Life Timeline

For those born May 6, 1968.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1967
Before you were born

You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without the Super Bowl.

In January 2011, Henry D. Fetter wrote about how the big game got its name.

1968
Year 54

You were born in May of 1968. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 3 times as old as you.

The year you were born, James C. Thompson, who served in the U.S. Department of State under Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, examined and condemned the policy decisions behind American involvement in Vietnam.

1968
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, French President Charles de Gaulle asked for a referendum due to unrest.

In November 1960, Curtis Cate wrote about de Gaulle's career and reputation as France's president.

1981

Everett Collection

The teenage years

This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.

Full Moon High was released in 1981.

1986
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, an incumbent British prime minister visited Israel for the first time.

In April 1947, Eliahu Ben-Horin wrote about the ideal of a Jewish state in Palestine, and why some—including the British government—opposed its creation.

1989

Patrick Hertzog / AFP / Getty Images

After the Fall

At 21 years old, you saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

“It was thought that all borders between men had similarly disintegrated, and we were all destined to be free and empowered individuals in a global meeting place,” wrote Robert Kaplan 20 years later.

1992
Half a life ago

Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after texting.

In August 2011, Jamie Holmes wrote about how SMS is the driving force behind technology-enabled changes in commerce, crime, political participation, and governing in the developing world.

1997

Reuters

Contemporaries

In 1997, Celine Dion, who was born the same year as you, released the popular song "My Heart Will Go On."

In April 2012, Carl Wilson wrote about the song's endurance.

2010

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

After the Spring

When you turned 42, you saw the rise of the Arab Spring.

People across the world rediscovered the power and peril of revolutions, as Laura Kasinof found in Yemen.

2035
Forecasts

By the time you turn 66, NASA says it will send humans to explore Mars.

In August 2015, Alakananda Mookerjee wrote about what new Mars colonists would be able to eat—and how they'd grow it.

Today
History in the making

History is happening all around you, every day.

The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these: