1968

• The Vietnam War turned ugly with the successful launch of the Tet Offensive, sparking a dramatic anti-war movement across the United States. U.S. troops set off their own little atrocity: the My Lai Massacre.
• U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson declared that he would not seek re-election. Robert Kennedy, the front runner to replace him on the Democratic ticket, was assassinated. Outside the 1968 Democratic Convention, student protestors fought with police in one of the most epic riots in American history. The Democratic nominee, Hubert Humphrey, ended up being no match for Richard M. Nixon in the 1968 U.S. presidential election.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the leader of the African American civil rights movement, was shot and killed, sparking even more riots across the U.S. (cf. 1968 Chicago Race Riot)
• Johnson, short on political capital, nominated Abe Fortas for Chief Justice of the United States, but was unable to win Senate approval. Earl Warren agreed to extend his tenure for an extra year and would eventually be replaced by Nixon in 1969.
• The U.S. left the gold standard.
• Pierre Elliott Trudeau became prime minister of Canada.
• France erupted in riots and strikes after Bloody Monday, when students hurled rocks at police and were struck back with tear gas.
• In Czechoslovakia, anti-communist protestors took to the streets in the Prague Spring. 200,000 Soviet troops marched into the country that fall in the first exercise of the Brezhnev Doctrine.
• North Korea captured the USS Pueblo and held its crew for eleven months, releasing them in December across the Bridge of No Return.
• Mauritius gained independence from Britain and Nauru gained independence from Australia.

• The first heart transplant was carried out by Christiaan Barnard.
• Apollo 7 and Apollo 8 were launched.
• ASCII was invented.
• CBS used the first portable TV cameras to cover the presidential election.

• The Mexico City Olympics was one of the most politicized Games ever: many African countries refused to participate when South Africa was allowed in.
• Manchester United became the first English soccer team to win the European Cup with a dramatic victory over Benfica at Wembley Stadium.
• Arlo Guthrie performed "Alice's Restaurant" for the first time.
• Simon and Garfunkel won the Grammy for "Mrs. Robinson."
• USC won the Rose Bowl: the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl II.
• The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the St. Louis Blues 4-0.
• Two classic science fiction films were released: 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes.
• Forward Pass won the first two races of the Triple Crown, but choked at Belmont Park.
• The Detroit Tigers won the World Series 4-3 over the St. Louis Cardinals.
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In debuted.

• Danish crown prince Frederik
• Singers Celine Dion and Kylie Minogue
• Rappers Will Smith, Vanilla Ice, LL Cool J, Shaggy, and Rakim
• Gymnast Mary Lou Retton
• Danni Ashe, the most downloaded woman on the internet
• Reggae star Ziggy Marley
• Actors Owen Wilson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Naomi Watts, Gary Coleman, and Pauly Shore
• Baseball star "Slammin'" Sammy Sosa
• Talk show host Ricki Lake
• Comedians Margaret Cho and Orlando Jones
• Guitarist Heather Nova
• Uberbabes Lucy Lawless, Kelly Hu, Lucy Liu, and Jeri Ryan
• Novelist Yu Miri
• Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh
• And who could leave out DJ Skribble?

• Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
• U.S. senator and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy
• U.N. secretary general Trygve Lie
• British princess Marina
• Authors John Steinbeck and Arnold Zweig
• Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space
• Physicist Lev Davidovich Landau
• Disabled advocate Helen Keller
• Beatnik Neal Cassady
• Children's author Virginia Lee Burton
• Animator Sid Sutherland

• Abbie Hoffman published "The Yippies are Going to Chicago."
• Andy Warhol was shot in his New York apartment, but survived for another 20 years.
• The first 911 system became operational.

1967 << 1968 >> 1969