At A Glance

5 May 1968 at a glance

Day of the week
5 May 1968 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.
Top Film of 1968
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1968 was 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Star sign
The star sign for 5 May is Taurus.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 5 May 1968 fell in the Year of the Monkey.
Birthstone
The birthstone for May is Emerald.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 5 May 1968 was First Quarter.

On this day: 5 May

  • 1955 The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect.
  • 1961 Project Mercury: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.
  • 1964 The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day.
  • 1973 Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59.4, an as-yet-unbeaten record.
  • 1980 Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.

Famous people born on 5 May

  • Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian tennis player (born 1998)
  • Richard E. Grant, Swazi-English actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1957)
  • Carlos Alcaraz, Spanish tennis player (born 2003)
  • Henry Cavill, English actor (born 1983)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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.

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.

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

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