WORLD HISTORY · 1975 日本語
Events of 1975Showa 50 (Japan) · Year of the Rabbit
What happened in 1975?
In 1975, the Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train line opened all the way to Hakata, and Emperor Showa made his first official visit to the United States. Around the world, the fall of Saigon ended the Vietnam War, and Microsoft was founded.
- Sanyo Shinkansen fully opens to HakataAsia
- Gates and Allen found MicrosoftNorth America
- Taiwan's President Chiang Kai-shek diesAsia
- Fall of Saigon ends Vietnam WarAsia
- Tabei Junko leads first women's Everest ascentAsia
- Okinawa International Ocean Exposition opensAsia
- Military coup in BangladeshAsia
- Emperor Showa makes first official U.S. visitAsia
Tap an event to jump to it in the timeline below.
1975 at a glance
| Japanese era | Showa 50 |
|---|---|
| Chinese zodiac | Year of the Rabbit |
| Age of people born in 1975 | Turn 51 in 2026 |
| Previous / next year | 1974 (Showa 49) ／ 1976 (Showa 51) |
| Events | 121 |
| AP World History | Unit 8 (Cold War and Decolonization) |
| AP U.S. History | Period 8 |
Famous people born in 1975
Our birthday pages list 807 people born in 1975. Here are some of them.
- David BeckhamBorn May 2 · turns 51 this year · English soccer star and former England captain who played for Manchester United…
- Charlize TheronBorn August 7 · turns 51 this year · South African-born actress who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Monst…
- Angelina JolieBorn June 4 · turns 51 this year · American actress, director, and humanitarian who won an Oscar for Girl, Interru…
- Drew BarrymoreBorn February 22 · turns 51 this year · American actress, producer, director, and talk show host who first won fame as…
- Eva LongoriaBorn March 15 · turns 51 this year · American actress, producer, and director best known for playing Gabrielle Solis…
- Enrique IglesiasBorn May 8 · turns 51 this year · Spanish singer and songwriter known for Latin pop hits such as Bailamos, Hero,…
- Kate WinsletBorn October 5 · turns 51 this year · English actress known for Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and h…
- Tiger WoodsBorn December 30 · turns 51 this year · American golfer who won the Masters five times and dominated professional golf…
- Yuki UchidaBorn November 16 · turns 51 this year
- Pedro PascalBorn April 2 · turns 51 this year
- Kazuyoshi FunakiBorn April 27 · turns 51 this year
- Koji UeharaBorn April 3 · turns 51 this year
Show 28 more
- Mac SuzukiBorn May 31 · turns 51 this year
- BakarhythmBorn November 28 · turns 51 this year
- Jason SudeikisBorn September 18 · turns 51 this year
- Travis BarkerBorn November 14 · turns 51 this year
- Tobey MaguireBorn June 27 · turns 51 this year
- Bradley CooperBorn January 5 · turns 51 this year
- Asia ArgentoBorn September 20 · turns 51 this year
- Becky Kellar-DukeBorn January 1 · turns 51 this year
- Chris AnsteyBorn January 1 · turns 51 this year
- Fernando TatísBorn January 1 · turns 51 this year
- Joe CannonBorn January 1 · turns 51 this year
- Chris CheneyBorn January 2 · turns 51 this year
- Dax ShepardBorn January 2 · turns 51 this year
- Jeff SuppanBorn January 2 · turns 51 this year
- Reuben ThorneBorn January 2 · turns 51 this year
- Danica McKellarBorn January 3 · turns 51 this year
- Jason MarsdenBorn January 3 · turns 51 this year
- Thomas BangalterBorn January 3 · turns 51 this year
- Paul WatsonBorn January 4 · turns 51 this year
- Shane CarwinBorn January 4 · turns 51 this year
- Mike GrierBorn January 5 · turns 51 this year
- Warrick DunnBorn January 5 · turns 51 this year
- James FarriorBorn January 6 · turns 51 this year
- James BeckfordBorn January 9 · turns 51 this year
- Jake DelhommeBorn January 10 · turns 51 this year
- Dan LugerBorn January 11 · turns 51 this year
- Matteo RenziBorn January 11 · turns 51 this year
- Jason FreeseBorn January 12 · turns 51 this year
Events of 1975 (timeline · 121)
Tip: the PC view is best for studying
On a computer, each region has its own vertical line, so you can follow the flow of events and see what was happening in different parts of the world at the same time.
At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
This date overflowed the 12-bit field that had been used in TOPS-10. There were numerous problems and crashes related to this bug while an alternative format was developed.
The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.
Turkish Airlines Flight 345 crashes into the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport, killing 42.
Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
Riots break out in Lima, Peru after the police forces go on strike the day before. The uprising (locally known as the Limazo) is bloodily suppressed by the military dictatorship.
Fire at One World Trade Center (North Tower) of the World Trade Center in New York.
Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.
In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.
A fire at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Decatur, Alabama, causes a dangerous reduction in cooling water levels.
Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
Vietnam War: Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children in the closing stages of the war begins.
Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people.
Beirut bus massacre: A confrontation between Phalangist paramilitaries and PLO militia marks the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
The Cambodian Civil War ends and the Cambodian Genocide begins. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
South Vietnamese forces withdraw from the town of Xuan Loc in the last major battle of the Vietnam War.
Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departs for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closes in on victory.
Vietnam War: The North Vietnamese Army completes its capture of all parts of South Vietnam-held Trường Sa Islands.
Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon before an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end. This happens after the Bombing of Tan Son Nhut Air Base.
Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
During a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gather in Beirut for the 60th anniversary commemorations of the Armenian genocide.
Junko Tabei from Japan becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33, the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
At Brampton Centennial Secondary School, student Michael Slobodian kills two people and injures 13 others before committing suicide.
Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
Governor of California Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act into law, the first law in the United States giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights.
The United Kingdom holds its first country-wide referendum on membership of the European Economic Community (EEC).
British referendum results in continued membership of the European Economic Community, with 67% of votes in favour.
State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain: Judge Jagmohanlal Sinha rules against Indira Gandhi in a case on her election to the Indian Parliament, and that she should be banned from holding any public office, triggering a political crisis.
The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters".
Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York's JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.
Two FBI agents and a member of the American Indian Movement are killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota; Leonard Peltier is later convicted of the murders in a controversial trial.
Pope Paul VI ordains some 350 priests in St. Peter's Square in the largest ordination in history
Space Race: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project features the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first Soviet-United States human-crewed flight. It was the last launch of both an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets.
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.
Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again.
The Troubles: Three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland.
A privately chartered Boeing 707 strikes a mountain peak and crashes near Agadir, Morocco, killing 188.
The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages include the U.S. consul and the Swedish Chargé d'affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya.
East Timor: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
Takeo Miki makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II.
Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is killed along with most members of his family during a military coup.
Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically hands over land to the Gurindji people after the eight-year Wave Hill walk-off, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 song by Paul Kelly and an annual celebration.
ČSA Flight 540 crashes on approach to Damascus International Airport in Damascus, Syria, killing 126 people.
The Pontiac Silverdome opens in Pontiac, Michigan, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Detroit, Michigan.
The start of the Wave Hill walk-off by Gurindji people in Australia, lasting eight years, a landmark event in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia, commemorated in a 1991 Paul Kelly song and an annual celebration.
The Governor of Portuguese Timor abandons its capital, Dili, and flees to Atauro Island, leaving control to a rebel group.
El Tacnazo: Francisco Morales Bermúdez, Peruvian Prime Minister carries out a coup d'état in the city of Tacna, forcing the sitting President of Peru, Juan Velasco Alvarado, to resign and assuming his place as the new President.
Sacramento, California: Lynette Fromme attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford.
Gays in the military: US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "I Am A Homosexual". He is given a general discharge, later upgraded to honorable.
The French department of "Corse" (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse (Upper Corsica) and Corse-du-Sud (Southern Corsica).
Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is foiled by the Secret Service.
Southwest Face expedition members become the first persons to reach the summit of Mount Everest by any of its faces, instead of using a ridge route.
The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken hostage, takes place in London.
Malév Flight 240 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while on approach to Beirut International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 60.
An RAF Avro Vulcan bomber explodes and crashes over Żabbar, Malta after an aborted landing, killing five crew members and one person on the ground.
Indonesian troops kill the Balibo Five, a group of Australian journalists, in Portuguese Timor.
The Australian Coalition sparks a constitutional crisis when they vote to defer funding for the government's annual budget.
Three-year-old Rahima Banu, from Bangladesh, is the last known case of naturally occurring smallpox.
In Iceland, 90% of women take part in a national strike, refusing to work in protest of gender inequality.
Forty-five people are killed when Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450 crashes into Suchdol, Prague, while on approach to Prague Ruzyně Airport (now Václav Havel Airport Prague) in Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic).
Prince Juan Carlos I of Spain becomes acting head of state, taking over for the country's ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco.
In Bangladesh, a joint force of people and soldiers takes part in an uprising led by Colonel Abu Taher that ousts and kills Brigadier Khaled Mosharraf, freeing the then house-arrested army chief and future president Major General Ziaur Rahman.
The 729-foot-long freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks during a storm on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the United Nations General Assembly passes Resolution 3379, determining that Zionism is a form of racism.
Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam, appoints Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister and announces a general election to be held in early December.
Juan Carlos is declared King of Spain following the death of Francisco Franco two days earlier.
Coup of 25 November 1975, a failed military coup d'état by Portuguese far-left activists seeking to hijack the Portuguese transition to democracy to establish a communist regime.
The Provisional IRA assassinates Ross McWhirter, after a press conference in which McWhirter had announced a reward for the capture of those responsible for multiple bombings and shootings across England.
Laotian Civil War: The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a British couple hostage in their flat on Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege.
U.S. President Gerald Ford creates the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in response to the 1970s energy crisis.
Tu-144, the world's first commercial supersonic aircraft, surpassing Mach 2, goes into service.
A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring more than 75.
Source: Wikipedia date pages ("January 1" … "December 31") / CC BY-SA 4.0. Regions are assigned by the site editors.
FAQ
What year was 1975 in the Japanese calendar?
1975 was Showa 50 in the Japanese era system.
What Chinese zodiac animal is 1975?
1975 is the Year of the Rabbit.
How old is someone born in 1975?
They turn 51 on their birthday in 2026.
What happened in 1975?
In 1975, the Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train line opened all the way to Hakata, and Emperor Showa made his first official visit to the United States. Around the world, the fall of Saigon ended the Vietnam War, and Microsoft was founded.
Dates and events are based on Wikipedia and other references. Summaries and regions are written by the site editors.