On this day

January 22, 1968

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

Historical Context for January 22, 1968

In 1968, the world population was approximately 3,545,187,251 people[†]

Notable Births

Guy Fieri

1968Guy Fieri, American chef, author, and television host[†]

Guy Ramsay Fieri is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owned three now-defunct restaurants in California. He licenses his name to restaurants in cities all over the world, and is known for hosting various television series on the Food Network. In 2010, The New York Times reported that Fieri had become the "face of the network", bringing an "element of rowdy, mass-market culture to American food television" and that his "prime-time shows attract more male viewers than any others on the network".

Heath (musician)

1968Heath, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player (died 2023)[†]

Hiroshi Morie , known exclusively by his stage name Heath, was a Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was best known as bass guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1992 to 1997, and again from 2007 until his death in 2023.

Frank Leboeuf

1968Frank Leboeuf, French footballer, sportscaster, and actor[†]

Franck Alain James Leboeuf, commonly known as Frank Leboeuf, is a French actor, sports commentator and former footballer who played as a centre-back. With the France national team, Leboeuf won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 as well as a number of domestic trophies, most famously during his five years at Chelsea. Since the conclusion of his playing career, Leboeuf has transitioned to acting, appearing in stage, film productions and is a regular contributor at ESPN FC.

Mauricio Serna

1968Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer[†]

Mauricio Alberto "Chicho" Serna Valencia is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Notable Deaths

Duke Kahanamoku

1968Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer and water polo player (born 1890)[†]

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian competition swimmer, lifeguard, and popularizer of the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born three years before the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He lived to see the territory's admission as a state and became a United States citizen. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming, winning medals in 1912, 1920 and 1924.

Historical Events

Apollo program

1968Apollo Program: Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.[†]

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in space. It was conceived in 1960 as a three-person spacecraft during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal for the 1960s of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in an address to Congress on May 25, 1961. It was the third American human spaceflight program to fly, preceded by Project Gemini conceived in 1961 to extend spaceflight capability in support of Apollo.

1968Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.[†]

Operation Igloo White was a covert United States joint military electronic warfare operation conducted from late January 1968 until February 1973, during the Vietnam War. These missions were carried out by the 553rd Reconnaissance Wing, a U.S. Air Force unit flying modified EC-121R Warning Star aircraft, and VO-67, a specialized U.S. Navy unit flying highly modified OP-2E Neptune aircraft. This state-of-the-art operation utilized electronic sensors, computers, and communications relay aircraft in an attempt to automate intelligence collection. The system would then assist in the direction of strike aircraft to their targets. The objective of those attacks was the logistical system of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) that snaked through southeastern Laos and was known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

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Headlines from January 22, 1968

New Birth Control Aids Praised; F.D.A. Panel Finds Risk Small; BIRTH CURB AIDS PRAISED BY F.D.A.

By Harold M. Schmeck Jr.special To the New York Times

Advisory Com on Obstetrics and Gynecology repts to FDA that intrauterine devices are highly effective and involve only small risk; concedes some hazard of infection and possibly of perforation of uterus; 4 US women who died after using devices cited; reprs at briefing rept definite, although extremely small, element of risk in use of pills; rept details; briefing illus

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18 MARINES KILLED AS ENEMY SHELLS CAMP NEAR LAOS; 25 North Vietnamese Found Dead After Attacks Near Stronghold at Khesahn AMERICAN JET DOWNED Cambodians Report Finding Gear Left Behind by U.S. and Saigon Raiders 18 Marines Killed as Foe Shells Camp

By Tom Buckleyspecial To the New York Times

N Vietnamese troops stage series of attacks at Khesanh, killing 18 Amers, wounding 40; enemy stages attacks in other nearby areas; US postpones attack in central highlands; maps

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30 Infiltrators From North Kill Policeman and 5 Others in Seoul

By Special to The New York Times

Natl police rapt armed N Korean infiltrators killed S Korean police official and 5 civilians on Seoul st, 1st such attack by N Korean agents since '53,- 1 N Korean killed, another captured in exchange with police and troops near pres mansion; 5 other N Koreans killed outside city

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