1975 in the United States

1975 in the United States
Decades:	1950s 1960s – 1970s – 1980s 1990s
Years:	1972 1973 1974 – 1975 – 1976 1977 1978
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Timeline of United States history History of the United States (1964–1980)

Events from the year 1975 in the United States.

Incumbents

• President: Gerald Ford (Republican)
• Vice President: Nelson Rockefeller (Republican)
• Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: Carl Albert (D-Oklahoma)
• Senate Majority Leader: Mike Mansfield (D-Montana)
• Congress: 93rd (until January 3), 94th (starting January 3)

Events

January

• January – Volkswagen introduces the Golf, its new front-wheel-drive economy car, in the United States and Canada as the Volkswagen Rabbit.
• January 1 – Watergate scandal: John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up.
• January 2 – The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.
• January 6 – AM America makes its television debut on ABC.
• January 6 – Wheel of Fortune premieres on NBC.
• January 8 – Ella Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman U.S. governor who did not succeed her husband.
• January 8 – U.S. President Gerald Ford appoints Vice President Nelson Rockefeller to head a special commission looking into alleged domestic abuses by the CIA.
• January 12 – Super Bowl IX: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Minnesota Vikings 16–6 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• January 29 – The Weather Underground bombs the U.S. State Department main office in Washington, D.C..

February

• February 13 – Fire breaks out in the World Trade Center.
• February 21 – Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell, and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, are sentenced to between 30 months and 8 years in prison.
• February 23 – In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly 2 months early in the United States.

March

• March 9 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
• March 10 – The Rocky Horror Show opens on Broadway in New York City with 4 performances.

April

• April 3 – Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title.
• April 4 – Vietnam War: The first military Operation Babylift flight, C5A 80218, crashes 27 minutes after takeoff, killing 138 on board; 176 survive the crash.
• April 4 – Bill Gates founds Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• April 30 – Vietnam War: 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

• May 5 – The Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park, originally known as Busch Gardens: The Old Country, opens in Williamsburg, Virginia.
• May 12 – Mayaguez incident: Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia seize the United States merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
• May 15 – Mayaguez incident: The American merchant ship Mayaguez, seized by Cambodian forces, is rescued by the U.S. Navy and Marines; 38 Americans are killed.
• May 25 – Indianapolis 500: Bobby Unser wins for a second time in a rain-shorted 174 lap, 435 mile (696 km) race.

June

• June 10 – In Washington, DC, the Rockefeller Commission issues its report on CIA abuses, recommending a joint congressional oversight committee on intelligence.
• June 26 – Two FBI agents and 1 AIM member die in a shootout, at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

July 17: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project orbital docking

July

• July 17 – Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock in orbit, marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations. It is also the last Apollo mission and the last manned U.S. space mission until STS-1 (the first Space Shuttle orbital flight).
• July 31 – In Detroit, Michigan, Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa is reported missing.

August

• August 5 – U.S. President Ford posthumously pardons Robert E. Lee, restoring full rights of citizenship.
• August 8 – Samuel Bronfman, son of the president of Seagram's, is kidnapped in Purchase, New York.
• August 20 – Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.

September

• September 5 – In Sacramento, California, Lynette Fromme, a follower of jailed cult leader Charles Manson, attempts to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a Secret Service agent.
• September 14 – Elizabeth Seton is canonized, becoming the first American Roman Catholic saint.
• September 18 – Fugitive Patricia Hearst is captured in San Francisco.
• September 22 – U.S. President Gerald Ford survives a second assassination attempt, this time by Sara Jane Moore in San Francisco.

October

• October 1 – Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
• October 11 – NBC airs the first episode of Saturday Night Live (George Carlin is the first host; Billy Preston and Janis Ian the first musical guests).
• October 21–22 – 1975 World Series: The Boston Red Sox defeat the Cincinnati Reds in Game Six off Carlton Fisk's twelfth inning home run.

November

• November 3 – An independent audit of Mattel, one of the United States' largest toy manufacturers, reveals that company officials fabricated press releases and financial information to "maintain the appearance of continued corporate growth."
• November 10 – The bulk carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sinks 15 miles off of Whitefish Point with all hands.
• November 20 – Former California Governor Ronald Reagan enters the race for the Republican presidential nomination, challenging incumbent President Gerald Ford.
• 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).
• November 29 – While disabled, the submarine tender USS Proteus (AS-19) discharges radioactive coolant water into Apra Harbor, Guam. A Geiger counter at two of the harbor's public beaches shows 100 millirems/hour, 50 times the allowable dose.

December

• December 8 – New York City is approved for bailout of $2.3 billion each year through to 1978 – $6.9 billion total.
• December 23 – United States Congress passes the Metric Conversion Act which encourages, but does not mandate, metrication in the United States and establishes the Metric Board.
• December 29 – A bomb explosion at LaGuardia Airport kills 11.

Ongoing

• Cold War (1945–1991)
• Space Race (1957–1975)
• Détente (c. 1969–1979)
• Capital punishment suspended by Furman v. Georgia (1972–1976)
• 1970s energy crisis (1973–1980)

Births

This section requires expansion.

• March 16 – Tara Buck, actress
• September 22 – Roberto Flores (stage name Lil Rob)

Deaths

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

External links

• Media related to 1975 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons