January 1 » The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.
February 20 » The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
September 2 » Vice President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt utters the famous phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" at the Minnesota State Fair.
November 1 » Sigma Phi Epsilon, the largest national male collegiate fraternity, is established at Richmond College, in Richmond, Virginia.
November 8 » Gospel riots: Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek.
December 3 » In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word speech to the House of Representatives asking Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits".
Day of death August 17, 1968
The temperature on August 17, 1968 was between 10.2 °C and 17.1 °C and averaged 13.8 °C. There was 5.8 mm of rain during 4.5 hours. There was 2.5 hours of sunshine (17%). The partly or heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the southwest. Source: KNMI
January 21 » A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
January 30 » Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies.
February 16 » In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
March 28 » Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is killed by military police at a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students.
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 12 » Equatorial Guinea becomes independent from Spain.
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/I518324.php : accessed February 4, 2026), "Johannes Gerhardus Dreyer (1901-1968)".
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