1962 16th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk joined discussions of diplomatic, political, and military responses to the Soviet deployment.
Cold War · October 1962 · permanent subject timeline
Dean Rusk and the Cuban Missile Crisis
The Secretary of State's diplomatic role during the confrontation. This page combines historical context with 8 matching records drawn directly from the World History Database Cuban Missile Crisis archive.
Historical context
Dean Rusk and the Cuban Missile Crisis: overview and significance
What happened?
Secretary of State Dean Rusk participated in ExComm and helped manage alliances, diplomatic communication and the political implications of alternative U.S. responses.
Why was it important?
Rusk's role shows how U.S. policy had to balance military action with alliance management and negotiations across multiple diplomatic channels.
World History Database records
Dean Rusk and the Cuban Missile Crisis timeline
The records below are selected from the 195-record Cuban Missile Crisis archive and rendered as static HTML in chronological order.
1962
1962 17th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk examined diplomatic consequences of air strikes, invasion, and quarantine while the missile discovery remained secret.
1962 18th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk participated in preparations for the Gromyko meeting and supported maintaining secrecy about the photographic evidence.
1962 20th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk supported the quarantine decision while the State Department prepared allied consultations and diplomatic notifications.
1962 24th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk assessed Soviet responses to the quarantine and encouraged continued diplomatic contact while military forces remained ready.
1962 26th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk reviewed Khrushchev's first settlement proposal and supported exploring the possibility of a non-invasion assurance.
1962 27th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk participated in the decision to respond to Khrushchev's earlier letter rather than accept the public Turkey-for-Cuba trade.
1962 28th October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk directed diplomatic work on verification and implementation after Moscow announced that the missiles would be removed.
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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