1975

Years :	1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Years:	1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978

1975 by topic:
Arts
Architecture - Art - Film - Literature - Music - Television
Science and technology
Archaeology - Aviation - Meteorology - Rail transport - Radio - Science
By country
Australia - Canada - India - Ireland - Mexico - South Africa
Other topics
Awards - Sport - Law - State leaders - Religious leaders
Birth and death categories
Births - Deaths

1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). The United Nations declared it the International Women's Year.

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Events

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January

January 1 - Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up
January 2 - The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by Congress
January 5 - The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
January 7 - OPEC agrees to raise crude oil prices by 10%.
January 8 - Ella Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, becoming the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States who did not succeed her husband
January 10 - Japanese soldier Teruo Nakamura surrenders on the Indonesian Island of Morota
January 14 - 17 year old heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped from her home in Shropshire, England by the Black Panther.
January 20 - Michael Ovitz founds Creative Artists Agency
January 29 - Weather Underground bombs US State Department main office in Washington D.C.
January - Altair 8800 is released, sparking the era of the microcomputer

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February

February 4 - The first successfully predicted earthquake occurred in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
February 9 - The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
February 11 - Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for the leadership of the UK Conservative Party in the United Kingdom.
February 21 - Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to between 30 months and 8 years in prison
February 23 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly two months early in the United States.
February 26 - a fleeing IRA terrorist shoots and kills off-duty London police officer Stephen Tibble, 22, as he gives chase
February 27 - Movement 2 June kidnaps West German politician Peter Lorenz. He is released on March 4 after most of the kidnappers' demands are met
February 28 - A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.
February 28 - In Lomé, the capital of Togo, the European Economic Community and 46 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries sign a financial and economic treaty, known as the first Lomé Convention.

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March

March 1 - Color television transmissions begin in Australia
March 4 - Charlie Chaplin is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
March 6 - Algiers Accord - Iran and Iraq announce a settlement over their border dispute.
March 6 - A bomb explodes in the Paris offices of the Springer Press. The "6 March Group" (connected to the Red Army Faction) demands amnesty for the "Baader-Meinhof Group"
March 7 - The body of teenage heiress Lesley Whittle, kidnapped seven weeks earlier by the Black Panther is discovered in Staffordshire, England
March 8 - United Nations begin sponsoring the International Women's Day.
March 9 - Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins
March 10 - Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Me Thout, South Vietnam, on their way to capturing Saigon.
March 15 - In Brazil, the Estado da Guanabara (State of Guanabara) merges with the state of Rio de Janeiro, under the name of Rio de Janeiro. The state's capital moves from the city of Niterói to the city of Rio de Janeiro.
March 25 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a nephew with a history of mental illness - the killer is beheaded on June 18.
March 28 - A fire in the maternity wing at Kucic Hospital in Rijeka, Yugoslavia, kills 25 babies

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April

April 3 - Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title.
April 4 - Vietnam War: The first military Operation Babylift flight, C5A 80218, crashes 27 minutes after takeoff killing 138 on board; 176 survive the crash.
April 9 - Asia's first professional basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association played it's first game at the Araneta Coliseum.
April 13 - An attack by Phalangists on a Palestinian bus in Ain El Remmeneh, Lebanon sparks over 15 years of civil war.
April 17 - Pol Pot proclaims the "Democratic Republic of Kampuchea" in Cambodia and becomes its Prime Minister (1975–1979).
April 24 - Six Red Army Faction terrorists take over West German embassy in Stockholm, take 11 hostages and demand the release of the group's jailed members. Shortly after they are captured by Swedish police.
April 25 - Vietnam War: As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
April 30 - Vietnam War: The Vietnam War ends as Communist forces take Saigon and South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally.

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May

May 5 - The Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park opens in Virginia.
May 12 - Mayaguez incident: Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia seize the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
May 15 - Mayaguez incident: The American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian forces, is rescued by U.S. Navy and Marines. 38 Americans are killed.
May 16 - India annexes Sikkim.
May 16 - Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
May 25 - Indianapolis 500-Mile Race: Bobby Unser wins for a second time in a rain-shorted 174 lap, 435 mile (700.06 km) race.
May 28 - 15 West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
May 30 - 1972 Olympic runner Steve Prefontaine dies in a car accident.

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June

June 5 - The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War
June 5 - The United Kingdom votes yes in a referendum on staying in the European Community
June 9 - Order of Australia (OA) awarded for 1st time
June 19 - Lord Lucan found guilty in absentia of the murder of the nanny Sandra Rivett
June 25 - Mozambique gains independence from Portugal
June 26 - Two FBI agents and one member of AIM die in a shootout in Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota

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July

July 1 - Postmaster-General's Department is disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission (trading as Telecom Australia) and the Australian Postal Commission (trading as Australia Post).
July 4 - Sydney newspaper publisher Juanita Nielsen disappears, and is presumed to have been murdered.
July 5 - Cape Verde gains independence after 500 years of Portuguese rule
July 6 - The Comoros declare their independence from France
July 9 - The National Assembly of Senegal passes a law that will pave way for a (albeit highly restricted) multi-party system.
July 12 - São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence from Portugal
July 17 - Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations
July 31 - In Detroit, Michigan, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing.

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August

August 8 - The Banqiao Dam, in China's Henan Province, fails after a freak typhoon. Over 200,000 people perish.
August 8 - Samuel Bronfman, son of the president of Seagrams, is kidnapped in Purchase, New York
August 11 - British Leyland comes under British government control
August 11 - Mário Lemos Pires, Governor of Portuguese Timor, abandons the capital Dili following UDT coup and outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
August 15 - Birmingham Six wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment
August 15 - Mujibur Rahman, president of Bangladesh, is killed during a coup
August 20 - Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars
August 24 - Officers responsible for the military coup in Greece in 1967 are sentenced to death in Athens. The sentences are later commuted to life imprisonment
August 25 - Rock music artist Bruce Springsteen releases his third album, Born To Run, widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time

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September

September 5 - In Sacramento, California, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of incarcerated cult leader Charles Manson, attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a Secret Service agent.
September 14 - Rembrandt's painting "The Night Watch" is slashed a dozen times at a gallery in Amsterdam.
September 15 - The French department of Corse, comprising the entire island of Corsica, is divided into two departments: Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud.
September 18 - Fugitive Patricia Hearst is captured.
September 20 - End of term for Tuanku Al-Mutassimu Billahi Muhibbudin Sultan Abdul Halim Al-Muadzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah as the 5th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
September 21 - Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Petra, Sultan of Kelantan becomes the 6th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
September 22 - President Gerald Ford survives a second assassination attempt, this time by Sara Jane Moore
September 30 - Hughes Helicopters (later McDonnell-Douglas, now Boeing IDS) AH-64 Apache made its first flight.

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October

October 9 - A bomb explosion outside Green Park tube station near Piccadilly in London kills 1 and injures 20.
October 11 - American television network NBC airs the first episode of Saturday Night Live
October 16 - Five Australian-based journalists are killed at Balibo by Indonesian forces during an incursion into Portuguese Timor.
October 27 - 18-year-old Robert Poulin begins shooting in St. Pius X High School in Ottawa, Canada and then shoots himself, killing 1 and wounding 5.
October 29 - Peter Sutcliffe (the "Yorkshire Ripper") commits his first murder, Wilma McCann.
October 30 - Prince Juan Carlos becomes acting Head of State of Spain after dictator Francisco Franco concedes that he is too ill to govern.

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November

November 3 - An independent audit of Mattel, of the United States largest toy manufacturers, reveals that company officials fabricated press releases and financial information to "maintain the appearance of continued corporate growth."
November 3 - First oil pipeline opens from Cruder Bay to Grangemouth, Scotland
November 6 - Green March begins: 300,000 unarmed Moroccans converge on the southern city of Tarfaya and wait for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara
November 10 - United Nations Resolution 3379: With a vote of 72 to 35 (with 32 abstentions), the United Nations General Assembly approves a resolution equating Zionism with racism. The resolution provokes an outcry among Jews around the world.
November 10 - The 729-foot-long freighter (then, the largest ship on the Great Lakes) SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks during a storm 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board
November 11 - Angola becomes independent from Portugal (a deadly civil war soon erupts)
November 11 - Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam and commissions Malcolm Fraser as Prime Minister
November 11 - First annual Vogalonga rowing "race" in Venice, Italy
November 14 - Spain abandons Western Sahara
November 22 - Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of dictator Francisco Franco.
November 25 - Suriname gains independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands
November 25 - Irish Republican Army outlawed in Britain
November 27 - Ross McWhirter, the co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, is shot dead by the PIRA for offering reward money to informers
November 28 - Portuguese Timor declares its independence from Portugal as East Timor
November 29 - The name "Micro-soft" (for microcomputer software) is used by Bill Gates in a letter to Paul Allen for the first time (Microsoft became a registered trademark on November 26, 1976).

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December

December 7 - East Timor invaded by Indonesia.
December 21 - Left-wing terrorists, including Carlos (the Jackal), kidnap delegates of an OPEC conference in Vienna. They kill three hostages, extort $5 million ransom and escape into the Middle East.
December 29 - A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport killing 11.

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Unknown dates

In New Zealand, Māori leader Whina Cooper leads a march of 5000 people in support of Māori claims to their land
The Third Cod War between UK and Iceland lasted between November 1975 - June 1976
Government of Colombia announces finding of Ciudad Perdida
Spanish army quits Spanish (Western) Sahara. Sahrawi Republic (RASD) is created. Morocco invades ex-Spanish Western Sahara.
First use of the term fractal
Victoria (Australia) abolishes capital punishment
South Australia becomes first Australian state to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults
Self-proclaimed time traveller John Titor arrives to acquire an IBM 5100 for use in 2036
MIND opens
Some members of Jehovah's Witnesses thought that Armageddon would happen in 1975 and a few of them sold their houses and businesses to prepare for the new world paradise which they believe will exist when Jesus sets up God's Kingdom on earth.
BACCHUS Network, American college alcohol peer-education network established.

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Births

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January

January 3 - Danica McKellar, American actress
January 5 - Bradley Cooper, American actor
January 13 - Shazia Mirza, British comedienne
January 20 - Mark Allan Robinson, Canadian recall leader
January 22 - Balthazar Getty, American actor
January 25 - Tim Montgomery, American athlete
January 25 - John Wade, National Football League
January 28 - David Zingler, American writer
January 29 - Sara Gilbert, American actress

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February

February 2 - Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian hockey player
February 2 - Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
February 4 - Natalie Imbruglia, Australian actress and singer
February 18 - Keith Gillespie, Northern Irish footballer
February 18 - Gary Neville, English footballer
February 20 - Brian Littrell, American singer, member of Backstreet Boys
February 22 - Drew Barrymore, American actress

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March

March 5 - Jolene Blalock, American actress
March 5 - Niki Taylor, American model
March 9 - Roy Makaay, Dutch football player
March 15 - Eva Longoria, American actress
March 15 - Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess player
March 19 - Vivian Hsu, Taiwanese singer, actress and model

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April

April 4 - Scott Rolen, baseball player
April 4 - Delphine Arnault, billionaire French businesswoman LVMH
April 7 - Ronde Barber, American football player
April 7 - Tiki Barber, American football player
April 9 - Robbie Fowler, British footballer
April 14 - Amy Dumas, American professional wrestler
April 15 - Paul Dana, American race car driver (Indy Racing League) (d. 2006)
April 22 - Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (d. 1999)

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May

May 1 - Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
May 2 - David Beckham, English footballer
May 3 - Kimora Lee Simmons, American fashion designer
May 7 - Jason Tunks, Canadian Olympic discus thrower
May 10 - Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
May 12 - Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player
May 15 - Ray Lewis, American football player
May 19 - London Fletcher, American football player
May 27 - Jamie Oliver, British chef and television personality

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June

June 4 - Angelina Jolie, American actress
June 17 - Chloe Jones, American actress
June 9 - Andrew Symonds, Australian cricketer
June 18 - Martin St. Louis, Canadian hockey player
June 24 - Christie Rampone, American soccer player
June 25 - Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
June 27 - Tobey Maguire, American actor

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July

July 1 - Sufjan Stevens, American folk musician
July 17 - Konnie Huq, English television presenter
July 18 - Torii Hunter, baseball player
July 24 - Torrie Wilson, American professional wrestler and model
July 27 - Shea Hillenbrand, baseball player
July 27 - Alex Rodriguez, baseball player
July 30 - Graham Nicholls, British artist

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August

August 7 - Charlize Theron, South African actress
August 15 - Kara Wolters, American basketball player
August 24 - Hayato Sakurai, Japanese martial artist

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December

December 5 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, British snooker player
December 17 - Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian actress and model
December 18 - Masaki Sumitani, Japanese television performer
December 18 - Trish Stratus, Canadian professional wrestler and fitness model
December 22 - Stanislav Neckář, Czech ice hockey player
December 23 - Sky Lopez, American actress
December 27 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d. 1988)
December 30 - Tiger Woods, American golfer

For musicians born in 1975, see 1975 in music.

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Deaths

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Unknown date

Will Mastin, American vaudevillian

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January

January 8 - Richard Tucker, American tenor (b. 1913)
January 19 - Thomas Hart Benton, American artist (b. 1889)
January 24 - Larry Fine, American actor and comedian (b. 1902)
January 27 - Bill Walsh, American film producer and writer (b. 1913)

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February

February 4 - Louis Jordan, American musician (b. 1908)
February 8 - Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
February 10 - Nikos Kavvadias, Greek poet and writer (stroke) (b. 1910)
February 13 - André Beaufre, French general (b. 1902)
February 14 - Julian Huxley, British biologist (b. 1887)
February 14 - P. G. Wodehouse, English writer (b. 1881)
February 16 - Morgan Taylor, American athlete (b. 1903)
February 19 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (b. 1904)
February 24 - Nikolai Bulganin, Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
February 25 - Elijah Muhammad, American Black Muslim leader (b. 1897)
February 26 - Stephen Tibble, London police officer (shot) (b. 1953)

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March

March 7 - Ben Blue, Canadian actor and comedian (b. 1901)
March 8 - George Stevens, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1904)
March 13 - Ivo Andric, Serbo-Croatian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
March 14 - Susan Hayward, American actress (b. 1917)
March 15 - Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (b. 1906)
March 16 - T-Bone Walker, American musician (b. 1910)
March 16 - Richard W. DeKorte NJ State Energy Administrator and former member of the New Jersey General Assembly (b. 1936)
March 25 - King Faisal of Saudi Arabia (b. 1906)

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April

April 5 - Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China
April 10 - Walker Evans, American photographer
April 13 - N'Garta Tombalbaye, President of Chad
April 17 - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and president
April 23 - William Hartnell, British actor (b. 1908)
April 30 - Gen Paul, French artist

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May

May 5 - Moe Howard, American actor (b. 1897)
May 8 - Avery Brundage, American President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1887)
May 13 - Bob Wills, American musician (b. 1905)
May 18 - Leroy Anderson, American composer (b. 1908)
May 23 - Moms Mabley, American comedienne (b. 1894)
May 25 - Count Dante, American martial artist, founder of Black Dragon Fighting Society; noted for his self styled "Deadliest Man Alive" ad which ran in comic books.
May 30 - Steve Prefontaine, American distance runner (b. 1951)