January 5, 1968 – August 21, 1968★★★★★
Prague Spring
A period of political liberalisation in Czechoslovakia under Alexander Dubček ends when Warsaw Pact armies invade the country.
PoliticsRevolution· Czechia, Slovakia, Russia
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Events this year
January 21, 1968 – July 9, 1968★★★★★
Battle of Khe Sanh
North Vietnamese forces besiege the US Marine base at Khe Sanh in Quảng Trị; US forces abandon the base in July.
War· Vietnam, United States
January 30, 1968 – September 1968★★★★★
Tet Offensive
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack more than 100 cities and towns in the South; despite heavy losses, the offensive erodes US public support for the war.
War· Vietnam, United States
March 16, 1968★★★★★
Mỹ Lai massacre
US soldiers of Charlie Company kill hundreds of unarmed civilians at Sơn Mỹ, Quảng Ngãi; the killings become public in 1969.
War· Vietnam, United States
April 4, 1968★★★★★
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, triggering riots in many American cities.
PoliticsDeath· United States
May 1968 – June 1968★★★★★
May 1968 events in France
Student protests and a nationwide general strike shake France, leaving a lasting mark on its culture and society.
PoliticsCulture· France
Ongoing
November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975★★★★★
Vietnam War
A conflict between North Vietnam and the Viet Cong on one side and South Vietnam, backed by the United States and its allies, on the other; it ends with the fall of Saigon in 1975.
War· Vietnam, United States, Laos, Cambodia
1962 – 1971★★★★★
Operation Ranch Hand
The US Air Force sprays herbicides, including dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange, over large areas of South Vietnam, with lasting health and environmental effects.
WarDisaster· Vietnam, United States
March 2, 1965 – November 2, 1968★★★★★
Operation Rolling Thunder
A sustained US aerial bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
War· Vietnam, United States
1966 – 1976★★★★★
Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong launches a decade-long political movement that brings social upheaval, persecution and the destruction of cultural heritage.
PoliticsRevolutionCulture· China
July 6, 1967 – January 15, 1970★★★★★
Nigerian Civil War (Biafran War)
War followed the secession of south-eastern Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra; the fighting and blockade-induced famine killed an estimated one to two million people.
War· Nigeria