1968 In both Europe and America Japanese imported cars and other goods were continuing to rise and trouble the governments of UK and USA as they worried about industries in their own countries being effected and jobs lost. In the spring of 1968 on 4th April The Rev Martin Luther King was assassinated and Robert Kennedy was mortally wounded when he is shot by Sirhan Sirhan. The peace movement had continued to grow and more and more Americans were against the war in Vietnam, and once again more riots occurred throughout cities in America. The music scene was once again set by the "Beatles" and the "Rolling Stones" , and fashion flirted with see through blouses and midis and maxis skirts joined the Mini Skirt as part of the fashion trends. There is a Flu Pandemic in Hong Kong and the first Black power salute is seen on Television worldwide during an Olympics medal ceremony
Cost of Living 1968How Much things cost in 1968Yearly Inflation Rate USA 4.27% Yearly Inflation Rate UK 4.7% Year End Dow Jones Industrial Average 943 Average Cost of new house $14,950.00 Average Income per year $7,850.00 Average Monthly Rent $130.00 Gas per Gallon 34 cents Average Cost of a new car $2,822.00 Movie Ticket$1.50 The Federal Hourly Minimum Wage is $1.60 an hour Below are some Prices for UK guides in Pounds Sterling Average House Price 4,344 Gallon of Petrol 5 shillings 5 pence or 28 new pence | From Our 1968 Page Part of our 1960s Toys Selection of 250 Sixties Toys Price: $2.97  |
What Events Happened in 1968
Vietnam- North Vietnam and Viet Cong troops launch the Tet offensive
Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia
1. January 5th Alexander Dubček becomes the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
2. April 5th Alexander Dubček and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia call for the acknowledgment of individual liberties, the introduction of political and economic reforms, and a change in the structure of the nation. "Action Programme"
3. April 5th "Action Programme" includes proposed reforms to limit the power of the secret police and formal abolishment of censorship
4. June 26th Following formal abolishment of censorship anti-Soviet editorials appear in the press
5. August 20th and 21st Eastern Bloc armies consisting of 200,000 troops and 2,000 tanks from four Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary invade Czechoslovakia / ČSSR
6. August 21st Dubček and other reformers are taken into Soviet custody and flown to Moscow
7. August 26th Dubček and other reformers accede to Soviet demands and sign the Moscow protocols promising to protect socialism in Czechoslovakia
8. August 28th Dubček and most of the reformers were returned to Prague
Dubček was forced to resign as first secretary in April 1969 and for the next few years a process of Normalization which included the Removal of reforms implemented in 1968 and those who had been instrumental in the reforms from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, mass media, judiciary, social and mass organizations. Economic enterprises, which had been given substantial independence during the Prague Spring were bought back into centralized control. Freedom of the Press Act revoked etc.
- The Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia and arrests President Dubcek
1. January 5th Alexander Dubček becomes the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
2. April 5th Alexander Dubček and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia call for the acknowledgment of individual liberties, the introduction of political and economic reforms, and a change in the structure of the nation. "Action Programme"
3. April 5th "Action Programme" includes proposed reforms to limit the power of the secret police and formal abolishment of censorship
4. June 26th Following formal abolishment of censorship anti-Soviet editorials appear in the press
5. August 20th and 21st Eastern Bloc armies consisting of 200,000 troops and 2,000 tanks from four Warsaw Pact countries – the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary invade Czechoslovakia / ČSSR
6. August 21st Dubček and other reformers are taken into Soviet custody and flown to Moscow
7. August 26th Dubček and other reformers accede to Soviet demands and sign the Moscow protocols promising to protect socialism in Czechoslovakia
8. August 28th Dubček and most of the reformers were returned to Prague
Dubček was forced to resign as first secretary in April 1969 and for the next few years a process of Normalization which included the Removal of reforms implemented in 1968 and those who had been instrumental in the reforms from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, mass media, judiciary, social and mass organizations. Economic enterprises, which had been given substantial independence during the Prague Spring were bought back into centralized control. Freedom of the Press Act revoked etc.
World
- Anti Vietnam War protests throughout the western world
Martin Luther King Jr.
1. 1929 January 15th Born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2. 1948 Graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology
3. 1951 Graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania
4. 1953 June 18th Marries Coretta Scott on the lawn of her parents' house in her hometown of Heiberger, Alabama
5. 1954 Martin Luther King Jr. becomes pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
6. 1955 Following the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger Martin Luther King Jr. leads the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted for 385 days to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system.
7. 1957 Martin Luther King Jr. becomes president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
8. 1959 Martin Luther King Jr. visits Gandhi's birthplace in India where he affirms his commitment to non-violent resistance and America's struggle for civil rights.
7. 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a nonviolent direct action protest in Birmingham, Alabama to defy discrimination laws they considered unfair.
8. 1963 August 28th King, representing SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it was the largest political rally for human rights in United States history .
9. 1963 August 28th Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial to an estimated crowd of 250,000
10. 1965 March 25th Martin Luther King, Jr. at the end of the third Selma to Montgomery march delivered the speech "How Long, Not Long." on the steps of the State Capitol Building to a crowd of 25,000
11. 1967 April 4th Martin Luther King, Jr. during a speech at the New York City Riverside Church spoke strongly against the U.S.'s role in the war, insisting that the U.S. was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony"
12. 1967 After his speech against the Vietnam War many supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr. including President Johnson, union leaders and powerful media publishers began to line up against him.
13. 1968 April 4th Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot and killed by James Earl Ray
The assassination led to a nationwide wave of race riots in Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities
- Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Leader of Negro Civil Rights Movement is killed by James Earl Ray which leads to Violence and Race Riots in US Cities
1. 1929 January 15th Born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States
2. 1948 Graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology
3. 1951 Graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania
4. 1953 June 18th Marries Coretta Scott on the lawn of her parents' house in her hometown of Heiberger, Alabama
5. 1954 Martin Luther King Jr. becomes pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama
6. 1955 Following the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger Martin Luther King Jr. leads the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted for 385 days to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system.
7. 1957 Martin Luther King Jr. becomes president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
8. 1959 Martin Luther King Jr. visits Gandhi's birthplace in India where he affirms his commitment to non-violent resistance and America's struggle for civil rights.
7. 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a nonviolent direct action protest in Birmingham, Alabama to defy discrimination laws they considered unfair.
8. 1963 August 28th King, representing SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it was the largest political rally for human rights in United States history .
9. 1963 August 28th Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial to an estimated crowd of 250,000
10. 1965 March 25th Martin Luther King, Jr. at the end of the third Selma to Montgomery march delivered the speech "How Long, Not Long." on the steps of the State Capitol Building to a crowd of 25,000
11. 1967 April 4th Martin Luther King, Jr. during a speech at the New York City Riverside Church spoke strongly against the U.S.'s role in the war, insisting that the U.S. was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony"
12. 1967 After his speech against the Vietnam War many supporters of Martin Luther King, Jr. including President Johnson, union leaders and powerful media publishers began to line up against him.
13. 1968 April 4th Martin Luther King, Jr. is shot and killed by James Earl Ray
The assassination led to a nationwide wave of race riots in Washington D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas City, and dozens of other cities
U.S.
- Following the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968
- Vietnam US soldiers massacre men, women and children in My lai
- President Lyndon Johnson orders an end to the bombing of North Vietnam
- RMS Queen Elizabeth - retired from service
- Dutch Elm Disease continues to increase with tens of thousands of trees now destroyed
- British Post office introduces First Class Post
- China celebrates 20 years of communist rule by Mao Tse-tung
- Senator Robert Kennedy is assassinated on June 5th by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles
- Earthquake in Sicily - 231 dead, 262 injured.
- Enoch Powell's delivers his "Rivers of Blood" anti immigration speech
- The new wide ranging race relations act goes into force
- The Third Heart transplant is performed in South Africa By Dr Christian N Barnard
- London Bridge sold for 1 million. and later re-erected in Arizona .
- President Johnson announces on nationwide television he would not run for another term of office
- The Redwood National Park is created in California to protect the Giant Redwoods.
- Pope Paul VI bans Catholics from using the contraceptive pill for birth control
- 50,000 people participated in " The Poor Peoples March " on June 19th Washington, D.C.
- Population in Europe reaches 455 million ( excluding USSR )
- The Kray twins, arrested for the murders of George Cornell and Jack 'The Hat' McVitie, members of the London underworld.
- The Zodiac serial murderer begins his reign of terror in California in what has been described as the perfect crime ( He claimed in letters sent to the newspapers to have murdered 37, but police files put the number at 11. ( He has never been caught )
- Televisions Installed increases 25 million US , 20.5 million Japan , 19 Million Great Britain
- France becomes the world's fifth nuclear power
- Alec Rose completes his single-handed 354-day round-the-world trip.
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau becomes the Prime Minister of Canada
- Student Occupation at Columbia University over Universities affiliation with the Institute for Defense.
- Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy marry
- The Ferry "TEV Wahine" capsizes in Wellington Harbour, New Zealand
- The nuclear-powered U.S. submarine Scorpion sank in the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of 99 crew members.
- Hong Kong Flu pandemic begins in Hong Kong.
- Student riots threaten Mexico Olympics when thousands of students protest against the military occupation of the National Polytechnic Institute.
- Black power salute is seen on Television worldwide after the gold and bronze medalists in Olympics show salute during medal ceremony in Mexico City, Mexico
- The Aswan Dam in Egypt is completed
- The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is dedicated
- Truth In Lending Act is passed to protect consumers during credit transactions.
- The border between Spain and Gibraltar is closed
- Equatorial Guinea Gains Independence From Spain
- The Winter Olympic Games are held in Grenoble, France
- 800,000 teachers, workers and student protesters marched through the French capital during a one day general strike
Technology
- Boeing 747 made its maiden flight.
- NASA launches Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission
- Air Bags , Allen K Breed invents an air bag that deploys and inflates automatically on violent impact using nitrogen gas.
- Apollo 8 orbits the Moon, becoming the first manned space mission to achieve the feat.
- Dr. Christian Barnard performs the first successful heart transplant.
- US Explodes experimental hydrogen Bomb.
- The Emergency 911 Telephone service is started in the USA which provides a single number for reporting emergencies and is manned 24 hrs per day 365 days per year
- ATM First Philadelphia Bank installs the first automated teller machine in the U.S.
Popular Culture 1968
The first Big Mac goes on sale in McDonalds costing 49 centsThe Beatles create Apple Records and record "Hey Jude" as the first single on the label
The CBS television news magazine program "60 Minutes" shown for the first time
Musical Hair opens at Shaftesbury Theatre in London featuring nudity and drug-taking
Popular Films
- The Graduate
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
- Bonnie and Clyde
- Valley of the Dolls
- The Odd Couple
- Planet of the Apes
- Rosemary's Baby
Check out our Television Programmes From The 60s whenever possible we have included a trailer to jog your memory. Series trailers and more information are found on the decade they started.
Popular Musicians
- The Rolling Stones
- The Supremes
- The Beatles with " Hey Jude "
- Fleetwood Mac
- Aretha Franklin
- Gary Puckett and The Union Gap
- The Grateful Dead
- The Monkees
- Simon and Garfunkel " Mrs Robinson "
- The Beach Boys
- The Bee Gees
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- Cream
- The Doors " Hello I Love You "
- Pink Floyd
- Moody Blues
- Bobby Goldsboro " Honey "
- Marvin Gaye " I heard it through the Grapevine "
- David Bowie
Born This Year 1968
Will Smith September 25thNaomi Watts September 28th
Jerry Yang November 6th
Celine Dion March 30th
Major World Political Leaders 1968
Australia Prime Minister John McEwen Till December 19thAustralia Prime Minister John Gorton From 19th December
Brazil President Costa e Silva Canada Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson till April 20th,
Canada Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from April 20th,
China Chairman of the People's Republic of China Liu Shaoqi
France President Charles de Gaulle
Germany Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger
India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Italy Prime Minister Aldo Moro Till June 24th
Italy Prime Minister Giovanni Leone From 24th June
Italy Prime Minister Giovanni Leone Till December 12th
Italy Prime Minister Mariano Rumor From 12th December
Japan Prime Minister Eisaku Sato Mexico President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Russia / Soviet Union
First Secretary of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev South Africa Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster United States President Lyndon B. Johnson United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson
Political Elections 1968
United States Presidential Election 1968 Richard Nixon (Republican) defeats Hubert Humphrey (Democratic) and George Wallace (American Independent)
Canadian Federal Election 1968 Pierre Trudeau ( Liberal ) defeats Robert Stanfield ( Progressive Conservatives )
One of the most popular boys toys of the era, Matchbox Cars Sets those included here include transporter set, farm set and race and rally set 
Patent Sling Pump, this is one of many ladies shoes ( Pumps ) from the year that featured multi colors, Description "Bare sling with patent vinyl upper. Has a composition sole and two and a quarter inch heel"
As a fella sometimes I can do little more than give a description on ladies clothes, through out the 50s and 60s many ladies dresses were called Empire Style, I am sure for all you ladies out there you know what it means but to me it seems to be a long dress with a tight waist -- Steve 
These were popular in the 60s and 70s, a Color TV was a big investment so most homes only had one ( They were also very large and Heavy ) in the lounge, because of this people would arrive home from work and not want to miss thier favorite TV shows and these offered a way to eat dinner and watch TV at the same time. I am sure most of those old enough to remember those times remember these as well 
