1968: WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD WAS WATCHING

Tet offensive Jan. 30

North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong guerrillas launch surprise attacks throughout South Vietnam on the Lunar New Year, or Tet. Though militarily a failure, the offensive undermines public support in the U.S. for the war.

King assassinated April 4

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is shot by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. Riots soon erupt across the country, but many large African American communities heed the words of civil rights leaders to remain peaceful.

University unrest April 23

Students occupy administration buildings at Columbia University in New York to protest a ban on student demonstrations and university plans to build a gymnasium in a nearby black neighborhood. The protests inspire sit-ins at campuses across the nation.

France in turmoil May 3

An array of grievances — about education, the economy and the government of President Charles de Gaulle — triggers weeks of unrest across France. The turmoil erupts May 3 with student protests in Paris. Workers stage a general strike.

Kennedy shot June 5

Shortly after winning the California Democratic primary, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is shot by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He dies the next day. Later, thousands line the route as a train carries his casket from New York to Washington.

Soviet invasion Aug. 20

Troops from the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations roll into Czechoslovakia to quash the liberalization movement known as Prague Spring. Czech leader Alexander Dubcek had promised “socialism with a human face.”

Chicago in chaos Aug. 28

Thousands of police firing tear gas and swinging billy clubs descend on antiwar protesters outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The violence, televised live, horrifies the nation. A government report will call it “a police riot.”

Black Power salute Oct. 16

In an act that captures the anger of the times, U.S. Olympic sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raise their gloved fists in protest on the medal stand in the Mexico City Olympic Games as “The StarSpangled Banner” plays.