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Key Moments in 1968

By NeilS
  • North Korea captures the USS Pueblo

    For more info on the crisis click hereThe surveillance ship the USS Pueblo and its 82-man crew was captured off the coast of North Korea. Despite 15 years since the Korean War ended, Cold War tensions between the US and North Korea were still high. The surviving crew was held hostage at a POW camp.
  • North Vietnam launches Tet offensive

    North Vietnam launches Tet offensive
    Previously, a cease fire between North and South Vietnam, North Vietnam launched a surprise offensive attack against US and South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnamese New Year. The attack targeted 36 major cities/towns and would allude to the eventual withdraw of US troops in Vietnam.
    Photo Credit: Manhhai via Flickr
  • Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated

    Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
    Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. . is assassinated in Memphis, TN. Photo Credit: Mike Licht
  • Robert Kennedy is assassinated

    Robert Kennedy giving a speech following Martin Luther King's assassinationSenator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
  • Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia

    British News coverage of the invasion The U.S.S.R invades Czechoslovakia with 200,000 effectively ending the "Prague Summer" and starting a period of oppression for the nation.
  • Boeing introduces its first 'Jumbo Jet'

    Boeing introduces its first 'Jumbo Jet'
    Boeing introduces the world's first-ever 747 "Jumbo Jet" airplane. The planen was the larget at the time, weighing over 300 tons and holding 374 passengers. The 747 is still being used by airlines even today. Photo Credit: Aero Icarus via Flickr
  • Tonnie Smith and John Carlos take a stand at 1968 Summer Olympic Games

    Watch hereTonnie Smith (gold medal winner) and John Carlos (bronze medal winner) took a stand at the Olympic podium in Mexico City. After recieving their medals in the 200m competition both Carlos and Smith hoisted their fists in the air wearing all black and no shoes in support of African American athletes. They did this to increase awareness towards fight on poverty and segeration in sports. Australian silver medalist, Peter Norman, also wore a Olympic Project for Human Rights patch in support.
  • Star Trek airs first televised interracial kiss

    Watch Capt. Kirk and Lt. Nyota Uhura make history!William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols produce the first-ever televised intterracial kiss during "Plato's Stepchildren" episode of Star Trek.
  • USS Pueblo crew members are released

    USS Pueblo crew members are released
    The 82-man crew of the USS Pueblo is finally released and allowed to return safely to South Korean territory. Tensions between North Korea and the USA subside.
    Photo Credit Ryan Somma
  • Apollo 8 orbits the Moon

    Apollo 8 orbits the Moon
    On Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 becomes the first ever manned spacecraft to successfully orbit the Moon. Jim Lovell, Bill Anders, and Frank Borman became the first astronauts to ever see the moon. Photo Credit: Marion Doss via Flickr