December 15th to December 21st
Sunday, December 15th, 1968 - United Artists releases the musical film "Oliver", starring Ron Moody, Mark Lester, Jack Wild, and Shanni Wallis. Four months later the movie wins six Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1968.
Monday, December 16th, 1968 - The FBI releases statistics showing that the crime rate during the first nine months of 1968 had increased 19% compared with the same period in 1967.
Tuesday, December 17th,1968 - In England 11-year-old Mary Bell is convicted of the manslaughter of two boys. On May 25th, 1968 (the day before her 11th birthday) Mary strangled 4-year-old Martin Brown. She was not suspected of the crime until, on July 31st, she strangled and partly mutilated 3-year-old Brian Howe.
Wednesday, December 18th, 1968 - United Artists releases the musical film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" starring Dick Van Dyke and based on the novel by Ian Fleming.
Thursday, December 19th, 1968 - U.S. officials report that more than 30,000 American soldiers have lost their lives to the war in Vietnam.
Friday, December 20th, 1968 - Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck ("The Grapes of Wrath", "East of Eden") dies of a heart attack in Manhattan, New York at the age of 66.
Saturday, December 21st, 1968 - Apollo 8, the first manned spaecraft to orbit the moon, is successfully launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 7:51 AM. With three astronauts on board (Frank Borman, William Anders, and James Lovell, Jr.), Apollo 8 reaches the moon's orbit on Christmas Eve and circles the moon ten times before returning to earth.