May 1968 in History

Events in History

Event of Interest

May 12 "March of the Poor" under Rev Ralph Abernathy reaches Washington, D.C.

Event of Interest

May 13 1,000,000 French demonstrate against Charles de Gaulle & Georges Pompidou

Event of Interest

May 14 Czech government announces liberalizing reforms under Alexander Dubček

Leader of Czechoslovakia Alexander Dubček

Event of Interest

May 14 RAF-leader Andreas Baader sentenced to 3 years in West Berlin

May 15 1st AL game played in Milwaukee, is a 4-2 California win against Chicago
May 15 Tornado strikes Jonesboro, Arkansas at 10 PM, killing 36
May 16 Earthquake kills 47 in Japan
May 16 In the Stormont (Northern Ireland Parliament) by-election in the city of Londonderry (Derry) the Ulster Unionists retain the seat
May 17 European Space Research Org launches 1st satellite
May 17 Frank Howard belts record 8th HR in 5th straight game
May 17 US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site
May 18 Frank Howard ties AL record with HR in his 6th consecutive game his 10 home runs in the most in 6 games
May 19 Frank Howard fails to homer, after hitting 10 in 6 consecutive games
May 19 Pirate Radio Brumble of Northern England 1st heard

Event of Interest

May 20 Terence O'Neill, then Northern Ireland Prime Minister, is showered with eggs, flour and stones after a meeting of the Woodvale Unionist Association, a loyalist vigilante group

Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill

May 21 Nuclear-powered sub USS Scorpion, with 99 men, reported missing & is later found at the bottom of the ocean off Azores
May 21 USSR performs nuclear test (underground)
May 24 FLQ separatists bomb the U.S. consulate in Quebec City

Event of Interest

May 24 French President Charles de Gaulle proposes referendum & students set fire to Paris bourse

May 24 Haiti closes down shortwave station 4VEH for 40 days
May 25 BPAA All-Star Bowling Tournament won by Jim Stefanich
May 25 BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Dotty Fothergill
May 25 Gateway Arch in St Louis dedicated
May 27 The meeting of the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (National Union of the Students of France) takes place. 30,000 to 50,000 people gather in the Stade Sebastien Charlety.

Event of Interest

May 28 Senator Eugene McCarthy wins Democratic presidential primary in Oregon

Politician and Presidential Candidate Eugene McCarthy

May 29 UN resolves sanctions on white-minority-ruled Rhodesia
May 29 US Truth in Lending Act signed into law
May 30 President De Gaulle disbands French parliament
May 30 University church in Leipzig, German DR, blown up
May 30 West German Parliament accepts emergency crisis law

Birthdays in History

May 2 Eric Holcomb, American politician, Governor of Indiana (2017-), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
May 8 Johan Pehrson, Swedish politician (leader of Liberals Party)
May 9 Scott Pruitt, American politician (EPA head 2017-18), born in Danville, Kentucky
May 13 Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)

Scott Morrison (55 years old)

May 13 Australian politician, Prime Minister of Australia (2018-22), born in Waverley, Australia

May 15 Cecilia Malmström, Swedish politician
May 21 Matthias Ungemach, German rower
May 26 Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
May 27 Rebekah Brooks, English journalist (implicated in News International phone hacking scandal), born in Warrington, England
May 30 Kelley Armstrong, Canadian novelist (Women of the Otherworld), born in Sudbury, Ontario
May 30 Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen found guilty relating to September 11, 2001 attacks

Deaths in History

May 1 Harold Nicolson, English diplomat and author (Good Behaviour), dies at 71
May 2 Donald L Hall, American airplane designer (Spirit of St Louis), dies at 69
May 7 Lurleen Wallace, American politician (46th Governor of Alabama, 1967-68), dies at 41
May 9 Harold Gray, American comic strip artist (Little Orphan Annie), dies at 74
May 9 Mercedes de Acosta, American poet, playwright, costume designer, and socialite, dies at 75
May 14 Husband Edward Kimmel, commandant US Ocean fleet WW II, dies at 86
May 20 Kees van Dongen, Dutch-French painter (Fauves style), dies at 91
May 25 Charles K. Feldman, American producer (Casino Royale), dies at 63
May 25 Georg von Küchler, German field marshal and WWII war criminal, dies at 86
May 28 Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov, Yakut-born Soviet sniper (b. 1908)
May 29 Jacques Chardonne [Boutelleau], French writer (l'Epithalame), dies at 84