1968 – 50 years ago; a year of triumph and tragedy; a year of social unrest and cultural changes; the year that some describe as the most tumultuous in history; a year I remember as a 15 year old; a year captured below with randomly ordered events.
1968 – A leap year starting on a Monday
1968 – World leaders included Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, Charles de Gaulle, Indira Gandhi, Leonid Brezhnev, Lyndon Johnson, Harold Wilson, Mao Tse-tung
1968 – Vietnam War, Tet Offensive, My Lai massacre, and the end of US bombings
1968 – Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April) and Robert F Kennedy (June)
1968 – Eastern Bloc armies (Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary) invade Czechoslovakia
1968 – Intel Corporation created
1968- Super Bowl II (2) – Packers vs. Raiders
1968 – Anti-Vietnam War protests throughout the US and the Western World
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1968 – The Beatles White Album
1968 – Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France – the first Winter Olympics broadcast in color
1968 – North Korea captured the USS Pueblo (an American surveillance ship) and its crew
1968 – General Strike in France by students and workers
1968 – Enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 in US
1968 – Dutch Elm disease
1968 – Earthquake in Sicily with 231 dead, 262 injured
1968 – South African Dr. Christian Barnard performs his third human heart transplant
1968 – London Bridge sold for $1 million and re-erected in Arizona
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1968 – US President Johnson surprisingly announces he would not run for another term
1968 – Redwood National Park created in California
1968 – Pope Paul VI bans Catholics from using the contraceptive pill for birth control
1968 – The Poor People’s March on Washington, DC
1968 – Zodiac serial murderer in California
1968 – France becomes the world’s fifth nuclear power
1968 – Several major US cities elect black mayors
1968 – Unrests on college campuses across the US
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1968 – Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy marry
1968 – The Ferry TEV Wahine capsizes in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand_
1968 – The nuclear-powered US submarine Scorpion sinks in the Atlantic Ocean (99 crew members died)
1968 – Hong Kong Flu pandemic begins in Hong Kong
1968 – Student riots threaten Mexico Olympics
1968 – Black power salute after the gold and bronze medalists at Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico
1968 – Completed: The Aswan Dam in Egypt and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri
1968 – The border between Spain and Gibraltar is closed
1968 – Riots at the Democratic Party National Convention in Chicago, Illinois
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1968 – The first Big Mac goes on sale at McDonalds at a cost of 49 cents
1968 – The Beatles create Apple Records and release “Hey Jude” as the first single on the label
1968 – Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace for US President (Wallace is the last third-party candidate to win Electoral votes)
1968 – Boeing introduces 747 aircraft
1968 – Mattel introduces Hot Wheel Cars
1968 – Kymer Rouge forms in Cambodia
1968 – Led Zeppelin performs for the first time
1968 – Allen K Breed invents an airbag for cars
1968 – Yale University announces it will admit women
1968 – Apollo 8 orbits the Moon (first manned mission to do so)
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1968 – US Explodes experimental hydrogen bomb and France explodes its first
1968 – Emergency 911 Telephone service starts in the US
1968 – The first ATM (automated teller machine) in the US (Philadelphia)
1968 – CBS airs “60 Minutes” shown for the first time
1968 – Musical Hair, featuring nudity and taking drugs) opens in London and then New York City
1968 – Popular films include The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde, The Odd Couple, Planet of the Apes, Rosemary’s Baby, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
1968 – Popular Songs include Hey Jude (Beatles), Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel), Hello I Love You (Doors), Honey (Bobby Goldsboro), I Heard it through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye), Love is Blue (Paul Mauriat), The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding), People Got to Be Free (Rascals)
1968 – Birth year for Will Smith, Celine Dion, LL Cool J, Cuba Gooding Jr, Guy Fieri, Kenny Chesney, Michael Weatherly, Barry Sanders, Rachael Raye, Mary Lou Retton
1968 – Death year for Yuri Gagarin, Helen Keller, Charlie Chaplin, Robert F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr
1968 – First interracial kiss on US television (Star Trek)
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A Frank Angle 
What a great list of events! I remember most, if not all, of course, but I couldn’t have said the year they occurred. Somewhat coincidentally I’m currently reading Lawrence O’Donnell’s book “Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics.” I’m really enjoying living the era again, from a very different perspective than my high school memory! I had recently been wondering when the Hong Kong flu came to the U.S. because I remember that I got it and was terribly sick. You answered my question! I enjoyed reading this and taking a little walk in memory, Frank. Very nice!
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Debra,
We lived it these times, and the youngsters won’t understand the craziness of 1968 nor its impact. One had to be there are simply be a true student of the era. The fact that you are reading O’Donnell’s book about the 1968 election is another one of our serendipitous moments. Thanks for sharing!
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It was a very big year! Thanks for taking us back a ways Frank. It would be interesting to read this breakdown in another fifty years from now.
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Holly,
1968 was like no other in my lifetime. It pulled you in many directions at the same time. Clashes were happening at multiple levels. Book have been written and documentaries specializing in this year of lunacy. Even though we are early in 2018, it’s not even close to 1968.
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I have read about the turmoil back then Frank, the VN war protests , etc. It’s no where near that yet but I have to say I have never seen such incivility and bullying coming from our white house, unchecked. And here I thought W would go down in hx as the worst ….ever.
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Cheers to you for digging into the time period!!!! Meanwhile, this White House continues to cause me to shake my head. … and like I wrote in the OITS, many would take W back in a heartbeat!
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I would, never thought I’d say that, but I would pack his bags to move back in there. lol.
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I’ll help!
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lol…he’s looking pretty good right now.
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That was one jam packed year. Each has it’s own brand of chaos and achievements. Cool list looking back, Frank
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Mouse,
Like any year, many ups and downs – but you used a great word for that year … CHAOS … and on multiple levels.
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So much anger erupting that year. Riots in DC that summer. Conspiracy theories. Divisions. We have grown as a country, and we’ve remained the same.
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Brenda,
Yes – 1968 caused us to change and grow. Much of the chaos lead led to things for the better. Then again, humans don’t seem to learn much from the past. … and there is much to learn from 1968.
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We have much to remember about that year. A pivotal year in many ways.
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Pivotal is a strong and applicable statement … yet in some ways, an underestimation.
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I was a kid, but remember it well.
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Cindy,
Therefore you recall the chaos … the craziness … the turmoil.
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Remember that year very well; I was a husband and a father then, and television was just becoming popular here. There are some things on your list that were felt just as much here as in your country… but what was striking about the list, was realizing how much the perspective matters and how different the lists would be from different parts of the world. Thanks for the reminder, Frank.
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Shimon,
Definitely a year that one who lived it will remember. Simply so much. The world was changing very much at that time. Perspective is so important and interesting. Thanks for sharing!
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Many of the US events you list made an impact here too – especially the assassinations, the riots and the moon flights. I was 18 years old and in Wellington city on the day known to us as ‘The Wahine Storm’ and saw an aged and huge oak tree uprooted from the earth. I became part of a team that made tea and scones for the survivors of the shipwreck. It was a helluva day!!
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Pauline,
The Vietnam War impacted much of the world – especially with protests. I would think that the social unrest here also caught the eye of international journalists. Crazy – such wild and crazy year.
I put that Wahine event in there just for you – and wow – you lived it more than I imagined. Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your account of that day.
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I guessed you had maybe put that there for me Frank – that was a sweet gesture 🙂
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After all, most of here (if not all) wouldn’t know … so thank you for sharing!
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Wow, 1968 sure was a relevant year! I had no idea the emergency 911 service started then, in fact I don’t think I have ever thought about when it started – it seems like it has always just been there! I wonder what people used to do before it came into existence.
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Lenora,
Everything has a history and life hasn’t always been the way we know it. For those of us that lived 1968, the year was crazy … a year that one would hope not to see again. Documentaries have been done about 1968 … yes, that crazy of a year.
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I had no idea about this, I would like to see some of these documentaries. Sounds like one of those rare phenomenons – like a freak year! Maybe there was something in the water? That was also the year my mother was born 🙂 I must remember to show her this post.
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Here’s something for you … 90 minutes … but you can watch it in segments … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErQNgH9FvLk
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I like the fact I saw all of the popular movies that year, but it was well after all of them were released.
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Carrie,
Thanks for a comment I didn’t expect on this post … so you made me smile!
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Loved this Frank. It was also the birth year of my son.
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John,
Cheers to your personal bright light during the year of chaos! Thanks for sharing.
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Your post had me googling nonstop this morning as I started at the top of your list and searched for details on some of the events which impacted my life at that time. In Nov. of 1968 I was a 21 year old Hong Kong Flu wracked college senior looking into the face of the military draft along with the end of my deferment. I survived. But some of my classmates and friends didn’t. One event on your 1968 list stopped me in my tracks – “Yale University announces it will admit women.” I googled it thinking it was a misprint. It wasn’t. Thanks especially for including Paul McCartney singing “Hey Jude.” It helped with some tears.
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Tim,
1968 – a year of many emotions … and especially impacted from an age perspective. I can’t imagine being 21 at that time. Wow … thanks for sharing an important time in your life.
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Wow. Quite a lot happened in 1968. I was ten years old at the time and don’t remember much of it at all.
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Robin,
10 is an age one would remember odds and ends … possibly the biggest events. It would be interesting to know some of the events you actually remember.
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It was definitely a tumultuous time, the late 60’s. Almost reminds of life today, but without any civility. Back in 1968, at least there was some modicum of decency even through all the social upheaval.
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Monika,
Decency in the midst of social upheaval. … I like that thought, and definitely one worth thinking about even more … especially in the light of today’s lack of decency. For me, lack of decency is today – and today’s upheaval doesn’t come close to 1968. … which leads to the question, why the lack of decency today?
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I’m convinced the ‘anonymity’ of social media is a large factor. You’d never say the kind of stuff that’s posted these days to someone in person.
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Definitely a factor.
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I have no other explanation. People just seem to think they can go off the rails because they’re talking to a screen and not a live human. So incredibly sad.
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What a year! Something was in the stars, the moon, the galaxy (maybe mercury was in retrograde? whatever that means) in 1968. I was about your age, and although most of these things impacted me, the impact was less felt as a teenager than if I’d been an adult. But worry I did – the assassinations, the war, the hate, the protests. Thank goodness I had the Beatles to keep me singing!! (By the way, I’ve seen Paul in concert three times in the past decade, and the crowd stood and roared and sang along each time when he began “Hey Jude.”)
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Pam,
Agree – as teens we may be aware, but probably don’t know enough to understand. So much going on … yet I like that you included the music that served to lift the spirits and voices. Thanks for sharing!
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Frank,
Talk about two ends of a spectrum. It truly was a year of incredible gains and immeasurable losses. You compiled quite a list here.
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Marc,
1968 was a remarkable year is so many aspects — the positives and negatives. Even many of the negatives eventually led to positives – but still – a crazy, crazy year … and I assume it was before your time. Believe me – I’ve never seen a year like it … not even close!
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I was a wee babe in ’68, but within a few years I understood the world had gone crazy.
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That a way!
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My first recollection of what was going on in the world came at dinner time. My mother had the television on in the living room and they were doing a report from Vietnam. As I passed by, I was transfixed. I had no idea what Vietnam was, where Vietnam was or why it looked so horrible. Mom was horrified that I saw that, but hey . . it was an education I expanded by learning more. I was one of those kids who took to learning about it after that.
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and then in time you learned more about Vietnam. That war had a big effect on society!
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Incredible effect. Its presence loomed, and in many ways it still does.
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You are eight years older than I.
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Greetings to a young pup.
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I can’t remember why, but just the other day I said something about all the things that happened in 1968. There’s that weird synchronicity thing again, Frank!
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Merrill,
I recall our occasional synchronicity, a toast to that … clink!
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It was a very turbulent period in American history.
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Drew,
Turbulent is a good word to describe 1968 …. and a year I’ll never forget.
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Oh, I remember so many of those events that crazy year! A year of triumph and tragedy. I don’t know how I missed the sinking of the USS Scorpion.
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Jo,
Those of us that lived it know the craziness … so thanks for affirming that. Cheers!
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There was a book and a related documentary–The Making of the President 1968–that captured all this tumult really well, as I recall. Crazy days . . .
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Kerry,
The Democratic side was absolutely crazy. I wasn’t sure who opposed Nixon, so I looked it up … George Romney … then Nelson Rockefeller and Ronald Reagan entered the race … plus it may have been the last year primaries actually had “favorite sons” candidates.
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WHEW!!! A most interesting post, Frank. Thank you!
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Resa,
I can’t say enough about this year. Those that lived it know …. those that didn’t live it probably don’t realize the kind of year that it was.
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Oh, and, lol, I really thought the London Bridge was still London! Go figure! I never heard anyone sing: 🎵 Arizona Bridge is falling down, 🎵Falling down🎵
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Resa,
LOL … good one … it actually is still in London, but the old one moved. Some think Tower Bridge is London Bridge, but not the same … LB one bridge over. Actually a boring slab today.
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I’ve got a million of them! 😀
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wow, busy year
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