1968

1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday in 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.
 February 19 – PBS airs the first episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with host Fred Rogers
 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.
 December 22 - Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that it is "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."(Down to the Countryside Movement)

 Births 
 January 5 - Adel Aljabrin, Saudi Arabian archer
 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 (d. 2023)
 February 8 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
 February 18 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
 March 2 – Daniel Craig, British actor
 March 6 – Moira Kelly, American actress
 March 30 – Céline Dion, Canadian singer and actress
 April 1 – Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
 April 19 – Arshad Warsi, Indian actor
 April 28 - Andy Flower, Zimbabwean cricketer
 May 1 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer
 May 7 – Traci Lords, American actress & singer
 May 26 – Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark
 May 28 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer & actress
 June 1 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor & 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
 July 21 – Brandi Chastain, American footballer
 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
 August 16 – Arwind Kejriwal, Indian politician
 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 17 - Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer (Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers)
 October 18 – Michael Stich, German tennis player
 December 2 – Lucy Liu, American actress
 December 3 – Brendon Fraser, Canadian-American actor
 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 writer (b. 1897)
 December 20 – John Steinbeck, American writer (b. 1902)
 December 30 – Trygve Lie, UN Secretary-General (b. 1896)

 Movies 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 Hergé
 M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker

 Hit songs 
 "Born To Be Wild" – Steppenwolf
 "Dance To The Music" – Sly and 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