Life Timeline

For those born November 3, 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 November 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, former Vice President Richard Nixon won the U.S. presidential election, defeating Hubert Humphrey.

In August 2014, James Graham wrote a retrospective on Nixon's resignation 40 years after the latter stepped down.

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, Mike Tyson won his first world boxing title by defeating Trevor Berbick.

In October 2013, Allen Barra wrote about why Americans should care about heavyweight boxing, despite the country's declining dominance in the sport.

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.

2021
Forecasts

By the time you turn 52, scientists estimate it will no longer be possible to keep global temperatures from rising at least 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In December 2015, Robinson Meyer wrote about why scientists had accepted this fact.

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: