1968

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

1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

• January 5 – Alexander Dubček elected as leader of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party – the "Prague Spring" begins in Czechoslovakia
• January 15 – An earthquake in Sicily – 231 dead, 262 injured
• January 21 – US B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland and in the process discharges four nuclear bombs
• January 23 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo, claiming the ship violated its territorial waters while spying.
• January 25 – The Israeli Submarine Dakar sinks in the Mediterranean Sea – 69 dead
• January 27 – French submarine sinks in the Mediterranean with 52 men
• January 30 – Vietnam War: The Tết Offensive begins, as NLF forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam.
• January 31 – NLF soldiers attack the United States embassy in Saigon
• January 31 – Nauru's president Hammer DeRoburt declares independence from Australia.
• April 4 – Martin Luther King Jr. is shot dead in Memphis, Tennessee.
• June 5 – Robert F. Kennedy is shot, and dies on the following day.
• August 20 – The Prague Uprising is crushed.

Births

• January 14 – LL Cool J, American singer and musician
• January 28 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian musician
• January 30 – Crown Prince Felipe of Spain
• February 1 – Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley
• February 8 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
• March 2 – Daniel Craig, British actor
• March 30 – Céline Dion, Canadian singer and actress
• May 1 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
• May 26 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
• May 28 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer and actress
• June 1 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
• June 21 – Chris Gueffroy, last person to be shot at the Berlin Wall (d. 1989)
• June 26 – Paolo Maldini, Italian footballer
• July 16 – Larry Sanger, Wikipedia co-founder
• August 2 – Stefan Effenberg, German footballer
• August 4 – Daniel Dae-Kim, American actor
• August 5 – Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver (d. 2007)
• August 9 – Gillian Anderson, American actress
• September 1 – Mohamed Atta, Egyptian terrorist (d. 2001)
• September 7 – Marcel Desailly, French footballer
• September 10 – Andreas Herzog, Austrian footballer
• September 25 – Will Smith, American actor
• September 28 – Naomi Watts, American actress
• October 12 – Hugh Jackman, Australian actor
• October 18 – Michael Stich, German tennis player
• December 2 – Lucy Liu, American actress
• December 9 – Kurt Angle, American professional wrestler
• December 18 – Mario Basler, German footballer
• December 30 – Meredith Monroe, American actress

Deaths

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

Films released

• 2001: A Space Odyessy
• Barbarella
• No Way to Treat a Lady
• The Odd Couple
• Yellow Submarine
• Once Upon A Time in West
• Oliver!
• Rosemary's Baby
• Night of the Living Dead

New books

• Flight 714 by Herge
• M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker

Hit songs

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