1975

**1975** (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday in the Gregorian calendar.

## 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 1 - The Ellice Islands split from the Gilbert Islands (present-day Kiribati) and change their name to Tuvalu.
- 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 19 – Ion Cordoneanu, Romanian guitarist (Dr. Feelgood Band), teacher
- February 22 – Drew Barrymore, American actress
- March 9 - Adonal Foyle, Vincentian-American basketball player
- 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 3 - Ferrid Kheder, French judoka and mixed martial artist
- 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 6 – Mia Love, American politician (d. 2025)
- 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

### March

- March 14 - Susan Hayward, American actress (b. 1917)
- March 14 - Günther Reindorff, Estonian graphic designer (b. 1899)
- March 25 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia (b. 1906)

### April

- April 5 – Chiang Kai-shek, President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
- April 12 - Josephine Baker, American dancer, singer and actress (b. 1906)
- April 13 - François Tombalbaye, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
- April 17 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 2nd President of India (b. 1888)
- April 21 – Ranieri Mazzilli, President of Brazil (b. 1910)
- April 23 – Peter Ham, Welsh singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
- April 23 – William Hartnell, English actor (b. 1908)

### May

- May 28 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
- May 28 – Lung Chien, Chinese movie srceenwriter and director (b. 1916)

### June

- June 3 - Eisaku Satō, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1901)
- June 3 – Ozzie Nelson, American band leader, producer, director, and actor (b. 1906)

### August

- August 9 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer (b. 1906)
- August 15 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (b. 1920)
- August 27 – Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (b. 1892)
- August 29 – Éamon de Valera, President of Ireland (b. 1882)

### September

- September 25 – Heinz Müller, German bicycle racer (b. 1924)

### November

- November 3 - Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1925)
- November 3 - Syed Nazrul Islam, acting President of Bangladesh (b. 1925)
- November 3 - Muhammad Mansur Ali, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1919)
- November 20 – Francisco Franco, Spanish dictator (b. 1892)
- November 21 – Gunnar Gunnarsson, Icelandic writer (b. 1889)

### December

- December 24 – Bernard Herrmann, American composer and conductor (b. 1911)