On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Mayor Beame repts city will introduce legis that would call for Lower Manhattan Development Office to be merged into Lower Manhattan Improvement Corp as its adm arm; such an arrangement would permit city funds that support office to cover new corp's overhead costs, thereby freeing its capital entirely for projects (S)
Cambodian Brig Gen Mey Sichan announces surrender of Govt power to insurgent forces and orders all Govt troops to stop firing and lay down arms, radio announcement monitored in Saigon; repr for liberation forces' tells all Govt officers to rept to Information Min, site of radio station, under white flag of surrender, radio announcement after Mey Sichan's speech; no initial word reptd on fate of newsmen, diplomats and Intl Red Cross and UN reprs sequestered at Hotel Le Phnom in center of city (S)
Pres Ford asserts that US failure to meet commitments to S Vietnam, while USSR and China have been faithful to their commitments in N Vietnam, has created 'present tragic situation,' ASNE Washington (DC) conv; recalls that US had promised Saigon, when Paris accords were signed, to replace war materiel; says he will not make lrs between former Pres Nixon and Pres Thieu public; holds US will continue to supply mil and econ aid to countries around world; White House aide insists that US had 'moral commitment' rather than legal one to replace arms and ammunition used in S Vietnam; cites US-S Vietnamese communique, issued at San Clemente (Calif) on Apr 3 '73, transcript of news conf of Mar 15 '73 and Nixon's report on foreign policy issued on May 3 '73 as some public statements used as basis for moral commitment (S)
Soviet Communist party Central Com removes Aleksandr N Shelepin, once figured as prominent contender for authority assumed by party leader Leonid Brezhnev, from ruling Politburo; action seen strengthening Brezhnev's power; Central Com schedules cong for Feb 24, '76; Tass sees Shelepin's pol career ended; Com endorses Brezhnev's policy with West, indicating that he is not in difficulty, as few Western observers had speculated; issues resolution expressing support for Brezhnev in pursuing program of detente, based on unpublished Gromyko speech (M)
Vietcong leader Dinh Ba Thi calls for 'immediate and permanent' withdrawal of what he calls 25,000 Amer mil personnel 'disguised as civilians' in S Vietnam, series of statements and Paris press conf; says there will be 'no difficulty, no obstacle' placed in way of their departure; fails to respond to question of what will happen to Amers and other foreigners if they remain in areas that fall under Vietcong control; refers to previous statement that lives and property will be protected if they obey 'policy of revolutionary power'; accuses Ford Adm of advancing plans for evacuations only as 'pretext for renewed Amer mil intervention'; denounces Sec Schlesinger's warning that lives of 200,000 S Vietnamese will be endandered if they remain in country; says he has 'no precise information' on whether Danang airport will be opened to shipment of relief supplies stored in Laos; confirms that his govt has agreed 'in principle' to permit French relief flights into Danang; says Vietcong will find other means of receiving contributions if 'technical difficulties' make airlifts to Danang impossible; declines to say whether Vietcong will negotiate with US for evacuation of Amer citizens and whether it will negotiate with Gen Duong Van Minh if he sets up new Saigon Govt; Minh's son Duong Minh Duc says father has called for 'departure of Pres Thieu' and 'urgent formation of peace Govt to resume negotiations' with Vietcong, Paris news conf; reasons why Communists may want negotiated pol settlement while they have mil victory within their reach revd (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of April 16, 1975, covering April 17, 1975.
Led Zeppelin
John Denver
Chicago
Olivia Newton-John
Robin Trower
1975Heidi Alexander, English politician[†]
Heidi Alexander is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Transport since November 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Swindon South since 2024. Previously she was the MP for Lewisham East from 2010 to 2018.
1975Travis Roy, American ice hockey player (died 2020)[†]
Travis Matthew Roy was an American college ice hockey player, author and philanthropist.
1975Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (born 1888)[†]
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan BR was an Indian academician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of India from 1952 to 1962. He was the ambassador of India to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. He was also the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948 and the vice-chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. Radhakrishnan is considered one of the most influential and distinguished 20th century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy, he held the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta from 1921 to 1932 and Spalding Chair of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford from 1936 to 1952.
1975The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.[†]
The Cambodian Civil War was a civil war in Cambodia fought between the Communist Party of Kampuchea against the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia and, after October 1970, the Khmer Republic, which had succeeded the kingdom after a coup. The conflict was part of the Second Indochina War (1955–1975).
In 1975, the world population was approximately 4,070,735,277 people[†]