JAN. 30

85,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese attack 36 major Vietnamese cities and towns, surprising U.S.-led forces and weakening public support in the United States. The Tet Offensive — named for the Vietnamese celebration of the Lunar New Year, the day of the attack —  marked the beginning of America’s withdrawal from Vietnam.

FEB. 18

State Department reports highest casualty rates of the Vietnam War with 543 Americans killed and 2,547 wounded over the previous week.

MARCH 28

Martin Luther King Jr. leads what would be his last march in Memphis, Tennessee, to support black sanitation workers who were striking for better treatment. There were conflicting casualty reports, but, according to “The Whole World Was Watching: an oral history of 1968,” one person was killed, 60 injured and more than 150 arrested.

APRIL 4

King is assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. while he stayed at the Lorraine Motel. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. Riots broke out in more than 100 cities.

APR. 30

Students and faculty protest Columbia University’s connection to the Vietnam War, culminating in their occupation of five campus buildings. At 2:20 a.m. 1,000 police officers stormed the buildings, forcibly removing students while mercilessly beating them, according to a New York Times reporter present at the scene. 132 students, 12 police officers and 4 faculty members were injured, and 720 demonstrators arrested.

JUNE 5

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, is shot by Sirhan Sirhan after after giving a speech in the Ambassador Hotel ballroom in Los Angeles. He died 26 hours later.

AUG. 28

Thousands of anti-Vietnam War protesters marched toward the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, clashes with police culminating in the so-called “Battle for Michigan Avenue.” Over the course of five days, 589 arrests were made, 119 police injured and 100 protesters injured.

OCT. 16

American Olympic athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two black medalists in the 200-meter dash, perform the black power salute at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City. They were expelled from the team two days later.

NOV. 5

Former Vice President Richard Nixon beats Vice President Hubert Humphrey, becoming the 37th President of the United States. Dogged by the lack of progress in the Vietnam War, President  Lyndon B. Johnson had decided not to run for re-election.

NOV. 22

In an episode of “Star Trek,” Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, and Lieutenant Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols, share the first interracial kiss on American TV.

DEC. 24

Apollo 8 becomes the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon. Jim Lovell, Bill Anders and Frank Borman escaped earth’s orbit, orbited the moon and returned to earth safely. They were the first to witness an earthrise and see the whole earth, among other achievements.

Sources: CNN, The New York Times, The Washington post,
Encyclopedia Britannica