Date in year · 1968 · The 1960s

December 24, 1968

On December 24, 1968, apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits, took the Earthrise photograph, broadcast live TV pictures, and read the first ten verses of Genesis. The year's #1 song was "Hey Jude" by The Beatles. Ashley Judd, Mswati III, Julia Morris would arrive in the same year.

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1968

1960s

Around 1968

The year in brief

1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1968th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 968th year of the 2nd millennium, the 68th year of the 20th century, and the 9th year of the 1960s decade.

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What happened

On December 24, 1968

  1. 1968 Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits, took the Earthrise photograph, broadcast live TV pictures, and read the first ten verses of Genesis.

    1961–1972 American crewed lunar exploration program

    The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini.

  2. 1968 Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashes on approach to Bradford Regional Airport, killing 20.

    1968 aviation accident

    Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 was a regularly scheduled flight that crashed while attempting to land at Bradford Regional Airport in Bradford, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1968. Of the 47 occupants on board, 20 were killed.

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 1968

The class of 1968

Others born in 1968

Ashley Judd 1968– American actress
Mswati III 1968– King (Ngwenyama) of Eswatini (Swaziland)
Julia Morris 1968– Australian entertainer
Dana Milbank 1968– American journalist and author
Jack de Gier 1968– Dutch footballer
Karl Wendlinger 1968– Austrian racing driver

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