The following events occurred in October 1975:
October 1, 1975 (Wednesday) In the "Thrilla in Manila", Muhammad Ali retained his world heavyweight boxing championship against former champion Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, the Philippines.The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1976 (Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1975) pp950-952 Morocco and Mauritania reached a secret agreement to invade the Western Sahara and divide the territory between them, after Spain announced that it would hold a referendum in the Saharan colony.Michael Brecher and Jonathan Wilkenfelbicend, A Study of Crisis (University of Michigan Press, 1997) pp119-120 The Gilbert and Ellice Islands, a British protectorate in the South Pacific Ocean, were divided in anticipation of independence. The Gilbert Islands would become the nation of Kiribati, while the Ellice Islands would become Tuvalu.Howard Van Trease, ed., Atoll Politics: The Republic of Kiribati (University of Canterbury and University of the South Pacific, 1993) p9 After eight years of construction and the spending of 5.7 billion dollars, the Safeguard Program, anti-ballistic missile complex for the United States, became fully operational in Cavalier County, North Dakota with two radar complexes and 32 silos."Safeguard Missiles on Firing Line", Pacific Stars And Stripes, October 1, 1975, p6 The U.S. House of Representatives voted the next day to shut down the program,"City upset over plan to close missile site", Tucson (AZ) Daily Citizen, October 22, 1975, p66 in large part because the radar system was a vulnerable target that would be ineffective during a nuclear war; the site was closed after four months.Joseph M. Siracusa, Nuclear Weapons: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2008); Eric Croddy, James J. Wirtz, Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History (Volume 2) ABC-CLIO, 2005) p357 A blast at a Canadian Industries Ltd. (CIL) explosives factory killed eight employees at McMasterville, Quebec, near Montreal."Explosives plant flattened: 8 die", Montreal Gazette, October 2, 1975, p. 1
Ugandan President Idi Amin addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and criticized Zionism for its influence in the United States and the actions by the State of Israel for its occupation of territory that it had captured during the Six-Day War. Died: Al Jackson, Jr., 39, American drummer who was a founder of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, died after being shot during a burglary of his home in Memphis."Prowler Shoots Ex-Drummer", AP report in The Evening Press (Binghamton NY), October 1, 1975, p.1
October 2, 1975 (Thursday)
The W. T. Grant department store chain, with over 1,000 stores in 42 U.S. states, filed a Chapter 11 action for reorganization in the largest retail store bankruptcy in American history."Nationwide Retailer Files Bankruptcy Case", Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, October 2, 1975, p8C The last 359 stores would go out of business at the end of March 1976 as a result of court-ordered liquidation.Ronald D. Michman and Alan J. Greco, Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995) p63 The first Chevrolet Chevette, a two-door hatchback called the Chevette Scooter, went on sale."Chevrolet Introduces Chevette", GM press release in Union Springs (AL) Herald, October 2, 1975, p. 8 The first of the 1976 models had rolled off the Detroit assembly line on August 18 as "the first of hundreds of thousands of little three-door autos that are the smallest made in large volume in the United States since the Crosley.""Idea For Chevette Spawned In '73", GM press release in Latrobe (PA) Bulletin, October 2, 1975, p. 18 and the car was unveiled on September 16, in Washington, DC. The Chevette had a 1.4 liter engine and got 40 mpg on the highway, but had little room, with a reviewer noting "If the Chevette is the car of the future, luggage space will soon be a thing of the past.""Chevette OK If Your Feet Aren't Size 12", by Steve Sidlo, Dayton (O.) Daily News, October 2, 1975, p. 26 The U.S. Congress reversed its decision on an embargo against arms sales to Turkey.
October 3, 1975 (Friday)
For the first time since Bangladesh had seceded from Pakistan in December 1971, the two nations established diplomatic relations.Salahuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh: Past and Present (APH Publishing, 2004) p215 The Teton Dam in Idaho began to fill as the Teton River was closed off. Eight months later, on June 5, 1976, the earthen dam would break, flooding the town of Wilford and killing eleven people.Thomas V. Cech, Principles of Water Resources: History, Development, Management, and Policy (John Wiley & Sons, 2009) pp228-230 Died: Guy Mollet, 69, former Prime Minister of France (1956–1957)
October 4, 1975 (Saturday) Professional wrestler Johnny Valentine (John Wisniski), the reigning NWA champion, was paralyzed, and Ric Flair (Richard Fliehr) sustained a broken back, when the plane in which they were riding ran out of gas and crashed at Wilmington, North Carolina, killing the pilot. Despite being advised to give up the pro wrestling circuit, Flair would return to the ring after months of rehabilitation and an alteration of his style, and would go on to fame and fortune as "The Nature Boy".Brian Solomon, WWE Legends (Simon and Schuster, 2006) p104; "The plane crash that changed wrestling", by John F. Molinaro, SLAM! Wrestling, December 28, 2000 Died: May Sutton, 89, American tennis champion, Wimbledon women singles title 1905 and 1907, U.S. Open singles champion 1904
October 5, 1975 (Sunday)
In elections for the Austrian Nationalrat, the Social Democratic Party of Austria, led by Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, retained its slim majority in the lower house of Parliament, with 93 of the 183 seats."Socialists Top Austria Election", Albuquerque (NM) Journal, October 6, 1975, pB-2 The Algerian nuthatch (Sitta ledanti), a small passerine bird which is the only bird species endemic to Algeria, was first discovered. A team led by Belgian botanist Jean-Pierre Ledant, had been at the Djebel Babor mountain in the Petite Kabylie range in northern Algeria, for a different purpose, the study of the Algerian fir tree species.Erik Matthysen, The Nuthatches (A&C Black, 2010) p184 The ten-team Swedish Hockey League (Svenska Hockeyligan or SHL) began playing as Sweden's top professional ice hockey league. The first game was an 8 to 7 win by MoDo AIK (of Örnsköldsvik) over Färjestads BK (of Karlstad), and the first goal was scored by Färjestads' Benny Andersson of Färjestad."The history of Elitserien", SHL website On March 22, after a four-team playoff Färjestads would win the first championship, 2 games to 1, over Leksands IF. Born: Kate Winslet, British film actress (Titanic); in Reading, Berkshire Parminder Nagra, British film actress (Bend It Like Beckham); in Leicester Gao Yuanyuan, Chinese television actress (The Prince of Qin, Li Shimin); in Beijing Monica Rial, American voice actress (Dragon Ball Z); in Houston Died: Lesley Molseed, 11, was murdered in England at West Yorkshire. Stefan Kiszko would be convicted of the crime and would spend 16 years in prison before forensic evidence proved his innocence. Molseed's killer, Ronald Castree, would not be identified and caught until 2006.Robin Odell, The Mammoth Book of Bizarre Crimes (Running Press, 2010) pp92-93
October 6, 1975 (Monday) Italo Luder, serving as Acting President of Argentina during a leave of absence by President Isabel Perón, signed Decree 2772, giving the Argentine armed forces authority to "annihilate subversion" ("aniquilar la subversion") by any means necessary against guerilla insurgents.Antonius C.G.M. Robben, Political Violence and Trauma in Argentina (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007) p175 For the first time in American television history, major TV networks declined a request to interrupt programming to broadcast a speech by a U.S. president. The nationwide address by President Gerald Ford was carried only by the ABC Television Network.George C. Edwards, On Deaf Ears: The Limits of the Bully Pulpit (Yale University Press, 2006) p212 The DINA (Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional), secret police agency of Chile, attempted to assassinate former Interior Minister Bernardo Leighton and his wife Anita, who were in exile in Italy. The Leightons were seriously wounded but survived a machine gun attack by paid gunmen.Mary Helen Spooner, Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile (University of California Press, Sep 1, 1999) p124 Born: Peter Pellegrini, President of Slovakia since 2024, Prime Minister 2018 to 2020; in Banská Bystrica Died: Chiura Obata, 89, Japanese-American artist, in Okayama Prefecture
October 7, 1975 (Tuesday) Five days after President Ford vetoed an extension of the federal school lunch and nutrition program, both houses of Congress voted to override, 397–18 in the House and 79–13 in the Senate. East Germany and the Soviet Union signed a new Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, although their 1964 Friendship Treaty still had nine years to run. The 20-year treaty was to run until 1995, although East Germany would end in 1990 and the Soviet Union in 1991.A. James McAdams, East Germany and Detente: Building Authority After the Wall (Cambridge University Press, 1985) p150 John Lennon, formerly of The Beatles, won the right to stay in the United States after a four-year legal battle to avoid deportation, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled 2–1 to reverse an INS order of deportation."Lennon Wins Appeal", Syracuse (NY) Herald Journal, October 8, 1975, p5 Two days later, Lennon would celebrate his 35th birthday and the birth of his son, Sean. Born: Terry Gerin, American professional wrestler billed as "Rhino Richards"; in Detroit Kaspars Znotiņš, Latvian stage actor, in Jelgava, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union
October 8, 1975 (Wednesday) South Korean serial killer Kim Dae-doo, who murdered 14 people in the month of September and 17 total, was arrested the day after claiming his final victim, bringing an end to a killing spree that had started on August 13, 1975."17 murders admitted", AP report in Regina (SK) Leader-Post, October 9, 1975, p. 1 Doug Jarvis played his very first National Hockey League game, with two assists for the Montreal Canadiens in a 9–0 win over the Los Angeles Kings, and then appeared in 964 consecutive games to set the NHL record,"October 8th, 1975: Jarvis the Iron Man" , Canadiens.com finishing on October 10, 1987, with a 4–2 loss for the Hartford Whalers against the New York Islanders."Jarvis' playing streak ends", Chicago Daily Herald, October 12, 1987, p6-3 Women were allowed admission into the United States Service academies (at West Point, Annapolis, Colorado Springs, New London and Kings Point) for the first time, as President Ford signed legislation that included the requirement."Academy required to admit women- Ford's signature on defense appropriations bill ends years of dispute", Annapolis (MD) Capital, October 9, 1975, p1 The defending champions of pro basketball's two rival leagues played in an exhibition game in Louisville, with the ABA Kentucky Colonels beating the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, 93–90. On October 5, 1971, the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks had beaten the ABA's Utah Stars 122–114.
October 9, 1975 (Thursday)
Soviet nuclear physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov was announced as the recipient of the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize, but was not allowed to travel to Oslo to accept it. The U.S. Senate voted 70–18 to authorize American civilians to join the United Nations forces in the Sinai peninsula, a day after the House had approved the measure 341–69.