1975

1975
January
• The Altair 8800 was released in January, this sparked the microcomputer revolution

• The Golf was introduced by Volkswagen in January 1979. This was their new front wheel drive economy car, in the U.S. and Canada as the Volkswagen Rabbit.

• Work was abandoned by workers on the British end of the Channel Tunnel on 1st January.

• Lilongwe was the new name given to Malawi’s capital instead on Zomba. This name changed took place on 1st January.

• The United States Patent and Trademark Office was renamed U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on 2nd January.

• The United States Congress approved the Federal Rules of Evidence on 2nd January.

• Wheel of Fortune was premiered on NBC on 6th January.

• AM America made its television debut on ABC on 6th January.

• Crude oil prices were risen y 10% after OPEC agreed to do so on 7th January.

• 17 year old Heiress Lesley Whittle was kidnapped from her home in Shropshire, England by Donald Neilson on 14th January.

• International Women’s Year was launched in Britain by Princess Alexandra and Barbara Castle on 15th January.

• Angola gained its independence from Portugal on 15th January.

• Atomic Energy divided between ERDA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission on 18th January.

• In response to the 1973 oil crisis, the United States Energy Research and Development Administration was founded on 19th January.

• The Creative Artists Agency was founded on 20th January by Michael Ovitz.
February
• The Philippines launched the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation on 1st February.

• The first successfully predicted earthquake was the Haicheng earthquake that happened on 4th February. The earthquake killed 2,041 people and injured a further 27,538 in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.

• The Soyuz 17 crew returned to earth on 9th February. This was after 1 month aboard the Salyut 4 space station.

• The UK Conservative Party leader was Margaret Thatcher after she defeated Edward Heath on 11th February.

• The World Trade Centre broke out in to flames on 13th February.

• Daylight saving time commenced nearly months early in the United States on 23rd February, with response to the energy crisis.
March
• Charlie Chaplin was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 4th March.

• Also on 4th March, a Canadian parliamentary committee was televised for the first time.

• Lesley Whittle, body of teenage Heiress was kidnapped found in Staffordshire, England on 7th March, after being kidnapped 7 weeks earlier by the “Black Panther”.

• International Women’s Day was proclaimed by the United Nations on 8th March.

• The construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began on 9th March.

• The Rocky Horror Show opened on the Broadway in New York City with four performances on 10th March.

• Netherlands won the 20th Eurovision Song Contest on 22nd March. Ding a dong by Tech - In won the contest for them.

• King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot dead by his nephew on 25th March. His nephew was beheaded on 18th June.

• 25 people were killed after a fire in the maternity wing at Kucic Hospital in Rijeka was started on 28th March.
April
• Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates on 4th April, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

• Eight people in South Korea were hung for being involved in the People’s Revolutionary Party Incident on 9th April.

• A bus was attacked on 13th April, in Ain El Remmeneh, Lebanon by the Kataeb Militia, killing 27 Palestinians. This triggered the Lebanese civil war.

• Six Red Army Faction terrorists were captured by Swedish Police, shortly after taking over the West German embassy in Stockholm, and taking 11 hostages and demanding the release of the group’s jailed members on 24th April.
May
• Virginia opened the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Theme Park on 5th May.

• The first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest was Junko Tabei, who completed her mission on 16th May.

• The highest ever toll in a UK road accident happened on 27th May, when the Dribble’s Bridge coach crash near Grassington, North Yorkshire, England, resulted in 32 deaths.
June
• The Suez Canal was opened for the first time since the six-day war on 5th June.

• Also on 5th June, the UK voted yes in a referendum to stay in the European Community.

• The Order of Australia was awarded for the first time on 9th June.

• Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India, and suspended civil liberties and elections on 25th June.

• Also on 25th June, Mozambique gained independence from Portugal.
July
• Sydney’s newspaper publisher Juanita Nielsen disappeared on 4th July. It was presumed that she was murdered.

• After 500 years of being ruled by Portugal, Cape Verde finally gained its independence on 5th July.

• The Comoros declared their independence from France on 6th July.

• On 17th July the first linkup between spacecrafts from America and Soviet was marked when an American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft docked in orbit.
August
• The Helsinki Accords were signed on 1st August in Finland. The Helsinki Accords officially recognises Europe’s national borders and respect for human rights.

• The Louisiana Superdome opened in New Orleans on 3rd August.

• The British Leyland Motor Corporation came under British government control on 11th August.

• The Birmingham six were wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment in Great Britain on 15th August.

• On 15th August, President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh was killed during a coup that was led by Major Syed Faruque Rahman.

• Planetary probe, Viking 1 was launched towards Mars on 20th August.

• Officers that were responsible for the military coup in Greece in 1967 were sentenced to death in Athens on 24th August. The sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment.
September
• Between September and October, a march was led, in New Zealand 5,000 people supported Maori leader Whina Cooper. The march was an attempt to claim their land.

• 2 people were killed and 63 people were injured after the Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed the London Hilton hotel on 5th September.

• An earthquake that measured 6.7 on the Richter scale, in Diyarbakir and Lice, Turkey on 6th September, killed at least 2,085 people.

• The first American Roman Catholic saint, Elizabeth Seton, was canonised on 14th September.

• “The Night Watch”, a painting by Rembrandt was slashed a dozen times at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and 14th September.

• On 16th September, Papua New Guinea gained its independence from Australia.

• A second assassination was unsuccessfully attempted towards U.S. President Gerald Ford on 22nd September, by Sara Jane Moore in San Francisco.

• The Spaghetti House siege took place in London on 28th September.

• The Hughes Helicopters, AH-64 Apache made their first flight on 30th September.
October
• 6 people were killed after an explosives factory in Beloeil, Quebec, was blasted on 2nd October.

• A bomb was set off outside the Green Park tube station near Piccadilly in London on 9th October. This caused 1 death and 20 injuries.

• Saturday Night Live had its first aired episode on 11th October. The show was aired by NBC. Host George Carlin’s first musical guests were Billy Preston and Janis Ian.

• Robert Poulin killed 1 and wounded 5 others as St. Pius X High School in Ottawa, Canada. He then shot himself. This incident happened on 27th October.

• “Yorkshire Ripper”, Peter Sutcliffe, committed his first murder on 29th October. His first victim was Wilma McCann.
November
• One of U.S.’s largest toy manufacturers, revealed on 3rd November that company officials fabricated press releases and financial information to “maintain the appearance of continued corporate growth”

• Also on 3rd November, the first petroleum pipeline was opened from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth Scotland.

• The Price is Right, a long- running television game show, expanded from 30 minutes to its 1 hour long format on CBS on 3rd November.

• One of the most popular World War II songs in the USSR, “Den Pobedy” was revived on 10th November, by Lev Leshchenko.

• The first annual Vogalonga rowing race was held in Venice Italy on 11th November.

• Also on 11th November, Angola became independent from Portugal.

• The Third Cod War began on 16th November. The war was between UK and Iceland and lasted until June 1976.

• After the death of Dictator Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was declared King of Spain on 22nd November.

• America released the cult classic movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on 26th November.

• The Provisional Irish Republican Army shot Ross McWhirter, the co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, on 27th November, for offering reward money to informers.

• Bill Gates used the name “Micro-soft” in a letter for Paul Allen for the first time on 29th November. The name originated from microcomputer software. On 26th November 1976 Microsoft became a registered trademark.
December
• On 8th December, NYC was approved for bailout of 2.3 billion each year through to 1978. This totalled 6.9 billion.

• Indonesia invaded East Timor on 7th December.

• The Iron Maiden was formed by Steve Harris on 25th December.

• A bomb explosion on 29th December in LaGuardia Airport killed 11 people.