360What happened in 1968?
11 moments from 1968 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- History · 24 December 1968
Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs 'Earthrise'
On 24 December 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders were the first people to see the far side with their own eyes. Anders photographed the Earth rising over the lunar horizon. 'Earthrise' became one of the most famous photographs ever taken.
- On this day · 24 February 1968
Astronomers announce the discovery of pulsars
On 24 February 1968, the journal Nature published the discovery of the first pulsar, a source of radio pulses arriving every 1.3 seconds. It was spotted by the graduate student Jocelyn Bell Burnell in Cambridge. Pulsars turned out to be spinning neutron stars, the collapsed cores of dead stars.
- On this day · 18 July 1968
Intel is founded
On 18 July 1968, Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore founded Intel in California. In 1971, it released the 4004, the first commercial microprocessor: a whole computer processor on a single chip. Intel's chips powered most personal computers for decades.
- On this day · 9 December 1968
The 'Mother of All Demos' shows the future of computing
On 9 December 1968, the engineer Douglas Engelbart gave a 90-minute demonstration in San Francisco showing the computer mouse, linked text, video calling and shared editing of documents. It is remembered as the 'Mother of All Demos', because it previewed the way people use computers today.
- On this day · 21 December 1968
Apollo 8 sets off to orbit the Moon
On 21 December 1968, Apollo 8 launched with Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, the first people to leave Earth's orbit. Three days later, they became the first humans to orbit the Moon and see its far side with their own eyes.
- On this day · 24 December 1968
The Earthrise photograph is taken
On 24 December 1968, Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders photographed the Earth rising over the Moon's horizon. The image, known as 'Earthrise', showed our planet as a small, colourful world in the darkness of space, and it inspired many people to care for the environment.
- 21 December 1968 · from Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs 'Earthrise'
Apollo 8 launches
- 24 December 1968 · from Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs 'Earthrise'
It enters lunar orbit; 'Earthrise' is taken
- 27 December 1968 · from Apollo 8 orbits the Moon and photographs 'Earthrise'
The crew splashes down
- 1968 · from Christiaan Barnard performs the first human heart transplant
Barnard's second patient lives for 19 months
- 1968 · from The first Nobel Prizes are awarded
The economics prize is created