News and Events of 1968

World Events

• North Korea seizes US Navy ship Pueblo; holds 83 on board as spies (Jan. 23).
  
  
• North Vietnamese launch the Tet Offensive, a turning point in the Vietnam War (Jan.-Feb.).
  
  
• American soldiers massacre 347 civilians at My Lai (March 16). Background: Vietnam War
  
  
• Czechoslovakia is invaded by Russians and Warsaw Pact forces to crush liberal regime (Aug. 20).
  
  

U.S. Events

• President Johnson announces he will not seek or accept presidential renomination (March 31).
  
  
• Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, is slain in Memphis (April 4).
  
  
• James Earl Ray, indicted in King murder, is sentenced to 99 years.
  
  
• Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is shot and critically wounded in Los Angeles hotel after winning California primary (June 5)—dies June 6. Background: Timeline of Kennedy tragedies
  
  

Economics

US GDP (1998 dollars):   $910.6 billion
Federal spending:   $178.13 billion
Federal debt:   $368.7 billion
Median Household Income
(current dollars):  $7,743
Consumer Price Index:   34.8
Unemployment:   3.8%
Cost of a first-class stamp:   $0.05 ($0.06 as of 1/7/68)

Sports

Super Bowl

Green Bay d. Oakland (33-14)

World Series

Detroit d. St. Louis Cardinals (4-3)

NBA Championship

Boston d. LA Lakers (4-2)

Stanley Cup

Montreal d. St. Louis (4-0)

Wimbledon

Women: Billie Jean King d. J. Tegart (9-7 7-5)
Men: Rod Laver d. T. Roche (6-3 6-4 6-2)

Kentucky Derby Champion

Forward Pass

NCAA Basketball Championship

UCLA d. North Carolina (78-55)

NCAA Football Champions

Ohio St. (10-0-0)

1968 Summer Olympics

1968 Winter Olympics

Entertainment

Events

• 60 Minutes airs on CBS, beginning its reign as the longest-running prime-time newsmagazine.
• The motion picture rating system debuts with G, PG, R and X.
• The rock musical Hair opens on Broadway.

Movies

• 2001: A Space Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Funny Girl, The Lion in Winter, Oliver!

Books

• William H. Gass, In the Heart of the Heart of the Country
• Gore Vidal, Myra Breckenridge

Science

• Prototype of world's first supersonic airliner. The Soviet-designed Tupolev Tu-144 made its first flight, Dec. 31. It first achieved supersonic speed on June 5, 1969. Background: Famous Firsts in Aviation
• The largest reservoir of American petroleum north of Mexico is discovered in Alaska.
• Amniocentesis is developed. Background: reproduction
• The successful flight of Apollo 8 makes Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders the first people to orbit the moon.

Deaths

• Martin Luther King, Jr.
  
  
• Marcel Duchamp
  
  
• Helen Keller
  
  
• Upton Sinclair
  
  
• John Steinbeck
  
  

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