The 60s Official Site

Time Capsule High School Class of 1968

Key Facts of 1968:

• President: Lyndon B. Johnson
• Vice President:  Hubert Humphrey
• Cost of a gallon of gas:  34 cents
• Cost of a gallon of milk: $1.07
• Cost of a dozen of eggs: 53 cents
• Cost of a new home:  $26,600
• Cost of a first class postage stamp:  6 cents
• Unemployment:  3.8%
• Median household income:  $7,743

Notable Inventions of 1968:

• The computer mouse invented by Douglas Engelbart
• The first computer with integrated circuits made
• Robert Dennard invented RAM (random access memory)

Time Capsule of 1968:

• Russian and Warsaw Pact forces move into Czechoslovakia to crush a liberal government.
• The U.S. spy ship Pueblo is seized by North Korea.
• The North Vietnamese Tet Offensive shatters American conviction that there is light at the end of the war's tunnel
• There are 550,000 troops in Vietnam.
• The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis triggering racial violence in 168 cities and towns.
• Two months later Senator Bobby Kennedy is fatally shot in Los Angeles after winning the California Democratic presidential primary.
• President Johnson decides not to seek re-election.
• Vice President Humphrey wins the Democratic nomination at the national convention in Chicago torn by violence in the streets.
• Richard M. Nixon wins the presidential election by 550,000 votes.
• The Mexico City Olympics are marked by heroics of long-jumper Bob Beamon and protests by American black athletes.
• Peggy Fleming is a star at the Winter Olympics.
• The Tigers edge the Cardinals to win the World Series. 
• Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers prevail in the Super Bowl over the Oakland Raiders.
• Movies:  The motion picture event of the year is Stanley Kubrick' visionary 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Biggest hit of the year is Funny Girl for which the star Barbra Streisand will share the Best Actress Oscar with Katharine Hepburn ( Lion In the Winter.)  Other boxoffice hits were The Odd Couple, Bullitt, and Romeo and Juliet.
• Televsion:  Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is the new season's most popular series, followed by Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mayberry, R.F.D., and Family Affair.  The Carol Burnett Show emerges as a classic/comedy series.

Top Musical Artists of 1968 Were:

Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Otis Redding, Dionne Warwick, The Beatles, The Rascals, Tammi Terrell, Herb Albert, The Monkees, Bobby Goldsboro, Stevie Wonder, 1910 Fruitgum Co., Archie Bell & The Drells, Elvis Presley, Wilson Pickett, The Dells, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Bobby Vinton

Top Artist Debuts of 1968:

The Delfonics, Kenny Rogers/First Edition, Sly & The Family Stone, Andy Kim, Steppenwolf, Bobby Womack, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, Steve Miller Band, Bob Seger, Tyrone Davis, The Moments

Other Musical Tidbits:

• The Top Song of 1968 was Hey Jude (top song of the decade) by the Beatles was number 1 for 9 weeks.
• The Top Recording Artist of 1968 was Marvin Gaye