1968

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	19th century – 20th century – 21st century
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s – 1960s – 1970s 1980s 1990s
Years:	1965 1966 1967 – 1968 – 1969 1970 1971

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1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1968th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 968th year of the 2nd millennium, the 68th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1960s decade.

Events

January 5 – Alexander Dubček elected as leader of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party – the "Prague Spring" begins in Czechoslovakia
January 15 – An earthquake in Sicily – 231 dead, 262 injured
January 21 – US B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland and in the process discharges four nuclear bombs
January 23 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship violated its territorial waters while spying.
January 25 – The Israeli Submarine Dakar sinks in the Mediterranean Sea – 69 dead
January 27 – French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean with 52 men
January 30 – Vietnam War: The Tết Offensive begins, as NLF forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam.
January 31 – NLF soldiers attack the United States embassy in Saigon
January 31 – Nauru's president Hammer DeRoburt declares independence from Australia.
February 19 – PBS airs the first episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with host Fred Rogers
April 4 – Martin Luther King Jr. is shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee.
June 5 – Robert F. Kennedy is shot, and dies on the following day.
August 20 – The Prague Uprising is crushed.
December 22 - Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that it is "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."(Down to the Countryside Movement)

Births

January 5 - Adel Aljabrin, Saudi Arabian archer
January 14 – LL Cool J, American singer and musician
January 28 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian musician
January 30 – Crown Prince Felipe of Spain
February 1 – Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley (d. 2023)
February 8 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
February 18 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
March 2 – Daniel Craig, British actor
March 6 – Moira Kelly, American actress
March 30 – Céline Dion, Canadian singer and actress
April 1 – Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
April 19 – Arshad Warsi, Indian actor
April 28 - Andy Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
May 1 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
May 7 – Traci Lords, American actress & singer
May 26 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
May 28 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer & actress
June 1 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor & singer
June 21 – Chris Gueffroy, last person to be shot at the Berlin Wall (d. 1989)
June 26 – Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
July 16 – Larry Sanger, Wikipedia co-founder
July 21 – Brandi Chastain, American footballer
August 2 – Stefan Effenberg, German footballer
August 4 – Daniel Dae-Kim, American actor
August 5 – Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver (d. 2007)
August 9 – Gillian Anderson, American actress
August 16 – Arwind Kejriwal, Indian politician
September 1 – Mohamed Atta, Egyptian terrorist (d. 2001)
September 7 – Marcel Desailly, French footballer
September 10 – Andreas Herzog, Austrian footballer
September 25 – Will Smith, American actor
September 28 – Naomi Watts, American actress
October 12 – Hugh Jackman, Australian actor
October 17 - Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer (Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers)
October 18 – Michael Stich, German tennis player
December 2 – Lucy Liu, American actress
December 3 – Brendon Fraser, Canadian-American actor
December 9 – Kurt Angle, American professional wrestler
December 18 – Mario Basler, German footballer
December 30 – Meredith Monroe, American actress

Deaths

January 22 – Duke Kahanamoku, American athlete (b. 1890)
March 27 – Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1934)
April 4 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1929)
April 7 – Jim Clark, Scottish racing driver (b. 1936)
June 1 – Helen Keller, American educator (b. 1880)
June 6 – Robert F. Kennedy, American politician (b. 1925)
November 28 – Enid Blyton, British writer (b. 1897)
December 20 – John Steinbeck, American writer (b. 1902)
December 30 – Trygve Lie, UN Secretary-General (b. 1896)

Movies released

New books

Flight 714 by Hergé
M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker

Hit songs

"Born To Be Wild" – Steppenwolf
"Dance To The Music" – Sly and the Family Stone
"Harper Valley P.T.A" – Jeannie C. Riley
"Hello, I Love You" – The Doors
"Hey Jude"/"Revolution" – The Beatles
"Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" – John Fred & his Playboy Band
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" – Rolling Stones
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" – Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
"Lady Madonna" – The Beatles
"Chain of Fools" – Aretha Franklin
"Valleri" – The Monkees
"Mony Mony" – Tommy James & the Shondells
"Mrs. Robinson" – Simon and Garfunkel
"(Sittin' On The) Dock Of The Bay" – Otis Redding
"Sunshine Of Your Love" – Cream
"This Guy's in Love With You" – Herb Alpert
"Midnight Confessions" – The Grass Roots
"Classical Gas" – Mason Williams

1968 Media

January 23: North Korea seizes USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
January 30: Tet Offensive begins
April 4: Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated in Memphis
May 2–June 23: Protests in France grow and demonstrators barricade the streets
August 20–21: Warsaw Pact invades Czechoslovakia
October 12–27: 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City
November 5: Richard Nixon elected United States President
Cuba Gooding Jr & Eduard Osipov on film set
Silver King