1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Ball joined the first senior discussions and examined diplomatic consequences of attacking Soviet missile installations in Cuba.
Cold War · October 1962 · permanent subject timeline
16 October 1962: ExComm Begins
Kennedy is informed of the missile sites and secret White House deliberations begin. This page combines historical context with 12 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database Cuban Missile Crisis archive.
Historical context
16 October 1962: ExComm Begins: overview and significance
What happened?
On 16 October 1962 President Kennedy was briefed on photographic evidence of Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba. A small group of senior officials began the intensive meetings that developed into ExComm.
Why was it important?
This date marks the beginning of the crisis inside the U.S. government, six days before Kennedy publicly revealed the missile deployment.
World History Database records
16 October 1962: ExComm Begins timeline
The records below are selected from the 195-record Cuban Missile Crisis archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1962
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Bundy informed Kennedy at 8:45 a.m. that a major international crisis had developed.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Dillon joined the crisis deliberations and supported careful evaluation of the economic and political consequences of military action.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy convened his principal advisers at 11:45 a.m. to examine the missile evidence and possible responses.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy ordered continued secrecy while advisers studied the risks of surprise attack, quarantine, and invasion.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy ordered that the discovery of Soviet missiles remain secret while his advisers evaluated military and diplomatic options.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy participated in the secret advisory meetings that later became known as ExComm.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy joined the first crisis discussions and questioned the political and moral consequences of a surprise attack on Cuba.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Lundahl briefed Kennedy directly on the U-2 photographs and explained how analysts identified the Soviet missile equipment.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara discussed military options including surveillance, quarantine, air strikes, and invasion.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk joined discussions of diplomatic, political, and military responses to the Soviet deployment.
1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Taylor and the Joint Chiefs developed plans for attacks against missile sites and other military targets.
Editorial provenance
Sources and editorial review
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
Historical context is editorial material; the chronology is generated from World History Database Cuban Missile Crisis records.
Last reviewed: September 2026.
FRUS: Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath · JFK Library · U.S. National Archives
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