January
January 30: Tet begins.
January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as the leader of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia.[1]
January 8 – British Prime Minister Harold Wilson endorses the I'm Backing Britain campaign for working an additional half hour each day without pay.[2]
January 14 – The Green Bay Packers defeat the Oakland Raiders by the score of 33-14 in Super Bowl II at the Miami Orange Bowl.
January 15 – An earthquake in Sicily kills 380 and injures around 1,000.[3][4]
January 17 – Lyndon B. Johnson calls for the non-conversion of the U.S. dollar.
January 21
Vietnam War – Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on April 8.
A U.S. B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland, discharging 4 nuclear bombs.
January 22 – Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In debuts on NBC.
January 23 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship violated its territorial waters while spying.
January 25 – The Israeli submarine INS Dakar sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 69.
January 23 USS Pueblo
January 27 – A French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean Sea with 52 men.
January 30 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins, as Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam.
January 31
Việt Cộng soldiers attack the US Embassy, Saigon.
Nauru president Hammer DeRoburt declares independence from Australia.
February
February 1
Vietnam War: A Viet Cong officer named Nguyễn Văn Lém is executed by Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The event is photographed by Eddie Adams. The photo makes headlines around the world, eventually winning the 1969 Pulitzer Prize, and sways U.S. public opinion against the war.
The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merge to form Penn Central, the largest ever corporate merger up to this date.
February 6–February 18 – The 1968 Winter Olympics are held in Grenoble, France.
February 8 – American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken up by highway patrolmen; 3 college students are killed.
February 11
Border clashes take place between Israel and Jordan.
Madison Square Garden in New York City opens at its current location.
February 12 – Vietnam War: Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
February 13 – Civil rights disturbances occur at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
February 17 – Administrative reforms in Romania divide the country into 39 counties.
February 19
The Florida Education Association (FEA) initiates a mass resignation of teachers to protest state funding of education. This is, in effect, the first statewide teachers' strike in the United States.
NET televises the very first episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
February 24 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Huế.
February 25 – Vietnam War: Hà My massacre.
February 27 – Ex-Teenagers singer Frankie Lymon is found dead from a heroin overdose in Harlem.
March
March 7 – Vietnam War: The First Battle of Saigon ends.
March 8 – The first student protests spark the 1968 Polish political crisis.
March 10–11 – Vietnam War: Battle of Lima Site 85, the largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during the then-secret war later known as the Laotian Civil War.
March 11 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson mandates that all computers purchased by the federal government support the ASCII character encoding.[5]
March 12
Mauritius achieves independence from British rule.
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson barely edges out antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, a vote which highlights the deep divisions in the country, and the party, over Vietnam.
March 13 – The first Rotaract club is chartered in North Charlotte, North Carolina.
March 14 – Nerve gas leaks from the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground near Skull Valley, Utah.
March 15 – British Foreign Secretary George Brown resigns.
March 16
Vietnam War – My Lai Massacre: American troops kill scores of civilians. The story will first become public in November 1969 and will help undermine public support for the U.S. efforts in Vietnam.
U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy enters the race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
March 17 – A demonstration in London's Grosvenor Square against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War leads to violence; 91 people are injured, 200 demonstrators arrested.
March 18 – Gold standard: The United States Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back U.S. currency.
March 19–March 23 – Afrocentrism, Black Power, Vietnam War: Students at Howard University in Washington, D.C., signal a new era of militant student activism on college campuses in the U.S. Students stage rallies, protests and a 5-day sit-in, laying siege to the administration building, shutting down the university in protest over its ROTC program and the Vietnam War, and demanding a more Afrocentric curriculum.
March 21 – Vietnam War: In ongoing campus unrest, Howard University students protesting the Vietnam War, the ROTC program on campus and the draft, confront Gen. Lewis Hershey, then head of the U.S. Selective Service System, and as he attempts to deliver an address, shout him down with cries of "America is the Black man's battleground!"
March 22 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit ("Danny the Red") and 7 other students occupy the administrative offices of the University of Nanterre, setting in motion a chain of events that lead France to the brink of revolution in May.
March 24 – Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashes en route from Cork to London near Tuskar Rock, Wexford, killing 61 passengers and crew.
March 26 – Joan Baez marries activist David Harris in New York.
March 28 – Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is shot by the police in a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students. The aftermath of his death is one of the first major events against the military dictatorship.
March 31 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not seek re-election.
April
April 2
Bombs explode at midnight in two department stores in Frankfurt-am-Main; Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin are later arrested and sentenced for arson.
The film 2001: A Space Odyssey premieres in Washington, D.C.
April 3 – The American movie Planet of the Apes is released in theaters.
April 4
Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities, lasting for several days afterwards.
Apollo program: Apollo-Saturn mission 502 (Apollo 6) is launched, as the second and last unmanned test-flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle.
April 6
La, la, la by Massiel (music and lyrics by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 for Spain, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
A shootout between Black Panthers and Oakland police results in several arrests and deaths, including 16-year-old Panther Bobby Hutton.
A double explosion in downtown Richmond, Indiana kills 41 and injures 150.
April 7 – Racing driver Jim Clark is killed in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim.
April 8 – The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (under Department of Justice) (BNDD) is created.
April 10 – The ferry TEV Wahine strikes a reef at the mouth of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, with the loss of 53 lives, in Cyclone Giselle, which created the windiest conditions ever recorded in New Zealand.
April 11
Josef Bachmann tries to assassinate Rudi Dutschke, leader of the left-wing movement (APO) in Germany, and tries to commit suicide afterwards, failing in both, although Dutschke dies of his brain injuries 11 years later.
German left-wing students blockade the Springer Press HQ in Berlin and many are arrested (one of them Ulrike Meinhof).
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
April 20
Pierre Trudeau becomes Canada's 15th Prime Minister.
English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
MGM's classic film The Wizard of Oz makes its NBC debut after being telecast on CBS since 1956. It will remain on NBC for the next 8 years.
April 23
President Mobutu releases captured mercenaries in the Congo.
Surgeons at the Hôpital de la Pitié, Paris, perform Europe's first heart transplant, on Clovis Roblain.
The United Methodist Church is created by the union of the former Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches.
April 23–April 30 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university (see main article Columbia University protests of 1968).
April 26 – The nuclear weapon "Boxcar" is tested at the Nevada Test Site in the biggest detonation of Operation Crosstie.
April 29 – The musical Hair officially opens on Broadway.
May
May 2 – The Israel Broadcasting Authority commences television broadcasts.
May 3 – Braniff Flight 352 crashes near Dawson, Texas, killing all 85 persons on board.
May 13 – Paris student riots: One million march through the streets of Paris.
May 13 – Manchester City wins the 1967–68 Football League First Division by 2 clear points, over club rivals Manchester United.
May 14 – The Beatles announce the creation of Apple Records in a New York press conference.
May 15 – An outbreak of severe thunderstorms produces tornadoes, causing massive damage and heavy casualties in Charles City, Iowa, Oelwein, Iowa, and Jonesboro, Arkansas.
May 16 – Ronan Point, a 23 floor tower block in Canning Town, east London, partially collapses after a gas explosion, killing 5.
May 17 – The Catonsville Nine enter the Selective Service offices in Catonsville, Maryland, take dozens of selective service draft records, and burn them with napalm as a protest against the Vietnam War.
May 19
A general election is held in Italy.
Nigerian forces capture Port Harcourt and form a ring around the Biafrans. This contributes to a humanitarian disaster as the surrounded population already suffers from hunger and starvation.
May 22 – The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
May 29 – Manchester United wins the European Cup Final, becoming the first English team to do so.
May 30 – Bobby Unser wins the Indianapolis 500.
June
June 3 – Radical feminist Valerie Solanas shoots Andy Warhol as he enters his studio, wounding him.
June 4 – The Standard & Poor's 500 index closes above 100 for the first time, at 100.38.
June 5 – U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies from his injuries the next day.
June 8 – James Earl Ray is arrested for the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr..
June 10 – Italy beats Yugoslavia 2–0 in a replay to win the 1968 European Championship. The original final on June 8 ended 1–1.
June 12 – The film Rosemary's Baby premieres in the U.S.
June 17 – The Malayan Communist Party launches a second insurgency and the state of emergency is again imposed in Malaysia.
June 20 – Austin Currie, Member of Parliament at Stormont in Northern Ireland, along with others, squats a house in Caledon to protest discrimination in housing allocations.
June 23 – A football stampede in Buenos Aires leaves 74 dead and 150 injured.
June 24 – Giorgio Rosa declares the independence of his Republic of Rose Island, an artificial island off Rimini, Italy. Italian troops demolish it not long after.
June 26 – The Bonin Islands are returned to Japan after 23 years of occupation by the United States Navy.
June 30 – The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy heavy military transport aircraft first flies in the U.S. This model will still be in service 40 years later.
July
July 1
The Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signature.
July 4 – Yachtsman Alec Rose, 59, receives a hero's welcome as he sails into Portsmouth, England after his 354-day round-the-world trip.
July 15
– The soap opera One Life to Live premieres on ABC.
July 17 – Saddam Hussein becomes Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Council in Iraq after a coup d'état.
July 18 – The semiconductor company Intel is founded.
July 20 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
July 23–July 28 – Black militants led by Fred (Ahmed) Evans engage in a fierce gunfight with police in the Glenville Shootout of Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
July 25 – Pope Paul VI publishes the encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae, condemning birth control.
July 26 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to 5 years hard labor, for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
July 29 – Arenal Volcano erupts in Costa Rica for the first time in centuries.
July 30 – Thames Television starts transmission in London.
August
August 5–August 8 – The Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida nominates Richard Nixon for U.S. President and Spiro Agnew for Vice President.
August 11 – The last steam passenger train service runs in Britain. A selection of British Railways steam locomotives make the 120-mile journey from Liverpool to Carlisle and return to Liverpool – the journey is known as the Fifteen Guinea Special.
August 18 – Two charter buses are pushed into the Hida River on National Highway Route 41 in Japan, in an accident caused by heavy rain; 104 are killed.
August 20–August 21 – The Prague Spring of political liberalization ends, as 750,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 6,500 tanks with 800 planes invade Czechoslovakia. It is dated as the biggest operation in Europe since WWII ended.
August 21 – The Medal of Honor is posthumously awarded to James Anderson, Jr.—he is the first black U.S. Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
August 24 – France explodes its first hydrogen bomb.
August 22–August 30 – Police clash with anti-war protesters in Chicago, Illinois, outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which nominates Hubert Humphrey for U.S. President, and Edmund Muskie for Vice President. The riots and subsequent trials were an essential part of the activism of the Youth International Party.
August 29
John Gordon Mein, US Ambassador to Guatemala, is assassinated on the streets of Guatemala City. First US Ambassador assassinated in the line of duty.
Crown Prince Harald of Norway marries Sonja Haraldsen, the commoner he has dated for 9 years, in Oslo.
September
September 6
Swaziland becomes independent.
150 women (members of New York Radical Women) arrive in Atlantic City, New Jersey to protest against the Miss America Pageant, as exploitative of women. Led by activist and author Robin Morgan, it is one of the first large demonstrations of Second Wave Feminism as Women's Liberation begins to gather much media attention.
September 11
The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) is founded.
French General René Cogny and 94 others die in an Air France Caravelle jetliner crash near Nice in the Mediterranean.
September 13
Albania officially retreats from the Warsaw Pact upon the Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, having already ceased to participate actively in Pact activity since 1962.
US Army Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, WWII Medal of Honor recipient, is killed when his helicopter is shot down in Vietnam. He is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Agreement for merger between the General Electric Company and English Electric, the largest industrial merger in the UK up to this date.
September 14 – Detroit Tiger Denny McLain becomes the first baseball pitcher to win 30 games in a season since 1934. He remains the last to accomplish the feat.
September 17 – The D'Oliveira Affair: The Marylebone Cricket Club tour of South Africa is cancelled when the South Africans refuse to accept the presence of Basil D'Oliveira, a Cape Coloured, in the side.
September 20 – Hawaii 5-O debuts on CBS, and eventually becomes the longest-running crime show in television history, until Law & Order overtakes it in 2003.
September 21 – The Soviet's Zond 5 unmanned lunar flyby mission returns to earth, with its first of a kind biological payload intact.
September 23 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive comes to an end in South Vietnam.
September 24 – 60 Minutes debuts on CBS and is still on the air as of 2014.
September 27 – Marcelo Caetano becomes prime minister of Portugal.
September 29 – A referendum in Greece gives more power to the military junta.
September 30 – At Paine Field, near Everett, Washington in the United States, Boeing officially rolls out its new 747 for the media and the public.
October
October 2 – Tlatelolco massacre: A student demonstration ends in bloodbath at La Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco, Mexico City, Mexico, 10 days before the inauguration of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
October 3 – In Peru, Juan Velasco Alvarado takes power in a revolution.
October 5 – Police baton civil rights demonstrators in Derry, Northern Ireland, marking the beginning of The Troubles.
October 8 – Vietnam War – Operation Sealords: United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.
October 10 – the Detroit Tigers win the 1968 World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3.
October 11
Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission (Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, Walter Cunningham). Mission goals include the first live television broadcast from orbit and testing the lunar module docking maneuver.
In Panama, a military coup d'état, led by Col. Boris Martinez and Col. Omar Torrijos, overthrows the democratically elected (but highly controversial) government of President Arnulfo Arias. Within a year, Torrijos ousts Martinez and takes charge as de facto Head of Government in Panama.
October 12–October 27 – The Games of the XIX Olympiad are held in Mexico City, Mexico.
October 12 – Equatorial Guinea receives its independence from Spain.
October 14 – Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the United States Army and United States Marines will send about 24,000 troops back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours.
October 15 – Led Zeppelin makes their first live performance, at Surrey University in England[6]
October 16
In Mexico City, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their arms in a black power salute after winning, respectively, the gold and bronze medals in the Olympic men's 200 metres.
Kingston, Jamaica is rocked by the Rodney Riots, provoked by the banning of Walter Rodney from the country.
October 20 – Former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis on the Greek island of Skorpios.
October 22 – The Gun Control Act of 1968 is enacted.
October 31 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in the Paris peace talks, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
November
November 5
U.S. presidential election, 1968: Republican challenger Richard Nixon defeats the Democratic candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and American Independent Party candidate George C. Wallace.
Luis A. Ferré, of the newly formed New Progressive Party is elected Governor of Puerto Rico, by beating incumbent governor Roberto Sánchez Vilella of the People's Party, Luis Negrón López of the Popular Democratic Party and Antonio J. Gonzalez of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, he also becomes the first "statehooder" governor of the Island.
November 11
Vietnam War: Operation Commando Hunt is initiated to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam. By the end of the operation, 3 million tons of bombs are dropped on Laos, slowing but not seriously disrupting trail operations.
A second republic is declared in the Maldives.
November 14 – Yale University announces it is going to admit women.
November 17 – The Heidi Game: NBC cuts off the final 1:05 of an Oakland Raiders–New York Jets football game to broadcast the pre-scheduled Heidi. Fans are unable to see Oakland (which had been trailing 32–29) score 2 late touchdowns to win 43–32; as a result, thousands of outraged football fans flood the NBC switchboards to protest.
November 19 – In Mali, President Modibo Keïta's regime is overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by Moussa Traoré.[7]
November 20 – The Farmington Mine disaster in Farmington, West Virginia, kills seventy-eight men.
November 22
The Beatles release their self-titled album popularly known as the White Album.
"Plato's Stepchildren", 12th episode of Star Trek 3rd season is aired, featuring the first-ever interracial kiss on U.S. national television between Lieutenant Uhura and Captain James T. Kirk.
November 24 – 4 men hijack Pan Am Flight 281 from JFK International Airport, New York to Havana, Cuba.
November 26 – Vietnam War: United States Air Force First Lieutenant and Bell UH-1F helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire, earning a Medal of Honor for his bravery.
November 27-30 – First National Women's Liberation Conference in Lake Villa, Illinois.
December
December 3 – The '68 Comeback Special marks the concert return of Elvis Presley.
December 6 – The Rolling Stones release Beggars Banquet, which contains the classic song "Sympathy for the Devil."
December 9 – Douglas Engelbart publicly demonstrates his pioneering hypertext system, NLS, in San Francisco, together with the computer mouse, at what becomes retrospectively known as "The Mother of All Demos".
December 10 – Japan's biggest heist, the never-solved "300 million yen robbery", occurs in Tokyo.
December 11 – The film Oliver!, based on the hit London and Broadway musical, opens in the U.S. after being released first in England. It goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is also filmed on this date, but not released until 1996.
December 13 – Brazilian president Artur da Costa e Silva decrees the AI-5 (or the Fifth Institutional Act), which lasts until 1978 and marks the beginning of the hard times of Brazilian military dictatorship.
December 20 – The Zodiac Killer is believed to have shot Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday on Lake Herman Road, Benicia, San Francisco Bay, California.
December 22
David Eisenhower, grandson of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, marries Julie Nixon, the daughter of U.S. President-elect Richard Nixon.
Mao Zedong advocates that educated youth in urban China be re-educated in the country. It marks the start of the "Up to the mountains and down to the villages" movement.
December 24 – Apollo program: U.S. spacecraft Apollo 8 enters orbit around the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William A. Anders become the first humans to see the far side of the Moon and planet Earth as a whole. The crew also reads from Genesis.
December 26 – Led Zeppelin make their American debut in Denver, CO.
December 28 – Israeli forces launch an attack on Beirut airport, destroying more than a dozen aircraft.
Dates unknown
The Khmer Rouge is officially formed in Cambodia as an offshoot movement of the Vietnam People's Army from North Vietnam to bring communism to the nation. A few years later, they will become bitter enemies.
Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars are introduced.
Births
January
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Sarah McLachlan
January 1 – Davor Šuker, Croatian soccer footballer
January 2 – Cuba Gooding Jr., African-American actor
January 5
Andrzej Gołota, Polish boxer
Carrie Ann Inaba, American choreographer, game show host and singer
January 6 – John Singleton, African-American film director and writer
January 9 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
January 12
Keith Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
Rachael Harris, American actress and comedian
January 13 – Pat Onstad, Canadian footballer
January 14 – LL Cool J, African-American rapper and actor
January 15 – Chad Lowe, American actor
January 16 – Stephan Pastis, American cartoonist
January 17 – Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
January 19 – Matt Hill, Canadian voice actor
January 21 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
January 23 – Yasuhiro Takato, Japanese voice actor
January 24
Michael Kiske, German musician
Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
January 26 – Novala Takemoto, Japanese author and fashion designer
January 27 – Mike Patton, American singer
January 28 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer
January 29
Edward Burns, American actor
Sora Jung, Korean actress
January 30 – King Felipe VI of Spain
February
Molly Ringwald
Josh Brolin
Niamh Kavanagh
February 1
Lisa Marie Presley, American singer
Mark Recchi, Canadian hockey player
February 2 – Kenny Albert, American sports announcer
February 3
Vlade Divac, Serbian basketball player
Marwan Khoury, Lebanese singer and composer
February 5
Roberto Alomar, American baseball player
Marcus Grönholm, Finnish rally driver
Qasim Melho, Syrian television actor
February 7
Peter Bondra, Slovakian ice hockey player
Porntip Nakhirunkanok, Miss Universe 1988
February 8 – Gary Coleman, African-American actor (d. 2010)
February 10
Laurie Foell, New Zealand/Australian actress
Atika Suri, Indonesian television newscaster
February 12 – Josh Brolin, American actor
February 13
Kelly Hu, Asian-American actress and former fashion model
Niamh Kavanagh, Irish singer, Eurovision Song Contest 1993 winner
February 14 – Jules Asner, American model and television personality
February 15 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
February 18
Molly Ringwald, American actress, singer and dancer
Dennis Satin, German film director
February 22
Delphine Boël, purported out-of-wedlock daughter of King Albert II of Belgium
Brad Nowell, American musician (d. 1996)
Jeri Ryan, American actress
February 25
Thomas G:son, Swedish composer and musician, co-writer of Euphoria
Sandrine Kiberlain, French actress
February 27 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player
March
Daniel Craig
Aaron Eckhart
Celine Dion
March 1
Kunjarani Devi, Indian weightlifter
Muho Noelke, German Zen master
March 2 – Daniel Craig, British actor
March 3 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
March 4
Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
Patsy Kensit, British actress
March 5 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian Prime Minister
March 6 – Moira Kelly, American actress
March 10 – Thio Li-ann, Singaporean law academic and Nominated Member of Parliament
March 11 – Lisa Loeb, American singer
March 12 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor
March 13
Akira Nogami, Japanese professional wrestler
Masami Okui, Japanese singer
March 14 – James Frain, British actor
March 15 – Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician
March 16 – Trevor Wilson, American basketball player
March 18 – Shinichiro Miki, Japanese voice actor
March 19 – Mots'eoa Senyane, Lesotho diplomat
March 20 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean long-distance runner
March 22 – Euronymous, Norwegian musician (d. 1993)
March 23
Damon Albarn, English rock musician
Mike Atherton, English cricketer
Mitch Cullin, American novelist
March 26
Kenny Chesney, American country music singer
James Iha, American rock musician
March 28
Iris Chang, American author (d. 2004)
Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
March 29 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress and singer
March 30 – Céline Dion, Canadian singer
April
Ashley Judd
April 1
Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
Andreas Schnaas, German director
April 5 – Stewart Lee, English stand-up comedian
April 8 – Patricia Arquette, American actress
April 12 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
April 14 – Anthony Michael Hall, American actor and singer
April 15 – Stacey Williams, American model
April 16 – Martin Dahlin, Swedish football player
April 18 – David Hewlett, English born Canadian actor, writer and director
April 19 – Ashley Judd, American actress
April 20
J.D. Roth, American television host
Yelena Välbe, Russian cross-country skier
April 23 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (d. 2001)
April 24
Stacy Haiduk, American actress
Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
April 28 – Howard Donald, British singer (Take That)
April 29 – Darren Matthews, English professional wrestler
April 30 – T. T. Boy, American porn producer and actor
May
Tony Hawk
Kylie Minogue
May 1 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
May 2 – Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor
May 7 – Traci Lords, American actress/porn star
May 9 – Marie-José Pérec, French athlete
May 12 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
May 16 – Chingmy Yau, Hong Kong actress
May 17 – Constance Menard, French professional dressage rider
May 20 – Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby player
May 21 – Julie Vega, Filipino child actress and singer (d. 1985)
May 22 – Graham Linehan, Irish television writer and director
May 26 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
May 27
Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player
Frank Thomas, American baseball player
May 28 – Kylie Minogue, Australian actress and singer
May 30 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French-Moroccan 9/11 conspirator
June
Theoren Fleury
June 1
Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
Karen Mulder, Dutch model and singer
June 2
Beetlejuice, member of the Wack Pack (The Howard Stern Show)
Jon Culshaw, English impressionist
June 9 – Alexandr Konovalov, Russian lawyer and politician
June 10
Bill Burr, American comedian
Nobutoshi Canna, Japanese voice actor
June 14 – Yasmine Bleeth, American actress
June 21 – Sonique, British singer
June 26
Paolo Maldini, Italian football player
Iwan Roberts, Welsh footballer
Shannon Sharpe, American football player and commentator
June 28 – Adam Woodyatt, British actor
June 29 – Theoren Fleury, Canadian hockey player
June 30 – Philip Anselmo, American musician
July
Kristin Chenoweth
July 5 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese manga artist
July 7
Jorja Fox, American actress
Allen Payne, American actor
Jeff VanderMeer, American writer
July 8
Billy Crudup, American actor
Akio Suyama, Japanese voice actor
Josephine Teo, Singaporean politician.
Michael Weatherly, American actor
July 9 – Eduardo Santamarina, Mexican actor
July 10 – Hassiba Boulmerka, Algerian athlete
July 13 – Omi Minami, Japanese voice actress
July 15 – Eddie Griffin, American actor and comedian
July 16
Dhanraj Pillay, Indian field hockey player
Barry Sanders, African-American football player
July 17 – Darren Day, British actor and TV presenter
July 19 – Robert Flynn, American vocalist and guitarist (Machine Head)
July 20 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian director
July 21 – Johnnie Barnes, American football player
July 23
Gary Payton, American basketball player
Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
July 24 – Kristin Chenoweth, American soprano and actress
July 27 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor
July 30 – Robert Korzeniowski, Polish athlete
August
Eric Bana
Debra Messing
August 3 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (d. 2007)
August 4
Lee Mack, British Comedian
Olga Neuwirth, Austrian composer
August 5
Marine Le Pen, French politician
Colin McRae, Scottish rally car driver (d. 2007)
August 9
Gillian Anderson, American actress
Eric Bana, Australian actor
James Roy, Australian author
August 10 – Greg Hawgood, Canadian ice hockey player
August 11 – Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian Islamist terrorist (d. 2009)
August 12
Andras Jones, American actor
Kōji Yusa, Japanese voice actor
August 14
Catherine Bell, American actress
Darren Clarke, Northern Irish professional golfer
Jason Leonard, English rugby player
August 15 – Debra Messing, American actress
August 17
Ed McCaffrey, American football player
Bruno van Pottelsberghe, Belgian economist
August 20 – Yuri Shiratori Japanese actress and singer
August 21 – Dina Carroll, British singer
August 24
Shoichi Funaki, Japanese professional wrestler
Hiroshi Kitadani, Japanese singer
Tim Salmon, American baseball player
August 25 – Rachael Ray, American television chef and host
August 27 – Luis Tascón, Venezuelan politician (d. 2010)
August 28 – Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
August 31
Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician and Australian football player
Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
September
Guy Ritchie
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau
Will Smith
Naomi Watts
September 1
Mohamed Atta, 9/11 ringleader of the hijackers and pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
Atsuko Yuya, Japanese voice actress
September 4
John DiMaggio, American voice actor
Phill Lewis, American actor
Mike Piazza, American baseball player
September 5 – Thomas Levet, French golfer
September 7 – Marcel Desailly, French footballer
September 10
Big Daddy Kane, American hip-hop artist
Guy Ritchie, British film director
September 11
Kay Hanley, American musician
Tetsuo Kurata, Japanese actor
September 17
Anastacia, American singer-songwriter
Tito Vilanova, Spanish football manager (d. 2014)
September 18 – Toni Kukoč, Croatian basketball player
September 20
Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)
Philippa Forrester, British TV presenter
Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
September 22 – Megan Hollingshead, American voice actress
September 23 – Yvette Fielding, English television presenter
September 25
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau (d. 2013)
John A. List, American economist
Will Smith, African-American rapper and actor
September 26
James Caviezel, American actor
Michelle Meldrum, American guitarist (d. 2008)
Ben Shenkman, American television, film and stage actor
September 27 – Mari Kiviniemi, Prime Minister of Finland
September 28
Mika Häkkinen, Finnish Formula One driver
Naomi Watts, English-born Australian actress
September 29
Patrick Burns, American paranormal investigator and television personality
Alex Skolnick, American jazz/heavy metal guitarist
Samir Soni, Indian film and TV actor
October
Thom Yorke
Hugh Jackman
October 1 – Jay Underwood, American actor
October 2
Victoria Derbyshire, British radio presenter
Benjie Paras, Filipino professional basketball player and actor
October 3 – Paul Crichton, English footballer
October 7 – Thom Yorke, British singer/songwriter
October 8
Daniela Castelo, Argentine journalist (d. 2011)
Emily Procter, American actress
October 9 – Troy Davis, African-American high-profile death row inmate and human rights activist (d. 2011)
October 10
Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountainbiker
Feridun Düzağaç, Turkish rock singer-songwriter
October 11
Tiffany Grant, American voice actress
Jane Krakowski, American actress
October 12 – Hugh Jackman, Australian actor
October 14 – Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer
October 15
Didier Deschamps, French footballer
Jyrki 69, Finnish singer
Vanessa Marcil, American actress
October 17 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican musician and oldest son of Bob Marley
October 22 – Shaggy, Jamaican singer
October 24 – Mark Walton (story artist) American story artist, actor
October 27 – Alain Auderset, Swedish writer
October 29 – Tsunku, Japanese singer, music producer, and song composer
November
Owen Wilson
November 1 – Silvio Fauner, Italian cross-country skier
November 3 – Debbie Rochon, Canadian actress
November 4
Lee Germon, New Zealand cricketer
Daniel Landa, Czech composer, singer and actor
Miles Long, American pornographic actor and director
November 6 – Caesar Meadows, American cartoonist
November 8
Parker Posey, American actress
Zara Whites, Dutch actress
November 9 – Nazzareno Carusi, Italian classical pianist
November 11 – David L. Cook, American Christian recording star
November 12
Aya Hisakawa, Japanese voice actress
Sammy Sosa, Dominican Major League Baseball player
November 13 – Pat Hentgen, American baseball player
November 14
Janine Lindemulder, American adult film actress
Serge Postigo, Canadian actor
November 15
Ol' Dirty Bastard, African-American rapper (d. 2004)
Fausto Brizzi, Italian screenwriter and film director
November 16 – Tammy Lauren, American actress
November 18
Barry Hunter, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
Luizianne Lins, Brazilian politician
Gary Sheffield, American retired baseball player
Owen Wilson, American actor
November 20
Chew Chor Meng, Singaporean Chinese television actor
John Trobaugh, American artist and photographer
November 21
Qiao Hong, Chinese table tennis player
Sean Schemmel, American voice actor
November 22
Sidse Babett Knudsen, Danish actress
Rasmus Lerdorf, Danish-Greenlandic creator of PHP
November 23 – Hamid Hassani, Iranian scholar
November 24
Phil Starbuck, former English footballer
yukihiro, Japanese musician (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
November 25
Jacqueline Hennessy, Canadian actress and talk show host
Jill Hennessy, Canadian actress
November 27 – Michael Vartan, French actor
November 28 – Ken, Japanese musician (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
November 29 – Jonathan Knight, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
November 30 – Rica Matsumoto, Japanese voice actress and singer
December
Lucy Liu
Brendan Fraser
December 2 – Lucy Liu, American actress
December 3
Brendan Fraser, Canadian-American actor
Montell Jordan, African-American singer
December 5 – Margaret Cho, American actress and comedian
December 7
Greg Ayres, American voice actor
Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league player
Filip Naudts, Belgian photographer
December 8
Michael Cole, American television sports commentator
Wendi Deng, Chinese-American businesswoman
Mike Mussina, American baseball player
December 9 – Kurt Angle, American amateur and professional wrestler, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist
December 11 – Monique Garbrecht, German speed skater
December 17 – Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver
December 18 – Rachel Griffiths, Australian actress
December 21 – Khrystyne Haje, American actress
December 22 – Dina Meyer, American actress
December 23 – Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, American photographer
December 24 – Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress and model
December 25 – Helena Christensen, Danish model
December 26 – Dennis Knight, American professional wrestler
January 30: Tet begins.
January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as the leader of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia.[1]
January 8 – British Prime Minister Harold Wilson endorses the I'm Backing Britain campaign for working an additional half hour each day without pay.[2]
January 14 – The Green Bay Packers defeat the Oakland Raiders by the score of 33-14 in Super Bowl II at the Miami Orange Bowl.
January 15 – An earthquake in Sicily kills 380 and injures around 1,000.[3][4]
January 17 – Lyndon B. Johnson calls for the non-conversion of the U.S. dollar.
January 21
Vietnam War – Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on April 8.
A U.S. B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland, discharging 4 nuclear bombs.
January 22 – Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In debuts on NBC.
January 23 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship violated its territorial waters while spying.
January 25 – The Israeli submarine INS Dakar sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 69.
January 23 USS Pueblo
January 27 – A French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean Sea with 52 men.
January 30 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins, as Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam.
January 31
Việt Cộng soldiers attack the US Embassy, Saigon.
Nauru president Hammer DeRoburt declares independence from Australia.
February
February 1
Vietnam War: A Viet Cong officer named Nguyễn Văn Lém is executed by Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The event is photographed by Eddie Adams. The photo makes headlines around the world, eventually winning the 1969 Pulitzer Prize, and sways U.S. public opinion against the war.
The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merge to form Penn Central, the largest ever corporate merger up to this date.
February 6–February 18 – The 1968 Winter Olympics are held in Grenoble, France.
February 8 – American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken up by highway patrolmen; 3 college students are killed.
February 11
Border clashes take place between Israel and Jordan.
Madison Square Garden in New York City opens at its current location.
February 12 – Vietnam War: Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
February 13 – Civil rights disturbances occur at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
February 17 – Administrative reforms in Romania divide the country into 39 counties.
February 19
The Florida Education Association (FEA) initiates a mass resignation of teachers to protest state funding of education. This is, in effect, the first statewide teachers' strike in the United States.
NET televises the very first episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
February 24 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Huế.
February 25 – Vietnam War: Hà My massacre.
February 27 – Ex-Teenagers singer Frankie Lymon is found dead from a heroin overdose in Harlem.
March
March 7 – Vietnam War: The First Battle of Saigon ends.
March 8 – The first student protests spark the 1968 Polish political crisis.
March 10–11 – Vietnam War: Battle of Lima Site 85, the largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during the then-secret war later known as the Laotian Civil War.
March 11 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson mandates that all computers purchased by the federal government support the ASCII character encoding.[5]
March 12
Mauritius achieves independence from British rule.
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson barely edges out antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy in the New Hampshire Democratic primary, a vote which highlights the deep divisions in the country, and the party, over Vietnam.
March 13 – The first Rotaract club is chartered in North Charlotte, North Carolina.
March 14 – Nerve gas leaks from the U.S. Army Dugway Proving Ground near Skull Valley, Utah.
March 15 – British Foreign Secretary George Brown resigns.
March 16
Vietnam War – My Lai Massacre: American troops kill scores of civilians. The story will first become public in November 1969 and will help undermine public support for the U.S. efforts in Vietnam.
U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy enters the race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
March 17 – A demonstration in London's Grosvenor Square against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War leads to violence; 91 people are injured, 200 demonstrators arrested.
March 18 – Gold standard: The United States Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back U.S. currency.
March 19–March 23 – Afrocentrism, Black Power, Vietnam War: Students at Howard University in Washington, D.C., signal a new era of militant student activism on college campuses in the U.S. Students stage rallies, protests and a 5-day sit-in, laying siege to the administration building, shutting down the university in protest over its ROTC program and the Vietnam War, and demanding a more Afrocentric curriculum.
March 21 – Vietnam War: In ongoing campus unrest, Howard University students protesting the Vietnam War, the ROTC program on campus and the draft, confront Gen. Lewis Hershey, then head of the U.S. Selective Service System, and as he attempts to deliver an address, shout him down with cries of "America is the Black man's battleground!"
March 22 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit ("Danny the Red") and 7 other students occupy the administrative offices of the University of Nanterre, setting in motion a chain of events that lead France to the brink of revolution in May.
March 24 – Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashes en route from Cork to London near Tuskar Rock, Wexford, killing 61 passengers and crew.
March 26 – Joan Baez marries activist David Harris in New York.
March 28 – Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is shot by the police in a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students. The aftermath of his death is one of the first major events against the military dictatorship.
March 31 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces he will not seek re-election.
April
April 2
Bombs explode at midnight in two department stores in Frankfurt-am-Main; Andreas Baader and Gudrun Ensslin are later arrested and sentenced for arson.
The film 2001: A Space Odyssey premieres in Washington, D.C.
April 3 – The American movie Planet of the Apes is released in theaters.
April 4
Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Riots erupt in major American cities, lasting for several days afterwards.
Apollo program: Apollo-Saturn mission 502 (Apollo 6) is launched, as the second and last unmanned test-flight of the Saturn V launch vehicle.
April 6
La, la, la by Massiel (music and lyrics by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa) wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 for Spain, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
A shootout between Black Panthers and Oakland police results in several arrests and deaths, including 16-year-old Panther Bobby Hutton.
A double explosion in downtown Richmond, Indiana kills 41 and injures 150.
April 7 – Racing driver Jim Clark is killed in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim.
April 8 – The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (under Department of Justice) (BNDD) is created.
April 10 – The ferry TEV Wahine strikes a reef at the mouth of Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, with the loss of 53 lives, in Cyclone Giselle, which created the windiest conditions ever recorded in New Zealand.
April 11
Josef Bachmann tries to assassinate Rudi Dutschke, leader of the left-wing movement (APO) in Germany, and tries to commit suicide afterwards, failing in both, although Dutschke dies of his brain injuries 11 years later.
German left-wing students blockade the Springer Press HQ in Berlin and many are arrested (one of them Ulrike Meinhof).
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
April 20
Pierre Trudeau becomes Canada's 15th Prime Minister.
English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood speech.
MGM's classic film The Wizard of Oz makes its NBC debut after being telecast on CBS since 1956. It will remain on NBC for the next 8 years.
April 23
President Mobutu releases captured mercenaries in the Congo.
Surgeons at the Hôpital de la Pitié, Paris, perform Europe's first heart transplant, on Clovis Roblain.
The United Methodist Church is created by the union of the former Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches.
April 23–April 30 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university (see main article Columbia University protests of 1968).
April 26 – The nuclear weapon "Boxcar" is tested at the Nevada Test Site in the biggest detonation of Operation Crosstie.
April 29 – The musical Hair officially opens on Broadway.
May
May 2 – The Israel Broadcasting Authority commences television broadcasts.
May 3 – Braniff Flight 352 crashes near Dawson, Texas, killing all 85 persons on board.
May 13 – Paris student riots: One million march through the streets of Paris.
May 13 – Manchester City wins the 1967–68 Football League First Division by 2 clear points, over club rivals Manchester United.
May 14 – The Beatles announce the creation of Apple Records in a New York press conference.
May 15 – An outbreak of severe thunderstorms produces tornadoes, causing massive damage and heavy casualties in Charles City, Iowa, Oelwein, Iowa, and Jonesboro, Arkansas.
May 16 – Ronan Point, a 23 floor tower block in Canning Town, east London, partially collapses after a gas explosion, killing 5.
May 17 – The Catonsville Nine enter the Selective Service offices in Catonsville, Maryland, take dozens of selective service draft records, and burn them with napalm as a protest against the Vietnam War.
May 19
A general election is held in Italy.
Nigerian forces capture Port Harcourt and form a ring around the Biafrans. This contributes to a humanitarian disaster as the surrounded population already suffers from hunger and starvation.
May 22 – The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
May 29 – Manchester United wins the European Cup Final, becoming the first English team to do so.
May 30 – Bobby Unser wins the Indianapolis 500.
June
June 3 – Radical feminist Valerie Solanas shoots Andy Warhol as he enters his studio, wounding him.
June 4 – The Standard & Poor's 500 index closes above 100 for the first time, at 100.38.
June 5 – U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by Sirhan Sirhan. Kennedy dies from his injuries the next day.
June 8 – James Earl Ray is arrested for the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr..
June 10 – Italy beats Yugoslavia 2–0 in a replay to win the 1968 European Championship. The original final on June 8 ended 1–1.
June 12 – The film Rosemary's Baby premieres in the U.S.
June 17 – The Malayan Communist Party launches a second insurgency and the state of emergency is again imposed in Malaysia.
June 20 – Austin Currie, Member of Parliament at Stormont in Northern Ireland, along with others, squats a house in Caledon to protest discrimination in housing allocations.
June 23 – A football stampede in Buenos Aires leaves 74 dead and 150 injured.
June 24 – Giorgio Rosa declares the independence of his Republic of Rose Island, an artificial island off Rimini, Italy. Italian troops demolish it not long after.
June 26 – The Bonin Islands are returned to Japan after 23 years of occupation by the United States Navy.
June 30 – The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy heavy military transport aircraft first flies in the U.S. This model will still be in service 40 years later.
July
July 1
The Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signature.
July 4 – Yachtsman Alec Rose, 59, receives a hero's welcome as he sails into Portsmouth, England after his 354-day round-the-world trip.
July 15
– The soap opera One Life to Live premieres on ABC.
July 17 – Saddam Hussein becomes Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Council in Iraq after a coup d'état.
July 18 – The semiconductor company Intel is founded.
July 20 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
July 23–July 28 – Black militants led by Fred (Ahmed) Evans engage in a fierce gunfight with police in the Glenville Shootout of Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
July 25 – Pope Paul VI publishes the encyclical entitled Humanae Vitae, condemning birth control.
July 26 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to 5 years hard labor, for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
July 29 – Arenal Volcano erupts in Costa Rica for the first time in centuries.
July 30 – Thames Television starts transmission in London.
August
August 5–August 8 – The Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida nominates Richard Nixon for U.S. President and Spiro Agnew for Vice President.
August 11 – The last steam passenger train service runs in Britain. A selection of British Railways steam locomotives make the 120-mile journey from Liverpool to Carlisle and return to Liverpool – the journey is known as the Fifteen Guinea Special.
August 18 – Two charter buses are pushed into the Hida River on National Highway Route 41 in Japan, in an accident caused by heavy rain; 104 are killed.
August 20–August 21 – The Prague Spring of political liberalization ends, as 750,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 6,500 tanks with 800 planes invade Czechoslovakia. It is dated as the biggest operation in Europe since WWII ended.
August 21 – The Medal of Honor is posthumously awarded to James Anderson, Jr.—he is the first black U.S. Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
August 24 – France explodes its first hydrogen bomb.
August 22–August 30 – Police clash with anti-war protesters in Chicago, Illinois, outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which nominates Hubert Humphrey for U.S. President, and Edmund Muskie for Vice President. The riots and subsequent trials were an essential part of the activism of the Youth International Party.
August 29
John Gordon Mein, US Ambassador to Guatemala, is assassinated on the streets of Guatemala City. First US Ambassador assassinated in the line of duty.
Crown Prince Harald of Norway marries Sonja Haraldsen, the commoner he has dated for 9 years, in Oslo.
September
September 6
Swaziland becomes independent.
150 women (members of New York Radical Women) arrive in Atlantic City, New Jersey to protest against the Miss America Pageant, as exploitative of women. Led by activist and author Robin Morgan, it is one of the first large demonstrations of Second Wave Feminism as Women's Liberation begins to gather much media attention.
September 11
The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) is founded.
French General René Cogny and 94 others die in an Air France Caravelle jetliner crash near Nice in the Mediterranean.
September 13
Albania officially retreats from the Warsaw Pact upon the Soviet Union-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, having already ceased to participate actively in Pact activity since 1962.
US Army Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, WWII Medal of Honor recipient, is killed when his helicopter is shot down in Vietnam. He is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Agreement for merger between the General Electric Company and English Electric, the largest industrial merger in the UK up to this date.
September 14 – Detroit Tiger Denny McLain becomes the first baseball pitcher to win 30 games in a season since 1934. He remains the last to accomplish the feat.
September 17 – The D'Oliveira Affair: The Marylebone Cricket Club tour of South Africa is cancelled when the South Africans refuse to accept the presence of Basil D'Oliveira, a Cape Coloured, in the side.
September 20 – Hawaii 5-O debuts on CBS, and eventually becomes the longest-running crime show in television history, until Law & Order overtakes it in 2003.
September 21 – The Soviet's Zond 5 unmanned lunar flyby mission returns to earth, with its first of a kind biological payload intact.
September 23 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive comes to an end in South Vietnam.
September 24 – 60 Minutes debuts on CBS and is still on the air as of 2014.
September 27 – Marcelo Caetano becomes prime minister of Portugal.
September 29 – A referendum in Greece gives more power to the military junta.
September 30 – At Paine Field, near Everett, Washington in the United States, Boeing officially rolls out its new 747 for the media and the public.
October
October 2 – Tlatelolco massacre: A student demonstration ends in bloodbath at La Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco, Mexico City, Mexico, 10 days before the inauguration of the 1968 Summer Olympics.
October 3 – In Peru, Juan Velasco Alvarado takes power in a revolution.
October 5 – Police baton civil rights demonstrators in Derry, Northern Ireland, marking the beginning of The Troubles.
October 8 – Vietnam War – Operation Sealords: United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.
October 10 – the Detroit Tigers win the 1968 World Series, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3.
October 11
Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission (Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, Walter Cunningham). Mission goals include the first live television broadcast from orbit and testing the lunar module docking maneuver.
In Panama, a military coup d'état, led by Col. Boris Martinez and Col. Omar Torrijos, overthrows the democratically elected (but highly controversial) government of President Arnulfo Arias. Within a year, Torrijos ousts Martinez and takes charge as de facto Head of Government in Panama.
October 12–October 27 – The Games of the XIX Olympiad are held in Mexico City, Mexico.
October 12 – Equatorial Guinea receives its independence from Spain.
October 14 – Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the United States Army and United States Marines will send about 24,000 troops back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours.
October 15 – Led Zeppelin makes their first live performance, at Surrey University in England[6]
October 16
In Mexico City, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their arms in a black power salute after winning, respectively, the gold and bronze medals in the Olympic men's 200 metres.
Kingston, Jamaica is rocked by the Rodney Riots, provoked by the banning of Walter Rodney from the country.
October 20 – Former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis on the Greek island of Skorpios.
October 22 – The Gun Control Act of 1968 is enacted.
October 31 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in the Paris peace talks, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
November
November 5
U.S. presidential election, 1968: Republican challenger Richard Nixon defeats the Democratic candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and American Independent Party candidate George C. Wallace.
Luis A. Ferré, of the newly formed New Progressive Party is elected Governor of Puerto Rico, by beating incumbent governor Roberto Sánchez Vilella of the People's Party, Luis Negrón López of the Popular Democratic Party and Antonio J. Gonzalez of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, he also becomes the first "statehooder" governor of the Island.
November 11
Vietnam War: Operation Commando Hunt is initiated to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam. By the end of the operation, 3 million tons of bombs are dropped on Laos, slowing but not seriously disrupting trail operations.
A second republic is declared in the Maldives.
November 14 – Yale University announces it is going to admit women.
November 17 – The Heidi Game: NBC cuts off the final 1:05 of an Oakland Raiders–New York Jets football game to broadcast the pre-scheduled Heidi. Fans are unable to see Oakland (which had been trailing 32–29) score 2 late touchdowns to win 43–32; as a result, thousands of outraged football fans flood the NBC switchboards to protest.
November 19 – In Mali, President Modibo Keïta's regime is overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by Moussa Traoré.[7]
November 20 – The Farmington Mine disaster in Farmington, West Virginia, kills seventy-eight men.
November 22
The Beatles release their self-titled album popularly known as the White Album.
"Plato's Stepchildren", 12th episode of Star Trek 3rd season is aired, featuring the first-ever interracial kiss on U.S. national television between Lieutenant Uhura and Captain James T. Kirk.
November 24 – 4 men hijack Pan Am Flight 281 from JFK International Airport, New York to Havana, Cuba.
November 26 – Vietnam War: United States Air Force First Lieutenant and Bell UH-1F helicopter pilot James P. Fleming rescues an Army Special Forces unit pinned down by Viet Cong fire, earning a Medal of Honor for his bravery.
November 27-30 – First National Women's Liberation Conference in Lake Villa, Illinois.
December
December 3 – The '68 Comeback Special marks the concert return of Elvis Presley.
December 6 – The Rolling Stones release Beggars Banquet, which contains the classic song "Sympathy for the Devil."
December 9 – Douglas Engelbart publicly demonstrates his pioneering hypertext system, NLS, in San Francisco, together with the computer mouse, at what becomes retrospectively known as "The Mother of All Demos".
December 10 – Japan's biggest heist, the never-solved "300 million yen robbery", occurs in Tokyo.
December 11 – The film Oliver!, based on the hit London and Broadway musical, opens in the U.S. after being released first in England. It goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is also filmed on this date, but not released until 1996.
December 13 – Brazilian president Artur da Costa e Silva decrees the AI-5 (or the Fifth Institutional Act), which lasts until 1978 and marks the beginning of the hard times of Brazilian military dictatorship.
December 20 – The Zodiac Killer is believed to have shot Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday on Lake Herman Road, Benicia, San Francisco Bay, California.
December 22
David Eisenhower, grandson of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, marries Julie Nixon, the daughter of U.S. President-elect Richard Nixon.
Mao Zedong advocates that educated youth in urban China be re-educated in the country. It marks the start of the "Up to the mountains and down to the villages" movement.
December 24 – Apollo program: U.S. spacecraft Apollo 8 enters orbit around the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William A. Anders become the first humans to see the far side of the Moon and planet Earth as a whole. The crew also reads from Genesis.
December 26 – Led Zeppelin make their American debut in Denver, CO.
December 28 – Israeli forces launch an attack on Beirut airport, destroying more than a dozen aircraft.
Dates unknown
The Khmer Rouge is officially formed in Cambodia as an offshoot movement of the Vietnam People's Army from North Vietnam to bring communism to the nation. A few years later, they will become bitter enemies.
Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars are introduced.
Births
January
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Sarah McLachlan
January 1 – Davor Šuker, Croatian soccer footballer
January 2 – Cuba Gooding Jr., African-American actor
January 5
Andrzej Gołota, Polish boxer
Carrie Ann Inaba, American choreographer, game show host and singer
January 6 – John Singleton, African-American film director and writer
January 9 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
January 12
Keith Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
Rachael Harris, American actress and comedian
January 13 – Pat Onstad, Canadian footballer
January 14 – LL Cool J, African-American rapper and actor
January 15 – Chad Lowe, American actor
January 16 – Stephan Pastis, American cartoonist
January 17 – Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
January 19 – Matt Hill, Canadian voice actor
January 21 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
January 23 – Yasuhiro Takato, Japanese voice actor
January 24
Michael Kiske, German musician
Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
January 26 – Novala Takemoto, Japanese author and fashion designer
January 27 – Mike Patton, American singer
January 28 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer
January 29
Edward Burns, American actor
Sora Jung, Korean actress
January 30 – King Felipe VI of Spain
February
Molly Ringwald
Josh Brolin
Niamh Kavanagh
February 1
Lisa Marie Presley, American singer
Mark Recchi, Canadian hockey player
February 2 – Kenny Albert, American sports announcer
February 3
Vlade Divac, Serbian basketball player
Marwan Khoury, Lebanese singer and composer
February 5
Roberto Alomar, American baseball player
Marcus Grönholm, Finnish rally driver
Qasim Melho, Syrian television actor
February 7
Peter Bondra, Slovakian ice hockey player
Porntip Nakhirunkanok, Miss Universe 1988
February 8 – Gary Coleman, African-American actor (d. 2010)
February 10
Laurie Foell, New Zealand/Australian actress
Atika Suri, Indonesian television newscaster
February 12 – Josh Brolin, American actor
February 13
Kelly Hu, Asian-American actress and former fashion model
Niamh Kavanagh, Irish singer, Eurovision Song Contest 1993 winner
February 14 – Jules Asner, American model and television personality
February 15 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
February 18
Molly Ringwald, American actress, singer and dancer
Dennis Satin, German film director
February 22
Delphine Boël, purported out-of-wedlock daughter of King Albert II of Belgium
Brad Nowell, American musician (d. 1996)
Jeri Ryan, American actress
February 25
Thomas G:son, Swedish composer and musician, co-writer of Euphoria
Sandrine Kiberlain, French actress
February 27 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player
March
Daniel Craig
Aaron Eckhart
Celine Dion
March 1
Kunjarani Devi, Indian weightlifter
Muho Noelke, German Zen master
March 2 – Daniel Craig, British actor
March 3 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
March 4
Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
Patsy Kensit, British actress
March 5 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian Prime Minister
March 6 – Moira Kelly, American actress
March 10 – Thio Li-ann, Singaporean law academic and Nominated Member of Parliament
March 11 – Lisa Loeb, American singer
March 12 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor
March 13
Akira Nogami, Japanese professional wrestler
Masami Okui, Japanese singer
March 14 – James Frain, British actor
March 15 – Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician
March 16 – Trevor Wilson, American basketball player
March 18 – Shinichiro Miki, Japanese voice actor
March 19 – Mots'eoa Senyane, Lesotho diplomat
March 20 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean long-distance runner
March 22 – Euronymous, Norwegian musician (d. 1993)
March 23
Damon Albarn, English rock musician
Mike Atherton, English cricketer
Mitch Cullin, American novelist
March 26
Kenny Chesney, American country music singer
James Iha, American rock musician
March 28
Iris Chang, American author (d. 2004)
Nasser Hussain, English cricketer
March 29 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress and singer
March 30 – Céline Dion, Canadian singer
April
Ashley Judd
April 1
Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
Andreas Schnaas, German director
April 5 – Stewart Lee, English stand-up comedian
April 8 – Patricia Arquette, American actress
April 12 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
April 14 – Anthony Michael Hall, American actor and singer
April 15 – Stacey Williams, American model
April 16 – Martin Dahlin, Swedish football player
April 18 – David Hewlett, English born Canadian actor, writer and director
April 19 – Ashley Judd, American actress
April 20
J.D. Roth, American television host
Yelena Välbe, Russian cross-country skier
April 23 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (d. 2001)
April 24
Stacy Haiduk, American actress
Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
April 28 – Howard Donald, British singer (Take That)
April 29 – Darren Matthews, English professional wrestler
April 30 – T. T. Boy, American porn producer and actor
May
Tony Hawk
Kylie Minogue
May 1 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
May 2 – Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor
May 7 – Traci Lords, American actress/porn star
May 9 – Marie-José Pérec, French athlete
May 12 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
May 16 – Chingmy Yau, Hong Kong actress
May 17 – Constance Menard, French professional dressage rider
May 20 – Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby player
May 21 – Julie Vega, Filipino child actress and singer (d. 1985)
May 22 – Graham Linehan, Irish television writer and director
May 26 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
May 27
Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player
Frank Thomas, American baseball player
May 28 – Kylie Minogue, Australian actress and singer
May 30 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French-Moroccan 9/11 conspirator
June
Theoren Fleury
June 1
Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
Karen Mulder, Dutch model and singer
June 2
Beetlejuice, member of the Wack Pack (The Howard Stern Show)
Jon Culshaw, English impressionist
June 9 – Alexandr Konovalov, Russian lawyer and politician
June 10
Bill Burr, American comedian
Nobutoshi Canna, Japanese voice actor
June 14 – Yasmine Bleeth, American actress
June 21 – Sonique, British singer
June 26
Paolo Maldini, Italian football player
Iwan Roberts, Welsh footballer
Shannon Sharpe, American football player and commentator
June 28 – Adam Woodyatt, British actor
June 29 – Theoren Fleury, Canadian hockey player
June 30 – Philip Anselmo, American musician
July
Kristin Chenoweth
July 5 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese manga artist
July 7
Jorja Fox, American actress
Allen Payne, American actor
Jeff VanderMeer, American writer
July 8
Billy Crudup, American actor
Akio Suyama, Japanese voice actor
Josephine Teo, Singaporean politician.
Michael Weatherly, American actor
July 9 – Eduardo Santamarina, Mexican actor
July 10 – Hassiba Boulmerka, Algerian athlete
July 13 – Omi Minami, Japanese voice actress
July 15 – Eddie Griffin, American actor and comedian
July 16
Dhanraj Pillay, Indian field hockey player
Barry Sanders, African-American football player
July 17 – Darren Day, British actor and TV presenter
July 19 – Robert Flynn, American vocalist and guitarist (Machine Head)
July 20 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian director
July 21 – Johnnie Barnes, American football player
July 23
Gary Payton, American basketball player
Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
July 24 – Kristin Chenoweth, American soprano and actress
July 27 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor
July 30 – Robert Korzeniowski, Polish athlete
August
Eric Bana
Debra Messing
August 3 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (d. 2007)
August 4
Lee Mack, British Comedian
Olga Neuwirth, Austrian composer
August 5
Marine Le Pen, French politician
Colin McRae, Scottish rally car driver (d. 2007)
August 9
Gillian Anderson, American actress
Eric Bana, Australian actor
James Roy, Australian author
August 10 – Greg Hawgood, Canadian ice hockey player
August 11 – Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian Islamist terrorist (d. 2009)
August 12
Andras Jones, American actor
Kōji Yusa, Japanese voice actor
August 14
Catherine Bell, American actress
Darren Clarke, Northern Irish professional golfer
Jason Leonard, English rugby player
August 15 – Debra Messing, American actress
August 17
Ed McCaffrey, American football player
Bruno van Pottelsberghe, Belgian economist
August 20 – Yuri Shiratori Japanese actress and singer
August 21 – Dina Carroll, British singer
August 24
Shoichi Funaki, Japanese professional wrestler
Hiroshi Kitadani, Japanese singer
Tim Salmon, American baseball player
August 25 – Rachael Ray, American television chef and host
August 27 – Luis Tascón, Venezuelan politician (d. 2010)
August 28 – Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
August 31
Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician and Australian football player
Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
September
Guy Ritchie
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau
Will Smith
Naomi Watts
September 1
Mohamed Atta, 9/11 ringleader of the hijackers and pilot of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
Atsuko Yuya, Japanese voice actress
September 4
John DiMaggio, American voice actor
Phill Lewis, American actor
Mike Piazza, American baseball player
September 5 – Thomas Levet, French golfer
September 7 – Marcel Desailly, French footballer
September 10
Big Daddy Kane, American hip-hop artist
Guy Ritchie, British film director
September 11
Kay Hanley, American musician
Tetsuo Kurata, Japanese actor
September 17
Anastacia, American singer-songwriter
Tito Vilanova, Spanish football manager (d. 2014)
September 18 – Toni Kukoč, Croatian basketball player
September 20
Darrell Russell, American race car driver (d. 2004)
Philippa Forrester, British TV presenter
Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
September 22 – Megan Hollingshead, American voice actress
September 23 – Yvette Fielding, English television presenter
September 25
Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau (d. 2013)
John A. List, American economist
Will Smith, African-American rapper and actor
September 26
James Caviezel, American actor
Michelle Meldrum, American guitarist (d. 2008)
Ben Shenkman, American television, film and stage actor
September 27 – Mari Kiviniemi, Prime Minister of Finland
September 28
Mika Häkkinen, Finnish Formula One driver
Naomi Watts, English-born Australian actress
September 29
Patrick Burns, American paranormal investigator and television personality
Alex Skolnick, American jazz/heavy metal guitarist
Samir Soni, Indian film and TV actor
October
Thom Yorke
Hugh Jackman
October 1 – Jay Underwood, American actor
October 2
Victoria Derbyshire, British radio presenter
Benjie Paras, Filipino professional basketball player and actor
October 3 – Paul Crichton, English footballer
October 7 – Thom Yorke, British singer/songwriter
October 8
Daniela Castelo, Argentine journalist (d. 2011)
Emily Procter, American actress
October 9 – Troy Davis, African-American high-profile death row inmate and human rights activist (d. 2011)
October 10
Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountainbiker
Feridun Düzağaç, Turkish rock singer-songwriter
October 11
Tiffany Grant, American voice actress
Jane Krakowski, American actress
October 12 – Hugh Jackman, Australian actor
October 14 – Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer
October 15
Didier Deschamps, French footballer
Jyrki 69, Finnish singer
Vanessa Marcil, American actress
October 17 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican musician and oldest son of Bob Marley
October 22 – Shaggy, Jamaican singer
October 24 – Mark Walton (story artist) American story artist, actor
October 27 – Alain Auderset, Swedish writer
October 29 – Tsunku, Japanese singer, music producer, and song composer
November
Owen Wilson
November 1 – Silvio Fauner, Italian cross-country skier
November 3 – Debbie Rochon, Canadian actress
November 4
Lee Germon, New Zealand cricketer
Daniel Landa, Czech composer, singer and actor
Miles Long, American pornographic actor and director
November 6 – Caesar Meadows, American cartoonist
November 8
Parker Posey, American actress
Zara Whites, Dutch actress
November 9 – Nazzareno Carusi, Italian classical pianist
November 11 – David L. Cook, American Christian recording star
November 12
Aya Hisakawa, Japanese voice actress
Sammy Sosa, Dominican Major League Baseball player
November 13 – Pat Hentgen, American baseball player
November 14
Janine Lindemulder, American adult film actress
Serge Postigo, Canadian actor
November 15
Ol' Dirty Bastard, African-American rapper (d. 2004)
Fausto Brizzi, Italian screenwriter and film director
November 16 – Tammy Lauren, American actress
November 18
Barry Hunter, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
Luizianne Lins, Brazilian politician
Gary Sheffield, American retired baseball player
Owen Wilson, American actor
November 20
Chew Chor Meng, Singaporean Chinese television actor
John Trobaugh, American artist and photographer
November 21
Qiao Hong, Chinese table tennis player
Sean Schemmel, American voice actor
November 22
Sidse Babett Knudsen, Danish actress
Rasmus Lerdorf, Danish-Greenlandic creator of PHP
November 23 – Hamid Hassani, Iranian scholar
November 24
Phil Starbuck, former English footballer
yukihiro, Japanese musician (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
November 25
Jacqueline Hennessy, Canadian actress and talk show host
Jill Hennessy, Canadian actress
November 27 – Michael Vartan, French actor
November 28 – Ken, Japanese musician (L'Arc-en-Ciel)
November 29 – Jonathan Knight, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
November 30 – Rica Matsumoto, Japanese voice actress and singer
December
Lucy Liu
Brendan Fraser
December 2 – Lucy Liu, American actress
December 3
Brendan Fraser, Canadian-American actor
Montell Jordan, African-American singer
December 5 – Margaret Cho, American actress and comedian
December 7
Greg Ayres, American voice actor
Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league player
Filip Naudts, Belgian photographer
December 8
Michael Cole, American television sports commentator
Wendi Deng, Chinese-American businesswoman
Mike Mussina, American baseball player
December 9 – Kurt Angle, American amateur and professional wrestler, 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist
December 11 – Monique Garbrecht, German speed skater
December 17 – Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver
December 18 – Rachel Griffiths, Australian actress
December 21 – Khrystyne Haje, American actress
December 22 – Dina Meyer, American actress
December 23 – Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, American photographer
December 24 – Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress and model
December 25 – Helena Christensen, Danish model
December 26 – Dennis Knight, American professional wrestler