On this day

August 21, 1968

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

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Headlines from August 21, 1968

KENNEDY BACKERS OFFER WAR PLANK; But McCarthy Group Balks at Compromise -- Rusk Is for General Statement Kennedy Backers Offer Dovish Plank

By John W. Finneyspecial To the New York Times

Kennedy backers after compromise dovish plank to Dem Platform Com calling for halt to bombing, cease-fire and talks between S Vietnam and NLF; plank designed to provide common front for McCarthy, McGovern and Kennedy supporters; Rusk defends Adm position before com; urges it not to 'outline tactics or strategy' in platform, to stick to statement of objectives; Kennedy draft plank written primarily by F G Dutton and J J Gilligan; McGovern tells com US involvement is 'most tragic diplomatic and moral catastrophe in our natl history'; Sen Fulbright testifies US intervention is a 'mistake', the 'result of honest but serious errors in policy'; illus of debate before com

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CZECHOSLOVAKIA INVADED BY RUSSIANS AND FOUR OTHER WARSAW PACT FORCES;; TANKS ENTER CITY Deaths Are Reported -- Troops Surround Offices of Party Czechoslovakia Invaded by the Russians and Four Other Warsaw Pact Forces RED TROOPS FIRE ON PRAGUE CROWD Tanks Surround the Party Office in Capital -- Radio Appeals for Calm

By Tad Szulcspecial To the New York Times

USSR and 4 E Eur allies invade and occupy Czech in move linked to blocking Czech democratization; Prague radio broadcasts statement denouncing invasion but appealing for non-resistance

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Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of August 21, 1968, covering August 21, 1968.

  1. 1
    Album cover for Wheels Of Fire by Cream

    Wheels Of Fire

    Cream

    Last week
    1
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    7
  2. 2
    Album cover for Time Peace/The Rascals' Greatest Hits by The Rascals

    Time Peace/The Rascals' Greatest Hits

    The Rascals

    Last week
    2
    Peak
    2
    Weeks
    7
  3. 3
    Album cover for Aretha Now by Aretha Franklin

    Aretha Now

    Aretha Franklin

    Last week
    3
    Peak
    3
    Weeks
    7
  4. 4
    Album cover for Waiting For The Sun by The Doors

    Waiting For The Sun

    The Doors

    Last week
    29
    Peak
    4
    Weeks
    3
  5. 5
    Album cover for Beat Of The Brass by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

    Beat Of The Brass

    Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass

    Last week
    5
    Peak
    1
    Weeks
    16

Notable Births

1968Dina Carroll, English singer-songwriter[†]

Geraldine "Dina" Carroll is an English singer. She had a string of hits during the 1990s, including the UK top ten singles "It's Too Late" (1991), "Don't Be a Stranger" (1993), "The Perfect Year" (1993), and "Escaping" (1996). Carroll released two studio albums, So Close (1993) and Only Human (1996), both of which reached number two on the UK Albums Chart and were certified platinum. She won Best British Female Solo Artist at the 1994 Brit Awards.

1968Goran Ćurko, Serbian footballer[†]

Goran Ćurko is a Serbian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

1968Laura Trevelyan, English journalist and author[†]

Laura Kate Trevelyan is a British-American journalist who worked for the BBC for 30 years. She served as an On the Record reporter, United Nations correspondent (2006–2009), and New York correspondent (2009–2012), before anchoring BBC World News America (2012–2023).

Notable Deaths

Germaine Guèvremont

1968Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (born 1893)[†]

Germaine Guèvremont, born Grignon was a Canadian writer, who was a prominent figure in Quebec literature.

Historical Events

Cold War

1968Cold War: Nicolae Ceaușescu, leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania, publicly condemns the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, encouraging the Romanian population to arm itself against possible Soviet reprisals.[†]

The Cold War was a period of global geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargoes, and sports diplomacy.

James Anderson Jr.

1968James Anderson Jr. posthumously receives the first Medal of Honor to be awarded to an African American U.S. Marine.[†]

Private First Class James Anderson Jr. was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism while serving in Vietnam in February 1967. When his Medal of Honor was awarded on August 21, 1968, he became the first African American U.S. Marine recipient of the Medal of Honor while serving in Vietnam.

Historical Context for August 21, 1968

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