On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
Portrait 1080 × 1920 PNG · created on your device
drs treating Gen Eisenhower say they use new drug lidocaine after discarding another experimental drug bretylium tosylate; comment after incorrect rept by Washington Post
Vietcong shells central Saigon for 1st time in 2 mos; 14 persons killed, 67 wounded; enemy stages rocket and mortar attacks against Tayninh, Nhabe and air base at Bienhoa; details on damage in Saigon; US troops kill 182 enemy 44 mi NW of Saigon; action in other areas reptd; map
Pres Ceausescu, in condemning USSR invasion of Czech, warns USSR bloc that Rumania would forcibly resist any invasion attempt, s to huge cheering rally, Bucharest; repts 'armed patriotic detachments' formed to defend nation; notes display of natl unity in joint pub appearance of Govt and party leaders and pledges to uphold revolutionary gains and independence
Pravda assails Dubcek, by name, as leader of counterrevolution charging him with 'treacherous betrayal' of Communism and using talks with other party leaders 'only to gain time'; attack seen foreshadowing his ouster; USSR launches intense propaganda drive to justify invasion to Russians and world; reiterates view that Czech Communists 'requested' intervention to help overcome peril from counterrevolutionary and hostile Western forces; Tass and Izvestia pub alleged appeal; Pravda article, by Y Zhukov, explains USSR stand; Tass deplores attacks on occupying forces and denies rumors that Novotny will be restored
Johnson Adm holds that whatever strains develop in US-USSR ties because of invasion the door must not be closed to talks on critical issues such as arms race; Johnson denounces USSR action but not in way that would plunge US and USSR into acrimony of cold war
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of August 21, 1968, covering August 22, 1968.
Cream
The Rascals
Aretha Franklin
The Doors
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
1968Casper Christensen, Danish comedian, actor, and screenwriter[†]
Casper Lindholm Christensen is a Danish comedian. He has hosted many shows including Casper & Mandrilaftalen, the Danish airing of Shooting Stars and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, and the Danish version of Deal or No Deal. He also had a leading role in the Danish sit-coms Langt fra Las Vegas and Klovn (Clown/Fool).
1968Aleksandr Mostovoi, Russian footballer[†]
Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi is a Russian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
1968Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian businesswoman[†]
Elisabeth Murdoch is an Australian-born British and American media executive based in the United Kingdom. She was a non-executive chairperson of Shine Group, the UK-based TV programme production company she founded in 2001, until the company's parent 21st Century Fox merged its Shine Group division with Apollo Global Management's Endemol and Core Media production houses, to specialise in reality TV, in 2015. She is the daughter of the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, and is widely believed to be the inspiration for the character Shiv Roy in the television series Succession.
1968Horst Skoff, Austrian tennis player (died 2008)[†]
Horst Skoff was a professional tennis player from Austria, who won four tournaments at the top-level.
1968Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the first visit of a pope to Latin America.[†]
Pope Paul VI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXIII, he continued the Second Vatican Council, which he closed in 1965, implementing its numerous reforms. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements. In January 1964, he flew to Jordan, the first time a reigning pontiff had left Italy in more than a century.
In 1968, the world population was approximately 3,545,187,251 people[†]