The following events occurred in October 1968:
October 1, 1968 (Tuesday) An attempt failed in the U.S. Senate to end a Republican party filibuster that was delaying action on the nomination of Abe Fortas as Chief Justice of the United States. While the vote was 45 in favor of cloture, and 43 against, the votes of a two-thirds majority of the 88 senators present (59 out of 88) was required. Fortas, who was already on the court as an associate justice, withdrew his name from consideration the next day, providing time for U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to submit the name of another nominee before the November presidential election. Johnson, however, declined to nominate a successor to Chief Justice Earl Warren. Night of the Living Dead premiered in the United States. Originally titled Night of the Flesh Eaters, and filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the movie's first showing was in that city at the Fulton Theatre, at 8:00, with admission by invitation only. An advertisement for the first week of showings said that "If 'Night of the Living Dead' frightens you to death*.... You are covered for $50,000", with the disclaimer that the guarantee was valid only for death from a "heart attack only during performances October 2 thru 8, 1968" and that the insurance company reserved the right to require a medical examination before the viewing." One author later noted that the film "was nothing short of a permanent shift in modern horror cinema. Zombies were no longer dullards wandering through mist and fog.. They were people you knew, friends and family... and they had no mercy." Dr. Arnulfo Arias was sworn in as President of Panama for the third time in his career after winning the May 12 election over David Samudio, the candidate sponsored by outgoing president Marco Aurelio Robles, a victory that came only after General Bolívar Vallarino, commander of the Panamanian National Guard, had worked to guarantee a fair count of the election. Arias, however, "chose not to respect the deals he had made with the National Guard", a historian later wrote, and was removed after just 10 days in office. Born: Kevin Griffin, American singer (Better Than Ezra), in Atlanta Died: Romano Guardini, 83, German Roman Catholic theologian
October 2, 1968 (Wednesday) The "Tlatelolco massacre" took place 10 days before the 1968 Summer Olympics were scheduled to begin in Mexico City, as Mexican police began firing into a crowd of thousands of protesters at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas at the Mexico City neighborhood of Tlatelolco. The Mexican government listed the death toll at only 32 and claimed that most of the victims were killed by students who were firing machine guns from surrounding buildings. Foreign journalists who were present at the scene, and survivors, estimated that between 150 and 500 protesters were killed The National Trails System Act was signed into law in the United States. The federal law has placed more than 50,000 of miles of scenic, historic and recreational hiking trails under the protection of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the longest of which are the historic California Trail and the scenic North Country Trail. The Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, first achieved criticality, with a less expensive nuclear fuel, a uranium tetrafluoride ("green salt") processed with the uranium-233 isotope rather than uranium-235. Miguel Mujica Gallo was sworn into office at noon as the new Prime Minister of Peru, replacing Oswaldo Hercelles García. Mujica served less than 24 hours; shortly after midnight, he and other Peruvian government officials were arrested during a military coup d'état. Born: Jana Novotná, Czech professional tennis player, winner of 12 women's doubles titles and four mixed doubles titles in Grand Slam events, and the 1998 Wimbledon women's finals; in Brno (d. 2017) Victoria Derbyshire, English journalist and broadcaster, in Ramsbottom, Lancashire Died: Marcel Duchamp, 81, French painter and sculptor
October 3, 1968 (Thursday)