At A Glance

20 October 1968 at a glance

Day of the week
20 October 1968 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “Those Were the Days” by Mary Hopkin.
Top Film of 1968
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1968 was 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 October is Libra.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 October 1968 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for October is Opal.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 October 1968 was Waning Crescent.

On this day: 20 October

  • 1952 The Governor of Kenya Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising.
  • 1961 The Soviet Navy performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
  • 1962 China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.
  • 1973 The Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction.
  • 1976 The Luling–Destrehan Ferry MV George Prince is struck by the Norwegian freighter SS Frosta while crossing the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die, and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.

Famous people born on 20 October

  • Kenneth Walker III, American football player (born 2000)
  • John Krasinski, American actor, director, and producer (born 1979)
  • Viggo Mortensen, American-Danish actor and producer (born 1958)
  • Snoop Dogg, American rapper, producer, and actor (born 1971)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1968 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1968 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 5 January – Gardeners' World debuts on BBC1 television, featuring Percy Thrower.
  • 1 March – First performance of an Andrew Lloyd Webber–Tim Rice musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in its original form as a "pop cantata", by pupils of Colet Court preparatory school in Hammersmith.
  • 12 March – The island of Mauritius achieves independence from the UK.
More events of 1968 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in 1968

Prime Minister

Harold Wilson

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

15p

Loaf of Bread

9p

Average House

£4,640

Weekly Wage

£23.00

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1960s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Guy Ritchie10 September 1968FilmmakerView their day →Diana, Princess of Wales1 July 1961Member of the British royal familyView their day →Nigella Lawson6 January 1960Food writer & television cookView their day →Jason Statham26 July 1967ActorView their day →Catherine Zeta-Jones25 September 1969ActressView their day →Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer20 May 1964Peer & authorView their day →Kenneth Branagh10 December 1960Actor & filmmakerView their day →George Michael25 June 1963SingerView their day →

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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