October 1962Reputable sourceWell documented
The Cuban Missile Crisis
On the timeline · around October 1962 ·
What happened
In October 1962, American spy planes discovered Soviet nuclear missiles being installed in Cuba, 90 miles from Florida. For thirteen tense days, President Kennedy and Soviet leader Khrushchev faced off as the world stood on the brink of nuclear war, until the Soviets agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for U.S. pledges.
Why it matters
The crisis brought the superpowers closer to nuclear war than at any other moment, and the shock led to the first arms-control steps — a hotline between the capitals and a test-ban treaty — in the Cold War.