1975 (MCMLXXV) was .

Events 
 January 28 – George Lucas creates the second draft of what would eventually become Star Wars. At this time, the title of the story was Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode One of The Star Wars.
 March – Production begins on Star Wars
 March 26 – The movie version of The Who's Tommy premiers in London
 July – In order to create the necessary special effects for his movie, Star Wars, George Lucas forms Industrial Light and Magic.
 July 5 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win Wimbledon singles tennis title.
 September 5 – Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme attempts to shoot President Gerald Ford, but is stopped.
 September 22 – US President Gerald Ford survives another assassination attempt, this time by Sara Jane Moore.
 October 11 – Saturday Night Live airs for the first time.
 November 10 – The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks.
 November 11 – Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam sacked by Governor-General Sir John Kerr.
 November 20 – Spanish fascist dictator Francisco Franco dies at the age of 82.
 Jaws becomes the first movie to ever gross US$100 million in North America, setting the standard for future blockbusters.
 The Vietnam War ends.

Births 

 January 8 – Tift Merritt, American singer and songwriter
 January 17 – CoCo Lee, Chinese singer
 February 4 – Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer and actress
 February 22 – Drew Barrymore, American actress
 March 15 – Eva Longoria, American actress
 March 27 – Fergie, American singer (Black Eyed Peas)
 April 6 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, and screenwriter
 April 14 – Anderson Silva, Brazilian martial artist
 April 26 – Joey Jordison, American musician (Slipknot)
 May 2 – David Beckham, English football player
 May 2 – Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger, American astronaut
 May 8 – Enrique Iglesias, Spanish singer
 May 10 – Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian racecar driver
 May 27 – Jamie Oliver, English celebrity chef
 June 4 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor
 June 4 – Angelina Jolie, American actress
 June 8 – Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress and model
 June 30 – Ralf Schumacher, German racing driver
 June 30 – Rami Shaaban, Swedish footballer
 July 6 – 50 Cent, American rapper
 July 9 – Shelton Benjamin, American wrestler
 July 9 – Jack White, American actor and musician
 July 11 – Lil' Kim, American rapper
 July 17 – Terence Tao, Australian mathematician
 August 7 – Charlize Theron, South African actress
 August 22 – Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian actor
 September 17 – Constantine Maroulis, American singer
 September 20 – Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian NASCAR driver
 September 22 – Ole Petter Andreassen, Norwegian musician
 September 30 – Wopke Hoekstra, Dutch politician
 October 5 – Kate Winslet, English actress
 October 9 – Sean Lennon, American musician
 October 10 – Rumiko Takahashi, Japanese manga artist
 October 14 – Floyd Landis, American cyclist
 November 22 – Aiko, Japanese singer
 December 5 – Ronnie O'Sullivan, English snooker player
 December 6 – Andrea Agnelli, Italian businessman
 December 17 – Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American model and actress
 December 27 – Heather O'Rourke, American actress (d. 1988)
 December 30 – Scott Chipperfield, Australian footballer
 December 30 – Tiger Woods, American golfer

Deaths 
 April 23 – Peter Ham, Welsh singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
 April 23 – William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908)
 May 28 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
 May 28 – Lung Chien, Chinese movie srceenwriter and director (b. 1916)
 August 9 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (b. 1906)
 August 15 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bengali (b. 1922) 
 August 15 – Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, Bengali Mother of the Nation (b. 1930) 
 August 27 – Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (b. 1892)
 October 29 – Éamon de Valera, Irish politician (b. 1882)
 November 3 - Tajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1925)
 November 3 - Syed Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1925)
 November 20 – Francisco Franco, Spanish dictator (b. 1892)
 November 21 – Gunnar Gunnarsson, Icelandic writer (b. 1889)

Movies released 
 Dog Day Afternoon
 Jaws
 Monty Python and the Holy Grail
 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 ''The Apple Dumpling Gang

Hit songs 
 "At 17"-Janis Ian
 "Bad Time" – Grand Funk Railroad
 "Ballroom Blitz" – Sweet
 "Blitzkrieg Bop"- The Ramones
 "Born To Run" – Bruce Springsteen
 "Calypso" – John Denver
 "Cut The Cake" – Average White Band
 "Feelings" – Morris Albert
 "Free Bird" – Lynyrd Skynyrd
 "Get Down Tonight" – K.C. and the Sunshine Band
 "Hey You" – Bachman Turner Overdrive
 "Holy Roller" – Nazareth
 "How Sweet It Is" – James Taylor
 "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" – ABBA
 "The Late Show" – Jackson Browne
 "Lyin' Eyes" – The Eagles
 "No No Song" – Ringo Starr
 "Rock and Roll All Night" – Kiss
 "Roll On Down The Highway" – Bachman Turner Overdrive
 "Saturday Night Special" – Lynyrd Skynyrd
 "Shame, Shame, Shame" – Shirley and Company
 "SOS" – ABBA
 "Sweet Emotion" – Aerosmith
 "Trampled Underfoot" – Led Zeppelin
 "When Will I Be Loved" – Linda Ronstadt
 "Who Loves You" – The Four Seasons
 "Why Can't We Be Friends" – War
 "You Are So Beautiful" – Joe Cocker