What Happened in January 1968

• Jan 1 34th Orange Bowl: #3 Oklahoma beats #2 Tennessee, 26-24
• Jan 1 34th Sugar Bowl: LSU beats #5 Wyoming, 20-13
• Jan 1 54th Rose Bowl: #1 Southern California beats #4 Indiana, 14-3

• Jan 1 ABC radio splits into 4 networks (Info, Entertainment, Contemp & FM)
• Jan 1 Netherlands gets color TV
• Jan 1 Pennsylvania Railroad and NYC Central merge into Pennsylvania Central
• Jan 1 WDCO TV channel 15 in Cochran, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
• Jan 2 "Zizi" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 49 performances

• Jan 2 KBHK TV channel 44 in San Francisco, California (IND) begins broadcasting
• Jan 4 Duck hunter accidentally shoots endangered whooping crane in Texas
• Jan 4 Leo Fender sells Fender Guitars for $13 million to CBS

• Jan 6 Dr Norman E. Shumway performs 1st US adult cardiac transplant operation
• Jan 6 Surveyor 7 (last of series) launched by US for soft-landing on Moon
• Jan 6 The Beatles' album "Magical Mystery Tour" goes #1 and stays #1 for 8 weeks
• Jan 7 "GE College Bowl" quiz show premieres on NBC TV
• Jan 7 1st class US postage raised from 5 cents to 6 cents
• Jan 7 Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off

• Jan 9 1st ABA All-Star Game: East 126 beats West 120 at Indiana
• Jan 9 Surveyor 7 space probe soft lands on Moon
• Jan 10 US Surveyor 7 lands near lunar crater Tycho
• Jan 11 Explorer 36 (GEOS-B) launched into earth orbit (1080/1570 km)
• Jan 12 Beatles Film Production Ltd changes name to Apple Film Production Ltd
• Jan 12 Nighttime version of "Hollywood Squares" premieres on NBC TV
• Jan 13 "Hallelujah, Baby!" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 293 performances
• Jan 13 "Illya Darling" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 320 performances

• Jan 13 Minnesota North Stars NHL player Bill Masterson, suffers head injuries during a game and dies two days later, becoming the 1st player to die as result of a game

• Jan 15 KDCD TV channel 18 in Midland, Texas (IND) begins broadcasting
• Jan 15 Minnesota North Stars forward Bill Masterton dies 2 days after suffering a head injury in a game against the Oakland Seals; the only death as a result of a game injury in NHL history
• Jan 16 21st NHL All-Star Game, Maple Leaf Gardens: Toronto Maple Leafs beat All-Stars 4-3; MVP: Bruce Gamble, Toronto, G
• Jan 16 Jay Allen's "Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" premieres in NYC
• Jan 16 The Youth International Party is founded.

• Jan 18 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
• Jan 19 Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill calls for "a new endeavour by organisations in Northern Ireland to cross denominational barriers and advance the cause of better community relations"
• Jan 19 WKBF TV channel 61 in Cleveland, Ohio (IND) begins broadcasting

• Jan 20 Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win basketball's Game of the Century and end UCLA's 47 game winning streak

• Jan 20 US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood

• Jan 21 The Battle of Khe Sanh - one of the most publicized and controversial battles of the Vietnam War - begins at the Khe Sanh Air Base
• Jan 21 US B-52 bomber with nuclear bomb on board crashes in Greenland

• Jan 22 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC
• Jan 22 Apollo Lunar Module is launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made
• Jan 22 NBA announces expansion franchise licences awarded to Milwaukee (Bucks) and Phoenix (Suns)
• Jan 23 18th NBA All-Star Game, Madison Square Garden, NYC: East beats West, 144-124; MVP: Hal Greer, Philadelphia 76ers, PG
• Jan 23 Joe Medwick elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 23 Spy ship USS Pueblo & 83-man crew seized in Sea of Japan by North Korea
• Jan 24 Operation Coburg begins, an Australian and New Zealand military action during the Vietnam War
• Jan 25 Risse St in Bronx named
• Jan 25 Robert Anderson's "I Never Sang for My Father" premieres in NYC
• Jan 26 Israeli submarine Dakar sinks in Mediterranean Sea, 69 die
• Jan 27 "Darling of the Day" opens at George Abbott Theater NYC for 31 performances
• Jan 27 French submarine Minerve disappears in the Mediterranean with the loss of 52 crew
• Jan 28 29th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Chandler Harper
• Jan 28 Goose Goslin & Kiki Cuyler elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
• Jan 28 Radiation alert following B-52 crash in Arctic air base of Thule in Greenland
• Jan 28 Thai boxer Chartchai Chionoi retains his world flyweight title with a 13th-round TKO of home favourite Efren Torres in Mexico City; first of 3 meetings between the pair
• Jan 29 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Australian Bill Bowrey wins his first and only Grand Slam title; beats Juan Gisbert Sr. of Spain 7-5, 2-6, 9-7, 6-4

• Jan 29 Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) adopts constitution
• Jan 30 1968 NFL Draft: Ron Yary from USC first pick by Minnesota Vikings
• Jan 30 Bobby Goldsboro records his biggest hit, "Honey"
• Jan 30 Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese launch the Tet offensive against South Vietnames and US forces
• Jan 31 Bobby Simpson takes 5-59 v India in his last Test for ten years
• Jan 31 Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) declares independence from Australia
• Jan 31 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Birthdays 1 - 100 of 101

• Jan 1 Davor Šuker, Croatian soccer striker (68 caps; Sevilla; President Croatian FF), born in Osijek, Croatia
• Jan 1 Miki Higashino, Japanese video game composer (Suikoden series), born in Japan
• Jan 1 Rick J. Jordan [Hendrik Stedler], German keyboardist, composer, producer, and audio engineer (Scooter, 1993-2014 - "Jumping All Over the World"), born in Hanover, West Germany
• Jan 2 Anky van Grunsven, Dutch equestrian rider (Olympic gold dressage 2000, 04, 08; World C'ship gold 1994, 2006), born in Erp, Netherlands

• Jan 2 Evan Parke, Jamaican actor
• Jan 2 Scott Mitchell, American football quarterback (Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals), born in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Jan 3 Kent Carlsson, Swedish tennis player (9 ATP tour singles titles; world #6 1988)
• Jan 3 Shannon Sturges, actress (Savannah)
• Jan 4 Mike Wilpolt, American football player and coach, born in Broomfield, Colorado
• Jan 5 Andrew Golota, Polish boxer, born in Warsaw, Poland
• Jan 5 Carl Evans, American actor (Guiding Light), born in New York City
• Jan 5 Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer and choreographer (In Living Color; Dancing With The Stars), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
• Jan 5 DJ Bobo [Peter Baumann], Swiss pop-eurodance singer-songwriter, and producer ("Somebody Dance With Me";"Let The Dream Come True"), born in Kölliken, Switzerland
• Jan 5 Joe Juneau, Canadian NHL center (Washington Capitals), born in Pont-Rouge, Canada
• Jan 5 Leila Meskhi, Georgian tennis player (1995 Hobart), born in Tbilisi, Georgia SSR
• Jan 6 Jerry Crafts, NFL/WLAF tackle (Philadelphia Eagles, Amsterdam Admirals), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Jan 6 John Singleton, American director and screenwriter (Boyz in the Hood), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2019)
• Jan 7 Georgi Gospodinov, Bulgarian writer (Time Shelter - 2023 International Booker prize), born in Yambol, Bulgaria
• Jan 8 Alexander Alexeyev, American NHL defenseman (Belarus, Olympics 1998), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia
• Jan 8 Ami Dolenz, American actress (General Hospital, Can't Buy Me Love), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 8 Brian Johnson, American catcher (San Diego Padres), born in Oakland, California
• Jan 8 Keith Mullings, American boxer (WBC and lineal light middleweight titles 1998), born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica (d. 2021)
• Jan 8 Mark Duane Croghan, American 3k steeplechase athlete (Olympic 5th 1996), born in Akron, Ohio
• Jan 8 Paul Carey, American baseball infielder (Baltimore Orioles), born in Boston, Massachusetts
• Jan 9 Al Schnier, American rock guitarist (moe.), born in Oneida County, New York
• Jan 9 Jimmy Adams, Jamaican cricketer (prolific West Indian lefty bat since 1992), born in Port Maria, Jamaica
• Jan 9 Joey Lauren Adams, American actress, born in North Little Rock, Arkansas
• Jan 9 Katie Anderson, Canadian 100m hurdler (Olympic 7th-92, 96), born in Kingston, Jamaica
• Jan 9 Mardi Lunn, Australian golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1999 3rd), born in Cowra, New South Wales
• Jan 10 Lyle Menendez, American author accused of killing his parents (Menendez Brothers), born in New York City
• Jan 11 Ben Rivera, Dominican-American baseball pitcher (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Jan 11 Benjamin List, German chemist (2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for asymmetric organocatalysis), born in Frankfurt, Germany
• Jan 11 Sharon Brown, American actress (Chantal-Generations), born in New York City
• Jan 11 Tom Dumont, American rock guitarist, songwriter (No Doubt - "Just a Girl"; "It's My Life"), and record producer, born in Los Angeles, California

• Jan 12 Junichi Masuda, Japanese composer, born in Yokohama, Japan
• Jan 12 Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer, born in São Paulo, Brazil
• Jan 12 Rachael Harris, American actress, born in Worthington, Ohio
• Jan 12 Raf Simons, Belgian fashion designer (Dior 2012-2015), born in Neerpelt, Limburg
• Jan 12 Vince Buck, American NFL safety (New Orleans Saints), born in Owensboro, Kentucky
• Jan 13 Andy Jassy, American business executive (CEO of Amazon)
• Jan 13 Chara [Miwa Watabiki], Japanese singer and actress (Swallowtail Butterfly), born in Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan
• Jan 13 Kelly Boucher, Canadian basketball forward (first Canadian to play in WNBA 1998 Charlotte Sting), born in Calgary, Alberta
• Jan 14 Fred Honebein, American rower (Olympic 5th 1996), born in San Francisco, California

• Jan 15 Chad Lowe, American actor (Spencer, Apprentice to Murder), born in Dayton, Ohio
• Jan 15 Iñaki Urdangarín, Spanish handball player and royal, born in Basque Country, Spain
• Jan 15 Laurie Fellner, American team handball goalie (Olympics 1992, 96), born in Appleton, Wisconsin
• Jan 16 David Chokachi, American actor (Baywatch), born in Plymouth, Massachusetts
• Jan 17 Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch writer, born in Rijswijk, Netherlands
• Jan 17 Svetlana Masterkova, Russian athlete, born in Soviet Union
• Jan 18 Frank Quitely, Scottish comic book artist, born in Glasgow, United Kingdom
• Jan 19 Marty Conlon, American NBA forward (Milwaukee Bucks), born in The Bronx, New York
• Jan 19 Whitfield Crane [William Whitfield Crane IV], American rock musician (Ugly Kid Joe - "Mad Man"; "Too Bad"), born in Palo Alto, California
• Jan 20 Fantastic Negrito [Xavier Dphrepaulezz], American blues singer-songwriter (The Last Days of Oakland; Please Don't Be Dead), born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts
• Jan 20 Junior Murray, West Indian cricketer (WI keeper, no relation to Derryck or David), born in St. George's Grenada
• Jan 20 Nick Anderson, American basketball player (Orlando Magic), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jan 21 Charlotte Ross, actress (Eve-Days of Our Lives), born in Chicago, Illinois
• Jan 21 Tom Urbani, pitcher (St Louis Cards, Detroit Tigers), born in Santa Cruz, California
• Jan 21 Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician
• Jan 22 Brian Jones, American sports radio and television host and former NFL linebacker (New Orleans Saints), born in Iowa City, Iowa
• Jan 22 Frank Lebœuf, French actor, sports commentator and former footballer (1998 FIFA World Cup), born in Marseille, France
• Jan 22 Guy Fieri [Ferry], American celebrity chef, restaurateur and TV personality (Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives; Guy's Grocery Games), born in Columbus, Ohio
• Jan 22 Heath [Hiroshi Morie], Japanese rock bassist, singer and songwriter (X Japan), born in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan (d. 2023)
• Jan 22 Mauricio Serna, Colombian retired footballer (Colombia national team 1993-2001), born in Medellín, Colombia
• Jan 23 Eric Metcalf, American football running back (Atl Falcons, San Diego Chargers), born in Seattle, Washington
• Jan 23 Lubomir Kolnik, Czech hockey forward (Team Slovakia, Espoo), born in Nitra, Slovakia
• Jan 23 Petr Korda, Czech tennis player (Australian Open 1998), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
• Jan 24 Mark Burmester, Zimbabwean cricketer (Zimbabwe Test all-rounder in 3 Tests 1992), born in Durban, South Africa
• Jan 24 Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast (Olympic gold all-round 1984), born in Fairmont, West Virginia
• Jan 24 Michael Kiske, German heavy metal vocalist (Helloween, 1986-93 and 2016-present), born in Hamburg, West Germany
• Jan 24 Ross Powell, American baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros), born in Grand Rapids, Michigan (d. 2017)
• Jan 25 Heinrich "Haini" Wolfgramm, Polynesian-American actor and musician (The Jets), born in San Francisco, California
• Jan 26 Chris Pringle, New Zealand cricket fast bowler (14 Tests, 30 wickets, BB 7/52; 64 ODIs, 103 wickets; Auckland CA), born in Auckland, New Zealand
• Jan 26 Eric Davis, American football cornerback (Pro Bowl 1995, 96; All-Pro 1995–97; Super Bowl 1994 SF 49ers), born in Los Angeles, California
• Jan 26 Ravi Teja, Indian film actor, born in Jaggampeta, India
• Jan 27 Anthony Pleasant, NFL defensive end (Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons)
• Jan 27 Éric Tanguy, French contemporary classical composer, born in Caen, France
• Jan 27 Eric Wedge, American baseball catcher (Boston Red Sox)
• Jan 27 Matt Stover, American football placekicker (Super Bowl champion 1990, 2000; First-team All-Pro, Pro Bowl, Golden Toe Award 2000; Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens), born in Dallas, Texas
• Jan 27 Mike Patton, American rocker (Faith No More - "The Real Thing"), born in Eureka, California
• Jan 27 Patrick Blondeau, French footballer
• Jan 27 Rusty Meacham, American baseball pitcher (KC Royals, Seattle Mariners), born in Stuart, Florida
• Jan 27 Tracy Lawrence, American country singer (Sticks & Stones), born in Atlanta, Texas
• Jan 27 Tricky [Adrian Thaws], English rapper (Massive Attack), and record producer, born in Bristol, England
• Jan 28 DJ Muggs [Lawrence Muggerud], American DJ, and record producer (Cypress Hill), born in Queens, New York
• Jan 28 Marnie McBean, Canadian rower (Olympic gold coxless pair, eight 1992, double sculls 1996; 3 x World C'ship gold), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
• Jan 28 Rakim [William Michael Griffin, Jr.], American rapper, born in Wyandanch, Long Island, New York
• Jan 28 Sarah McLachlan, Canadian Juno and Grammy Award-winning folk singer-songwriter (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy; "I Will Remember You"), born in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Jan 29 Aeneas Williams, American Pro Football HOF cornerback (First-team All-Pro 1995, 97, 2001; 8 × Pro Bowl; Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Jan 29 Edward Burns, American actor, director, writer (Brothers McMullen, Saving Private Ryan), born in Queens, New York
• Jan 29 Sora Jung, Korean actress, born in Seoul, South Korea
• Jan 29 Susi Erdmann, German bobsledder (World C'ship gold x 7; Olympic silver Women's singles 1994, bronze 1992), born in Blankenburg, Germany
• Jan 30 Bob Nardella, Italian-American ice hockey defenseman (Team Italy 1998, Chicago Wolves), born in Melrose Park, Illinois

• Jan 30 Trevor Dunn, American musician (Mr. Bungle; Fantômas; Secret Chiefs 3), born in Eureka, California
• Jan 31 Doug Pederson, American NFL coach (Super Bowl 2017, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Bellingham, Washington
• Jan 31 Michael Sinclair, American football defensive end (Seattle Seahawks), born in Galveston, Texas
• Jan 31 Patrick Stevens, Belgian athlete, born in Belgium

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• Jan 1 Andy Oberlander, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (Dartmouth College; National C'ship 1954), dies at 62
• Jan 1 Guy Boniface, French rugby union centre (35 Tests; Stade Montois Rugby; IRB HOF), dies in a road accident at 30
• Jan 2 Marvin 'Bud' Ward, American golfer (US Amateur 1939, 41), dies of cancer at 54
• Jan 2 Sanoesi Pane, Indonesian writer and journalist (founded news agency Antar;), dies at 62
• Jan 4 Joseph Pholien, Belgian politician (Prime Minister of Belgium 1950-52), dies at 83
• Jan 5 Jean Murat, French actor (Eternal Rain, Carnival Flanders), dies at 79
• Jan 6 Kurt Baschwitz, German-Dutch sociologist and journalist (Heksen), dies at 81
• Jan 7 James Smith, South African ichthyologist (b. 1897)
• Jan 9 Kokichi Tsuburaya, Japanese marathoner (Olympic bronze 1964), commits suicide
• Jan 9 Louis Aubert, French composer (Habanera), dies at 90
• Jan 10 Basil Sydney, British actor (Hamlet, Jassy, Simba, Farmer's Wife), dies of pleurisy at 73
• Jan 10 Howard Smith, American actor (Kiss of Death, Call Northside 777), dies at 74
• Jan 10 Josue Teofilo Wilkes, Argentine composer, dies at 85
• Jan 14 Dorothea Mackellar, Australian poet (My Country) (b. 1885)
• Jan 15 Bill Masterton, Canadian American NHL player, first to be fatally injured during a game (Jan 13), dies at 29
• Jan 15 Leopold Infeld, Polish nuclear physcist (Motion & Relativity), dies at 69

• Jan 16 John Davidson, American stage and silent and sound screen actor (The Bronze Bell; Dick Tracy vs Crime, Inc; Chinese Cat), dies at 81
• Jan 16 Robert R "Bob" Jones, founder (Bob Jones University), dies at 84
• Jan 17 Julis Deutsch, Austria politician/general Spanish rep army, dies at 83
• Jan 18 Bert Wheeler, American vaudevillian (Wheeler & Woolsey), and comic actor (Brave Eagle; The Nitwits; Hold 'em Jail; High Flyers; Rainmakers), dies of emphysema at 72
• Jan 18 John Ridgely, American actor (Northern Pursuit; They Died with Their Boots On; Air Force), dies from a heart ailment at 58
• Jan 19 Ray Harroun, American auto racer (inaugural Indianapolis 500 1911; Motorsports Hall of Fame of America 2000), dies at 89
• Jan 21 Will Lang Jr., American magazine executive (b. 1914)
• Jan 22 Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer, surfer (Olympic gold 100m freestyle 1912, 20; 4x200m freestyle relay 1920), dies of a heart attack at 77
• Jan 25 Virginia Maskell, English actress (Only Two Can Play), dies after an overdose at 31
• Jan 26 Merrill C. Meigs, American newspaper publisher (b. 1883)
• Jan 26 Yvor Winters, American poet (b. 1900)
• Jan 29 Laxmidas Purshottamdas Jai, Indian cricket batsman (1 Test; captain Bombay in inaugural Ranji Trophy win 1935), dies at 66
• Jan 30 Tsugouharu Foujita, Japanese-French painter and printmaker, dies at 81