1975 CE

It was also declared the International Women's Year by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.

In the 1970s, the 20th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 15 – Alvor Agreement: Portugal announces that it will grant independence to Angola on November 11.source
  • 26 January - 1975 Thai general electionThailandsource
  • February 11 – Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for the leadership of the opposition UK Conservative Party. Thatcher, 49, is Britain's first female leader of any political party.source
  • 25 February: Establishment of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) led by Mujib as the single legitimate political party.Bangladeshsource
  • February 28 – In Lomé, Togo, the European Economic Community and 46 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries sign a financial and economic treaty, known as the first Lomé Convention.source
  • March 6 – Algiers Agreement: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement in their border dispute.source
  • March 6 - Iran and Iraq announced a settlement in their border dispute, at a meeting of the OPEC nations in Algiers. The Shah of Iran signed on behalf of his nation, while Iraq was represented by Saddam Hussein, an aide to President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and future President of Iraq. The meeting was overseen by Algerian President Houari Boumediene. Iraq agreed to drop claims to half of the Shatt al-Arab, while Iran agreed not to supply weapons to Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq.Iraqsource
  • April 19 - Two days after the fall of Phnom Penh, the new Khmer Rouge regime announced that all former government employees, including soldiers, military officers, and policemen, would be required to register with the new local authorities. Those who complied with the order were told that they would be sent for "reeducation" at a camp in Battambang on April 28.Cambodiasource
  • May 16 – Sikkim accedes to India after a referendum and abolishes the Chogyal, its monarchy.source
  • June 6 – The Georgetown Agreement, formally creating the ACP Group, is signed.source
  • June 11 – After a referendum and seven years of military rule, modern-day Greece is established as the Hellenic Republic.source
  • July 5 - Cape Verde gained independence after over 500 years of Portuguese rule. The National Assembly elected Aristides Pereira as President and Pedro Pires as Prime Minister.Cape Verdesource
  • July 21 – The Parliament of India votes to approve Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's declaration of a state of emergency, with a 301–76 vote in the lower house and a 147–32 vote in the upper house.source
  • August 1 – The Helsinki Accords, which officially recognize Europe's national borders and respect for human rights, are signed in Finland.source
  • September 16 – Cape Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe join the United Nations.source
  • October 30 – Juan Carlos I of Spain becomes acting head of state after General Francisco Franco concedes that he is too ill to govern. His death on November 20 effectively marks the end of the dictatorship established following the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of the Spanish transition to democracy.source
  • October 31 – Tun Mustapha resigns as Chief Minister of Sabah, a state in Malaysia, bringing to an end speculation that he would attempt to lead secession for Sabah to become an independent nation.source
  • November 9 - When Spain announced it will not fight for Western Sahara, Morocco's Green March was called off. Moroccan King Hassan II said, "Spain is not only a friendly country, it also is a neighborly and fraternal nation."Moroccosource
  • November 10 – The Treaty of Osimo is signed between Italy and Yugoslavia, resolving their dispute over Trieste. Under the agreement, a majority of the land area and residents go to Italy.source
  • November 11 – Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Governor-General of Australia Sir John Kerr controversially dismisses the Whitlam Labor government and commissions Malcolm Fraser of the Liberal/National Country Coalition as caretaker Prime Minister.source
  • November 14 – Madrid Accords: Spain agrees to hand over power of the Spanish Sahara to Morocco and Mauritania by the end of February 1976.source
  • November 15 – The "Group of 6" industrialized nations (G-6) is formed and holds its 1st summit at the Château de Rambouillet in France.source
  • November 19 – The United States Congress approves the Clark Amendment, ending aid to the FNLA and UNITA.source
  • November 22 – Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of General Francisco Franco; he will reign until his abdication in 2014.source
  • November 25 – Suriname gains independence from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.source
  • November 28 – Portuguese Timor declares its independence from Portugal as East Timor.source
  • November 29 – 1975 New Zealand general election: The New Zealand National Party led by Robert Muldoon defeats the incumbent New Zealand Labour Party led by Prime Minister Bill Rowling.source
  • December 2 – In Laos, the Second Indochina War ends, when the communist party of the Pathet Lao takes over Vientiane and defeats the Kingdom of Laos, forcing King Sisavang Vatthana to abdicate and creating the Lao People's Democratic Republic. This ends the Laotian Civil War, with mass evacuation of American troops and Laotian civilians, but effectively begins the Insurgency in Laos with the Pathet Lao fighting the Hmong people, Royalist-in-exile and the Right-wings.source
  • December 2 – In Laos, the communist party of the Pathet Lao takes over Vientiane and defeats the Kingdom of Laos, forcing King Sisavang Vatthana to abdicate and creating the Lao People's Democratic Republic. This ends the Laotian Civil War, with mass evacuation of American troops and Laotian civilians, but effectively begins the Insurgency in Laos with the Pathet Lao fighting the Hmong people, Royalist-in-exile and the Right-wings. The Insurgency in Laos wouldn't end until March 30, 2022, when the last unorganized resistance against the Lao People's Army was finally put down.Laossource
  • December 13 – 1975 Australian federal election: The Liberal/National Country Coalition led by Malcolm Fraser defeats the recently dismissed Labor government led by Gough Whitlam. The Fraser government achieves what is so far the largest parliamentary majority in federal Australian political history. Whitlam would subsequently survive a leadership challenge against him.source
  • December 13 – The United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961) comes into effect.source
  • Portuguesa FC win the 1975 Venezuelan Primera División season.Venezuelasource

Conflict & Security

  • 57 primary school teachers quit in Yala province, sending 1,000 students back home. This was due to fears among teachers that they may face violence from separatists.Thailandsource
  • February 5 – The Argentinian president Isabel Perón decrees Operativo Independencia, aiming to neutralize or annihilate the "subversive elements" in the province of Tucuman. She assumes extraordinary powers.source
  • February 28 – The National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) approaches the South African Embassy in London and requests 40 to 50 artillery pieces to assist their cause in the Angolan Civil War.source
  • March 6 – A bomb explodes in the Paris offices of Springer publishers. The March 6 Group (connected to the Red Army Faction) demands amnesty for the Baader-Meinhof Group.source
  • March 10 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in South Vietnam on their way to capturing Saigon.source
  • 12 March – U.N. Security Council Resolution 367 was adopted after receiving a complaint from the government of the country, the Council again called upon all States to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus.Cyprussource
  • 2 April - 1975 Balkans Cup: Albania is defeated by Greece 2-1 at Nea Smyrni Stadium, AthensAlbaniasource
  • April 9 - Eight people were hanged for being involved with the People's Revolutionary Party Incident.South Koreasource
  • April 13 – Bus massacre: The Kataeb militia kills 27 Palestinians during an attack on their bus in Ain El Remmeneh, Lebanon, triggering the Lebanese Civil War which lasts until 1990.source
  • April 17 – The Khmer Republic surrenders, when the Communist Khmer Rouge guerilla forces capture Phnom Penh ending the Cambodian Civil War, with mass evacuation of American troops and Cambodian civilians.source
  • April 17 - Following several weeks of successful fighting, the government of Cambodia surrendered at 7:00 in the morning to the Khmer Rouge guerillas when they captured Phnom Penh. That evening, sound trucks operated by the new regime began warning Phnom Penh residents of an imminent bombing attack and directing them to flee the city into the countryside. This would be the start of the Cambodian genocide after it was declared the year 1975 as Year Zero of which Angkar had established.Cambodiasource
  • April 25 – Vietnam War: As North Vietnamese Army forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost 10 years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.source
  • April 29 – Vietnam War: North Vietnam concludes its East Sea Campaign by capturing all of the Spratly Islands that were being held by South Vietnam.source
  • April 30 – Vietnam War – Fall of Saigon: The Vietnam War concludes as Communist forces from North Vietnam take over Saigon, resulting in mass evacuation of the remaining American troops and South Vietnam civilians. As the capital is taken, South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally and is replaced with a temporary Provisional Government.source
  • May 15 – Mayaguez incident: The American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian forces, is rescued by the U.S. Navy and Marines; 38 Americans are killed.source
  • June 25 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of emergency in India, suspending civil liberties and elections.source
  • August 15 – Some members of Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Armageddon will occur this year based on the group's chronology and some sell their houses and businesses to prepare for the new world paradise which they believe will be created when Jesus establishes God's Kingdom on Earth.source
  • 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.source
  • The first Cuban forces arrive in Angola to join Soviet personnel who are there to assist the MPLA that controls less than a quarter of Angolan territory. The United States, Zaire and Zambia request South Africa to provide training and support for the FNLA and UNITA forces.source
  • September 5 – In Sacramento, California, Lynette Fromme attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a Secret Service agent.source
  • September 22 – In San Francisco, Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate U.S. President Ford, but is foiled by the Secret Service.source
  • October 1 – "Thrilla in Manila": Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines. The fight is viewed live by well over 100 million people worldwide.source
  • October 1 - Morocco and Mauritania announced they would invade Western Sahara and split it between themselves after Spain announces a referendum would be held for the Sahrawi colony.Moroccosource
  • October 14 – The South African Defence Force invades Angola during Operation Savannah in support of the FNLA and UNITA prior to the Angolan elections scheduled for November 11.source
  • 7 November: After a successful coup d'état Major Gen. Ziaur Rahman proclaims himself deputy martial law administrator with Chief Justice Sayem as Chief Martial Law Administrator.Bangladeshsource
  • November 10 – United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379: By a vote of 72–35 (with 32 abstentions), the United Nations General Assembly approves a resolution equating Zionism with racism. The resolution provokes an outcry among Zionists. It is repealed in 1991.source
  • November 10 – Lev Leshchenko revives "Den Pobedy", one of the most popular World War II songs in the Soviet Union.source
  • November 16 – Beginning of the Third Cod War between UK and Iceland, which lasts until June 1976.source
  • November 25 – A failed military coup d'état by far-left activists occurs in Portugal.source
  • November 28 – South African Navy frigates evacuate 26 SADF members from behind enemy lines at Ambrizete, 160 km north of Luanda in Angola.source
  • December 7 – Indonesian invasion of East Timor: Indonesia invades East Timor; the occupation continues until 1999 when U.N. peacekeepers take control, which they did until 2002.source
  • December 21: Venezuelan-born Carlos the Jackal masterminds the OPEC siege in Vienna.Venezuelasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • 13 February – Opening of Glattzentrum, the first large shopping center in Switzerland located on the outskirts of Zurich in Wallisellen, housing several brands like Migros, Globus, and JelmoliSwitzerlandsource
  • 19 February – The first SAFRA clubhouse is opened in Toa Payoh.Singaporesource
  • March 15 – Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and senior Ministers visit South Africa for talks.South Africasource
  • 23 April – Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips arrive in Australia to commence a two-week royal tour of the country, beginning in Sydney and then continuing in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.Australiasource
  • May 16 – Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.source
  • July 20 – opening of Expo '75 in Okinawa.Japansource
  • September–October – In New Zealand, Māori leader Whina Cooper leads a march of 5,000 people, in support of Maori claims to their land.source
  • October 16 - Moroccan King Hassan II announced plans for a march of over 350,000 civilians across the border to Western Sahara to claim the parts of Western Sahara for Morocco.Moroccosource
  • November 6 – The 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.source
  • Launch of the Volkswagen Polo, a three-door hatchback which fits into the Volkswagen range below the Golf and is similar in size and concept to the Renault 5 from France.Germanysource
  • The founding of the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adummim.Israelsource

Religion & Belief

  • 28 January – Ola Raknes, psychoanalyst and philologist (b.1887)Norwaysource
  • 26 February - Sahitya Akademi recognizes Konkani language.Indiasource
  • 20 April – Cantonal elections in Ticino. Benito Bernasconi (SPS), Ugo Sadis (FDP), Argante Righetti (FDP), Flavio Cotti (CVP), and Fabio Vassalli (CVP) are elected to the Council of States in the first round of votingSwitzerlandsource
  • April 21: Paulino do Livramento Évora became the first Cape Verdean born bishop of Santiago de Cabo VerdeCape Verdesource
  • 15 June – The South Australian Australian Labor Party conference gives Prime Minister Gough Whitlam a mixed reception. The Australian Workers' Union, in particular, is offended by his recent demotion of Clyde Cameron, for decades a leading figure in South Australia's Labor and Industrial Affairs.Australiasource
  • 21 July - Annette Schwall-Lacroix is appointed to the Council of State.Luxembourgsource
  • 12 August – Pinchas Sapir (born 1906), Russian (Poland)-born Israeli politician.Israelsource
  • September 15 – The French department of Corse, comprising the entire island of Corsica, is divided into two departments: Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) and Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica).source
  • September 20 – The term of Tuanku Al-Mutassimu Billahi Muhibbudin Sultan Abdul Halim Al-Muadzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, as the 5th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, ends.source
  • September 21 – Sultan Yahya Petra ibni Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim Petra of Kelantan, becomes the 6th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.source
  • Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan: Tuanku JaafarMalaysiasource

Economy & Finance

  • 8 January – Yehoshua Ben-Zion convicted of embezzling £20 million from the Israeli-British Bank which collapsed in July 1974 owing British investors £46.6 million. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Later, Ben-Zion was pardoned by the Israeli president after intervention of Menachem Begin and was released after serving 3 years.Israelsource
  • 26 February – Moritz Suter, former pilot of Swissair, founds Business Flyers Basel, which will later become CrossairSwitzerlandsource
  • March 12 - The Dubai Islamic Bank was established in the United Arab Emirates, becoming the first private institution to operate under the principles of Islamic banking. With the charging of interest on a loan prohibited by Islamic law, the banks instead make an investment in the item upon which the loan is planned, without a fixed interest rate. Similar Islamic banks were established in 1977 in Kuwait, Egypt and the Sudan.United Arab Emiratessource
  • March 15 – In Brazil, Guanabara State merges into the state of Rio de Janeiro. The state's capital moves from the city of Niterói to the city of Rio de Janeiro.source
  • April 4 – Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft (at this time known as Micro-Soft) in Albuquerque, New Mexico and release their Altair BASIC interpreter. (Microsoft becomes a registered trademark on November 26, 1976.)source
  • 30 April - the Stock Exchange of Thailand officially starts trading.Thailandsource
  • August 4 - According to Decree Law 1123, the official currency of the country becomes again the Chilean Peso, with the equivalence $ 1 (peso) = Eº 1000 (escudos).Chilesource
  • November 7 – President Ferdinand Marcos issues Presidential Decree 824 creating the Metropolitan Manila Commission (MMC). It integrates the city of Manila and adjacent Quezon City with the cities of Pasay and Caloocan and municipalities of Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Las Piñas, Malabon, Navotas, Pasig, Pateros, Parañaque, Marikina, Muntinlupa, and Taguig from the province of Rizal and the municipality of Valenzuela from the province of Bulacan to form Metropolitan Manila.Philippinessource
  • Gross domestic product falls by 6.1%, mostly due to a collapse in the steel price.Luxembourgsource
  • Tun Haji Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Majid (until May)Malaysiasource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • January 2 – A bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.source
  • January 5 – Tasman Bridge disaster: The Tasman Bridge in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier MV Lake Illawarra, causing a partial collapse resulting in 12 deaths.source
  • March 1 – Australian television switches to full-time colour.source
  • March 9 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.source
  • March 10 – An extended portion of Sanyō Shinkansen between Okayama Station and Hakata Station opens, giving the Japanese Shinkansen high speed rail network access to the country's second island, Kyushu.source
  • March 12: The first transmission of television in the nation began under the name Televisão Experimental de Cabo Verde or TEVEC (now RTC)Cape Verdesource
  • April 20 – Taman Mini Indonesia Indah opens to the public in Jakarta, Indonesia.source
  • 22 May – General Motors announces the closure of its assembly line in Bienne (BE) by the end of August. 450 people will lose their jobsSwitzerlandsource
  • June 5 – The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War.source
  • June – The piling works for the Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (KOMTAR) in Penang were completed.Malaysiasource
  • July 1 – The Postmaster-General's Department is disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission (trading as Telecom Australia) and the Australian Postal Commission (trading as Australia Post).source
  • 26 July – The opening of Beipu Station of Taiwan Railways Administration in Xincheng Township, Hualien County.Taiwansource
  • August 25 – The Victoria Falls Conference between Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith and the United African National Council is held in a South African Railways coach on the Victoria Falls Bridge, officiated by Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and South African Prime Minister John Vorster.source
  • September 30 – The Hughes Helicopters (later McDonnell-Douglas and Boeing IDS) AH-64 Apache makes its first flight.source
  • Domestic football: Mohammedan SC won 1975 Dhaka First Division League title, while Team JIC came out runners-up.Bangladeshsource
  • VAPCO manufacturing company is established in Amman.Jordansource
  • AGS (motorcycle manufacturer) is established.Netherlandssource
  • José Antonio Abreu founds El Sistema, a music education programme.Venezuelasource

Science & Discovery

  • January 2 – The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.source
  • April 5 – The Soviet crewed space mission (Soyuz 18a) ends in failure during its ascent into orbit when a critical malfunction occurs in the second and third stages of the booster rocket during staging at an altitude of 192 km, resulting in the cosmonauts and their Soyuz spacecraft having to be ripped free from the vehicle. Both cosmonauts (Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov) survive.source
  • 19 April – The first Indian satellite, Aryabhata, goes into Earth's orbit.Indiasource
  • May 25 – Bobby Unser wins the Indianapolis 500 for a second time in a rain-shorted 174 lap, 700 km race.source
  • July 17 – Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: A crewed American Apollo spacecraft and the crewed Soviet Soyuz spacecraft for the Soyuz 19 mission dock in orbit, marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the 2 nations.source
  • August 20 – Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.source
  • 25 September – Yehoshua Bar-Hillel (born 1915), Austrian-born Israeli philosopher, mathematician, and linguist.Israelsource
  • September 30 – (US time) Home Box Office becomes the first pay television network to deliver a continuous signal via satellite by broadcasting the "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match live.source
  • 17 October – Swiss chemist of Croatian origin Vladimir Prelog receives the Nobel Prize in ChemistrySwitzerlandsource
  • Benoit Mandelbrot coins the mathematical term fractal.source
  • Dersu Uzala, directed by Akira KurosawaJapansource
  • Publication of the Green Book, detailing the Third International TheoryLibyasource
  • William Peskett's poems The Nightowl's Dissection are published.Northern Irelandsource
  • The Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia is founded in honour of Francisco J. Duarte, who died in 1972.Venezuelasource

Health & Medicine

  • March 28 – A fire in the maternity wing at Kučić Hospital in Rijeka, Yugoslavia (Croatia), kills 25 people.source
  • April 15 – The Kabataang Barangay (KB) was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 684. The decree provided for the organization of KB units in the 42,000 barangays all over the country with the purpose of giving the youth a definite role in community affairs.Philippinessource
  • August 11 – Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese East Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a UDT coup and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.source
  • 25 August – An Australian women's soccer team captained by Pat O'Connor are defeated by Thailand 3-2 in Hong Kong in a Group A match of the 1975 Asian Cup Ladies Football Tournament. The Australian team are a representative team consisting mostly of players from suburban Sydney club St George-Budapest, but were not official international players until they were controversially recognised in 2024 as the first Matildas which prompts anger and disappointment from former Matildas who describe the decision as disrespectful to the women who were formally chosen to represent Australia from 1978 onwards. The decision to elevate the 1975 team to official status also results in Tarita Yvonne Peters (who played under the name Stacey Tracy) becoming the first women's Indigenous player to represent Australia, a title which was previously held by Karen Menzies.Australiasource
  • October 16 – The last naturally occurring case of smallpox is diagnosed and treated, the victim being two-year-old Rahima Banu in Bangladesh.source
  • 16 October - Rahima Banu's smallpox infection is reported. She is the last known person to have been infected with naturally occurring Variola major.Bangladeshsource
  • 30 October – Juan Carlos I becomes acting head of state due to the ill health of Francisco Franco.Spainsource
  • October 31 – The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 takes effect in Australia.source
  • 24 November – The Swiss Society for the Watch Industry (SSIH) announces the dismissal of 170 people in Bienne and CornolSwitzerlandsource
  • November 29 – While disabled, the submarine tender USS Proteus discharges radioactive coolant water into Apra Harbor, Guam. A Geiger counter at two of the harbor's public beaches shows 100 millirems/hour, 50 times the allowable dose.source
  • Lillian Ngoyi's ban, confining her to Orlando Township in Johannesburg and forbidding her to attend any gatherings, is renewed for five years.South Africasource
  • December 18 – The Algerian president Houari Boumediene orders the expulsion of all Moroccans from Algeria.source
  • Tun Syed Zahiruddin bin Syed Hassan (from May)Malaysiasource
  • The Dunedin Longitudinal Study begins, following the health and development of 1037 children born in Dunedin between 1972 and 1973.New Zealandsource

Crime & Justice

  • January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up.source
  • 14 February – Protest in Sion against the closure of Bally workshops in ValaisSwitzerlandsource
  • February 27 – The 2 June Movement kidnaps West German politician Peter Lorenz. He is released on March 4 after most of the kidnappers' demands are met.source
  • March 1 – An Iraqi Airways airliner was hijacked by three Kurdish gunmen, shortly after taking off from Mosul to Baghdad with 93 people on board. The hijackers (Ahmad Hasan, Taha Naimi and Faud al-Qeitan) demanded that 85 Kurdish political prisoners be released, that they receive five million dollars, and that they be flown to Iran. After the plane made a forced landing in Tehran on a blocked runway, a gunbattle ensued between Iraqi security guards onboard and the gunmen. One passenger were killed and ten others wounded, including Hasan, who later died of his wounds. Taimi and al-Qeitan were executed a month later by a firing squad in Iran.Iransource
  • March 25 – King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by his nephew.source
  • April 7 - Prime Minister Long Boret met with representatives of the Khmer Rouge while in Bangkok, Thailand. He returned to Cambodia the next day, refused to leave when officials were offered a chance to escape, and was executed nine days later by the new regime.Cambodiasource
  • 8 July – Skazi, Israeli psytrance DJ and a producerIsraelsource
  • September 14 – Rembrandt's painting The Night Watch is slashed a dozen times at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.source
  • September 27 – Francoist Spain executes five ETA and FRAP members, the last executions in Spain to date.source
  • 20 November – Amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act were passed to introduce the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking cases.Singaporesource
  • 24 November: Col. Abu Taher arrested.Bangladeshsource
  • December 21 – Six people, including Carlos the Jackal, kidnap delegates of an OPEC conference in Vienna.source
  • Victoria (Australia) abolishes capital punishment.source
  • Sultan of Selangor: Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz ShahMalaysiasource

Disasters & Accidents

  • 2 January – Major fire at the Fischer casting company in Alpnach-Dorf (Obwalden). Damage amounts to 15 million francsSwitzerlandsource
  • January 22 – In the country's worst fire on record by then, 51 persons are either burned, suffocated, or leaped to their death when a fire sweeps through a factory in a commercial building in Marikina, Rizal. At least 79 others are seriously injured.Philippinessource
  • 30 January – Turkish Airlines Flight 345 crashes in Marmara Sea due to airport infrastructure problems.Turkeysource
  • 18 February – Communist terrorists sabotaged the railway track which derailed the goods train at Rimba Mas near Padang Besar, Perlis.Malaysiasource
  • February 28 – A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.source
  • 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.source
  • April 18 – The Khmer Rouge begins a forcible mass evacuation of the city and starts the Cambodian genocide.source
  • May 27 – The Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, North Yorkshire, England, results in 32 deaths (the highest toll in a United Kingdom road accident).source
  • August 6 – According to Japanese government official confirmed report, a heavy massive rain, following debris flow hit in Mount Iwaki in Nakatsugaru District (present day of Hirosaki), Aomori Prefecture, kill 21 persons with injure 31 persons.Japansource
  • August: Fire on the Lüneburg HeathGermanysource
  • October 14 – A British Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan bomber explodes and crashes over Żabbar, Malta after an aborted landing, killing five crew members and one person on the ground.source
  • November 7 – A vapor cloud explosion at a petroleum cracking facility in Geleen, Netherlands, leaves 14 dead and 109 injured, with fires lasting for five days.source
  • November 10 – The 729 ft-long freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks during a storm 27 km from the entrance to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew members on board (an event immortalized in song by Gordon Lightfoot).source
  • 25 November – Israeli Air Force C-130H 203/4X-FBO, c/n 4533, crashes into mount Jebel Halal, 55 kilometers south-southeast of El Arish, in the Israeli-administered Sinai Peninsula. Pilots were Shaul Bustan and Uri Manor.Israelsource
  • December 29 – A bomb explosion at LaGuardia Airport in New York City kills 11 people.source

Climate & Environment

  • February 4 – The Haicheng earthquake in Haicheng, Liaoning, China, kills 2,041 and injures 27,538, but much of the city has been evacuated in a claimed example of earthquake prediction.source
  • 17 February - A 6.0 magnitude earthquake near the Myanmar border is felt in 9 provinces including Bangkok.Thailandsource
  • 20 February – A violent feud erupts between the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) and the Irish Republican Socialist Party and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).Northern Irelandsource
  • March 13 - Coquimbo earthquake. An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale shakes the cities of La Serena, Coquimbo and Vicuña, leaving three dead and 18 injured.Chilesource
  • July 30 – Typhoon Nina forms over the Philippine Sea.source
  • August 8 – The Banqiao Dam, in China's Henan Province, fails after Typhoon Nina; over 200,000 people perish.source
  • August 17–18 – Typhoon Phyllis, where hit on landslide, debris flow, flood swept hit in Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku Island, killing 77 persons and 209 persons injures, according to Japan Fire and Disaster Management official confirmed report.Japansource
  • September 6 – An earthquake of magnitude Ms kills at least 2,085 in Diyarbakır and Lice, Turkey.source
  • 6 September – 1975 Lice earthquakeTurkeysource
  • 16 September – Heavy rain in Ticino. Landslides lead to the closure of the Val Blenio road and the Lukmanier Pass becomes impassableSwitzerlandsource
  • November 11 – Angola becomes independent from Portugal and civil war erupts.source
  • Sultan of Terengganu: Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin ShahMalaysiasource

Culture & Society

  • 1 January – The Singapore Maritime Museum is opened in Sentosa, albeit still under construction.Singaporesource
  • 10 February – The opening of Chinese Culture and Movie Center in Taipei.Taiwansource
  • March 1 – Aston Villa win the English Football League Cup at Wembley, beating Norwich City 1–0 in the final.source
  • March 22 – "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In (music by Dick Bakker, lyrics by Will Luikinga and Eddy Ouwens) wins the 20th Eurovision Song Contest 1975 (staged in Stockholm) for the Netherlands.source
  • 22 March – Representing Luxembourg, Geraldine Branigan finishes fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song Toi.Luxembourgsource
  • 1 May – The 25th anniversary of Malaysian Trade Union Congress was celebrated.Malaysiasource
  • May 3 – West Ham United win the FA Cup at Wembley, beating Fulham 2–0 in the final.source
  • June 9 – The Order of Australia is awarded for the first time.source
  • 14 June – FC Zurich secures, for the seventh time in its history, the title of Swiss football championsSwitzerlandsource
  • June 25: For the first time in its history, the Miss Venezuela pageant is held at Poliedro de Caracas. The winner is Maritza Pineda, Miss Nueva Esparta.Venezuelasource
  • November 11 – The first annual Vogalonga rowing "race" is held in Venice, Italy.source
  • South Australia becomes the first Australian state to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults.source
  • 14-16 March – The FIS Ski Flying World Championships 1975 take place in Bad Mitterndorf.Austriasource
  • Mindelo-based newspaper Terra Nova establishedCape Verdesource

Births

Deaths

  • 2 March - Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, 45, politician.Kenyasource
  • March 25 – King Faisal of Saudi Arabia (born 1906)source
  • April 5 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese nationalist general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (born 1887)source
  • April 12 – Josephine Baker, American-born French entertainer and activist (born 1906)source
  • April 21 - Sisowath Sirik Matak was executed by the Khmer Rouge after choosing to remain in Cambodia rather than to evacuate.Cambodiasource
  • April 23 – William Hartnell, English actor (born 1908)source
  • June 26 – Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish Roman Catholic priest and saint (born 1902)source
  • June 28 – Rod Serling, American television screenwriter and narrator (born 1924)source
  • August 15 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, 2nd Prime Minister of Bangladesh and 1st and 4th President of Bangladesh (born 1920)source
  • August 15 – Founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh is killed during a coup led by Major Syed Faruque Rahman.source
  • August 16: Carlos Raúl Villanueva, modernist architect (born 1900)Venezuelasource
  • August 27 – Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (born 1892)source
  • August 29 – Éamon de Valera, Irish politician and statesman, 3rd President of Ireland and 3-time Taoiseach (born 1882)source
  • September 5 – The London Hilton Hotel is bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army; two people are killed and 63 injured.source
  • October 16 – The "Balibo Five", Australian television journalists are killed at Balibo by Indonesian Army special forces in the buildup to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.source
  • November 5 - A group of anarchists blow up a clock tower to protest a new government tax on looking at the clock. 12 people were injured, and 4 were killed. The anarchists later spray painted the words "killing time" on what was left of the tower.Moroccosource
  • November 20 – Francisco Franco, Spanish general and politician, Caudillo of Spain (born 1892)source
  • December 4 – Hannah Arendt, German political theorist (born 1906)source