1975 in the United Kingdom
1975 in the United Kingdom |
Other years |
1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
Constituent countries of the United Kingdom |
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales |
Popular culture |
Events from the year 1975 in the United Kingdom.
Incumbents
Events
January
- 6 January – Brian Clough, the former manager of Derby County and more recently Leeds United, is appointed manager of Football League Second Division strugglers Nottingham Forest.[1]
- 14 January – Seventeen-year-old heiress Lesley Whittle, daughter of the late bus operator George Whittle (1905–1967), is kidnapped from her home near Bridgnorth in Shropshire by Donald Neilson.[2]
- 15 January – International Women's Year is launched in Britain by Princess Alexandra and Barbara Castle.[3]
- 24 January – Donald Coggan is enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury.[4]
February
- 6 February – Jensen, the luxury carmaker, makes 700 of its employees redundant – cutting its workforce by two-thirds.[5]
- 11 February – Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election, becoming the party's first female leader. Thatcher, 49, was Education Secretary in Edward Heath's government from 1970 to 1974.[6]
- 13 February – Britain's coal miners accept a 35% pay rise offer from the government.[7]
- 14 February
- Biologist and author Julian Huxley dies aged 87 in London.
- Author and humorist P. G. Wodehouse dies of heart failure aged 91 at Southampton, New York, United States.
- 26 February – A fleeing Stephen Tibble, 22, as he gave chase.[8]
- 28 February – The Moorgate tube crash; 43 people are killed.
March
- 1 March – Football League Cup with the only goal of the Wembley final against Norwich City being scored by Ray Graydon.[5]
- 4 March – Actor Charlie Chaplin, 85, is knighted by the Queen.[9]
- 7 March – The body of teenage heiress Lesley Whittle, who disappeared from her Shropshire home in January, is discovered in Staffordshire. She had been strangled on a ledge in drains below Bathpool Park near Kidsgrove.[10]
- 8 March – First appearance of Davros in Doctor Who.[11]
- 25 March – A large National Front rally is held in London, in protest against European integration.[12]
- 26 March – and the marque "Wolseley" is abandoned.
April
- 3 April – Monty Python and the Holy Grail is released in the UK.[13]
- 5 April – Manchester United clinches promotion back to the First Division one season after relegation.[14]
- 9 April – The comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail is released.
- 13 April – A 22-year-old woman is raped at her bedsit in Cambridgeshire Police believe that she was the sixth victim of a rapist who had been operating across the city since October last year. In June, the police arrest 47-year-old Peter Cook for the rapes; he is sentenced to life imprisonment in October.[15]
- 24 April – Unemployment exceeds the 1,000,000 mark for March 1975.[5]
- 26 April
- A conference of Labour Party members vote against continued membership of the EEC.[16]
- Derby County win the Football League First Division title for the second time in four seasons.[17]
May
- May – Led Zeppelin return to the UK to play five sold-out shows at Earls Court in London.
- 1 May – Vauxhall launches the Chevette, Britain's first production small hatchback, which is similar in concept to the Italian Fiat 127 and French Renault 5.[18]
- 3 May – Alan Taylorscores both goals.
- 5 May – St Leonard's Church, Streatham is gutted by fire.[19]
- 16 May – Major reorganisation of local government in Scotland under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, creating nine new regions and comprehensively redrawing the administrative map.
- 27 May – Dibbles Bridge coach crash: a tour coach runs away following brake failure and falls off a bridge near Hebden, North Yorkshire, en route to Grassington, killing the driver and 31 female pensioners on board, the highest ever toll in a UK road accident.[20]
- 28 May – Bayern Munich of West Germany in the European Cup final in Paris, France. Peter Lorimer had a goal for Leeds disallowed and this sparks a riot by angry supporters, who invade the pitch and tear seats away from the stands.[21]
- 31 May – The European Space Agency is established, with the UK being one of the ten founding members.[22][23]
June
- 2 June – Snow showers occur across as the country even as far south as London which last happened in 1761.
- 5 June – 67% of voters support continuing membership of the EEC in a referendum.[24]
- 9 June – Proceedings in Parliament are broadcast on radio for the first time.[25]
- 11 June – In Uganda, British author and adventurer Denis Hills is sentenced to death by firing squad for referring to Idi Amin as a 'village tyrant'.
- 13 June – UEFA places a three-year ban on Leeds United from European competitions due to the behaviour of their fans at last month's European Cup final.
- 14 June – Ambulance crews in the West Midlands stage a ban on non-emergency calls in a dispute over pay and hours.[5]
- 17 June – Leeds United lodge an appeal against their ban from European competitions.[26]
- 19 June – A
- 30 June – UEFA reduces Leeds United's ban from European competitions to one season on appeal.[28]
July
- July – The Government and Trades Union Congress agree to a one-year cash limit on pay rises.
- 5 July – A 36-year-old Keighley woman, Ann Rogulskyj, is badly injured in a hammer attack in an alleyway in the West Yorkshire town.[29]
- 19 July – Heathrow Airport.[30]
August
- 1 August – The Government's anti-inflation policy comes into full effect. During the year, inflation reaches 24.2% - the second-highest recorded level since records began in 1750, and the highest since 1800.[31] A summary of the White Paper Attack on Inflation is delivered to all households.
- 11 August – British Leyland Motor Corporation comes under British government control.
- 14 August – rainfallat 169mm.
- 15 August
- The Birmingham Six are wrongfully sentenced to life imprisonment. (They are released 1991.)
- A 46-year-old Halifax woman, Olive Smelt, is severely injured in a hammer attack in an alleyway in the town.[32]
- 16 August – Football hooliganism strikes on the opening day of the English league season, with hundreds of fans being arrested at games across the country - the total number of arrests exceeds seventy at the stadiums of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City.[33]
- 19 August – George Davis. A scheduled test match between England and Australia which was meant to take place there has to be abandoned. This is the climax to a campaign in which the slogan George Davis is Innocent was widely sprayed throughout London.[34]
- 21 August – The unemployment rate reaches the 1,250,000 mark.
- 27 August – A 14-year-old, Tracy Browne, is badly injured in a hammer attack in a country lane at Silsden, near Keighley.[35]
- 31 August – Cavalcade of steam locomotives from Shildon, County Durham, to Darlington, County Durham, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
September
- September – Alpine five-door family hatchback, a modern front-wheel drive car to compete with the conventional Ford Cortina, Morris Marina and upcoming Vauxhall Cavalier rear-wheel drive saloons. The new car is also built in France as the Simca 1307.[36]
- 5 September – The
- 19 September – The
- 24 September – Dougal Haston and Doug Scott become the first British people to climb Mount Everest.[39]
- 27 September – The National Railway Museum is opened in York, becoming the first national museum outside London.
- 28 September–3 October – The Spaghetti House siege, in which nine people are taken as hostages, takes place in London.[40]
October
- October
- Vauxhall announces its second new model launch of the year - the Cavalier, which replaces the Victor, is based on the German Opel Ascona, and is a direct competitor for the big-selling Ford Cortina.
- Statistics show that Britain is in a double-dip recession, as the economy contracted for the second and third quarters of the year.[41]
- 9 October – An IRA bomb explosion outside Green Park tube station near Piccadilly in London kills one person and injures twenty other people.[42]
- 13 October – Norton Villiers, the Wolverhampton-based motorcycle producer, closes down with the loss of 1,600 jobs after being declared bankrupt.[5]
- 23 October – Oncologist Gordon Hamilton Fairley is killed in London by an IRA bomb intended for Sir Hugh Fraser.
- 28 October – Dr. No (film) is broadcast on ITV, the first time a Bond film is shown on British television.
- 30 October – murder investigation after 28-year-old prostitute Wilma McCann is found dead in Leeds. She later becomes known as Peter Sutcliffe's first murder victim.[43]
- 31 October – Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" is released.
November
- 3 November – A petroleum pipeline from Cruden Bay to Grangemouth across Scotland is formally opened by HM The Queen.[44]
- 6 November – The first public performance by punk rock band the Sex Pistols, takes place.[38]
- 12 November – The maternity leave and legislates against unfair dismissal.[4]
- 16 November – British and Cod War.
- 27 November – Guinness Book of Records, is shot dead by the Provisional Irish Republican Army for offering reward money to informers.[45]
- 29 November – Former racing driver Graham Hill, 46, dies in an air crash in Hertfordshire.[46]
December
- December – Donald Neilson, 39, is arrested in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on suspicion of being the "Black Panther" murderer who was believed to have carried out five murders in the last two years.[2]
- 5 December – The Government ends Internment of suspected terrorists in Northern Ireland.[4]
- 6–12 December –
- 25 December
- The heavy metal band Iron Maiden is formed by Steve Harris in London.
- The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) is shown on British television for the first time, on BBC One.
- 29 December – Two new laws, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Equal Pay Act 1970, come into force aiming to end unequal pay of men and women in the workplace.[49]
Undated
- The Willis Building (Ipswich) is completed, a key early example of Foster Associates' 'high-tech' architectural style.[50]
- The British National Oil Corporation is set up.
- First annual payment of Official Opposition in the House of Commons to help with its costs for Parliamentary business (named after Edward Short, Leader of the House).
- The Fisher Meredith law firm is established.
- Jackie Tabick becomes the first female rabbi in the British Isles.[51]
- The white-tailed sea eagle is re-introduced to the UK, on the Isle of Rum.[52]
Publications
- Malcolm Bradbury's campus novel The History Man.
- Curtain.[53]
- Shirley Conran's guide Superwoman.
- Richard Crossman's The Diaries of a Cabinet Minister (posthumous), after a legal battle with the Government which wished to suppress publication.
- Colin Dexter's first Inspector Morse novel Last Bus to Woodstock.
- Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's novel Heat and Dust.
- David Lodge's campus novel Changing Places.
- Raj Quartet.
- Gerald Seymour's thriller Harry's Game.
Births
- 4 January – David Carrick, serial rapist
- 6 January – Jason King, radio and television host
- 8 January – Chris Simmons, actor
- 13 January – Shazia Mirza, comedian
- 20 January – Zac Goldsmith, environmentalist and politician
- 21 January – Nicky Butt, footballer
- 24 January
- Paul Marazzi, singer
- Lucy Montgomery, comedian, actress and writer
- 28 January – Lee Latchford-Evans, singer[54]
- 5 February – Alison Hammond, actress and television presenter[55]
- 12 February – Shahzada Dawood, businessman, investor, and philanthropist (died 2023)
- 13 February – Katie Hopkins, media personality, businesswoman and political commentator
- 18 February
- Keith Gillespie, footballer
- Gary Neville, footballer
- 25 February – Naga Munchetty, television presenter and journalist
- 12 March – Amanda Milling, Chairman of the Conservative Party
- 13 March – Mark Clattenburg, football referee
- 21 March
- Justin Pierce, British-American actor (died 2000)
- Mark Williams, snooker player
- 5 April – Caitlin Moran, journalist and broadcaster
- 9 April – Robbie Fowler, footballer
- 13 April – Bruce Dyer, footballer
- 20 April – Olly Robbins, civil servant
- 1 May – Paloma Baeza, actress and director
- 2 May – David Beckham, footballer
- 17 May – Jonti Picking, animator, voice actor and internet personality
- 18 May – John Higgins, snooker player
- 20 May – Graham Potter, football player and manager
- 22 May – Kelly Morgan, badminton player
- 27 May – Jamie Oliver, chef and television personality
- 29 May
- Melanie Brown, pop singer (Spice Girls)
- Sarah Millican, comedian
- 4 June
- Russell Brand, comedian and actor
- Alex Wharf, English cricketer[56]
- 10 June – Darren Eadie, English footballer and manager
- 14 June – Laurence Rickard, actor, writer and comedian
- 19 June – Ed Coode, rower
- 13 July – Gareth Edwards, director
- 15 July – Jill Halfpenny, actress
- 17 July – Konnie Huq, television presenter
- 22 July – Hannah Waterman, actress
- 26 July – Liz Truss, politician
- 30 July – Graham Nicholls, artist
- 31 July – Stephanie Hirst, born Simon Hirst, radio DJ
- 11 August – Asma al-Assad, born Asma Akhras, spouse of President of Syria
- 22 August – Sheree Murphy, actress
- 18 September – Ritchie Appleby, football player
- 23 September – Chris Hawkins, radio personality
- 25 September – Ant and Dec
- 5 October – Kate Winslet, actress
- 7 October – Tim Minchin, English-born singer-songwriter and comic performer
- 9 October – Joe McFadden, actor
- 16 October – Sally Biddulph, journalist and presenter
- 25 October – Zadie Smith, born Sadie Smith, novelist
- 9 November – Gareth Malone, choirmaster
- 12 November – Katherine Grainger, rower
- 13 November – Gary Burgess, broadcaster and journalist (died 2022)
- 18 November – Ant and Dec
- 5 December – Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker player
- 6 December – Noel Clarke, actor and film maker
- 12 December – Jackie Brady, gymnast
- 20 December – Jacqui Oatley, sports presenter
- 23 December – Lorna Norris, rower
Deaths
- 31 January – Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk, peer and Earl Marshal (born 1908)
- 8 February – Robert Robinson, organic chemist, Nobel Prizelaureate (born 1886)
- 12 February – Bernard Knowles, film director and screenwriter (born 1900)
- 14 February
- Julian Huxley, biologist (born 1887)
- P. G. Wodehouse, comic writer (born 1881)
- 22 February – Lionel Tertis, violist (born 1876)
- 24 February – Una Duval, suffragette (born 1879)
- 26 February – Stephen Tibble, London police officer (shot) (born 1953)
- 28 February – Neville Cardus, writer on cricket and music (born 1888)
- 3 March
- Sandy MacPherson, theatre organist (born 1897 in Canada)
- T. H. Parry-Williams, poet (born 1887)[57]
- 27 March – Sir Arthur Bliss, composer and conductor (born 1891)
- 3 April – Mary Ure, actress (born 1933)
- 14 April – Michael Flanders, actor and songwriter (born 1922)
- 23 April – William Hartnell, actor (born 1908)
- 24 April – Pete Ham, musician (born 1947; suicide)
- 20 May – Barbara Hepworth, sculptor (born 1903)
- 21 May – A. H. Dodd, historian (born 1891)[58]
- 3 June – Sir Christopher Bonham-Carter, admiral and Treasurer to the Duke of Edinburgh (1959–1970) (born 1907)
- 5 June – Lester Matthews, actor (born 1900)
- 9 June – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, aristocrat (born 1892)
- 27 June – Arthur Salter, 1st Baron Salter, politician and academic (born 1881)
- 28 June – William Ibbett, submariner and radio broadcaster (born 1886)
- 2 July – James Robertson Justice, actor (born 1907)
- 7 August – Jim Griffiths, politician (born 1890)
- 10 September – George Paget Thomson, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892)
- 22 October – Arnold J. Toynbee, historian (born 1889)
- 23 October – Gordon Hamilton Fairley, oncologist (murdered) (born 1930 in Australia)
- 27 October – Frederick Charles Victor Laws, Royal Air Force officer, pioneer of aerial reconnaissance (born 1887)
- 25 November – Moyna Macgill, actress (born 1895)
- 27 November – Ross McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (assassinated) (born 1925)
- 29 November
- Tony Brise, racing driver (born 1952)
- Graham Hill, racing driver (born 1929)
- 18 December – R. Ifor Parry, minister, teacher and philanthropist, 67[59]
See also
References
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- ^ a b "1975: Heiress Lesley Whittle kidnapped". BBC News. 14 January 1975. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
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- ^ ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ^ Express and Star. Wolverhampton. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ^ "1975: Tories choose first woman leader". BBC News. 11 February 1975. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- ^ "1975: Miners set for 35 per cent pay rises". BBC News. 13 February 1975. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ "1975: PC murder linked to IRA bomb factory". BBC News. 27 February 1975. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- ^ "1975: Comic genius Chaplin is knighted". BBC News. 4 March 1975. Archived from the original on 22 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- ^ "1975: Kidnapped heiress found strangled". BBC News. 7 March 1975. Archived from the original on 17 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- ISBN 9780863693243.
- ^ "1975: National Front rallies against Europe". BBC News. 25 March 1975. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
- ^ Palin, Michael (2006). Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 225.
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- ^ Gilliland, Ben (16 January 2009). "Science & Discovery". Metro.
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- ^ "THE ATTACKS AND MURDERS - TRACY BROWNE". www.execulink.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ "Development of the Chrysler - Talbot Alpine cars". Retrieved 14 February 2008.
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- ^ ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
- ^ "1975: First Britons conquer Everest". BBC News. 24 September 1975. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
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- ^ "UK GDP since 1955". DataBlog. London: The Guardian. 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
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- ^ Archaeologia Cambrensis: The Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association. W. Pickering. 1976. p. 137.
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