This is a list of important events the occured during 1975. Exact dates are listed when known.

We also have pages on this topic devoted to the 80s and 90s

• General Francisco Franco dies
  Paving the way for democratic reforms under his heir, Juan Carlos over the next two years.
  
  
• Portugal withdraws from Guinea
  
  
• Lebanon civil war begins
  Sparked by Christians killing a busload of Palestinians and other Muslims, the country was quickly thrown into a war between the privlidged christians and the poor muslims.
  
  
• Saigon falls to communism
  America suspended it's aid two years after removing it's military forces. In April, US official ordered the remaining 1000 US citizens to evacuate to the embasssy in Saigon. This lead to the now famous image of citizens climbing the ladder to helicoptors to be airlifted out of the city.
  
  
• The Altair, the first home computer is introduced
  No screen, no printer, not a single luxury. A kit computer you had to assemble parts for yourself, based on the Z-80 microprocessor.
  
  
• Computerized Supermarket checkouts begin to appear
  
  
• Disposable razors are introduced
  
  
• Catalytic converters are introduced on cars
  
  
• Lyme disease first discovered
  
  
• First US born Roman Catholic saint
  
  
• Jimmy Hoffa disappears
  
  
• Ford assasination attempts
  Lynette "Squaky" Fromme, a Charles Manson follower, pointed a gun at Ford, though no shots were fired. This was followed by Sara Jane Moore 17 days later to shoot the president in a crowd.
  
  
• New York City is bailed out by federal government
  
  
• Literacy requirement for voting repelled
  
  
• Energy Policy and Coservation Act of 1975
  Sets importation quotas on petroleum
  
  
• Metric Conversion Act passed in the US
  A big failure too, widely ignored by people.
  
  
• Poland treaty allowing immigration to West Germany
  
  
• 8,000 ceramic warriors discovered in China
  Life sized statues of warriors, and over 10,000 artifacts of gold, jade, silk and iron were discovered in the tomb of emperor Shih Huang-ti, ruller from 221 to 206 BC
  
  
• Mayaguez Incident
  The United States' merchant ship, the SS Mayaguez, was seized in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia because of alledged contraband. The 39 crew members were held captive for three days, until a rescue attempt was made by President Gerald Ford that resulted in the death of 41 American marines.
  
  
• Moorgate Tube Disaster
  (Central London, UK) 43 killed when the underground (subway) train traveling on the Drayton Park branch of the Northen Line crashed into a dead end tunnel.
  
  
• Ford Assasination Attempt
  Lynette "Squaky" Fromme, a Charles Manson follower, pointed a gun at Ford, though no shots were fired. This was followed by Sara Jane Moore 17 days later to shoot the president in a crowd.
  
  
• Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
  This boat sank in Lake Superior in 1975. Gordon Lightfoot sang a ballad about the event the following year.
  
  
• Founding Of Microsoft
  Microsoft was founded in 1975
  
  
• Patty Hearst Is Arrested By The FBI
  After a 19 month search, Patty Hearst is arrested.
  
  
• Alaska Pipeline Construction Begins
  The Alaska pipeline was started on March 13, 1975 and finshed on may 3, 1977 and produces more than 15% on America's oil today.
  
  
• Apollo-Soyuz Mission
  First joint US-USSR space mission. Astronauts from both nations joined their crafts using a specially-designed docking module. This was seen publicly as a step forward in improving relations between the two superpowers.
  
  

[1970] [1971] [1972] [1973] [1974] =[1975]= [1976] [1977] [1978] [1979] [1980s] [1990s]

We also have pages on this topic devoted to the 80s and 90s

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