1975

Facts and Events That Happened in This Year

Dec 6

A six-day siege began in London when an IRA unit took a couple hostage in their flat while fleeing the police.

Nov 29

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Hawaii.

Nov 28

East Timor declared its independence from Portugal.

Nov 27

Ross McWhirter, who co-founded the Guinness Book of World Records with his twin brother, was shot dead.

Nov 25

The Netherlands granted Suriname independence, and has since been celebrated as Suriname Independence Day.

Nov 3

Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the flow of oil from the UK's first-ever oil pipeline.

Oct 26

The US received Anwar Sadat, its first Egyptian presidential visit.

Oct 23

Elton John became the 1,662nd person to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Oct 22

The first images from the surface of Venus were received after the Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 landed on the planet.

Oct 20

The Soviet spacecraft Venera 9 went into Venus' orbit – making it the first to do so.

Oct 20

The US Supreme Court ruled to allow teachers to spank students even against their parent's wishes.

Oct 11

The American sketch comedy series 'Saturday Night Live' premiered on US television.

Sep 14

Pope Paul VI canonized Elizabeth Anne Seton as the first American saint.

Aug 20

NASA launched the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.

Jul 30

17-year-old Neville Ebbin was riding his electric cycle down a stretch of road in Bermuda when he was hit and killed by a taxi driver named Willard Manders.

Jul 24

Luxury fashion brand Giorgio Armani was founded in Milan, Italy.

Jul 17

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project completed the world's first international space rendezvous.

Jul 15

The first-ever international crewed space mission was jointly launched by the US and the USSR.

Jul 5

The Republic of Cabo Verde gained its independence from Portugal.

Feb 11

Margaret Thatcher became the leader of the British Conservative Party.

Jan 24

The world's first McDonald's drive-through was opened in Arizona.

Jan 15

Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida.

Jan 10

The Soviet Union's Soyuz 17 was successfully launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Soyuz rocket.