1968

Events in 1968 80

• 1878 – 1968 Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) Died 25 November 1968, aged 90 The American novelist and muckraking journalist, best known for his 1906 novel "The Jungle" exposing conditions in the meatpacking industry, died in a New Jersey nursing home. His writing helped spur passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. He wrote nearly 100 books over his long career.
• 1880 – 1968 Helen Keller (1880-1968) Died 1 June 1968, aged 87 Deaf and blind from infancy, Keller became a renowned author, disability rights advocate and political activist after being taught to communicate by her teacher Anne Sullivan. She died at her home in Connecticut. Her life and achievements made her one of the most widely recognized figures of the twentieth century.
• 1887 – 1968 Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) Died 2 October 1968, aged 81 The French-American artist, whose readymade works such as "Fountain" challenged conventional definitions of art, died at his home near Paris. He was a central figure in the Dada and conceptual art movements. His influence on later twentieth-century art is difficult to overstate.
• 1896 – 1968 Konstantin Rokossovsky (1896-1968) Died 3 August 1968, aged 71 The Soviet and Polish military commander led Red Army forces to major victories against Nazi Germany, including at Stalingrad and in the liberation of Warsaw. He later served as Poland's Minister of National Defence during the early Cold War. He died in Moscow and was buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis.
• 1896 – 1968 Trygve Lie (1896-1968) Died 30 December 1968, aged 72 The Norwegian politician served as the first Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1946 to 1952, steering the organization through its earliest and most formative years, including the Korean War. He died at his home in Norway. He had earlier served as Norway's foreign minister during the Second World War.
• 1897 – 1968 Enid Blyton (1897-1968) Died 28 November 1968, aged 71 The prolific British children's author, creator of the Famous Five and Noddy series, died in a nursing home in London after some years of declining health. She was one of the best-selling authors of the twentieth century, with her books translated into dozens of languages. Her work remains widely read by children today.
• 1898 – 1968 Dorothy Gish (1898-1968) American actress of silent film, sister of Lillian Gish and a star of D. W. Griffith's films.
• 1899 – 1968 Ramon Novarro (1899-1968) Mexican-born actor, the silent-era Ben-Hur and one of Hollywood's great Latin lovers.
• 1902 – 1968 John Steinbeck (1902-1968) Died 20 December 1968, aged 66 The American novelist, author of "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men," died of heart disease at his home in New York City. He had won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. His writing chronicled the struggles of working-class Americans during the Great Depression.
• 1902 – 1968 Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968) Died 12 December 1968, aged 66 The American stage and film actress, known for her deep voice and flamboyant public persona, died of complications from influenza and emphysema in New York City. She was celebrated for her Broadway performances, including in "The Little Foxes." Her outsized personality made her a fixture of American celebrity culture for decades.
• 1905 – 1968 Kay Francis (1905-1968) American actress, a glamorous star of pre-Code melodramas and comedies.
• 1905 – 1968 Franchot Tone (1905-1968) American actor from the Group Theatre, known for Mutiny on the Bounty.
• 1926 – 1968 Neal Cassady (1926-1968) Died 4 February 1968, aged 41 The Beat Generation figure who inspired Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" and later drove Ken Kesey's bus Furthur, died after collapsing beside a railroad track in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He was a central real-life character in Beat literary circles rather than a writer himself. His life became emblematic of the era's restless countercultural spirit.
• 1929 – 1968 Martin Luther King Civil rights leader Dr. King led the American civil rights movement, delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
• 1934 – 1968 Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) Died 27 March 1968, aged 34 The first human to travel into space, having orbited the Earth aboard Vostok 1 in 1961, died when the MiG-15 jet fighter he was piloting on a routine training flight crashed near Kirzhach, Russia. The exact cause of the crash remains disputed. His death was mourned as a national loss in the Soviet Union.
• 1936 – 1968 Jim Clark The Flying Scot Two-time World Champion considered the greatest of his era; won the Indy 500 and F1 title in the same year.
• 1938 – 1968 Bill Masterton (1938-1968) Died 15 January 1968, aged 29 The Minnesota North Stars forward died two days after suffering a severe head injury in a National Hockey League game against the Oakland Seals, having been checked and falling backward onto the ice without a helmet. He remains the only player to die from injuries sustained during an NHL game. His death spurred the eventual introduction of mandatory helmets in the league.
• 1960 – 1968 Pioneers of the Fender/Vox sound Equipment that defined British rock The Shadows were among the first British groups to use Fender Stratocaster guitars paired with Vox amplifiers and Meazzi Echomatic/Binson echo units — an equipment combination that became foundational to British rock guitar sound for decades.
• 1968 – 2025 Black Sabbath English heavy metal band Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — the Birmingham band that created heavy metal.
• 1968 Dave DeBusschere acquired A trade with the Detroit Pistons brings forward Dave DeBusschere to New York, completing the championship-core nucleus.
• 1968 – present Intel Intel Corporation — founded in 1968 by Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce in Mountain View, California — invented the microprocessor, defined the architecture of personal computing for fifty years, and became the most important semiconductor company in the world. The x86 instruction set Intel created in 1978 still runs the majority of the world's servers and personal computers today. Intel's 'Intel Inside' campaign made a chip manufacturer a household brand. Its manufacturing dominance, unchallenged for three decades, eroded in the 2010s as TSMC and Samsung surpassed it. The company's attempt to reclaim manufacturing leadership under CEO Pat Gelsinger is one of the most dramatic corporate turnaround stories in technology.
• 1968 – 2023 Lisa Marie Presley (1968-2023) Died 12 January 2023, aged 54 American singer-songwriter and the only child of Elvis Presley.
• 1968 Martin Luther King Jr assassinated Martin Luther King Jr assassinated Martin Luther King Jr was shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on 4 April 1968, where he had come to support striking sanitation workers. He was 39. Riots followed in more than a hundred cities, and the Fair Housing Act passed within the week.
• 1968 – 2024 Susan Wojcicki (1968-2024) Died 9 August 2024, aged 56 American technology executive who was chief executive of YouTube from 2014 to 2023 and an early Google employee.
• 1968 – 1999 The Band Canadian-American roots rock group Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson — Dylan's backing band who blended country, soul and folk into a new American music.
• 1968 Prague Spring reforms begin Alexander Dubcek launches liberalization of Czechoslovak communism Alexander Dubcek became First Secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party and initiated a program of political liberalization known as "socialism with a human face," easing censorship and travel restrictions. The reforms drew alarm from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact states. The period ended abruptly with the August invasion.
• 1968 – 2019 John Singleton (1968-2019) Died 28 April 2019, aged 51 John Singleton was an American film director whose debut feature, Boyz n the Hood, earned him Academy Award nominations for directing and screenwriting at age 24, making him the youngest and first Black director nominated for the award. He went on to direct films including Poetic Justice and Baby Boy. He died in Los Angeles after suffering a stroke.
• 1968 – present Artur Dmitriev Olympic Figure Skater Soviet and Russian pair figure skater who remains the only man in Olympic history to win pairs gold with two different partners. He won gold with Natalia Mishkutionok at the 1992 Albertville Olympics and again with Oksana Kazakova at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, both under the coaching of Tamara Moskvina. He also won Olympic silver in 1994, two World Championship titles and three European Championship titles. After retiring, he worked as a coach and performer in ice shows.
• 1968 Battle of Khe Sanh Prolonged siege of a US Marine base in Vietnam North Vietnamese forces besieged the US Marine combat base at Khe Sanh for over two months in one of the longest and most closely watched battles of the Vietnam War. American air power eventually broke the siege, inflicting heavy North Vietnamese casualties. The base was nonetheless abandoned by US forces later in the year.
• 1968 USS Pueblo seized by North Korea American intelligence ship captured off the North Korean coast North Korean naval vessels boarded and captured the USS Pueblo, killing one crewman and taking 82 sailors prisoner. The crew was held for eleven months and subjected to torture before their release in December 1968. The ship itself was never returned and remains in North Korean hands.
• 1968 Tet Offensive Coordinated North Vietnamese and Viet Cong assault on South Vietnamese cities On the Vietnamese New Year, communist forces launched surprise attacks on more than 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam, including Saigon and Hue. The offensive was a military defeat for the attackers but shattered American public confidence that the war was being won. It marked a turning point in US domestic support for the war.
• 1968 – 2010 Gary Coleman (1968-2010) Died 28 May 2010, aged 42 Coleman was an American actor who rose to fame as a child star on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. He struggled with health problems related to a congenital kidney condition throughout his life and later faced financial and legal difficulties. He died after a fall at his Utah home caused a brain hemorrhage.
• 1968 Kerner Commission report released US panel warns nation is moving toward two societies, separate and unequal A presidential commission investigating the causes of 1967's urban riots concluded that white racism, not black militancy, was primarily responsible for the violence. Its widely quoted finding warned that America was "moving toward two societies, one black, one white — separate and unequal." Many of its policy recommendations were not adopted.
• 1968 1968 World Snooker Championship John Pulman Last Title The final challenge match before the modern era. Winner: John Pulman; Runner-up: Eddie Charlton. Score: 39–34.
• 1968 1968 Polish political crisis Student protests and state-sponsored antisemitic purge in Poland Student demonstrations in Warsaw, sparked by the banning of a classic play, were met with a harsh crackdown and were followed by a government-orchestrated antisemitic campaign that pressured thousands of Polish Jews to emigrate. The events marked a significant rupture in Poland's postwar communist society. Many of those who left never returned.
• 1968 My Lai Massacre US soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians Members of a US Army company killed several hundred unarmed civilians, including women, children and the elderly, in the hamlet of My Lai. The killings were covered up for over a year before being exposed by journalist Seymour Hersh. The massacre became a defining atrocity of the Vietnam War and fueled anti-war sentiment in the United States.
• 1968 Otis Redding's Dock of the Bay reaches number one First posthumous number one The first posthumous number one single in US chart history.
• 1968 Yuri Gagarin dies in a MiG-15 crash Near Kirzhach, Soviet Union The first man in space is killed with his instructor Vladimir Seryogin when their MiG-15UTI trainer crashes during a routine training flight.
• 1968 – present Alexander Stubb Current President The 13th and current President of Finland, inaugurated in 2024.
• 1968 2001: A Space Odyssey premieres Stanley Kubrick's science fiction film opens in cinemas Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," co-written with Arthur C. Clarke, premiered to a mixed initial reception before becoming a landmark of science fiction cinema. Its groundbreaking visual effects won an Academy Award and influenced generations of filmmakers. The film is now widely regarded as one of the greatest ever made.
• 1968 Fair Housing Act signed US law bans discrimination in the sale and rental of housing President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, whose Title VIII prohibited discrimination in housing based on race, religion, and national origin. It was pushed through Congress in the week following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Sex was added as a protected category in a later amendment.
• 1968 Enoch Powell delivers "Rivers of Blood" speech British MP's anti-immigration speech provokes national controversy Conservative MP Enoch Powell delivered a speech in Birmingham warning against Commonwealth immigration to Britain, quoting Virgil to predict violent racial conflict. He was dismissed from the shadow cabinet the next day, but the speech drew significant public support and shaped British immigration debate for years. It remains one of the most controversial speeches in modern British politics.
• 1968 – 2001 Timothy McVeigh (1968-2001) Died 11 June 2001, aged 33 McVeigh was a former US Army soldier who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people in the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in US history. Driven by anti-government anger after the Waco siege, he was convicted on federal charges. He was executed by lethal injection at Terre Haute, Indiana.
• 1968 Hair opens on Broadway Rock musical celebrating counterculture debuts in New York The "American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" Hair opened on Broadway, bringing nudity, drug use and anti-war themes to a mainstream New York stage for the first time. Its score, including "Aquarius" and "Let the Sunshine In," became emblematic of the hippie counterculture. The show ran for over 1,700 performances.
• 1968 May 1968 protests in France Student unrest and general strike nearly topple the French government Student demonstrations in Paris escalated into the largest general strike in French history, with roughly ten million workers walking out. The unrest paralyzed the country and briefly threatened President Charles de Gaulle's government before subsiding. It reshaped French social and labor politics for decades afterward.
• 1968 Poor People's Campaign Multiracial march on Washington for economic justice Planned by Martin Luther King Jr before his death and carried out by Ralph Abernathy, the campaign brought thousands of demonstrators to Washington DC to demand economic justice for the poor. Protesters built a shantytown called Resurrection City on the National Mall. It ended when police cleared the encampment in late June.
• 1968 – present Kylie Minogue Australian pop icon, actress, and one of the best-selling recording artists in history Kylie Minogue rose from Australian soap opera stardom to become a global pop icon, selling over 80 million records across a career spanning five decades. From her breakthrough as Charlene on Neighbours to chart-topping hits like "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and a hard-fought battle with breast cancer, she has continually reinvented herself while remaining one of pop music's most enduring figures. Her influence spans music, fashion, and LGBTQ+ culture, earning her the nickname "the Princess of Pop."
• 1968 French Open 1968 — first Open Era Grand Slam Men: Ken Rosewall · Women: Nancy Richey The French Open was the FIRST Grand Slam to be played in the Open Era, allowing professionals. Ken Rosewall won at age 33.
• 1968 Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy US presidential candidate shot after winning the California primary Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after declaring victory in the California Democratic primary. He died the following day. His death, coming two months after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, deepened a sense of national crisis in the United States.
• 1968 – 2021 Jovenel Moise (1968-2021) Died 7 July 2021, aged 53 President of Haiti from 2017 until his assassination by a commando unit at his home in Port-au-Prince.
• 1968 – present Paolo Maldini Il Capitano Legendary AC Milan defender who won five Champions League titles.
• 1968 – 2016 Crosby, Stills & Nash American folk rock trio David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash — the harmony supergroup of Laurel Canyon, sometimes with Neil Young.
• 1968 Wimbledon 1968 — Open Era begins Men: Rod Laver · Women: Billie Jean King First Open Era Wimbledon, allowing professionals to compete. Rod Laver and Billie Jean King won their respective titles.
• 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opened for signature Landmark treaty aims to limit spread of nuclear weapons The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was opened for signature simultaneously in Washington, London and Moscow, committing signatories to curb the spread of nuclear arms while pursuing disarmament. It entered into force in 1970 and became the cornerstone of international non-proliferation efforts. Most of the world's nations eventually joined it.
• 1968 The Band release Music from Big Pink The Weight A debut that steered rock away from psychedelia towards roots music.
• 1968 Humanae Vitae issued Pope Paul VI reaffirms Catholic ban on artificial contraception Pope Paul VI released the encyclical Humanae Vitae, upholding the Catholic Church's prohibition of artificial birth control despite recommendations from an advisory commission to relax the teaching. The decision provoked open dissent among clergy and laity in several countries. It remains a point of ongoing debate within the Church.
• 1968 US Open 1968 — Open Era begins Men: Arthur Ashe · Women: Virginia Wade First Open Era US Open. Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win the US Open.
• 1968 Janis Joplin releases Cheap Thrills with Big Brother Piece of My Heart Number one for eight weeks.
• 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Soviet-led forces crush the Prague Spring Roughly 200,000 troops and 2,000 tanks from the Soviet Union and four other Warsaw Pact states invaded Czechoslovakia to halt Alexander Dubcek's reforms. Czechoslovak citizens engaged in widespread but nonviolent resistance. Dubcek was removed from power the following year and hardline rule was restored.
• 1968 1968 Democratic National Convention protests Violent clashes between police and anti-war demonstrators in Chicago Thousands of anti-Vietnam War protesters gathered in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, where Chicago police violently confronted demonstrators in scenes broadcast live on national television. A federal commission later described the response as a "police riot." The unrest deepened divisions within the Democratic Party ahead of the presidential election.
• 1968 The Byrds release Sweetheart of the Rodeo Country rock With Gram Parsons, a founding album of country rock.
• 1968 Star Trek: The Original Series — Season 3 The third and final season of 24 episodes suffers from reduced budget and network interference. Despite containing classics like "The Enterprise Incident" and "All Our Yesterdays," the show is cancelled in June 1969. Fan letter campaigns are credited with extending the run by one season. The series ends, but its cultural legacy is just beginning.
• 1968 – present Mika Häkkinen The Flying Finn Two-time World Champion and Michael Schumacher’s greatest rival in the late 1990s.
• 1968 Boeing 747 rolled out First jumbo jet unveiled to the public Boeing publicly rolled out the first 747 at its new Everett, Washington factory, the largest building by volume in the world at the time. The aircraft would go on to transform long-haul air travel by dramatically increasing passenger capacity. It entered commercial service with Pan Am the following year.
• 1968 – 1980 Led Zeppelin English rock band Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham — the heaviest and biggest-selling rock band of the 1970s.
• 1968 The Temptations release Cloud Nine Psychedelic soul Motown's first Grammy winner.
• 1968 Tlatelolco massacre Mexican security forces kill student protesters days before the Olympics Government troops and police opened fire on a student demonstration in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Mexico City, killing an unknown number of protesters, estimated from dozens to hundreds. The massacre came ten days before the opening of the Mexico City Olympics and was suppressed in official accounts for years. It remains a defining trauma in modern Mexican history.
• 1968 1968 Summer Olympics XIX Olympiad - Mexico City Held at high altitude (2240m). Winner: USA.
• 1968 Black Power salute at the Mexico City Olympics Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise fists on the medal podium After finishing first and third in the 200 meters, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos each raised a black-gloved fist during the US national anthem to protest racial injustice. Both were expelled from the Olympic Village and suspended from the US team. The image became one of the most enduring symbols of 1960s political protest.
• 1968 Jimi Hendrix releases Electric Ladyland All Along the Watchtower A double album with his definitive take on Bob Dylan's song.
• 1968 Marvin Gaye releases I Heard It Through the Grapevine Motown's biggest hit Number one for seven weeks — the label's best-selling single to date.
• 1968 Sly and the Family Stone release Everyday People Number one Different strokes for different folks — number one in 1969.
• 1968 Van Morrison releases Astral Weeks Recorded in two days A sold-poorly, jazz-backed song cycle later ranked among the greatest albums ever.
• 1968 "Established 1958" & first split Bruce Welch leaves Released "Established 1958", a tenth-anniversary album mixing songs with Cliff Richard and pure Shadows instrumentals — all written by the group. The line-up split shortly after, in December 1968, with Bruce Welch initially leaving.
• 1968 – 1969 1969 World Snooker Championship The Modern Era Begins The first tournament played as a knockout format, marking the "modern era." Winner: John Spencer; Runner-up: Gary Owen. Score: 37–24.
• 1968 The Beatles (White Album) Tenth album — November 22, 1968 The Beatles — known as the White Album for its plain white cover — was released on November 22, 1968. A sprawling double album of 30 tracks, it showed the four members increasingly working as separate artists. It reached number 1 in both the UK and US.
• 1968 The Kinks release The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society Concept album A flop on release, now seen as their masterpiece.
• 1968 Beggars Banquet Seventh album — December 6, 1968 Beggars Banquet, released on December 6, 1968, marked the Stones' return to blues roots after their psychedelic experiment. It included "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man" — widely considered the beginning of their classic period.
• 1968 Zodiac Killer's first confirmed murders Unidentified serial killer begins attacks in Northern California An unidentified assailant later dubbed the Zodiac Killer shot and killed two teenagers, David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, near Vallejo, California. The killer would claim further victims and taunt police and newspapers with coded letters over the following years. The case remains officially unsolved.
• 1968 Apollo 8 orbits the Moon First crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit and circle the Moon Astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders became the first humans to leave low Earth orbit, travel to the Moon, and orbit it, completing ten lunar orbits before returning safely. During the mission the crew read from the Book of Genesis in a broadcast watched around the world. The flight paved the way for the Apollo 11 landing the following year.