbery were each sentenced today to three consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison. Under the terms of the sentencing, the three - David J. Gilbert, Judith A. Clark and Kuwasi Balagoon - will not be eligible for parole until they have each served a minimum of 75 years. The judge, David S. Ritter of Orange County Court, described their crime as ''cold, calculated and deliberate'' and said he wanted the three imprisoned for as long as the law allowed. Two police officers and a Brink's guard were shot to death in the robbery in Rockland County on Oct. 20, 1981.

International Brazil is to get $12 billion in new loans on easier terms under an agreement reached with 60 major banks. The accord is a major element in securing new financing for the country so it can keep up payments on its $90 billion in foreign debt. The banks agreed to lower the interest rates and the fees they charge and extend the repayment period. (Page A1.) Argentines, anxious about their country's foreign debt, jammed into banks to withdraw dollars and empty safety deposit boxes. (A7.) A.T.& T. is exploring a joint venture with Olivetti in which it would purchase a 20 percent stake in the Italian concern, according to European executives in Paris. Olivetti reportedly wants A.T.& T. to take over part of an interest in Olivetti now held by two nationalized French companies, St. Gobain and Bull. (D1.)

Leon Hess, owner of the Jets, in announcing that the Jets would move to New Jersey and that Mayor Koch has forced the issue of the move.

The American Telephone and Telegraph Company, which is beginning to enter overseas markets, is being asked to purchase a 20 percent stake in Ing. C. Olivetti & Company, the big Italian office- equipment maker, European executives familiar with the negotiations said today. The purchase would be required of A.T.& T. as part of a joint venture agreement under which Olivetti would market A.T.& T. products in Europe, the sources said. According to these sources, A.T.& T. would acquire the Olivetti interest from the stake held by two recently nationalized French concerns, Compagnie de St.-Gobain-Pont- a-Mousson and CII- Honeywell Bull. Robert E. Allen, A.T.& T.'s executive vice president and chief financial officer, told a meeting of French bankers and analysts here today that ''talks with Olivetti have been taking place and are continuing, although I do not know how they will work out.

News Analysis WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 - The oil shocks of the 1970's not only damaged the economies of industrial and developing nations but also added a complex strategic dimension to the Soviet-American confrontation. The 1970's seem far away now, but strategic thinking is increasingly focused on the Middle East and Persian Gulf. Not since the face-off in Europe after World War II have the two superpowers brought their might so close to each other, and nowhere else are their conflicting commitments so interlaced and so subject to age-old regional rivalries. At the same time, the Reagan Administration appears somewhat divided over what to do and, indeed, over the importance of Middle East oil to the United States. Worst Fears Unfulfilled In the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo in 1973-74, of the tenfold increase in oil prices over the decade and of political upheavals, most notably in Iran, dark scenarios emerged. But the worst never materialized.

Sixty major banks agreed today to Brazil's request for $12 billion in new loans. Repayment will not have to begin for five years, which bankers said indicated their recognition of the severity of Brazil's foreign debt problem. The banks granted only a 2 1/2-year grace period when they gave Brazil a multibillion-dollar credit last February. In a statement tonight after a five- hour meeting with Affonso Celso Pastore, president of Brazil's central bank, and other Brazilian officials, the bankers also said they would reduce the interest rates charged and their own fees on the loan package.

Picketing by angry workers, economic crises, citizen revolts, fires and floods. They may seem like scenes from a nation in turmoil, but they are pages from the lives of the officials who run transit systems in New York. On Wednesday, Robert R. Kiley was chosen by Governor Cuomo to succeed Richard Ravitch as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, an appointment subject to confirmation by the State Senate. The 48-year-old Mr. Kiley is a former head of the transit system in Boston and a one-time official of the Central Intelligence Agency. In running the transit system, the largest in the nation, Mr. Kiley would have to deal with a crime problem that rivals that of some small cities, more than 40 labor unions, a score of political leaders, foreign-currency issues and a host of unpredictables.

International Soviet air defense personnel probably did not know that the South Korean airliner they shot down last month was a commercial plane, American intelligence experts said. This information, which was sent to the White House and the State Department about three weeks ago, appears to cast a somewhat different light on the incident. (Page A1, Column 1.) Brazil has reached agreement with key American and European banks for a five-year grace period on part of its $90 billion foreign debt, Finance Minister Ernane Galveas said. Senior Brazilian bankers continued meeting in Washington with creditor banks to work out details of a new $12 billion refinancing package. (A1:5.)

An article in Business Day last Friday on energy conservation misstated the capital investments of Time Energy Systems Inc. It has $10 million invested in 550 facilities.