The year was highlighted by
protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events
January–February
*
January 5
Events Pre-1600
*1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.
1601–1900
* 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French a ...
– "
Prague Spring":
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...
is chosen as leader of the
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...
.
*
January 10 –
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...
is sworn in as 19th
Prime Minister of Australia, taking over from
John McEwen
Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...
after being
elected leader of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
the previous day, following the
disappearance of Harold Holt
On 17 December 1967, Harold Holt, the Prime Minister of Australia, disappeared while swimming in the sea near Portsea, Victoria. An enormous search operation was mounted in and around Cheviot Beach, but his body was never recovered. Holt was p ...
. Gorton becomes the only
Senator to become Prime Minister, though he immediately transfers to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
through the
1968 Higgins by-election
A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Higgins on 24 February 1968. It was triggered by the presumed drowning death of the Prime Minister and Liberal Party MP Harold Holt on 17 December 1967.
Background
On ...
in Holt's vacant seat.
*
January 15 – The
1968 Belice earthquake in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
kills 380 and injures around 1,000.
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when ...
**
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
:
Battle of Khe Sanh
The Battle of Khe Sanh (21 January – 9 July 1968) was conducted in the Khe Sanh area of northwestern Quảng Trị Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), during the Vietnam War. The main US forces defending Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSC ...
– One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on
April 8.
**
1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash: A U.S.
B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland, discharging 4
nuclear bombs.
*
January 23
Events Pre-1600
* 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
* 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
*1264 & ...
–
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
seizes the , claiming the ship violated its territorial waters while spying.
*
January 25 –
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i submarine sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 69.
*
January 28
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
–
French submarine ''
Minerve'' sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 52.
*
January 30 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: The
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...
begins as
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
forces launch a series of surprise attacks across
South Vietnam.
*
January 31
Events Pre-1600
* 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
*1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
**
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
soldiers attack the
Embassy of the United States, Saigon
The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Co ...
.
**
Nauru president
Hammer DeRoburt
Hammer DeRoburt (25 September 1922 – 15 July 1992) was the first President of the Republic of Nauru, and ruled the country for most of its first twenty years of independence.
Background and early career
Born in 1922, DeRoburt was the gr ...
declares independence from
Australia.
*
February 1
**
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: A
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
officer named
Nguyễn Văn Lém is executed by
Nguyễn Ngọc Loan
Major General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan (; 11 December 193014 July 1998) was a South Vietnamese general and chief of the South Vietnamese National Police.
Loan gained international attention when he summarily executed handcuffed prisoner Nguyễn ...
, 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
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...
merge to form
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...
, the largest ever corporate
merger up to this date.
*
February 6–
February 18
Events Pre-1600
* 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
*1268 & ...
– The
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
are held in
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, France.
*
February 12
Events Pre-1600
*1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
*1429 – English forces under ...
–
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
:
Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
*
February 24 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: The
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...
is halted;
South Vietnam recaptures
Huế
Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
.
*
February 25 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
:
Hà My massacre
The Hà My Massacre was a massacre purportedly conducted by the South Korean Marines on 25 February 1968 of unarmed citizens in Hà My village, Điện Dương commune, Điện Bàn District, Quảng Nam Province in South Vietnam.
Prior to ...
.
March–April
*
March 2
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his '' bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...
–
Baggeridge Colliery
Baggeridge Colliery was a colliery located in Sedgley, West Midlands England.
Colliery History
The Baggeridge Colliery was an enterprise of the Earls of Dudley, whose ancestors had profited from mineral extraction in the Black Country area of ...
closes marking the end of over 300 years of
coal mining in the
Black Country of England.
*
March 6
Events Pre-1600
* 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor.
* 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
* 845 & ...
– Un-recognized
Rhodesia executes 3 black citizens, the first executions since
UDI, prompting international condemnation.
*
March 7 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: The
First Battle of Saigon ends.
*
March 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
** The first student protests spark the
1968 Polish political crisis
The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968, Students' March, or March events ( pl, Marzec 1968; studencki Marzec; wydarzenia marcowe), was a series of major student, intellectual and other protests against the ruling Pol ...
.
** The
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
ballistic missile submarine ''K-129'' sinks with all 98 crew members, about 90
nautical miles (104 miles or 167 km) southwest of
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
.
*
March 10
Events Pre-1600
* 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
* 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a ...
–
11 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
:
Battle of Lima Site 85
The Battle of Lima Site 85, also called Battle of Phou Pha Thi, was fought as part of a military campaign waged during the Vietnam War and Laotian Civil War by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Pathet Lao, against airm ...
, the largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during the (at this time) secret war later known as the
Laotian Civil War.
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the ven ...
– U.S. President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
mandates that all computers purchased by the federal government support the
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because ...
character encoding
Character encoding is the process of assigning numbers to Graphics, graphical character (computing), characters, especially the written characters of Language, human language, allowing them to be Data storage, stored, Data communication, transmi ...
.
*
March 12
**
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
achieves independence from British rule.
** U.S. President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
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
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
– The first
Rotaract
Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 aCharlotte North Rotary Clubin Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of 10,680 (14 Sep 2022) clubs spread around the world and ...
club is chartered in
North Charlotte, North Carolina.
*
March 14 –
Nerve gas
Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...
leaks from the U.S. Army
Dugway Proving Ground
Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a U.S. Army facility established in 1942 to test biological and chemical weapons, located about southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, and south of the Utah Test and Training Range.
Location
Dugway P ...
near
Skull Valley, Utah.
*
March 16
Events Pre-1600
* 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
*1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York.
* 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
**
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
–
My Lai Massacre
My or MY may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station
* Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe
* ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak
* ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon
Business
* Market ...
: 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
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
enters the race for the
Democratic Party presidential nomination.
*
March 18
Events Pre-1600
* 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10.
* 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...
–
Gold standard
A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the l ...
: The
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
repeals the requirement for a
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
reserve to back U.S. currency.
*
March 19
Events Pre-1600
* 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
* 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
–
23 –
Afrocentrism
Afrocentrism is an approach to the study of world history that focuses on the history of people of recent African descent. It is in some respects a response to Eurocentric attitudes about African people and their historical contributions. It ...
,
Black Power,
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: Students at
Howard University
Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...
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 22
Events Pre-1600
* 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
* 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century.
* 871 – Æthelr ...
–
Daniel Cohn-Bendit
Daniel Marc Cohn-Bendit (; ; born 4 April 1945) is a French-German politician of Jewish descent. He was a student leader during the unrest of May 1968 in France and was also known during that time as ''Dany le Rouge'' (French for "Danny the Red" ...
("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
Events Pre-1600
* 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
*1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate o ...
–
Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashes en route from
Cork to London near
Tuskar Rock, Wexford, killing 61 passengers and crew.
*
March 28
Events Pre-1600
* AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
* 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
–
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian high school student
Edson Luís de Lima Souto
Edson Luís de Lima Souto (; February 24, 1950 – March 28, 1968) was a Brazilian teenage student killed by the military police of Rio de Janeiro after a confrontation in the restaurant Calabouço (), in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Edson was one o ...
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.
*
April 2
Events Pre-1600
* 1513 – Having spotted land on March 27, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León comes ashore on what is now the U.S. state of Florida, landing somewhere between the modern city of St. Augustine and the mouth of the St. J ...
– Bombs explode at midnight in two department stores in
Frankfurt-am-Main;
Andreas Baader
Berndt Andreas Baader (6 May 1943 – 18 October 1977) was one of the first leaders of the West German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction (RAF), also commonly known as ''the Baader-Meinhof Group''.
Life
Andreas Baader was born i ...
and
Gudrun Ensslin
Gudrun Ensslin (; 15 August 1940 – 18 October 1977) was a German far-left terrorist and founder of the West German far-left militant group Red Army Faction (, or RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang).
After becoming involved with co-foun ...
are later arrested and sentenced for
arson.
*
April 4
**
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.:
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
is shot dead at the
Lorraine Motel
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
.
King-assassination riots
The King assassination riots, also known as the Holy Week Uprising, were a wave of civil disturbance which swept the United States following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. Many believe them to be the greatest wav ...
erupt in major American cities, lasting for several days afterwards.
**
Apollo program: Apollo-Saturn mission 502 (
Apollo 6
Apollo 6 (April 4, 1968), also known as AS-502, was the third and final uncrewed flight in the United States' Apollo Program and the second test of the Saturn V launch vehicle. It qualified the Saturn V to be used on crewed missions, as happen ...
) is launched, as the second and last uncrewed test-flight of the
Saturn V
Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with three stages, and powered with liquid fuel. It was flown from 196 ...
launch vehicle.
**
AEK Athens
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...
wins the
FIBA European Cup Winners Cup Final in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
against
Slavia Prague
Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in ...
, in front of a record attendance of 80,000 spectators. It is the first major European trophy won at club level of any sport in Greece.
*
April 6
Events Pre–1600
*46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
* 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
*13 ...
** "
La, la, la
"La, la, la" is a song recorded by Spanish singer Massiel, written by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa. It is best known as the Spanish winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 in London. It was the first time that Spain won the C ...
" by
Massiel
María de los Ángeles Felisa Santamaría Espinosa (born 2 August 1947), professionally known as Massiel, is a Spanish pop singer. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "La, la, la", beating the British pop singer Cliff Richard' ...
(music and lyrics by Manuel de la Calva and Ramón Arcusa) wins the
Eurovision Song Contest 1968
The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's first victory at the with the song " Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw. Despite havi ...
for Spain, at the
Royal Albert Hall in London.
** A shootout between
Black Panthers and police in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, results in several arrests and deaths, including 17-year-old Panther
Bobby Hutton.
**
Richmond, Indiana explosion: A double explosion in downtown
Richmond kills 41 and injures 150.
*
April 7
Events Pre-1600
* 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town.
* 529 – First ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Empe ...
– British racing driver
Jim Clark is killed in a
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...
race at
Hockenheim
Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Benz M ...
.
*
April 10
Events Pre-1600
* 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
* 837 – Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
* 140 ...
– The ferry strikes a
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...
at the mouth of
Wellington Harbour, New Zealand, with the loss of 53 lives, in Cyclone Giselle, which has created the windiest conditions ever recorded in New Zealand.
*
April 11
Events Pre-1600
* 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
*1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
*1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: Franco-Ferrare ...
**
Josef Bachmann tries to assassinate
Rudi Dutschke
Alfred Willi Rudolf "Rudi" Dutschke (; 7 March 1940 – 24 December 1979) was a German sociologist and political activist who, until severely injured by an assassin in 1968, was a leading charismatic figure within the West German Socialist Stu ...
, 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
Ulrike Marie Meinhof (7 October 1934 – 9 May 1976) was a German left-wing journalist and founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in West Germany, commonly referred to in the press as the "Baader-Meinhof gang". She is the reputed author ...
).
*
April 20
Events Pre-1600
* 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1601–1900
*1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.
*1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroys ...
–
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
becomes the 15th Prime Minister of Canada.
*
April 23
** President
Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...
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
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...
is created by the union in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas, of the former Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches.
*
April 23–
30 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
:
Columbia University protests of 1968
In 1968, a series of protests at Columbia University in New York City were one among the various student demonstrations that occurred around the globe in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students disc ...
– Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
* April 26 – The nuclear weapon "Boxcar" is nuclear weapons testing, tested at the Nevada Test Site in the biggest detonation of Operation Crosstie.
May–June
* May 2 – The Israel Broadcasting Authority commences television broadcasts.
* May 3 – Braniff Flight 352 crashes near Dawson, Texas, United States, killing all 85 people on board.
* May 13 – May 1968 protests in France, Paris student riots: One million march through the streets of Paris.
* May 13 – Manchester City F.C., Manchester City wins the 1967–68 Football League First Division by 2 clear points, over club rivals Manchester United
* 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
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
.
* May 18
** Mattel's ''Hot Wheels'' toy cars are introduced.
** West Bromwich Albion win the Football Association Cup, defeating Everton 1–0 after extra time. The winning goal is scored by Jeff Astle.
* May 19
** 1968 Italian general election, A general election is held in Italy.
** Nigerian forces capture Port Harcourt and form a ring around the Nigerian Civil War, 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 USS Scorpion (SSN-589), ''Scorpion'' sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
* May 29 – Manchester United F.C., Manchester United wins the European Champion Clubs' Cup, European Cup Final, becoming the first English team to do so.
* May 30 – Bobby Unser wins the Indianapolis 500.
* June 2 – 1968 student demonstrations in Yugoslavia, Student demonstrations in Yugoslavia start in Belgrade.
* June 3 – Radical feminist Valerie Solanas shoots Andy Warhol at his New York City studio, The Factory; he survives after a 5-hour operation.
* June 4 – The S&P 500, Standard & Poor's 500 index in the United States closes above 100 for the first time, at 100.38.
* June 5 – Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy: U.S. presidential candidate
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
is shot at the Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles), Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Sirhan Sirhan is arrested.
* June 7 – The Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968, Ford sewing machinists strike for equal pay starts at the Ford Dagenham plant in London.
* June 10 – Italy national football team, Italy beats Yugoslavia national football team, Yugoslavia 2–0 in a replay to win the UEFA Euro 1968, 1968 European Championship. The original final on June 8 ended 1–1.
* June 12 – The horror film ''Rosemary's Baby (film), Rosemary's Baby'' premieres in the U.S.
* June 17 – The Malayan Communist Party launches a Second Malayan Emergency, second insurgency and the state of emergency is again imposed in Malaysia.
* June 20 – Austin Currie, Member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, along with others, squats in a house in Caledon, County Tyrone, Caledon to protest discrimination in housing allocations.
* June 23
** Superclásico#Puerta 12 tragedy, Puerta 12 tragedy: A football stampede in Buenos Aires leaves 74 dead and 150 injured.
** The first round of voting takes place in the 1968 French legislative election, French legislative elections scheduled following the public unrest of May 1968 in France, May.
* June 26
** The Bonin Islands are returned to Japan after 23 years of occupation by the United States Navy.
** The "March of the One Hundred Thousand" takes place in Rio de Janeiro as crowds demonstrate against the Brazilian military government.
July–August
* July 1 – The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opens for signature.
* July 4 – British yachtsman Alec Rose, 59, receives a hero's welcome as he sails into Portsmouth, after his 354-day round-the-world trip.
* 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, 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'', on 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.
*August 1 – The Universidade Municipal de São Caetano do Sul, Municipal University of São Caetano do Sul is established in São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo.
*August 2 – The magnitude () 7.6 1968 Casiguran earthquake, Casiguran earthquake affects the Aurora (province), Aurora province in the Philippines with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''), killing at least 207 and injuring 261.
* August 5–August 8, 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, Cumbria, Carlisle and return to Liverpool – the journey is known as the Fifteen Guinea Special.
* August 18 – Two charter buses are forced 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, 21 – Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia: The '
Prague Spring' of political liberalization ends, as 750,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 6,500 tanks with 800 aircraft invade Czechoslovakia, the largest military operation in Europe since the end of World War II.
* August 24 – Canopus (nuclear test): France explodes its first hydrogen bomb in a test at Fangataufa atoll in French Polynesia.
* August 22–August 30, 30 – Police clash with anti-war protesters in Chicago 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 are an essential part of the activism of the Youth International Party.
* August 29 – Harald V of Norway, Crown Prince Harald of Norway marries Sonja Haraldsen, the commoner he has dated for 9 years.
September–October
* September 6 – Eswatini, Swaziland (now eSwatini) becomes independent.
* September 7
**The crash of Air France Flight 1611 kills 95 people, including French Army General René Cogny, as the Sud Aviation Caravelle, Caravelle jetliner plunges into the Mediterranean Sea while making its approach to Nice following its departure from the island of Corsica.
* The International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) is founded.
* September 13
** Albania officially withdraws 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.
* 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 21 – The Soviet's Zond 5 uncrewed lunar flyby mission returns to earth, with its first-of-a-kind biological payload intact.
* September 23 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: The
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...
comes to an end in
South Vietnam.
* September 27 – Marcelo Caetano becomes prime minister of Portugal.
* September 29 – A referendum in Greece gives more power to the military junta.
* October 2 – Tlatelolco massacre: A student demonstration ends in bloodbath at La Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco (Mexico City), Tlatelolco, Mexico City, Mexico, 10 days before the inauguration of the 1968 Summer Olympics. 300-400 are estimated to have been killed.
* October 3 – In Peru, Juan Velasco Alvarado takes power in a revolution.
* October 8 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
– Operation Sealords: United States and
South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.
* October 11
**
Apollo program: NASA launches ''Apollo 7'', the first crewed Apollo mission (Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, Walter Cunningham). Mission goals include the first live television broadcast from orbit and simulating lunar module rendezvous and docking, using the S-IVB rocket stage as a test target.
** 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, 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 Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: 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
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
for involuntary second tours.
* October 16
** In Mexico City, African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their fists in a 1968 Olympics Black Power salute, 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 18 – US athlete Bob Beamon breaks the long jump world record by 55 cm / 21 ins at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Olympics in Mexico City. His record stands for 23 years, and is still the second longest jump in history.
* October 25 – Led Zeppelin make their first live performance, at Surrey University in England
* October 31 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: Citing progress in the Paris peace talks, U.S. President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
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–December
* November 5
** 1968 United States presidential election: Republican Party (United States), Republican candidate Richard Nixon defeats the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic candidate, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace.
** Luis A. Ferré, of the newly formed New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico), New Progressive Party is elected Governor of Puerto Rico, by beating incumbent governor Roberto Sánchez Vilella of the People's Party (Puerto Rico), People's Party, Luis Negrón López of the Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico), 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 – A second republic is declared in the Maldives.
* November 15 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
: 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.
* November 17
** British European Airways introduces the BAC One-Eleven into commercial service.
** 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 (1968 film), 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.
* November 20 – The Farmington Mine disaster in Farmington, West Virginia, kills seventy-eight men.
* November 24 – 4 men Aircraft hijacking, hijack Pan Am Flight 281 from JFK International Airport, New York to Havana, Cuba.
* December 9 – Douglas Engelbart publicly demonstrates his pioneering hypertext system, NLS (computer 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! (film), Oliver!'' based on the hit London and Broadway theatre, Broadway musical, opens in the U.S. after being released first in the UK. It goes on to win the Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture.
* December 13 – Prompted by growing unrest and a perceived proliferation of "pro-communist" violent actions,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian President of Brazil, president Artur da Costa e Silva enacts the so-called AI-5, the fifth of a series of non-constitutional emergency decrees allegedly to help "stabilize" the country after the turmoils of the early 1960s.
* December 22 – Mao Zedong advocates that educated urban youth in China be sent for re-education in the Rural area, countryside. It marks the start of the Down to the Countryside Movement, "Up to the mountains and down to the villages" movement.
* December 24 –
Apollo program: The crewed U.S. spacecraft Apollo 8 enters orbit around the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders become the first humans to see the Far side (Moon), far side of the Moon and planet Earth as a whole, as well as having traveled further away from Earth than any people in history. Anders photographs ''Earthrise''. The crew also give a Apollo 8 Genesis reading, reading from the Book of Genesis.
* December 28 – Israeli forces fly into Lebanon, Lebanese airspace, launching 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon, an attack on the airport in Beirut and 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.
* La Maestra, a Latin American play is written by Enrique Buenaventura.
* An oil field is confirmed in Northern Alaska: the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field.
* Midea Group, a well-known home appliance worldwide, founded in Guangdong Province, China.
Births
January
* January 1 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
* January 2
**Violet Berlin, British presenter and script writer
**Cuba Gooding Jr., African-American actor
* January 3 – Matheus Nachtergaele, Brazilian actor and director
*
January 5
Events Pre-1600
*1477 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.
1601–1900
* 1675 – Battle of Colmar: The French a ...
** DJ BoBo, Swiss singer, songwriter and dancer
** Andrzej Gołota, Polish boxer
** Carrie Ann Inaba, American choreographer, game show host and singer
* January 6
** Blanca Eekhout, Venezuelan politician
** John Singleton, African-American film director and writer (d. 2019)
* January 8 – James Brokenshire, British politician (d. 2021)
* January 11 – Benjamin List, German organic chemist, recipient of Nobel Prize in Chemistry
* January 12 – 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 and director
* January 16
** Stephan Pastis, American cartoonist
** Atticus Ross, English musician, songwriter, record producer and audio engineer
* January 17 – Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when ...
– Charlotte Ross, American actress
* January 22 – Guy Fieri, American chef
* January 24
** Michael Kiske, German musician
** Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
* January 26
** Eric Davis (American football), Eric Davis, American football player
** Novala Takemoto, Japanese author and fashion designer
* January 27 – Mike Patton, American singer
*
January 28
Events Pre-1600
* 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany.
* 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession ...
– Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer
* January 29 – Edward Burns, American actor
*
January 30 – King Felipe VI of Spain
February
*
February 1
** Lisa Marie Presley, American singer
** Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player
** Pauly Shore, American actor
* February 3
** David Scarboro, English actor (d. 1988)
** 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)
** April Stewart, American voice actress
* February 10
** Laurie Foell, New Zealand/Australian actress
** Atika Suri, Indonesian television newscaster
* February 11
** Lavinia Agache, Romanian artistic gymnast
** Mo Willems, American children's book author
*
February 12
Events Pre-1600
*1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
*1429 – English forces under ...
– Josh Brolin, American actor
* February 13
** Kelly Hu, American actress, voice artist, former fashion model and beauty queen
** 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
Events Pre-1600
* 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
*1268 & ...
** Molly Ringwald, American actress
** Dennis Satin, German film director
* February 21 – Pellom McDaniels, American football player (d. 2020)
* February 22
** Bradley Nowell, American musician (d. 1996)
** Jeri Ryan, American actress
*
February 24
** Andy Berman, American actor, director, producer, writer, voice artist, and comedian
** Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian (d. 2005)
* February 29 – Sam Sneed, American producer and rapper
March
* March 1
** Kat Cressida, American voice actress
** Kunjarani Devi, Indian weightlifter
** Muho Noelke, German Zen master
*
March 2
Events Pre-1600
* 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his '' bucellarii'' are almost cut o ...
– 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
** Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini, 10th Prime Minister of Eswatini (d. 2020)
*
March 6
Events Pre-1600
* 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor.
* 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
* 845 & ...
** Moira Kelly, American actress
** :pt:Mara Maravilha, Mara Maravilha, Brazilian singer, songwriter, television presenter, actress and businesswoman
*
March 7 – Jeff Kent, American baseball player
*
March 11
Events Pre-1600
* 222 – Roman emperor Elagabalus is murdered alongside his mother, Julia Soaemias. He is replaced by his 14-year old cousin, Severus Alexander.
* 843 – Triumph of Orthodoxy: Empress Theodora II restores the ven ...
– Lisa Loeb, American singer
*
March 12 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor
*
March 13
Events Pre-1600
*624 – The Battle of Badr, the first major battle between the Muslims and Quraysh.
*1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years' War.
*1591 – At the Battle of Tond ...
** Akira Nogami, Japanese professional wrestler
** Masami Okui, Japanese singer
*
March 14
** Megan Follows, Canadian-American actress
** James Frain, British actor
* March 15
** Mark McGrath, American singer
** Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician
** Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer
*
March 16
Events Pre-1600
* 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
*1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York.
* 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
** David MacMillan, Scottish-born organic chemist, recipient of Nobel Prize in Chemistry
** Trevor Wilson (basketball), Trevor Wilson, American basketball player
* March 20
** Carlos Almeida (athlete), Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean long-distance runner
** Ultra Naté, American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and promoter
*
March 22
Events Pre-1600
* 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea.
* 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century.
* 871 – Æthelr ...
**Euronymous, Norwegian musician (d. 1993)
* March 23
** Damon Albarn, English singer-songwriter and musician
** Mike Atherton, English cricketer
* March 26
** Kenny Chesney, American country music singer
** James Iha, American rock musician
* March 27 – Ben Koldyke, American actor
*
March 28
Events Pre-1600
* AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
* 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Di ...
– Iris Chang, American author (d. 2004)
* March 29 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress and singer
* March 30 – Celine Dion, Canadian singer
April
* April 1
** Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
** Andreas Schnaas, German director
* April 5
** Paula Cole, American singer
** Stewart Lee, English stand-up comedian
*
April 7
Events Pre-1600
* 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town.
* 529 – First ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Empe ...
– Jože Možina, Slovenian historian, sociologist and journalist
*
April 8 – Patricia Arquette, American actress
* April 12 – Ott (record producer), Ott, English musician and record producer
* April 13 – Jørn Stubberud, Norwegian musician
* April 14 – Anthony Michael Hall, American actor and singer
* April 15 – Stacey Williams, American model
* April 16
** Greg Baker, American actor and musician
** Martin Dahlin, Swedish football player
** Vickie Guerrero, American professional wrestler
* April 17
** Julie Fagerholt, Danish fashion designer
** Adam McKay, American film director, producer, screenwriter, comedian, and actor
* April 18 – David Hewlett, English-born Canadian actor, writer and director
* April 19 – Ashley Judd, American actress
*
April 20
Events Pre-1600
* 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1601–1900
*1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament.
*1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroys ...
** 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
** Jorge Medina, Bolivian civil rights activist and politician (d. 2022)
** Yuji Nagata, Japanese professional wrestler
* April 28 – Howard Donald, British singer (Take That)
* April 29
** Michael Herbig, German film director, actor and author
** Darren Matthews, English professional wrestler
May
* May 1 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
* May 2
** Jeff Agoos, American soccer player
** Hikaru Midorikawa, Japanese voice actor
* May 3
** Nina Paley, American cartoonist
** Li Yong (television host), Chinese host (d. 2018)
* May 4
** Julian Barratt, English comedian, actor, musician and music producer
** Momoko Kikuchi, Japanese actress and singer
* May 5 – John Soko, Zambian footballer (d. 1993)
* May 7
** Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish-born musician
** Traci Lords, American actress
* May 8 – Mickaël Madar, French footballer
* May 9 – Marie-José Pérec, French athlete
* May 10 – Al Murray, English comedian
* May 12 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder
* May 13
** Sonja Zietlow, German television presenter
** Scott Morrison, 30th Prime Minister of Australia
* May 16 – Chingmy Yau, Hong Kong actress
* May 17 – Constance Menard, French professional dressage rider
* May 18 – Vanessa Leggett, American freelance journalist, author, lecturer and First Amendment advocate
* May 19 – Kyle Eastwood, American jazz bass musician
* May 20
** Timothy Olyphant, American actor
** Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby player
* May 22
** Michael Kelly (American actor), Michael Kelly, American actor
** Graham Linehan, Irish television writer and director
* May 23 – John Ortiz, American actor
* May 24 – Charles De'Ath, English actor
* May 26 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
* May 27
** Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player
** Frank Thomas (AL baseball player), Frank Thomas, American baseball player
* May 28
** Kylie Minogue, Australian actress and singer
** Tetsu Nagasawa, Japanese footballer & manager
* May 30 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French-Moroccan 9/11 conspirator
June
* June 1 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
* June 2
** Beetlejuice (entertainer), Beetlejuice, American entertainer, member of the Wack Pack (''The Howard Stern Show'')
** Jon Culshaw, English impressionist
* June 4 – Scott Wolf, American actor
* June 5 – Sandra Annenberg, Brazilian newscaster, previously actress
* June 9 – Aleksandr Konovalov (politician, born 1968), Aleksandr Konovalov, Russian lawyer and politician
* June 10
** Bill Burr, American comedian
** Nobutoshi Canna, Japanese voice actor
* June 14 – Yasmine Bleeth, American actress
* June 20 – Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish banker and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Poland
* June 24 – Boris Gelfand, Israeli chess grandmaster
* June 25 – Albert Fulivai, Tongan rugby league player
* June 26
** Paolo Maldini, Italian football player
** Jovenel Moïse, 42nd President of Haiti (d. 2021)
** Iwan Roberts, Welsh footballer
* June 28
** Chayanne, Puerto Rican-American singer
** Adam Woodyatt, English actor
* June 29
** Theoren Fleury, Canadian ice hockey player
** Brian d'Arcy James, American actor and musician
* June 30 – Phil Anselmo, American heavy metal vocalist
July
* July 5
** Ken Akamatsu, Japanese Mangaka, manga artist
** Michael Stuhlbarg, American actor
** Darin LaHood, American attorney and politician
* July 6 – Rashid Sidek, Malaysian badminton player and coach
* July 7
** Jorja Fox, American actress
** Allen Payne, American actor
** Jeff VanderMeer, American writer
* July 8
** Billy Crudup, American actor
** Akio Suyama, Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actor
** Josephine Teo, Singaporean politician
** Michael Weatherly, American actor
* July 9 – Eduardo Santamarina, Mexican actor
* July 10 – Hassiba Boulmerka, Algerian athlete
* July 11 – Conrad Vernon, American voice actor and director
* July 13
** Robert Gant, American actor
** Omi Minami, Japanese voice actress
* July 14 – Samantha Gori, Italian basketball player
* July 15
** Leticia Calderón, Mexican actress
** Eddie Griffin, American actor and comedian
* July 16
** Dhanraj Pillay, Indian field hockey player
** Barry Sanders, American football player
** Olga de Souza, Brazilian-Italian singer, model and dancer
* July 17
** Darren Day, British actor and TV presenter
** Beth Littleford, American actress and comedian
* July 18 – Grant Bowler, New Zealand-born Australian actor
* July 19 – Robert Flynn, American vocalist and guitarist (Machine Head (band), Machine Head)
* July 23
** Gary Payton, African-American basketball player
** Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
* July 24
** Kristin Chenoweth, American soprano and actress
** Laura Leighton, American actress
** Troy Kotsur, American actor
* July 25 – John Grant (musician), John Grant, American singer-songwriter
* July 27 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor
* July 30 – Robert Korzeniowski, Polish athlete
August
* August 1 – Pavo Urban, Croatian photographer (d. 1991)
* August 3 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (d. 2007)
* August 4
** Lee Mack, English actor and stand-up comedian
** Olga Neuwirth, Austrian composer
* August 5
** Marine Le Pen, French politician
** Colin McRae, Scottish rally car driver (d. 2007)
* August 7 – Lynn Strait, American musician (d. 1998)
* August 8 – Kimberly Brooks, American actress and voice artist
* August 9
** Gillian Anderson, American actress
** Eric Bana, Australian actor
** James Roy (writer), James Roy, Australian author
* August 12
** Pablo Rey, Spanish painter
** Paul Tucker (musician), Paul Tucker, English songwriter and record producer
** Kōji Yusa, Japanese voice actor
* August 14
** Catherine Bell (actress), 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
** Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
** Yuri Shiratori Japanese actress and singer
** Bai Yansong, Chinese host
* August 21
** Dina Carroll, British singer
** Stretch (rapper), Stretch, American rapper and record producer (d. 1995)
* August 23 – KK (singer), KK, Indian singer (d. 2022)
* 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 (actor), Billy Boyd, Scottish actor
** Tom Warburton, American animator
* August 31
** Valdon Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician and Australian football player
** Hideo Nomo, Japanese baseball player
September
* 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 3 – Ray Coulthard, Raymond Coulthard, English actor
* September 4
** John DiMaggio, American voice actor and comedian
** Mike Piazza, American baseball player
* September 5 – Thomas Levet, French golfer
* September 7
** Marcel Desailly, French footballer
** Lucy Robinson (actress), Lucy Robinson, British actress
* September 9 – Julia Sawalha, English actress
* 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 13 – Laura Cutina, Romanian artistic gymnast
* September 15 – Danny Nucci, American actor
* September 16 – Marc Anthony, American actor and singer
* September 17
** Anastacia, American singer-songwriter
** Tito Vilanova, Spanish football manager (d. 2014)
* September 18 – Toni Kukoč, Croatian basketball player
* September 20
** Philippa Forrester, British TV presenter
** Van Jones, African-American author
** Leah Pinsent, Canadian actress
* September 21
** Lisa Angell, French singer
** Kevin Buzzard, British mathematician
** Ricki Lake, American actress, producer, and television presenter
* September 22
** Megan Hollingshead, American voice actress
** Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, 62nd Prime Minister of Romania
* September 23
** Yvette Fielding, English television presenter
** Michelle Thomas, American actress (d. 1998)
* September 25
** Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, (d. 2013)
** John A. List, American economist
** Will Smith, African-American actor and rapper
* September 26
** James Caviezel, American actor
** Michelle Meldrum, American guitarist (d. 2008)
** Tricia O'Kelley, American actress
** Ben Shenkman, American television, film and stage actor
* September 27
** Mari Kiviniemi, 62nd Prime Minister of Finland
** Paul Rudish, American voice actor and animator
* September 28
** Mika Häkkinen, Finnish double Formula 1 world champion
** Naomi Watts, British actress and film producer
* September 29
** Patrick Burns (paranormal investigator), Patrick Burns, American paranormal investigator and television personality
** Alex Skolnick, American jazz/heavy metal guitarist
** Samir Soni, Indian film and TV actor
October
* October 1
** Mark Durden-Smith, British television presenter
** Jay Underwood, American actor
* October 2
** Lucy Cohu, English actress
** Victoria Derbyshire, English broadcast presenter
** Jana Novotná, Czech tennis player (d. 2017)
* October 3 – Paul Crichton, English footballer
* October 7
** Luminița Anghel, Romanian dance/pop recording artist, songwriter, television personality and politician
** Thom Yorke, British singer-songwriter
* October 8
** Daniela Castelo, Argentine journalist (d. 2011)
** Emily Procter, American actress
* October 9
** Troy Davis, American high-profile death row inmate and human rights activist (d. 2011)
** Pete Docter, American animator, director
* October 10
** Bart Brentjens, Dutch mountainbiker
** Feridun Düzağaç, Turkish rock singer-songwriter
* October 11
** Tiffany Grant, American voice actress
** Jane Krakowski, American actress
** Brett Salisbury, American football quarterback
* October 12
** Paul Harragon, Australian rugby league player
** Hugh Jackman, Australian actor, singer, and producer
* October 13
** Preet Bharara, Indian-American politician
** Tisha Campbell-Martin, American actress and singer
* October 14
** Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer
* October 15
** Didier Deschamps, French footballer
** Jyrki 69, Finnish singer
** Vanessa Marcil, American actress
* October 20 – Damien Timmer, British joint-managing director, television producer, television executive producer
* October 22 – Shaggy (musician), Shaggy, Jamaican singer
* October 24 – Mark Walton (story artist), Mark Walton, American story artist, actor
* October 27 – Alain Auderset, Swedish writer
* October 28 – Juan Orlando Hernández, 55th President of Honduras
* October 29 – Tsunku, Japanese singer, music producer and song composer
* October 30
** Moira Quirk, English actress and voice actress
** Jack Plotnick, American film and television actor, writer, and producer
November
<---->
* November 1 – Silvio Fauner, Italian cross-country skier
* November 4
** Lee Germon, New Zealand cricketer
** Daniel Landa, Czech composer, singer and actor
** Miles Long, American pornographic actor and film director, director
* November 5
** Mr. Catra, Brazilian musician (d. 2018)
** Sam Rockwell, American actor
** Seth Gilliam, African-American actor
**Penny Wong, Australian politician, Foreign Minister
* November 6 – Kelly Rutherford, American actress
* November 7 – Ignacio Padilla, Mexican writer (d. 2016)
* November 8
** Parker Posey, American actress
** Zara Whites, Dutch actress
* November 9 – Nazzareno Carusi, Italian classical pianist
* November 10 – Tracy Morgan, African-American actor and comedian
* November 12
**Kathleen Hanna, American musician and activist
** Aya Hisakawa, Japanese voice actress
** Sammy Sosa, Dominican Major League Baseball player
* November 13 – Pat Hentgen, American baseball player
* November 15
** Fausto Brizzi, Italian screenwriter and film director
** Ol' Dirty Bastard, American rapper (d. 2004)
* November 16 – Tammy Lauren, American actress
* November 18
** Barry Hunter (footballer), Barry Hunter, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
** Luizianne Lins, Brazilian politician
** Owen Wilson, American actor and comedian
* November 20
** Chew Chor Meng, Singaporean Chinese television actor
** John Trobaugh, American artist and photographer
* November 21 – Qiao Hong, Chinese table tennis player
* November 23 – Hamid Hassani, Iranian scholar
* November 24
** Phil Starbuck, former English association football, footballer
** Awie, Malaysian rock singer
** yukihiro (musician), yukihiro, Japanese musician
* November 25
** Tunde Baiyewu, British singer
** Jill Hennessy, Canadian actress
* November 27 – Michael Vartan, French actor
* November 29
** Hayabusa (wrestler), Eiji Ezaki, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 2016)
** Jonathan Knight, American singer
* November 30 – Rica Matsumoto, Japanese actress, voice actress and singer
December
* December 2
** Lucy Liu, American actress, voice actress, director, singer, dancer, model, and artist
** Rena Sofer, American actress
* December 3
** Brendan Fraser, Canadian-American actor
** Montell Jordan, American singer
* December 5 – Margaret Cho, American actress and comedian
* December 7 – Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league player
* December 9 – Kurt Angle, American amateur and professional wrestler, 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996 Olympic gold medalist
* December 11
** Emmanuelle Charpentier, French biochemist, recipient of Nobel Prize in Chemistry
** Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt, German speed skater
** Eula Valdez, Filipino actress
* December 18 – Rachel Griffiths, Australian actress
* December 19 – Ken Marino, American actor and comedian
* 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 (d. 2008)
* December 25 – Helena Christensen, Danish model
* December 28 – Lior Ashkenazi, Israeli actor
* December 30 – Fabrice Guy, French Olympic skier
Unknown date
* Eleonora Requena, Venezuelan poet.
* Isadora Zubillaga, Venezuelan diplomat and activist.
Deaths
January
* January 4
** Armando Castellazzi, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1904)
** Joseph Pholien, Belgian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1884)
* January 6 – Karl Kobelt, 2-time President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1891)
* January 7
** Gholamreza Takhti, Iranian wrestler (b. 1930)
** Mario Roatta, Italian general (b. 1887)
* January 9 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese athlete (b. 1940)
*
January 10
** Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish politician (b. 1882)
** Eben Dönges, acting Prime Minister of South Africa and elected President of South Africa (b. 1898)
*
January 15 – Leopold Infeld, Polish physicist (b. 1898)
* January 16 – Bob Jones Sr., American evangelist, religious broadcaster, and founder of Bob Jones University (b. 1883)
* January 18 – John Ridgely, American actor (b. 1909)
*
January 21
Events Pre-1600
* 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
* 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when ...
– Georg Dertinger, German politician (b. 1902)
* January 22
** Aleksandr Arbuzov, Russian chemist (b. 1877)
** Duke Kahanamoku, American Olympic swimmer (b. 1890)
* January 29 – Tsuguharu Foujita, Japanese-French painter and printmaker (b. 1886)
February
* February 4
** Eddie Baker, American actor (b. 1897)
** Neal Cassady, American author and poet (b. 1926)
* February 7 – Nick Adams (actor, born 1931), Nick Adams, American actor (b. 1931)
* February 10 – Pitirim Sorokin, Russian-American sociologist (b. 1889)
* February 11 – Howard Lindsay, American playwright (b. 1888)
* February 13
** Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1894)
** Ildebrando Pizzetti, Italian composer (b. 1880)
* February 15 – Little Walter, American blues musician, singer, and songwriter (b. 1930)
* February 17 – Sir Donald Wolfit, English actor (b. 1902)
* February 19 – Georg Hackenschmidt, German strongman and professional wrestler (b. 1877)
* February 20 – Anthony Asquith, British director and writer (b. 1902)
* February 21 – Howard Florey, Australian-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (b. 1898)
* February 22 – Peter Arno, American cartoonist (b. 1904)
*
February 25 – Camille Huysmans, Belgian politician, 34th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1871)
* February 27
** Frankie Lymon, American singer (b. 1942)
** Hertha Sponer, German physicist and chemist (b. 1895)
* February 29 – Hugo Benioff, American seismologist (b. 1899)
March
*
March 6
Events Pre-1600
* 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor.
* 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
* 845 & ...
– Joseph W. Martin Jr., American politician (b. 1884)
*
March 8
Events Pre-1600
* 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''.
*1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León.
* 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bou ...
– Jerzy Braun (rower), Jerzy Braun, Polish athlete (b. 1911)
*
March 14 – Erwin Panofsky, German-Jewish art historian (b. 1892)
* March 15 – Khuang Aphaiwong, 4th Prime Minister of Thailand, country leader during World War II (b. 1902)
*
March 16
Events Pre-1600
* 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
*1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford's Tower, York.
* 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse ...
– Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian composer (b. 1895)
* March 20 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish film director (b. 1889)
* March 23 – Edwin O'Connor, American journalist, novelist, and radio commentator (b. 1918)
*
March 24
Events Pre-1600
* 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
*1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate o ...
– Alice Guy-Blaché, French filmmaker (b. 1873)
* March 27 – Yuri Gagarin, Soviet cosmonaut, first human in space (b. 1934)
March 30- American child actor, Bobby Driscoll (b. 1937)
April
* April 1 – Lev Landau, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
*
April 4 –
**
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1929)
** Assis Chateaubriand, Brazilian newspaper magnate (b. 1892)
*
April 7
Events Pre-1600
* 451 – Attila the Hun captures Metz in France, killing most of its inhabitants and burning the town.
* 529 – First ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', a fundamental work in jurisprudence, is issued by Eastern Roman Empe ...
–
Jim Clark, Scottish racing driver and double Formula One World Champion (b. 1936)
*
April 8 – Harold D. Babcock, American astronomer (b. 1882)
* April 15 – Boris Lyatoshinsky, Ukrainian composer, conductor, and teacher (b. 1895)
* April 16
** Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
** Albert Betz, German physicist (b. 1885)
** Edna Ferber, American writer (b. 1885)
* April 24
** Tommy Noonan, American actor (b. 1921)
** Walter Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)
* April 25 – Gunnar Andersen, Norwegian footballer and ski jumper (b. 1890)
* April 26 – John Heartfield, German visual artist (b. 1891)
May
* May 5 – Albert Dekker, American actor (b. 1905)
* May 7 – Lurleen Wallace, American politician (b. 1926)
* May 9
** Finlay Currie, Scottish actor (b. 1878)
** Marion Lorne, American actress (b. 1883)
** Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright, and novelist (b. 1892)
* May 10 – Scotty Beckett, American child actor (b. 1929)
* May 11 – Robert Burks, American cinematographer (b. 1909)
* May 14 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b. 1882)
* May 25 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal and war criminal (b. 1881)
* May 26 – Little Willie John, American R&B singer (b. 1937)
* May 28
** Kees van Dongen, Dutch-French painter (b. 1877)
** Fyodor Okhlopkov, Soviet sniper (b. 1908)
June
* June 1 – Helen Keller, American activist and spokeswoman for the deaf and blind (b. 1880)
* June 2 – R. Norris Williams, American tennis player (b. 1891)
* June 4
** Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
** Walter Nash, Sir Walter Nash, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1882)
* June 6
** Randolph Churchill, British politician, son of Winston Churchill (b. 1911)
**
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
, American lawyer and politician (United States Senator, U.S. Attorney General) (b. 1925)
* June 7 – Dan Duryea, American actor (b. 1907)
* June 14
** Karl-Birger Blomdahl, Swedish composer (b. 1916)
** Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
* June 15
** Sam Crawford, American baseball player (b. 1880)
** Wes Montgomery, American jazz guitarist (b. 1923)
* June 17 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1901)
* June 18 – Nikolaus von Falkenhorst, German general and war criminal (b. 1885)
* June 25 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
July
* July 1
** Fritz Bauer, German judge and prosecutor (b. 1903)
** Virginia Weidler, American actress (b. 1927)
* July 2
** Zaki al-Arsuzi, Syrian philosopher, philologist, sociologist, and historian (b. 1899)
** Francis Brennan (cardinal), Francis Brennan, American cardinal (b. 1894)
* July 9
** Viktor Blinov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
** Alexander Cadogan, British diplomat (b. 1884)
* July 12 – José Bordas Valdez, 43rd President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1874)
* July 14 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian-Soviet writer (b. 1892)
* July 15 – Cai Chusheng, Chinese film director (b. 1906)
* July 18 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
* July 20 – Joseph Keilberth, German conductor (b. 1908)
* July 21 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer (b. 1879)
* July 22 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist (b. 1908)
* July 23
** Luigi Cevenini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1895)
** Henry Hallett Dale, Sir Henry Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist (b. 1875)
* July 27 – Lilian Harvey, Anglo-German actress and singer (b. 1906)
* July 28
** Otto Hahn, German chemist, discoverer of nuclear fission, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
** Ángel Herrera Oria, Spanish journalist, politician, cardinal and servant of God (b. 1886)
August
* August 3 – Konstantin Rokossovsky, Soviet officer, Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1896)
* August 5 – Luther Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1928)
* August 19 – George Gamow, Soviet-American theoretical physicist and cosmologist (b. 1904)
* August 25 – Stan McCabe, Australian cricketer (b. 1910)
* August 26 – Kay Francis, American actress (b. 1905)
* August 27
** Robert Z. Leonard, American film director (b. 1889)
** Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark (b. 1906)
* August 29 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American soldier and planner (b. 1881)
* August 30 – William Talman (actor), William Talman, American actor (b. 1915)
* August 31 – Dennis O'Keefe, American actor (b. 1908)
September
* September 3 – Juan José Castro, Argentine composer and conductor (b. 1895)
* September 7 – Lucio Fontana, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1899)
* September 13 – Frank Barson, English footballer (b. 1891)
* September 17 – Armand Blanchonnet, French Olympic cyclist (b. 1903)
* September 18
** Franchot Tone, American actor (b. 1905)
** Francis McDonald, American actor (b. 1891)
* September 19
** Chester Carlson, American physicist, and inventor (b. 1906)
** Red Foley, American singer (b. 1910)
* September 23 – Pio of Pietrelcina, Italian Roman Catholic priest and saint (b. 1887)
* September 24 – Virginia Valli, American actress (b. 1898)
* September 28 – Norman Brookes, Sir Norman Brookes, Australian tennis champion (b. 1877)
October
* October 1 – Romano Guardini, Italian-German Catholic priest and theologian (b. 1885)
* October 2 – Marcel Duchamp, French artist (b. 1887)
* October 4
** Francis Biddle, American politician (b. 1886)
** Hitoshi Imamura, Japanese general (b. 1886)
* October 13
** Manuel Bandeira, Brazilian poet, literary critic, and translator (b. 1886)
** Bea Benaderet, American actress (b. 1906)
** John L. Hines, American general, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army (b. 1868)
* October 15
** Franz Beyer (general), Franz Beyer, German general (b. 1892)
** Herbert Copeland, American biologist (b. 1902)
* October 18 – Lee Tracy, American actor (b. 1898)
* October 26 – Sergei Natanovich Bernstein, Russian and Soviet mathematician (b. 1880)
* October 27 – Lise Meitner, German-Austrian physicist, discoverer of nuclear fission (b. 1878)
* October 28 – Hans Cramer, German general (b. 1896)
* October 30
** Ramon Novarro, Mexican-born American actor (b. 1899)
** Conrad Richter, American writer (b. 1890)
November
* November 1 – Georgios Papandreou, 3-Time Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1888)
* November 6 – Charles Munch (conductor), Charles Munch, French conductor (b. 1891)
* November 7 – Alexander Gelfond, Soviet mathematician (b. 1906)
* November 8 – Wendell Corey, American actor (b. 1914)
* November 9
** Jan Johansson (jazz musician), Jan Johansson, Swedish jazz pianist (b. 1931)
** Gerald Mohr, American actor (b. 1914)
* November 11 – Jeanne Demessieux, French composer (b. 1921)
* November 14 – Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Spanish philologist and historian (b. 1869)
* November 15 – Charles Bacon, American athlete (b. 1885)
* November 16
** Augustin Bea, German cardinal (b. 1881)
** Carl Bertilsson, Swedish gymnast (b. 1889)
* November 17 – Mervyn Peake, English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator (b. 1911)
* November 18 – Walter Wanger, American film producer (b. 1894)
* November 20 – Helen Gardner (actress), Helen Gardner, American actress (b. 1884)
* November 25 – Upton Sinclair, American writer (b. 1878)
* November 26 – Arnold Zweig, German writer, pacifist and socialist (b. 1887)
* November 28 – Enid Blyton, English writer (b. 1897)
* November 30 – Charles Henry Bartlett, British cyclist (b. 1885)
December
* December 1
** Hugo Haas, Czech actor, director and writer (b. 1901)
** Darío Moreno, Turkish-Jewish polyglot singer, composer, lyricist, and guitarist (b. 1921)
* December 4 – Archie Mayo, American actor and director (b. 1891)
* December 5 – Fred Clark, American actor (b. 1914)
* December 9 – Enoch L. Johnson, American political boss and racketeer (b. 1883)
* December 10
** Karl Barth, German Protestant theologian (b. 1888)
** Thomas Merton, American author (b. 1915)
* December 12
** Tim Ahearne, Irish athlete (b. 1885)
** Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (b. 1902)
* December 18 – Giovanni Messe, Italian field marshal and politician (b. 1883)
* December 19 – Norman Thomas, American socialist (b. 1884)
* December 20
** Max Brod, Czech-born Israeli composer, writer and biographer (b. 1884)
** John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
* December 30
** Trygve Lie, 1st United Nations Secretary General, Secretary General of the United Nations (b. 1896)
** Kirill Meretskov, Soviet military officer, Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1897)
* December 31 – George Lewis (clarinetist), George Lewis, American musician (b. 1900)
Date unknown
* Sami as-Solh, 5-Time Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1887)
Nobel Prizes
* Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Luis Walter Alvarez
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Lars Onsager
* Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Robert W. Holley, Har Gobind Khorana, Marshall W. Nirenberg
* Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – Yasunari Kawabata
* Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – René Cassin
References
Further reading
* Sherman, Daniel J. et al. eds. ''The Long 1968: Revisions and New Perspectives'' (Indiana University Press; 2013) 382 pages; essays by scholars on the cultural and political impact of 1968 in France, Mexico, Northern Ireland, the United States, etc.
* Kurlansky, Mark. (2004). ''1968: The Year that Rocked the World''. London: Jonathan Cape.
* NPR
Echoes of 1968 report series.
1968 – The Year in SoundAn Audiofile produced by Lou Zambrana of WCBS Newsradio 880 (WCBS-AM New York) Part of WCBS 880's celebration of 40 years of newsradio.
* ''Time'', 40th Anniversary Special (2008). "1968: The Year That Changed the World."
* ''Newsweek''.
1968: The Year That Made Us Who We Are" November 19, 2007.
time.com, January 11, 1988.
Magnum Photos, Historic photos from 1968
BBC Radio 4 – 1968 Myth or Reality?– six months of 'news on this day' programmes and documentaries
Reflections on 1968Read people's memories of the year 1968. Minnesota Historical Society
External links
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{{Authority control
1968,
Leap years in the Gregorian calendar