August 1968

Thursday 08:

Jur? Wada, a doctor at the Sapporo Medical School, successfully performs Japan's first heart transplant.

Tuesday 20:

200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to end the "Prague Spring" of political liberalization.

Wednesday 21:

Soviet Union-dominated Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia.

Thursday 22:

Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the first visit of a pope to Latin America

Friday 23:

Ringo Starr temporarily quits The Beatles

Saturday 24:

France explodes its first hydrogen bomb, thus becoming the world's fifth nuclear power.

Monday 26:

The Beatles' "Hey Jude" is released as a single in the United States under the Apple Records label.

Wednesday 28:

Riots in Chicago, Illinois, during the Democratic National Convention