1975 -- It was a very good year....
January -- Altair 8800 is released, sparking the era of the microcomputer.
January 1 -- Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up.
January 6 -- Wheel of Fortune premieres on NBC.
January 12 -- Super Bowl IX: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Minnesota Vikings 16-6 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
January 20 - Michael Ovitz founds the Creative Artists Agency.
January 29 -- The Weather Underground bombs the U.S. State Department main office in Washington, D.C.
February 13 -- Fire breaks out in the World Trade Center.
February 23 -- In response to the energy crisis, daylight savings time commences nearly 2 months early in the US.
February 28 -- A major tube train crash at Moorgate Station, London kills 43 people.
March 4 -- Charlie Chaplin is knighted by Elizabeth II.
March 9 -- Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
April - Jack Nicklaus wins the Masters.
April 4 -- Bill Gates founds Microsoft in Albuquerque, NM.
April 30 -- The Fall of Saigon: The Vietnam War ends as Communist forces take Saigon, resulting in mass evacuations of Americans and South Vietnamese. As the capital is taken, South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally.
May 25 -- Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser wins for a second time in a rain-shortened 174 lap, 435 mile race.
June 5 -- The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the Six-Day War.
July 31 -- In Detroit, Michigan, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing.
August 20 -- Viking Program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe towards Mars.
September 5 -- In Sacramento, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a following of jailed cult leader Charles Manson, attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a Secret Service agent.
September 5 -- The London Hilton hotel is bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army; 2 people are killed and 63 wounded.
September 18 -- Fugitive Patricia Hearst is captured in San Francisco.
October 1 -- "The Thrilla in Manila": Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
October 11 -- NBC premieres "Saturday Night Live"! George Carlin is the first host; musical guests are Billy Preston and Janis Ian.
October 22 -- World Series: The Reds defeat the Red Sox four games to three in a broadcast that breaks records for a televised sporting event.
November 3 -- The long running "The Price Is Right" goes from 30 minutes to its current hour-long format.
November 10 -- The 729-foot-long freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks during a storm 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew on board (an event immortalized in song by Gordon Lightfoot).
November 20 -- Former California Governor Ronald Reagan enters the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
November 20 -- Spanish dictator Francisco Franco dies in Madrid, effectively marking the end of the dictatorship established following the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of Spain's transition to democracy.
November 26 -- The cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" debuts in America.
November 29 -- The name "Micro-soft" (for microcomputer software) is used by Bill Gates in a letter to Paul Allen for the first time (Microsoft becomes a registered trademark on November 26, 1976).
December 29 -- A bomb explosion at LaGuardia Airport kills 11.
1975 World Population -- 4,068,109,000
Best Picture of 1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Who was Born in 1975?
1/3/75 - Danica McKellar ("The Wonder Years")
1/29/75 - Sara Gilbert
2/22/75 - Drew Barrymore
3/15/75 - Eva Longoria Parker
3/27/75 - Fergie (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
4/6/75 - Zach Braff
4/7/75 - Ronde and Tiki Barber
5/2/75 - David Beckham
5/10/75 - Helio Castroneves
6/4/75 - Angelina Jolie
7/11/75 - Lil' Kim
7/27/75 - A-Rod
8/7/75 - Charlize Theron
9/9/75 - Michael Buble'
11/21/75 - Chris Moneymaker (poker player)
12/30/75 - Tiger Woods
Who Died in 1975:
3/14/75 - Actress Susan Hayward
3/15/75 - Ari Onassis
5/5/75 - Moe Howard (Three Stooges)
5/23/75 - Moms Mabley
6/28/75 - Rod Serling
9/29/75 - Casey Stengel