April 30 » Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
June 25 » The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
July 9 » The Governor of Shanxi province in North China orders the execution of 45 foreign Christian missionaries and local church members, including children.
July 19 » The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.
October 9 » The Cook Islands become a territory of the United Kingdom.
December 18 » The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook, Victoria Narrow-gauge (2ft 6 in or 762mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic.
Day of death August 16, 1968
The temperature on August 16, 1968 was between 12.3 °C and 18.1 °C and averaged 15.3 °C. There was 1.0 mm of rain during 0.8 hours. There was 6.0 hours of sunshine (41%). The partly or heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
February 17 » In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
April 7 » Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.
April 8 » BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
October 16 » Tommie Smith and John Carlos are ejected from the US Olympic team for participating in the Olympics Black Power salute.
December 25 » Kilvenmani massacre: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Hendrik Dreyer, "Dreyer Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/dreyer-tree/I510607.php : accessed March 4, 2026), "Willem Pretorius (1900-1968)".
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