1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Bundy helped organize the decision process that produced Kennedy's choice of a naval quarantine.
Cold War · October 1962 · permanent subject timeline
20 October 1962: Kennedy Chooses the Quarantine
The White House moves away from an immediate air strike toward a naval quarantine. This page combines historical context with 10 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database Cuban Missile Crisis archive.
Historical context
20 October 1962: Kennedy Chooses the Quarantine: overview and significance
What happened?
After several days of debate, Kennedy chose a naval quarantine as the central U.S. response and returned to Washington for final preparations.
Why was it important?
The decision was an attempt to stop additional offensive weapons reaching Cuba without immediately initiating a direct attack that might trigger wider war.
World History Database records
20 October 1962: Kennedy Chooses the Quarantine timeline
The records below are selected from the 195-record Cuban Missile Crisis archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1962
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy returned to Washington and presided over a National Security Council meeting on the response.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
The White House announced that Kennedy had a cold as he cancelled remaining campaign appearances.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy selected a naval quarantine as the initial response while retaining stronger military options.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy supported the quarantine option as a measured response that preserved room for further diplomatic pressure.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara organized the naval interception plan and continued preparations for air strikes and invasion.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara briefed Kennedy on naval interception procedures and the military preparations supporting the proposed quarantine.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk supported the quarantine decision while the State Department prepared allied consultations and diplomatic notifications.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Sorensen helped draft language explaining the quarantine and the administration's demand for removal of Soviet offensive weapons.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Taylor supervised continued planning for air strikes and invasion after Kennedy selected the quarantine as the first step.
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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