Cuban Missile Crisis
Dillon joined the crisis deliberations and supported careful evaluation of the economic and political consequences of military action.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1962 in United States of America — Page 4
Explore 347 historical events and records for United States of America in 1962.
Historical records for United States of America in 1962
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October
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy convened his principal advisers at 11:45 a.m. to examine the missile evidence and possible responses.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy ordered continued secrecy while advisers studied the risks of surprise attack, quarantine, and invasion.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy ordered that the discovery of Soviet missiles remain secret while his advisers evaluated military and diplomatic options.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy joined the first crisis discussions and questioned the political and moral consequences of a surprise attack on Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy participated in the secret advisory meetings that later became known as ExComm.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Lundahl briefed Kennedy directly on the U-2 photographs and explained how analysts identified the Soviet missile equipment.
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara discussed military options including surveillance, quarantine, air strikes, and invasion.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk joined discussions of diplomatic, political, and military responses to the Soviet deployment.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Taylor and the Joint Chiefs developed plans for attacks against missile sites and other military targets.
Return for Missile Crisis
After learning that U-2 photography confirmed Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba, McCone returned to Washington and remained there through the crisis.
Crisis Warning and Deadline Proposal
McCone recommended warning Moscow and Havana, demanding prompt dismantlement, and reserving a large military strike if the offensive missile deployment remained in place.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Bundy coordinated meetings and intelligence distribution as advisers compared military and political responses to the missile deployment.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Gilpatric helped assess air-strike and quarantine options while the Defense Department prepared forces for possible action.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy continued reviewing air-strike, invasion, quarantine, and diplomatic alternatives with his advisers.
Cuban Missile Crisis
McCone briefed senior officials on expanding photographic evidence and the estimated readiness of Soviet offensive missile sites in Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara asked military planners to refine blockade, air-strike, and invasion options while the President considered how to respond.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk examined diplomatic consequences of air strikes, invasion, and quarantine while the missile discovery remained secret.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Stevenson urged consideration of a diplomatic settlement alongside military pressure.
Eisenhower Missile Briefing
At Kennedy's request, McCone briefed former President Eisenhower on the Soviet buildup and showed him U-2 photographs of developing medium-range missile sites.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy told Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko that the United States would not tolerate offensive missiles in Cuba; Gromyko denied that offensive Soviet weapons were being deployed.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy met Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko while withholding knowledge of the photographed missile sites.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy restated his public warning to Gromyko without revealing that the missile sites had been photographed.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Lundahl's analysts continued comparing new imagery to Soviet missile systems and locating additional offensive installations.
Cuban Missile Crisis
McCone reviewed new intelligence as reconnaissance identified additional missile activity and bomber-related installations in Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara worked on a quarantine plan designed to halt additional offensive weapons without immediately attacking existing missile sites.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Rusk participated in preparations for the Gromyko meeting and supported maintaining secrecy about the photographic evidence.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Stevenson proposed exploring a negotiated settlement that could remove the Soviet missiles while avoiding a direct military confrontation.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Taylor presented military assessments emphasizing that an air strike might have to be followed by a larger invasion of Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Thompson used his experience with Khrushchev to advise that Soviet intentions and domestic pressures should be interpreted cautiously.
ExComm Military Options Review
McCone joined Kennedy and senior advisers in reviewing blockade, air-strike, invasion, diplomatic, and warning options during the first days of the missile crisis.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy maintained scheduled campaign appearances while secret crisis deliberations continued in Washington.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy left Washington for campaign appearances while advisers continued secret deliberations about Cuba.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy argued that an unannounced air strike could resemble the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Bundy helped organize the decision process that produced Kennedy's choice of a naval quarantine.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy returned to Washington and presided over a National Security Council meeting on the response.
Cuban Missile Crisis
The White House announced that Kennedy had a cold as he cancelled remaining campaign appearances.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Kennedy selected a naval quarantine as the initial response while retaining stronger military options.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Robert Kennedy supported the quarantine option as a measured response that preserved room for further diplomatic pressure.
Cuban Missile Crisis
McNamara organized the naval interception plan and continued preparations for air strikes and invasion.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.