The 1968 United States presidential election took place in a year of turmoil, including the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, urban unrest and violent protests outside the Democratic convention in Chicago. President Lyndon Johnson did not seek re-election. Republican Richard Nixon, campaigning on law and order and a plan to end the war, defeated the Democratic vice president Hubert Humphrey in a close popular vote. The segregationist governor George Wallace ran as an independent and won five Southern states. Nixon's victory marked a shift toward the Republicans in the South and the start of a new political period.
Before and after
- 9 September 1968Birth of Lila Downs
- 17 September 1968Birth of Anastacia
- 11 October 1968Launch of Apollo 7
- 18 October 1968Bob Beamon's long jump of 8.90 metres
- 5 November 19681968 United States presidential election
- 20 December 1968Death of John Steinbeck
- 21 December 1968Launch of Apollo 8
- 24 December 1968Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs Earthrise
- 31 December 1968First flight of Tupolev Tu-144
More in Wars, politics & history
- 6 August 1945Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- from January 1978 to February 1979Iranian Revolution
- from 25 December 1979 to 15 February 1989Soviet-Afghan War
- from 22 September 1980 to 20 August 1988Iran–Iraq War
- 7 October 2023Gaza genocide
- 28 February 20262026 Iran War
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.