When The World Held

Its Breath
A Timeline of the Cuban
Missile Crisis 1962
A U.S. U-2 spy plane discovers
Soviet missile sites being built
in Cuba. The discovery was
made during a routine

Oct 14
reconnaissance flight, and the
photographs taken by the U-2
revealed that the Soviet Union
was deploying nuclear missiles
in Cuba, which posed an
immediate threat to the
United States.

President John F. Kennedy is

informed of the missile sites
and convenes a group of
advisors, known as the

Oct 16
Executive Committee of the
National Security Council
(ExComm), to discuss how to
respond. The options
discussed include a military
invasion of Cuba, air strikes on
the missile sites, and a naval
quarantine of the island.

In a nationally televised
address, President Kennedy
informed the American people
about the missile sites and
announced that he had

Oct 22
ordered a naval quarantine to
prevent further Soviet
deliveries. Kennedy made it
clear that any missile launched
from Cuba would be seen as
an attack on the United States,
and the U.S. would respond
with a full retaliatory strike.

Soviet ships carrying missiles

approach the U.S. blockade.
The Soviet Union sent several

Oct 24
ships carrying missiles and other
military equipment to Cuba,
despite the U.S. blockade. The
US Strategic Air Command
(SAC) was ordered to DEFCON
2. DEFCON 1, meant nuclear
war.

Soviet ships stop short of the

U.S. blockade, avoiding a
confrontation. The Soviet ships
eventually turned back,

Oct 25
avoiding a potential
confrontation with the U.S.
Navy. This was a crucial
turning point in the crisis, as it
gave both sides a chance to
step back and further analyze
the situation.
 Kennedy receives a letter from
Soviet leader Khrushchev
proposing a missile trade. In a
private letter to Kennedy,

Oct 26
Khrushchev proposed that the
U.S. remove its missiles from
Turkey in exchange for the
Soviet Union removing its
missiles from Cuba. The offer
was not made public, and
Kennedy consulted with his
advisors about how to
respond.

The Soviets shot down a U2 spy

plane over Cuba. A Soviet
nuclear submarine in the
Caribbean mistakenly

Oct 27
believed war had already
broken out and 2 of the senior
officers gave the approval to
fire its nuclear torpedo.
However the third senior
officer, Vasili Arkhipov, refused
to authorize the decision
successfully preventing
Nuclear Armageddon, making
this the scariest day in human
history

In a public message,
Khrushchev agreed to
remove the missiles from

Oct 28
Cuba in exchange for a U.S.
pledge not to invade Cuba
and to remove U.S. missiles
from Turkey. The U.S. agreed
to the terms, and the crisis
began to de-escalate.

The US confirms that Soviet

Nov 20
missiles are being dismantled
and removed from Cuba, the
naval blockade is lifted and
the crisis is officially
declared over.

Conclusion
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a critical moment in the Cold War and had
significant implications for U.S.-Soviet relations and global politics. The
crisis brought the world dangerously close to nuclear war and
demonstrated the need for increased diplomacy and communication
between the two superpowers.

Evaluation
I've learnt a lot of while doing this infographic timeline. I learnt not only
about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but also how to make an infographic
timeline, helped me further improve my skills in researching and allowing
me to realize the importance of deadlines.
Works Cited

“Cuban Missile Crisis - Causes, Timeline & Significance.” History.com, A&E Television Networks,
https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cuban-missile-crisis.
“Cuban Missile Crisis.” Cuban Missile Crisis | JFK Library, https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-
history/cuban-missile-crisis.
“Cuban Missile Crisis.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Mar. 2023,
https://www.britannica.com/event/Cuban-missile-crisis.
“DEFCON-2: Standing on the Brink of Nuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis by Norman Polmar, John D.
Gresham.” By Norman Polmar, John D. Gresham, https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780471670223.
Evans, Michael. The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: Anatomy of a Controversey,
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nsa/cuba_mis_cri/moment.htm.
“Soviet Submarine Officer Who Averted Nuclear War Honoured with Prize.” The Guardian, Guardian News and
Media, 27 Oct. 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/27/vasili-arkhipov-soviet-submarine-captain-
who-averted-nuclear-war-awarded-future-of-life-prize.
YouTube, YouTube, 4 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UbVuTXg4CQ. Accessed Apr. 2023.