What Happened in August 1975

Historical Events

  • Aug 1 35 countries (33 European nations, Canada, and the U.S.) sign the"Helsinki Final Act" agreement concerning boundary integrity; human rights; and economic co-operation
  • Aug 1 41st Chicago Charities College All-Star Game: Pittsburgh 21, All-Stars 14 (54,103)
  • Aug 1 CSCE Final Act creates the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe
  • Aug 2 104°F (40°C) at Providence, Rhode Island (state record)
  • Aug 2 107°F (42°C) at Chester/New Bedford, Massachusetts (state record)
  • Aug 3 500 drown when 2 river boats collide and sink in China's West River
  • Aug 3 Louisiana Superdome is dedicated
  • Aug 3 Poland and West Germany reach accord about returning ethnic Germans

Music History

Aug 4 Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is seriously hurt in a car crash in Rhodes, Greece

  • Aug 5 Philadelphia Phillies create MLB record when first 8 batters get hits off Bill Bonham, beat Cubs 13-5

Contract of Interest

Aug 5 Stevie Wonder signs a 7-year, 7 album, with $13 million advance contract with Motown Records

  • Aug 8 As a result of rainfall from Typhoon Nina, the Banqiao Dam in China fails, causing the collapse of almost 6 million buildings and 229,000 deaths

Music History

Aug 8 Hank Williams Jr. falls off the side of Ajax Peak in Montana

  • Aug 9 1st NFL game in Louisiana Superdome, Houston beats Saints 13-7
  • Aug 9 Dodger Davey Lopes steals record 32nd consecutive base without being caught

Film & TV History

Aug 10 David Frost purchases exclusive rights to interview former US President Richard Nixon

PGA Championship

Aug 10 PGA Championship Men's Golf, Firestone CC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th PGA crown by 2 shots from Australian Bruce Crampton

  • Aug 11 Expos' Jose Mangual struck out 5 times in a game
  • Aug 11 US vetoes proposed admission of North & South Vietnam to UN

Cricket History

Aug 13 Batsman Viv Richards out for 291 v England for the West Indies, at the cricket Oval, London

  • Aug 13 Bayardo Bar attack: Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers carry out a gun and bomb attack on a pub in Belfast frequented by Ulster Volunteer Force commanders; 4 Protestant civilians and 1 UVF member are killed
  • Aug 14 King of Norway Olav V opens Svalbard Airport near Longyearbyen, the northernmost airport in the world with scheduled public flights

Music History

Aug 14 Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich is buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow

Bangladesh Coup d'état

Aug 15 Army officers in Bangladesh stage a military coup d'état, assassinate elected President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most members of his family and install Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad as President

Sholay

Aug 15 Indian action-adventure film "Sholay" directed by Ramesh Sippy, starring Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan is released, highest-grossing Indian film ever

  • Aug 15 Joanne Little acquitted of murdering her prison guard in North Carolina - 1st woman to successfully use defense of deadly force to resist rape
  • Aug 15 Miki Takeo makes the first official pilgrimage to Yasukuni Shrine by an incumbent prime minister on the anniversary of the end of World War II

Music History

Aug 16 British singer Peter Gabriel announces his departure from the rock group Genesis

  • Aug 16 Musical revue "Rodgers & Hart" closes at Helen Hayes Theater, NYC, after 108 performances
  • Aug 20 Il-62 crashes south of Damascus, Syria, killing 126
  • Aug 20 Viking 1 launched to orbit around Mars, soft landing
  • Aug 21 3 truck pile up kills 10, injures 26 on French highway
  • Aug 21 Rick & Paul Reuschel become 1st brothers to pitch a combined shut out
  • Aug 21 US lightens trade embargo against Cuba
  • Aug 22 McNichols Sports Arena in Denver opens
  • Aug 23 British "Free" guitarist Paul Kossoff revived from dead after heart attack, dies for good in 1976
  • Aug 23 Classical Way wins Championship Cup at Roosevelt Raceway
  • Aug 23 Communists take over Laos
  • Aug 23 Ethiopian junta under Mengistu Haile
  • Aug 23 Philip Kapleau conducts 1st jukai ceremony in Poland
  • Aug 23 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
  • Aug 24 Davey Lopes steals his 38th consecutive base, then thrown out stealing
  • Aug 24 Papadopoulos, Pattakos and Makarezos sentenced to death in Athens

PGA Players Championship

Aug 24 PGA Tournament Players Championship, Colonial CC: Al Geiberger leads wire-to-wire to finish 3 strokes ahead of runner-up Dave Stockton

  • Aug 24 SF Giant Ed Halick no-hits NY Giants, 6-0
  • Aug 24 Tampa Bay Rowdies beat Portland 2-0 for NASL cup

Born To Run

Aug 25 Columbia Records releases Bruce Springsteen's landmark third album "Born To Run"

  • Aug 27 1st night match at US Tennis Open (Parun defeats Smith)
  • Aug 27 Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) complete tandem bicycle ride, a record 18,020 miles around the world
  • Aug 29 Star in Cygnus goes nova becoming 4th brightest in sky
  • Aug 30 KTW-AM in Seattle, Washington changes call letters to KYAC (now KKFX)
1975 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Aug 1 Mandy Leigh, American actress (Bloodscent), born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
  • Aug 2 Ingrid Rubio, Spanish actress (Infidels), born in Barcelona, Spain
  • Aug 2 Mineiro [Carlos Luciano da Silva], Brazilian footballer, born in Porto Alegre, Brazil
  • Aug 3 Aryiro Strataki, Greek heptathlete, born in Heraklion, Greece
  • Aug 3 Chris Nevin, New Zealand cricket wicketkeeper-batsman (37 ODIs, 19 dismissals), born in Dunedin, New Zealand
  • Aug 3 N. D. Kalu, American defensive end (Philadelphia Eagles), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Aug 3 Trevor Pryce, American NFL defensive tackle (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Aug 4 Andy Hallett, American actor
  • Aug 4 Beau Morgan, running back (Dallas Cowboys)
  • Aug 4 Daniella van Graas, Dutch model and actress
  • Aug 4 Kaipo Spenser, Wailuku HI, baseball pitcher (Olympic bronze 1996)
  • Aug 5 Antony Cotton, English actor (Coronation Street), born in Bury, England
  • Aug 5 Eicca Toppinen, Finnish cellist (Apocalyptica), born in Vantaa, Finland
  • Aug 5 Stéphanie Szostak, French-American Actress (Dinner for Schmucks; A Million Little Things), born in Paris, France
  • Aug 6 Jamie McGonnigal, American actor
  • Aug 6 Renate Götschl, Austrian alpine skier
  • Aug 6 Victor Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
  • Aug 7 Alshermond Singleton, American NFL linebacker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in Newark, New Jersey

Charlize Theron (48 years old)

Aug 7 South African actress (Mad Max, The Cider House Rules, Monster), born in Benoni, Transvaal

  • Aug 7 Edgar Renteria, Colombian baseball player (Florida Marlins), born in Barranquilla, Colombia
  • Aug 7 Gaahl [Kristian Eivind Espedal], Norwegian black metal vocalist (Gorgoroth), born in Sunnfjord, Norway
  • Aug 7 Jimmy van Fessem, Dutch football goalkeeper (Willem II), born in Tilburg, Netherlands
  • Aug 7 Koray Candemir, Turkish singer, songwriter and producer (Kargo; maSKott), born in Istanbul, Turkey
  • Aug 8 Jeremy Scott, American fashion designer (Moschino), born in Kansas City, Missouri
  • Aug 9 Mahesh Babu, Indian actor,' Prince of Tollywood', born in Madras, India
  • Aug 9 Mike Lamb, American baseball player, born in West Covina, California
  • Aug 11 Chris Kelly [Mack Daddy], rapper (Kris Kross - "Warm It Up"), born in Teaneck, New Jersey
  • Aug 11 Davey von Bohlen, American musician, (The Promise Ring, Maritime)
  • Aug 11 Ronald Clarke, American musician and founder of aliennetwork Records
  • Aug 12 Anders Myrvold, Norwegian NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche), born in Lorenskog, Norway

Casey Affleck (48 years old)

Aug 12 American actor (Manchester by the Sea, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), born in Falmouth, Massachusetts

  • Aug 12 Paul Gaudoin, Australian field hockey halfback (Champions Trophy gold 1999; Olympic bronze 1996, 2000) and coach (Australian women's team 2016-21), born in Perth, Australia
  • Aug 12 Regan Upshaw, American NFL player (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), born in Berrien Springs, Michigan
  • Aug 13 James Carpinello, American actor (Rock of Ages), born in Albany, New York
  • Aug 13 Joe Perry, English snooker player, born in Wisbech, England
  • Aug 13 Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistani cricket fast bowler (regarded as fastest bowler in history 161.3km/h; 46 Tests, 178 wickets, BB 6/11; Somerset CCC, Durham CCC, Worcestershire CCC), born in Morgah, Pakistan
  • Aug 14 Mike Vrabel, American NFL linebacker (Super Bowl 2001, 03, 04, New England Patriots) and coach (Tennessee Titans 2018-20), born in Akron, Ohio
  • Aug 14 Viaceslav Ivanovski, Israeli weightlifter, born in Novosibirsk, Russia
  • Aug 15 Bertrand Berry, American NFL football linebacker, 1997-2009 (Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals), and radio broadcaster, born in Houston, Texas
  • Aug 15 Vijay Bharadwaj, Indian cricketer, born in Bangalore
  • Aug 16 Didier Agathe, French footballer, born in Saint-Pierre, Réunion
  • Aug 16 George Stults, American actor, born in Detroit, Michigan

Taika Waititi (48 years old)

Aug 16 New Zealand film director (Boy, Thor: Ragnarok), born in Raukokore, New Zealand

  • Aug 17 Giuliana DePandi, Italian-born American television personality
  • Aug 17 İlhan Mansız, German born Turkish footballer and ice skater, born in Kempten, West Germany
  • Aug 19 Chynna Clugston Flores, American comic book creator (Blue Monday), born in Fresno, California
  • Aug 19 Tracie Thoms, American actress (Rent), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • Aug 20 Marcus Mastin, American author, born in Carthage, New York
  • Aug 20 Marianne Garvey, American reporter
  • Aug 21 Alicia Witt, American actress (Cybill, Fun), born in Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Aug 21 Simon Katich, Australian cricketer, born in Middle Swan, Australia
  • Aug 22 Charles C. Smith, American baseball player, NBA guard (Miami Heat), born in Fort Worth, Texas
  • Aug 22 Clint Bolton, Australian former football goalkeeper, born in Bundaberg, Australia
  • Aug 22 Jean-François “Jeff” Stinco, French-Canadian punk-pop guitarist (Simple Plan), born in Montreal, Quebec (some sources cite 1978)
  • Aug 22 Robert Enes, Australian soccer midfielder (Olyroos, Olympics 1996)
  • Aug 22 Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian actor (Love Actually), born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Aug 22 Sheree Murphy, English actress (Emmerdale), born in Stoke Newington, London
  • Aug 23 Eliza Carthy, English singer and fiddler, born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
  • Aug 23 Joe Andruzzi, NFL guard (Green Bay Packers-Super Bowl 31), born in Brooklyn, New York, New York
  • Aug 24 Mark de Vries, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, born in Paramaribo, Suriname
  • Aug 24 [Simon] James D'Arcy, English actor (Agent Carter; Dunkirk), born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England
  • Aug 25 Jeremy Horn, American MMA Fighter
  • Aug 25 Molly Tuter, WNBA guard (Phoenix Mercury)
  • Aug 25 Petria Thomas, Lismore NSW Australia, swimmer (Olympic silver 1996)
  • Aug 26 Morgan Ensberg, American baseball player, born in Hermosa Beach, California
  • Aug 26 Shea Seals, NBA guard (LA Lakers) and coach, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
  • Aug 27 Jonny Moseley, American skier
  • Aug 27 Mark Rudan, Australian footballer
  • Aug 28 Gareth Farrelly, Irish footballer (Aston Villa), born in Dublin
  • Aug 28 Jamie Cureton, English footballer (Bishop's Stortford), born in Bristol, England
  • Aug 28 Vera Jordanova, Bulgarian-Finnish actress and model, born in Helsinki, Finland
  • Aug 29 Dante Basco, Filipino-American actor, born in Pittsburg, California
  • Aug 29 Kyle Cook, American rock guitarist, and banjo player (Matchbox Twenty - "Bent"; "Unwell"), born in Frankfort, Kentucky
  • Aug 30 Radhi Jaïdi, Tunisian soccer defender (105 caps; Espérance, Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Southampton), born in Tunis, Tunisia
  • Aug 31 Daniel Harding, British conductor (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, 2007 to present), born in Oxford, England
  • Aug 31 James Black, Canadian singer-songwriter (Finger Eleven), born in Ontario, Canada
  • Aug 31 Sara Ramirez, Mexican actress (Grey's Anatomy), and singer, born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico
  • Aug 31 Takahiro Suwa, Japanese professional wrestler
Born in 1975

Famous Weddings

  • Aug 5 American "Aerosmith" guitarist Joe Perry (25) weds Elissa Jerret; divorce in 1982

Maggie Smith

Aug 23 Actress Maggie Smith (40) weds playwright Beverley Cross (44) at the Guildford Register Office in Surrey, England


Famous Deaths

  • Aug 1 Howard Joslin, American actor (Quebec, Detective Story), dies at 68
  • Aug 3 Ruth Lee, American actress (Middleton Family at 1939 World's Fair), dies at 79
  • Aug 4 John Baragrey, American actor (Creeper, The Loves of Carmen), dies of a stroke at 57
  • Aug 8 Bernie Green, American orchestra leader (Arthur Godfrey Show, Garry Moore Show), dies at 66
  • Aug 8 Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader of the 1950-60s hard bop era (The Black Messiah), dies of a stroke at 46

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)

Aug 9 Russian composer (The Gadfly; The Nose), dies of lung cancer at 68

  • Aug 11 Anthony McAuliffe, American general and commander of the 101st Airborne Division celebrated for his reply of "Nuts!" to a German surrender ultimatum, dies at 77
  • Aug 11 Howard Wendell, American actor (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Murder Your Wife), dies at 67
  • Aug 14 Joris Baers, Belgian priest and librarian (founded magazine Boekengids), dies at 87
  • Aug 15 Clay Shaw, American businessman and alleged John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracist, dies of lung cancer at 61

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975)

Aug 15 Founding father of Bangladesh, 1st and 4th President of Bangladesh (1971-72, 1975-76), assassinated in military coup by group of junior army officers at 55

  • Aug 17 Sig Arno [Siegfried Aron], German-Jewish actor (Holiday in Havana, My Friend Irma), dies at 80
  • Aug 17 Vladimir Kutz, Russian distance runner (Olympic gold 1956), dies at 48
  • Aug 19 Ima Hogg, American society leader, Texas arts patron, and founder of Houston Symphony, dies at 93 [1]
  • Aug 19 Jim Londos, Greek-American wrestler, dies at 81
  • Aug 19 Mark Donohue, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500, 1972), dies from injuries suffered in a crash during a practice run in Graz, Austria at 38
  • Aug 23 Hank Patterson, American actor (Gunsmoke, Fred Ziffel-Green Acres), dies at 87
  • Aug 24 Charles H. Revson, American cosmetic magnate (Revlon), dies at 68
  • Aug 25 Frans van Amelsvoort, Dutch choir conductor, dies at 75
  • Aug 25 John R Dunning, US physicist, dies at 67
  • Aug 26 (James) Cullen Landis, American silent and sound screen actor (Soul of the Beast; Peacock Feathers), and director, dies at 79
  • Aug 26 Juliette Béliveau, Canadian actress (Le gros Bill) and singer, dies at 85
  • Aug 27 Bob Scholl, American doo-wop vocalist (Mello-Kings - "Tonite, Tonite"), dies in a boating accident at 41

Haile Selassie (1892-1975)

Aug 27 Emperor of Ethiopia (1930-74), dies of suspected assassination by strangulation at 83

  • Aug 28 Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor (b. 1907)

Éamon de Valera (1882-1975)

Aug 29 Irish republican politician and President of Ireland (1937-48, 51-54, 57-59), dies at 92

  • Aug 29 Leland T. Weed, American singer and actor, dies at 74
  • Aug 31 Pierre Blaise, French actor (Lacombe Lucien), dies at 24