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Major Events of December 1968: Key Historical Moments from the Month

Each month is marked by defining moments that shape the course of history. Whether through political shifts, cultural movements, or world-changing events, these periods leave a lasting impression. Dive into the most important events from December 1968 and discover how they influenced the world both then and now.

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Major Events of December 1968: Key Historical Moments from the Month

  • 01 Dec 1968 Broadway Musical Premiere: Burt Bacharach and Hal David's musical 'Promises, Promises' opens at the Shubert Theater in New York City, launching a successful run of 1,281 performances.
  • 02 Dec 1968 Nixon Appoints Kissinger as National Security Advisor: President Richard Nixon appointed Henry Kissinger as his National Security Advisor, a pivotal moment in U.S. foreign policy. Kissinger would go on to become a highly influential diplomat and strategist during the Cold War era, later serving as Secretary of State.
  • 03 Dec 1968 Elvis Presley's Legendary Comeback Special: Elvis Presley made a triumphant return to live performance with his iconic 1-hour NBC television special, marking his first live concert in seven years. This groundbreaking broadcast effectively re-launched his musical career and reestablished him as a premier entertainment icon.
  • 04 Dec 1968 The Rolling Stones Release Iconic Album *Beggars Banquet*: The Rolling Stones release their seminal album *Beggars Banquet*, which includes the legendary track 'Sympathy for the Devil', a song that would become one of the band's most critically acclaimed and enduring musical compositions. The album represents a significant moment in rock music history.
  • 05 Dec 1968 Rolling Stones Release 'Beggar's Banquet' Album: The Rolling Stones released their critically acclaimed album 'Beggar's Banquet', which featured the iconic track 'Sympathy for the Devil', marking a significant moment in rock music history and showcasing the band's evolving musical style.
  • 06 Dec 1968 Major League Baseball Dismisses Commissioner William Eckert: After a three-year tenure, Major League Baseball's leadership decided to remove Commissioner William Eckert from his position, signaling significant organizational changes in professional baseball.
  • 07 Dec 1968 USCGC White Alder Maritime Disaster: A catastrophic maritime incident occurred when the United States Coast Guard cutter White Alder (WLM-541) was sheared in half by the Taiwanese freighter Helena near White Castle, Louisiana. The tragic collision resulted in the loss of 17 Coast Guard crewmen. Only three bodies were recovered, with fourteen remaining entombed in the sunken vessel beneath river sediment. A navigation structure now marks the site of this devastating peacetime maritime tragedy.
  • 08 Dec 1968 First Public Demonstration of Hypertext and Computer Mouse: Douglas Engelbart publicly demonstrated the NLS (oN-Line System), a groundbreaking computer interface system that introduced hypertext and the computer mouse at a conference in San Francisco. This pivotal moment would fundamentally transform human-computer interaction and lay the groundwork for modern graphical user interfaces.
  • 09 Dec 1968 Douglas Engelbart's Groundbreaking Computer Demonstration: Douglas Engelbart publicly unveiled the revolutionary 'The Mother of All Demos' at Stanford Research Institute, showcasing unprecedented technological innovations including the computer mouse, hypertext, bit-mapped graphical user interface, and the oN-Line System (NLS). This landmark presentation fundamentally transformed human-computer interaction and laid the groundwork for modern personal computing.
  • 10 Dec 1968 Death of Thomas Merton: Thomas Merton, a renowned French-American Catholic writer and Trappist monk, tragically died at the age of 53 after being accidentally electrocuted by an electric fan in Thailand. Merton was a prominent spiritual writer, social activist, and influential figure in interfaith dialogue during the mid-20th century.
  • 11 Dec 1968 "Oliver!" Film Release in the United States: The musical film "Oliver!", based on the hit London and Broadway musical, was released in the United States. The film would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, marking a significant moment in cinema history.
  • 12 Dec 1968 Rolling Stones Film 'Rock and Roll Circus': The Rolling Stones produced a groundbreaking TV show 'Rock and Roll Circus', featuring an extraordinary lineup of guest performers including The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono.
  • 13 Dec 1968 Brazil's AI-5: Suspension of Civil Liberties: On December 13, 1968, Brazilian President Artur da Costa e Silva issued the Institutional Act No. 5 (AI-5), a pivotal moment in Brazil's military dictatorship. This decree effectively suspended constitutional rights, enabled government rule by decree, and eliminated habeas corpus protections. The act marked the beginning of the most repressive period of Brazil's military regime, granting the government unprecedented powers to suppress political opposition, censor media, and arbitrarily arrest and persecute dissidents.
  • 14 Dec 1968 The Rolling Stones Release 'Beggars Banquet': The Rolling Stones released their critically acclaimed album 'Beggars Banquet', which featured the iconic track 'Sympathy for the Devil'. This album marked a significant moment in rock music history, blending blues, rock, and experimental sounds that would influence generations of musicians.
  • 15 Dec 1968 Death of Jess Willard, Heavyweight Boxing Champion: Jess Willard, a prominent heavyweight boxer known for his significant role in early 20th-century boxing, passed away at the age of 86. Willard was famous for being the heavyweight champion who lost the title to Jack Dempsey in a legendary 1919 fight, marking a pivotal moment in boxing history.
  • 16 Dec 1968 Vatican Council Rescinds Edict of Expulsion of Jews: The Second Vatican Council officially revoked the historic Edict of Expulsion of Jews from Spain, marking a significant moment of reconciliation and acknowledgment of past religious persecution. This landmark decision represented a profound shift in the Catholic Church's stance towards the Jewish community, addressing a centuries-old injustice dating back to the 1492 Alhambra Decree.
  • 17 Dec 1968 Barbara Mackle Kidnapping Ordeal: On December 17, 1968, a shocking kidnapping unfolded when 20-year-old Barbara Mackle was abducted at gunpoint by Gary Steven Krist and Ruth Eisemann-Schiel. The perpetrators buried Mackle alive in a carefully constructed coffin-like box, six feet underground in a backyard in Miami, Florida. The young woman endured an incredibly traumatic 83-hour ordeal, surviving through a small air pipe and provisions left by her captors. Her wealthy family was subjected to a $500,000 ransom demand, which drew significant national media attention. Remarkably, Mackle was eventually found alive, though the experience was undoubtedly psychologically devastating. The kidnapping became a landmark criminal case that highlighted the extreme vulnerabilities of high-profile families and the potential for calculated, methodical criminal acts.
  • 18 Dec 1968 Graham Nash Leaves The Hollies: Graham Nash made the pivotal decision to leave the British pop group The Hollies and form the legendary supergroup Crosby, Stills & Nash with David Crosby and Stephen Stills, a move that would significantly impact the folk-rock music scene.
  • 19 Dec 1968 Massive Eastern Air Lines Hijacking to Cuba: A significant aviation security incident occurred when Eastern Air Lines Flight was hijacked to Cuba, involving 151 passengers—the largest single hijacking to Cuba since the practice began in 1959. This event highlighted the escalating political tensions and security challenges in air travel during the Cold War era.
  • 20 Dec 1968 Mao's Cultural Revolution: 'Up to the Mountains and Down to the Villages': Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong initiated a significant social engineering program by advocating for urban educated youth to be sent to rural areas for re-education. This marked the beginning of the 'Up to the Mountains and Down to the Villages' movement, which would dramatically impact millions of young Chinese lives during the Cultural Revolution.
  • 21 Dec 1968 Apollo 8: First Humans to Leave Earth's Gravity: The Apollo 8 mission marked a historic milestone in human space exploration. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this groundbreaking mission was the first manned lunar voyage. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the first humans to leave Earth's gravitational field and travel to another celestial body, performing the first manned Trans Lunar Injection.
  • 22 Dec 1968 Mao's Cultural Revolution Directive on Intellectual Youth: During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong issued a significant directive through the People's Daily, mandating that intellectual youth must relocate to rural areas to be 'educated' through experiencing rural poverty. This policy was part of a broader campaign to reshape social structures and ideological thinking, forcing urban youth to engage with agricultural labor and communist revolutionary principles.
  • 23 Dec 1968 First Humans to Orbit the Moon: Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the first humans to orbit the Moon aboard the Apollo 8 mission, marking a historic milestone in space exploration and the Space Race.
  • 24 Dec 1968 Apollo 8 Moon Orbit Mission: The Apollo 8 mission marked a historic milestone in space exploration when its crew became the first humans to enter lunar orbit. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders performed ten lunar orbits, captured the iconic Earthrise photograph, and broadcast live television pictures from space. During their Christmas Eve broadcast, they read the first ten verses of Genesis, creating a profound moment of human connection and wonder.
  • 25 Dec 1968 Apollo 8: Historic Lunar Mission and Return Trajectory: On Christmas Day 1968, the Apollo 8 mission achieved a groundbreaking milestone by performing the first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneuver. This critical operation sent the spacecraft and its crew on a trajectory back to Earth from lunar orbit, marking a significant achievement in human space exploration during the Space Race.
  • 26 Dec 1968 Led Zeppelin's Concert Debut in Boston: Led Zeppelin makes their historic concert debut in Boston, Massachusetts, opening for Vanilla Fudge, marking the beginning of what would become one of the most influential rock bands in music history.
  • 27 Dec 1968 Apollo 8 Returns to Earth: Apollo 8 successfully completed its historic mission, becoming the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon. The mission, led by astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, marked a pivotal moment in space exploration during the height of the Space Race.
  • 28 Dec 1968 The Beatles' White Album Tops Charts: The Beatles' self-titled double album (commonly known as the 'White Album') reached #1 on the music charts and maintained its top position for an impressive 9 weeks, demonstrating the band's immense popularity and musical influence.
  • 29 Dec 1968 Israeli Commando Operation in Lebanon: Israeli special forces conducted a strategic military operation, destroying 13 Lebanese aircraft, which was likely part of ongoing regional tensions and military preparedness during the late 1960s.
  • 30 Dec 1968 R&B Chart Dominance: Gladys Knight And The Pips' iconic track 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' reigned supreme on the R&B charts on December 30, 1968. The song, which would become a timeless classic, highlighted the powerful soul and rhythm and blues music of the late 1960s.
  • 31 Dec 1968 First Supersonic Civilian Airliner Flight: The Tupolev Tu-144, a groundbreaking Soviet supersonic passenger aircraft, completed its inaugural flight, marking a significant milestone in aviation history. This aircraft, often nicknamed the 'Concordski' due to its similarity to the Anglo-French Concorde, represented a major technological achievement for the Soviet aerospace industry.