May 1968

The following events occurred in May 1968:

May 1, 1968 (Wednesday)

• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, consort of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, arrives in Australia for an official visit.
• Died: Jack Adams, 73, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

May 2, 1968 (Thursday)

• Student protests in France: the administration of the Paris University at Nanterre effectively shuts down the university after a period of conflict between students and the authorities.^[1]
• The Israel Broadcasting Authority makes its first television broadcasts.
• In Oxford, UK, the Christ Church Picture Gallery, designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, is opened.

May 3, 1968 (Friday)

• Braniff Flight 352 crashes near Dawson, Texas, killing all 85 persons on board. It is a scheduled domestic flight from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, to Dallas Love Field in Dallas. The Lockheed L-188A Electra, registration N9707C, breaks up in midair and crashes, after flying into a severe thunderstorm. It was carrying 5 crew and 80 passengers; there were no survivors. Among those killed is Texas state representative Joseph Lockridge, the first black man to represent Dallas County in the Texas Legislature. Investigations later revealed that the accident was caused by structural over-stress and failure of the airframe while attempting recovery from loss of control during a steep 180-degree turn executed in an attempt to escape the weather.^[2]
• Students at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, protest against the closure of Paris University at Nanterre and the proposed expulsion of some students.^[3]

May 4, 1968 (Saturday)

• The 94th Kentucky Derby is won by Forward Pass, after Dancer's Image is disqualified.^[4][5]
• Vietnam War: The May Offensive is launched, with communist units initiating a second phase of the Tet Offensive by attacking 119 targets throughout South Vietnam, including the capital, Saigon.^[6]

May 5, 1968 (Sunday)

• A Grumman Gulfstream II becomes the first executive jet to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

May 6, 1968 (Monday)

• In Paris, student protests continue. The Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF), France's largest student union, along with the union of university teachers, stages a march to protest against police actions at the Sorbonne. More than 20,000 protesters march towards the Sorbonne, and the police charge with batons. Some protesters create barricades and throw paving stones. The police respond with tear gas. Hundreds are arrested.
• Argentine tanker MV Islas Orcadas explodes, catches fire and sinks at Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province. Burning oil sets two other tankers Fray Luis Beltran and Cutral Co on fire, both of which sink.^[7]

May 7, 1968 (Tuesday)

• In Paris, students, teachers and young workers gather at the Arc de Triomphe to demand that criminal charges against arrested students be dropped and that the authorities reopen Nanterre and Sorbonne universities.
• Died: Mike Spence, 31, British racing driver, while test driving a Lotus 56 turbocar in preparation for the Indianapolis 500.^[8]

May 9, 1968 (Thursday)

• Born: Marie-José Pérec, French Olympic athlete, in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
• Died: Mercedes de Acosta, 75, US poet, playwright, costume designer, and socialite

May 10, 1968 (Friday)

• In Paris, a crowd congregates on the Rive Gauche, and violence between them and the police resumes, after unsuccessful negotiations. It is claimed that the police used agents provocateurs to aggravate the situation by burning cars and throwing Molotov cocktails.^[9]
• Greek cargo ship Gero Miklaos runs aground and breaks up in a cyclone at Akyab, Burma.

May 11, 1968 (Saturday)

• Psychedelic rock band H. P. Lovecraft perform at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California, USA. A recording of the event is eventually released in 1991.^[10]

May 12, 1968 (Sunday)

• Carlos A. Mannucci emerge as winners of the 1968 Copa Perú football tournament.
• AS Saint-Étienne defeat Girondins de Bordeaux in the final of the 1967–68 Coupe de France football tournament.
• Born: Tony Hawk, US skateboarder, in Carlsbad, California

May 13, 1968 (Monday)

• In France, a one-day general strike is called by the Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT) and the Force Ouvrière (CGT-FO). Prime Minister Georges Pompidou announces the release of prisoners and the reopening of the Sorbonne, but protests continue.
• In the UK, Manchester City F.C. wins the 1967–68 Football League First Division over local rivals Manchester United.

May 14, 1968 (Tuesday)

• The Beatles announce the creation of Apple Records, as a division of Apple Corps Ltd, at a press conference in New York City, USA.
• A sit-down strike takes place at the Sud Aviation plant near Nantes, France.
• King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium arrive in Ireland for a state visit.^[11]
• The Toronto-Dominion Centre is officially opened.

May 15, 1968 (Wednesday)

• May 1968 tornado outbreak: An outbreak of severe thunderstorms result in tornadoes, mainly affecting residents of Charles City, Iowa, Oelwein, Iowa, and Jonesboro, Arkansas.

May 16, 1968 (Thursday)

• Ronan Point, a 23-storey tower block in Canning Town, east London, UK, partially collapses after a gas explosion, killing five people. The disaster highlights an area of design which had not previously been considered and which led to changes in legislation in the UK and other countries.^[12]

May 17, 1968 (Friday)

• US anti-war demonstrators, the Catonsville Nine, enter the Selective Service offices in Catonsville, Maryland, take draft records, and burn them with napalm.^[13] Those involved include Father Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest, his brother Philip Berrigan, a former Josephite priest, and artist Tom Lewis.

May 18, 1968 (Saturday)

Dorothy Anstett wins the 17th Miss USA pageant at Miami, Florida.^[14]

May 19, 1968 (Sunday)

• In the Italian general election, the Christian Democrat party retains 38% of the vote.^[15] Their leader, Amintore Fanfani, remains Prime Minister until being elected President of the Senate in the following month.
• Nigerian forces capture Port Harcourt and surround Biafra. The blockade would result in a humanitarian disaster.
• The 1968 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament is won by home team Iran.^[16]

May 20, 1968 (Monday)

• The 1968 Giro d'Italia cycle race begins in Campione d'Italia.

May 21, 1968 (Tuesday)

• Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi begins a visit to Australia.

May 22, 1968 (Wednesday)

• The US nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion sinks 400 miles from the Azores. The official search continues until 5 June, when all 99 crew are "presumed dead". The remains of the ship are not located for a further four months.^[17]
• The United States' worst helicopter accident occurs Los Angeles Airways Flight 841, a Sikorsky S-61L, crashes in Paramount, California, killing all 23 people on board.
• Born: Graham Linehan, Irish comedian and writer, in Dublin

May 23, 1968 (Thursday)

• A surface-to-air missile destroys an enemy aircraft for the first time; the US Navy's guided-missile cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN-9) shoots down a North Vietnamese MiG flying over North Vietnam with a RIM-8 Talos missile at a range of 65 nautical miles.^[18][19]

May 24, 1968 (Friday)

• The Cannes Film Festival ends early after several films are withdrawn because of the unrest in France.^[20]

May 25, 1968 (Saturday)

• In France, negotiations begin between the Pompidou government, trade unions, and the Organisation patronale, leading to the Grenelle agreements.^[21]

May 26, 1968 (Sunday)

• The 1968 Federation Cup tennis tournament in Paris, France, ends in victory for Australia, who defeat the Netherlands in the final. It is the first time that the United States has not appeared in the final.
• Born: Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, in Copenhagen, the son of Princess Margrethe, heir presumptive to the Danish throne, and her consort Prince Henrik
• Died: Little Willie John, 30, US R&B singer, at Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Washington, officially of a heart attack but possibly of pneumonia^[22]

May 27, 1968 (Monday)

• 1968 Louisville riots: a crowd of 400 protesters, mostly black, gathers at 28th and Greenwood Streets, in the Parkland neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. As violence escalates, Mayor Kenneth A. Schmied calls in 700 Kentucky National Guard troops and establishes a curfew. The rioting lasts for nearly two days, and two people are killed.^[23]

May 28, 1968 (Tuesday)

• In France, François Mitterrand of the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left declares that "there is no more state" and says he is ready to form a new government.^[24]
• Born: Kylie Minogue, Australian singer and actress, in Melbourne
• Died: Kees van Dongen, 91, Dutch-French painter, member of the Fauvist movement

May 29, 1968 (Wednesday)

• France's President, Charles de Gaulle, postpones a meeting of the Council of Ministers and removes his personal papers from Élysée Palace. Meanwhile, Pierre Mendès France states that he is ready to form a new government, including the Communists.^[25]
• Manchester United F.C. becomes the first team from England to win the European Cup soccer competition.
• Ireland's President, Eamonn de Valera, opens the John F. Kennedy Memorial Park in New Ross, County Wexford.

May 30, 1968 (Thursday)

• France's Prime Minister, Georges Pompidou, suggests that President de Gaulle dissolve the National Assembly and call a new election by threatening to resign. Instead, de Gaulle announces his refusal to resign, calls an election for 23 June, and threatens to declare a state of emergency. Opposition parties agree to the election.^[26]
• The Indianapolis 500 is won by Bobby Unser in a turbocharged Offenhauser-powered car.

May 31, 1968 (Friday)

• The Queen's Birthday Honours for orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms are announced in the London Gazette. Recipients include football manager Matt Busby and inventor Barnes Wallis (knighthoods), historian C. V. Wedgwood (DBE) and Stewart Bell Maclennan, director of the National Art Gallery of New Zealand (OBE).^[27]

References