1975

Events in 1975 70

• 1881 – 1975 P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) Died 14 February 1975, aged 93 P. G. Wodehouse was an English author best known for his Jeeves and Wooster comic novels. He was knighted just weeks before his death, resolving a controversy over wartime broadcasts he had made while interned by Germany. He died in Southampton, New York, having become a naturalized American citizen.
• 1887 – 1975 Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) Died 5 April 1975, aged 87 Chiang Kai-shek led the Republic of China's Nationalist government and, after defeat in the Chinese Civil War, ruled Taiwan from 1949 until his death. He remained a key Cold War ally of the United States and head of the Kuomintang. His son Chiang Ching-kuo eventually succeeded him as Taiwan's leader.
• 1890 – 1975 Marjorie Main (1890-1975) American character actress, Ma Kettle in The Egg and I and its sequels.
• 1892 – 1975 Francisco Franco (1892-1975) Died 20 November 1975, aged 82 Francisco Franco ruled Spain as dictator for 36 years following his victory in the Spanish Civil War. His death ended the Francoist regime and opened the way for Spain's transition to democracy under King Juan Carlos I. He had designated Juan Carlos as his successor in 1969.
• 1892 – 1975 Haile Selassie (1892-1975) Died 27 August 1975, aged 83 Haile Selassie ruled Ethiopia as emperor from 1930 until he was deposed by a military coup in 1974. He was held under house arrest and reportedly died in captivity in Addis Ababa, though the exact circumstances of his death were disputed for years. He remains a revered figure in the Rastafari movement.
• 1897 – 1975 Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) Died 7 December 1975, aged 78 Thornton Wilder was an American playwright and novelist who won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" and the plays "Our Town" and "The Skin of Our Teeth." His work explored universal themes of everyday life and mortality. He died at his home in Hamden, Connecticut.
• 1897 – 1975 Moe Howard (1897-1975) American comedian, the bossy leader of the Three Stooges.
• 1897 – 1975 Fredric March (1897-1975) American actor, winner of two Oscars and two Tonys, from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to The Best Years of Our Lives.
• 1902 – 1975 Larry Fine (1902-1975) Died 24 January 1975, aged 72 Larry Fine was an American actor and comedian best known as a member of the Three Stooges slapstick comedy team. He performed with the group for over four decades across film and television. A stroke in 1970 had already ended his performing career before his death.
• 1903 – 1975 Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) Died 20 May 1975, aged 72 Barbara Hepworth was a British sculptor renowned for her abstract works in wood, stone, and bronze. She was one of the few women to achieve international recognition in modern sculpture during her lifetime. She died in a fire at her studio in St Ives, Cornwall.
• 1906 – 1975 Aristotle Onassis (1906-1975) Died 15 March 1975, aged 69 Aristotle Onassis built one of the world's largest shipping fortunes and became one of the wealthiest men of his era. He was widely known for his 1968 marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of President John F. Kennedy. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, after a long illness.
• 1906 – 1975 Faisal of Saudi Arabia (1906-1975) Died 25 March 1975, aged 68 King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was shot by his nephew, Prince Faisal bin Musaid, during a royal audience in Riyadh. He had ruled Saudi Arabia since 1964 and led the 1973 oil embargo against nations supporting Israel. His half-brother Khalid succeeded him as king.
• 1906 – 1975 Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) Died 4 December 1975, aged 69 Hannah Arendt was a German-born American political theorist known for her writings on totalitarianism, including "The Origins of Totalitarianism" and "Eichmann in Jerusalem." She fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s and became one of the twentieth century's most influential political philosophers. She died in New York City.
• 1906 – 1975 Josephine Baker (1906-1975) Died 12 April 1975, aged 68 Josephine Baker was an American-born French entertainer who rose to fame in Paris in the 1920s and later worked with the French Resistance during World War II. She was also a prominent civil rights activist. She died days after a triumphant return to the Paris stage celebrating her 50-year career.
• 1906 – 1975 Dmitri Shostakovich Soviet symphonist Russian composer who wrote 15 symphonies and 15 string quartets under the shadow of Stalin's regime. His 5th Symphony and 7th (Leningrad) are defining works of the 20th century.
• 1917 – 1975 Susan Hayward (1917-1975) American actress known for intense dramatic roles and five Oscar nominations, winning for I Want to Live!
• 1924 – 1975 Rod Serling (1924-1975) Died 28 June 1975, aged 50 Rod Serling created and hosted "The Twilight Zone," the anthology series that became a landmark of American television. He was also a prolific screenwriter who won multiple Emmy Awards. He died of complications from heart surgery in Rochester, New York.
• 1929 – 1975 Graham Hill Mr. Monaco Two-time World Champion and the only driver to win the "Triple Crown of Motorsport" (F1, Indy 500, Le Mans).
• 1955 – 1975 Vietnam War US involvement The Vietnam War saw US forces fighting communist North Vietnam. After 58,000 American deaths, the US withdrew in 1973 and Saigon fell in 1975.
• 1966 – 1975 Sly and the Family Stone American funk and soul band San Francisco band led by Sly Stone — the first major American band with Black and white, male and female members, and a huge influence on funk.
• 1975 Altair 8800 First personal computer kit The Altair 8800 was the first commercially successful personal computer kit, inspiring a young Bill Gates and Paul Allen to found Microsoft.
• 1975 – 1982 Begins pole vault -- Vitaly Petrov and Donetsk At around 11, Bubka takes up pole vault in Luhansk, then moves to Donetsk to train under coach Vitaly Petrov -- a partnership that lasts his entire career and is one of the most productive athlete-coach relationships in the history of athletics. Petrov develops the technical framework that enables Bubka's explosive, rhythmically precise approach: a short, fast run-up, an unusually high grip on the pole, and a powerful leg drive at take-off. The system is eventually called the "Soviet school" of pole vaulting and influences every serious vaulter who follows.
• 1975 Fischer forfeits title to Karpov Disappears from competitive chess Fischer refused to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov over disputes with FIDE about match conditions. He was stripped of the title and effectively retired from competitive chess for 17 years.
• 1975 Helsinki Accords Cold War human rights agreement 35 nations signed the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, establishing human rights principles that helped undermine Soviet authority.
• 1975 Microsoft founded Microsoft founded Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Micro-Soft in Albuquerque in April 1975 to sell a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. The decisive move came in 1980, when the company licensed an operating system to IBM while keeping the right to sell it to others. That deal made MS-DOS, and then Windows, the industry standard.
• 1975 Pepsi Challenge launched Cola Wars begin in earnest PepsiCo launched the "Pepsi Challenge" blind taste tests in 1975, showing that many consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi. The campaign ignited the Cola Wars — one of the most competitive marketing rivalries in business history — and directly led to New Coke a decade later.
• 1975 Personal Computer Altair 8800 The first commercially successful computer for individual use.
• 1975 – 1979 Punk rock Sex Pistols, The Clash Punk rock exploded in the mid-1970s as a raw anti-establishment reaction to mainstream rock. Bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash defined a generation.
• 1975 The Pepsi Challenge launched Blind taste tests ignite the Cola Wars — 1975 In 1975 Pepsi launched the Pepsi Challenge — blind taste tests conducted in shopping centres across America in which most consumers preferred Pepsi over Coca-Cola. The campaign was a marketing masterstroke that terrified Coca-Cola and directly led to the disastrous "New Coke" reformulation a decade later.
• 1975 Margaret Thatcher elected Conservative Party leader First woman to lead a major UK political party Margaret Thatcher defeated incumbent Edward Heath to become leader of Britain's Conservative Party on 11 February 1975. She was the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She went on to become prime minister in 1979.
• 1975 – present Elena Ferrante Italian novelist Ferrante is known for the Neapolitan Novels exploring friendship, class, and female identity.
• 1975 Led Zeppelin release Physical Graffiti Kashmir A double album with Kashmir.
• 1975 – 2023 Lee Sun-kyun South Korean Actor South Korean actor best known for playing the wealthy patriarch Park Dong-ik in Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film Parasite (2019). Acclaimed across film and television in South Korea, he won a Screen Actors Guild Award with the Parasite cast and was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Dr. Brain.
• 1975 Eurovision Song Contest — "Let Me Be the One" Stockholm, 2nd place Represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 in Stockholm with "Let Me Be the One", written by Paul Curtis. The song finished second with 138 points, behind the Netherlands' "Ding-A-Dong" by Teach-In — extending the UK's record number of runner-up finishes.
• 1975 1975 World Snooker Championship Reardon Title 4 Held in Australia. Winner: Ray Reardon; Runner-up: Eddie Charlton. Score: 31–30.
• 1975 Lebanese Civil War begins Sectarian conflict erupts in Beirut Fighting broke out between Christian Phalangist militia and Palestinian and leftist forces after an attack on a bus in Beirut on 13 April 1975. The clashes escalated into a full civil war that would last 15 years and devastate Lebanon. The conflict drew in regional powers including Syria and Israel.
• 1975 Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh Cambodian capital falls, Khmer Rouge takes power Khmer Rouge forces led by Pol Pot entered Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975, ending the Cambodian Civil War. The new regime immediately began evacuating the city and imposing a radical agrarian program that led to mass death over the following years. The takeover came just two weeks before the fall of Saigon.
• 1975 Fall of Saigon Vietnam War ends North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon on April 30, 1975, ending the Vietnam War and reunifying Vietnam under communist rule.
• 1975 Willie Nelson releases Red Headed Stranger Sparse concept album A stripped-down western concept album — Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.
• 1975 – present David Beckham Becks Global icon known for his crossing, free-kicks, and massive celebrity profile.
• 1975 Sony launches Betamax videotape format Home video recording goes on sale in Japan Sony released the first Betamax videocassette recorder in Japan on 10 May 1975, bringing home video recording to consumers for the first time. The format would soon compete with JVC's rival VHS system in a format war that VHS ultimately won. Betamax nonetheless established the home video recorder as a mainstream consumer product.
• 1975 – 2015 Jonah Lomu The winger who turned rugby into a global spectacle Jonah Tali Lomu was a New Zealand rugby union winger widely credited as the sport's first global superstar. Combining a 120kg frame with sprinter-level speed, he redefined what a back-line player could be and forced the laws and tactics of the game to adapt around him. His explosive performances at the 1995 Rugby World Cup arrived just as rugby turned professional, and the two events together are often cited as the moment the sport became a worldwide commercial product. Off the field he battled a serious kidney disorder for two decades, undergoing a transplant in 2004 before dying suddenly in 2015 at age 40.
• 1975 United Kingdom holds referendum on EEC membership British voters back staying in the Common Market On 5 June 1975 the United Kingdom held its first-ever nationwide referendum, asking voters whether Britain should remain in the European Economic Community. Roughly two-thirds voted to stay, confirming membership secured under Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1973. It would be more than four decades before the UK held another referendum on its European ties.
• 1975 – present Allen Iverson The Answer Cultural icon known for his speed, scoring, and toughness despite his small stature.
• 1975 "Jaws" released in theaters Steven Spielberg film becomes first summer blockbuster Steven Spielberg's shark thriller "Jaws" opened in the United States on 20 June 1975 and became the highest-grossing film of its time. Its wide release strategy and saturation advertising established the modern template for the summer blockbuster. The film also popularized John Williams's two-note theme as one of cinema's most recognizable scores.
• 1975 Mozambique declares independence from Portugal Frelimo takes power after liberation war Mozambique became independent on 25 June 1975, ending nearly five centuries of Portuguese colonial rule. The Frelimo movement, which had led the armed independence struggle, formed the new one-party government under Samora Machel. A civil war against Renamo insurgents broke out within a few years.
• 1975 Cape Verde declares independence from Portugal Former Portuguese colony becomes sovereign nation Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal on 5 July 1975 following the collapse of Portugal's colonial empire after the Carnation Revolution. The PAIGC party, which had also led Guinea-Bissau's independence movement, formed the new government. Aristides Pereira became the country's first president.
• 1975 Comoros declares independence from France Islands split over independence vote Comoros unilaterally declared independence from France on 6 July 1975 after a referendum in which most islands voted to separate while Mayotte voted to remain French. Ahmed Abdallah became the country's first president. Mayotte's continued status as a French territory remained a lasting source of dispute.
• 1975 Sao Tome and Principe declares independence Former Portuguese colony becomes sovereign nation The island nation of Sao Tome and Principe gained independence from Portugal on 12 July 1975. Manuel Pinto da Costa of the MLSTP became the country's first president. The economy remained heavily dependent on cocoa production inherited from the colonial plantation system.
• 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project US and Soviet spacecraft dock in orbit An American Apollo spacecraft and a Soviet Soyuz capsule docked in Earth orbit on 17 July 1975, the first joint crewed space mission between the two Cold War rivals. The mission symbolized the era of detente and was the last flight of the Apollo program. Astronauts and cosmonauts shook hands and shared meals aboard the linked craft.
• 1975 – present Gareth Edwards British film director, screenwriter, and visual effects artist Gareth Edwards is an English filmmaker known for blending grounded, documentary-style realism with large-scale visual effects, a style he taught himself while working in British television before breaking into Hollywood. He rose from making a micro-budget monster movie almost single-handedly to directing two of the biggest studio franchises of the 2010s, Godzilla and Star Wars, and later returned to original filmmaking with The Creator. His career is notable for proving that photorealistic VFX could be achieved on a fraction of typical blockbuster budgets, a skill he leveraged at every stage of his career.
• 1975 – present Ray Allen Jesus Shuttlesworth Held the record for most three-pointers for a decade; 2-time champion.
• 1975 – present Kavinsky French Electronic Musician French electronic musician and synthwave pioneer, born Vincent Belorgey, whose track Nightcall became a defining piece of 2010s popular culture after it was featured in the opening credits of Nicolas Winding Refn's film Drive (2011). He created the fictional persona of Kavinsky — a mysterious driver who crashed his Ferrari Testarossa in 1986, died, and returned as a zombie twenty years later to make electronic music. Alongside Daft Punk and Justice, he was one of the key figures of the French electronic music scene.
• 1975 Bruce Springsteen releases Born to Run Breakthrough A last-chance album that makes him a star.
• 1975 Sinai Interim Agreement signed Egypt and Israel agree to further disengagement Egypt and Israel signed the Sinai Interim Agreement, known as Sinai II, on 4 September 1975, providing for Israeli withdrawal from more of the Sinai Peninsula and the creation of a buffer zone monitored by American civilian observers. The agreement was brokered by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger through "shuttle diplomacy." It was a significant step toward the eventual Egypt-Israel peace treaty of 1979.
• 1975 Two assassination attempts on President Gerald Ford Fromme and Moore separately try to kill Ford in September Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme pointed a gun at President Gerald Ford in Sacramento on 5 September 1975, and Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at him in San Francisco seventeen days later, on 22 September. Both women were subdued before Ford was harmed and were later convicted and imprisoned. The attacks came within weeks of each other during a single presidential trip to California.
• 1975 Papua New Guinea gains independence Former Australian territory becomes sovereign nation Papua New Guinea achieved full independence from Australia on 16 September 1975. Michael Somare, who had led the territory toward self-government, became its first prime minister. The country retained the British monarch as head of state within the Commonwealth.
• 1975 Patty Hearst arrested by FBI Kidnapped heiress captured after 19 months as fugitive Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was arrested in San Francisco on 18 September 1975, nearly a year and a half after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and subsequently participating in a bank robbery with the group. Her trial and defense of "brainwashing" drew intense media coverage. She was convicted and later had her sentence commuted.
• 1975 – present Juan Pablo Montoya The Aggressive Colombian Seven-time F1 race winner known for his incredible speed and fearlessness against Schumacher.
• 1975 "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in decisive rubber match Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought their third and final bout in Quezon City, Philippines, on 1 October 1975. Ali won when Frazier's corner stopped the fight after the fourteenth round, in what both fighters later called the hardest bout of their careers. The match is widely regarded as one of the greatest in boxing history.
• 1975 Morocco launches the Green March Mass march pressures Spain to cede Western Sahara Morocco organized a march of an estimated 350,000 civilians into Spanish Sahara on 6 November 1975 to press its claim to the territory. The march led to the Madrid Accords, under which Spain withdrew and transferred administration to Morocco and Mauritania. The move triggered a long-running conflict with the Sahrawi independence movement Polisario Front.
• 1975 Angola declares independence from Portugal Colonial rule ends amid civil war Angola gained independence from Portugal on 11 November 1975 after a long liberation war, but the transfer of power was immediately followed by a civil war among rival independence movements. The MPLA declared a Marxist government in Luanda, backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union, while UNITA and FNLA received Western and South African support. The civil war would last until 2002.
• 1975 UK Sex Discrimination Act passed Law bars discrimination on grounds of sex in Britain The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 received royal assent in the United Kingdom on 12 November 1975, making it unlawful to discriminate against people on the basis of sex in employment, education, and the provision of goods and services. It also established the Equal Opportunities Commission to enforce the new protections. The act followed years of campaigning for equal treatment of women in British law.
• 1975 Juan Carlos I proclaimed King of Spain Spain's transition to democracy begins Juan Carlos I was proclaimed king two days after the death of Francisco Franco, becoming head of state of Spain. Though installed by the Francoist regime, he oversaw the country's peaceful transition to parliamentary democracy over the following years. His reign marked the end of nearly four decades of dictatorship.
• 1975 Suriname declares independence from the Netherlands Former Dutch colony becomes sovereign republic Suriname became independent from the Netherlands on 25 November 1975, with Johan Ferrier as its first president. A large share of the population emigrated to the Netherlands around independence out of uncertainty about the new nation's future. Dutch remains the country's official language.
• 1975 – 2025 Mia Love (1975-2025) Died 23 March 2025, aged 49 American politician from Utah who served in the House of Representatives, the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress.
• 1975 Indonesia invades East Timor Indonesian forces seize former Portuguese colony Indonesian military forces invaded East Timor on 7 December 1975, days after the territory had declared independence from Portugal. The occupation began a conflict that would last until East Timor's independence in 2002 and cause a very high death toll among the territory's population. The invasion took place with tacit acceptance from the United States and Australia.
• 1975 Parliament release Mothership Connection Give Up the Funk Their masterpiece, with Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker).
• 1975 – 1988 Heather O'Rourke (1975-1988) Died 1 February 1988, aged 12 Heather O'Rourke was an American child actress known for playing Carol Anne Freeling in the Poltergeist film trilogy. She died from complications of a misdiagnosed bowel obstruction shortly after completing Poltergeist III. Her death shocked audiences given her young age and the films' supposed curse.
• 1975 – present Tiger Woods American professional golfer, one of the greatest in the sport's history Eldrick "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He rewrote the record books with 15 major championships and 82 PGA Tour wins, dominating the game through the late 1990s and 2000s before overcoming personal scandal and career-threatening injuries to complete one of sports' most celebrated comebacks with his 2019 Masters victory.