Editing 1968 (section)

=== January&ndash;February ===
{{Main|January 1968}}
{{Main|February 1968}}
[[File:USS Pueblo (AGER-2).jpg|thumb|125px|right|January 23: North Korea seizes ''USS Pueblo'' (AGER-2)]]
[[File:Captain Franklin P. Eller during Tet Offensive Vietnam.jpg|thumb|125px|right|January 30: Tet Offensive begins]]
* [[January 1968|January]] – The [[I'm Backing Britain|I'm Backing Britain campaign]] starts spontaneously.
* [[January 5]] – "[[Prague Spring]]": [[Alexander Dubček]] is chosen as leader of the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Navazelskis|first=Inabhfghh|title=Alexander Dubcek|publisher=Chelsea House Publications|year=1990|isbn=1-55546-831-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderdubcek0000nava}}</ref>
* [[January 10]] – [[John Gorton]] is sworn in as 19th [[Prime Minister of Australia]], taking over from [[John McEwen]] after being [[1968 Liberal Party of Australia leadership election|elected leader]] of the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] the previous day, following the [[disappearance of Harold Holt]]. Gorton becomes the only [[Australian Senate|Senator]] to become Prime Minister, though he immediately transfers to the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] through the [[1968 Higgins by-election]] in Holt's vacant seat.
* [[January 15]] – The [[1968 Belice earthquake]] in [[Sicily]] kills 380 and injures around 1,000.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Italy: The Day the Earth Shook|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837724,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306025845/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837724,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2008|newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=January 26, 1968|access-date=August 2, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://emidius.mi.ingv.it/CPTI99/CPTI_finestre.html|title=CPTI – catalogo (per finestre temporali)|website=emidius.mi.ingv.it}}</ref>
* [[January 21]]
** [[Vietnam War]]: [[Battle of Khe Sanh]] – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on [[April 8]].
** [[1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash]]: A U.S. [[B-52 Stratofortress]] crashes in Greenland, discharging 4 [[nuclear bomb]]s.
* [[January 23]] – [[North Korea]] seizes the {{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}}, claiming the ship violated its territorial waters while spying.
* [[January 25]] – [[Israel]]i submarine {{INS|Dakar}} sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 69.
* [[January 28]] – [[France|French]] submarine ''[[French submarine Minerve (S647)|Minerve]]'' sinks in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 52.
* [[January 30]] – [[Vietnam War]]: The [[Tet Offensive]] begins as [[Viet Cong]] forces launch a series of surprise attacks across [[South Vietnam]].
* [[January 31]]
** [[Viet Cong]] soldiers attack the [[Embassy of the United States, Saigon]].
** [[Nauru]] president [[Hammer DeRoburt]] declares independence from [[Australia]].
* [[February 1]]
** [[Vietnam War]]: [[Execution of Nguyễn Văn Lém]] – A [[Viet Cong]] officer is [[Summary execution|summarily executed]] by [[Nguyễn Ngọc Loan]], a [[South Vietnam]]ese National Police Chief. The event is photographed by [[Eddie Adams (photographer)|Eddie Adams]]. The photo makes headlines around the world, eventually winning the [[1969 Pulitzer Prize]], and sways U.S. public opinion against the war.
** The [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] and the [[New York Central Railroad]] merge to form [[Penn Central]], the largest ever corporate [[Mergers and acquisitions|merger]] up to this date.
* [[February 6]]–[[February 18|18]] – The [[1968 Winter Olympics]] are held in [[Grenoble]], France.
* [[February 8]] – [[Civil rights movement]] in the United States: [[Orangeburg Massacre]] – A civil rights demonstration on a college campus to protest [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation]] in [[South Carolina]] is broken up by highway patrolmen; three African American students are killed, the first instance of police killing student protestors at an American campus.
* [[February 12]] – [[Vietnam War]]: [[Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre]].
* [[February 24]] – [[Vietnam War]]: The [[Tet Offensive]] is halted; [[South Vietnam]] recaptures [[Huế]].
* [[February 25]] – [[Vietnam War]]: [[Hà My massacre]].