1953 |
| July 26—Fidel Castro begins crusade to oust American ally Fulgencio Batista from Cuban leadership. |
1956 |
| November 18—Nikita Khrushchev warns West: "We will bury you." |
1959 |
| January 9—Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba after a long struggle against Batista. |
1960 |
| January 8—Central Intelligence Agency begins planning means to overthrow Castro. |
| March 4—Belgium's La Coubre delivers arms to Cuba, explodes in Havana's harbor. More than 100 die in blast. |
| May 7—Soviet Union, Cuba establish diplomatic relations. |
| July 8—President Eisenhower slashes U.S. sugar imports from Cuba. |
| July 9—Soviet Union agrees to buy all Cuban sugar formerly purchased by United States; Khrushchev vows to protect Cuba from U.S. action. |
| August 28—United States places trade embargo on Cuba. Subsequently, Castro nationalizes around $1 billion in American investments. |
| Summer—Castro nationalizes $850 million in U.S.-owned assets in Cuba. |
| September 20—Khrushchev, Castro meet for first time at United Nations. |
| October 19—President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces partial U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. |
| November 8—John F. Kennedy defeats Richard Nixon in presidential election. Margin of victory among tiniest on record. |
| December 19—Cuba, Soviet Union announce alliance. |
1961 |
| January 28—Kennedy receives first briefing on CIA plan to support exiles' invasion of Cuba. |
| April 4—Kennedy gives final approval to details of Bay of Pigs invasion. |
| April 9—JFK tells reporters U.S. military will not take part in attack on Cuba. |
| April 12—Kennedy rules out any U.S. military role in refugee landing at Bay of Pigs. |
| April 14—Flying B-26 bombers, refugees fail to wipe out Castro's air force. Second round of bombing canceled to obscure U.S. involvement. |
| April 17–18—Roughly 1,400 refugees land near Bay of Pigs. Castro's remaining air force blocks attempts to establish a beachhead. Castro's forces kill 114, capture almost 1,200. |
| May 26—Khrushchev tells Presidium he is prepared to take tough action to push Western allies out of West Berlin. |
| June 3–4—JFK meets with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna. While browbeating JFK, Soviet leader threatens allied access to West Berlin. |
| July 25—Kennedy speaks to American people about Berlin Crisis, talks about calling up additional troops, encourages Americans to prepare home fallout shelters. |
| August 13—East German, Soviet troops build Berlin Wall, stopping flood of East Germans into West Berlin. |
| October 21—Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric releases evidence United States has significant lead in nuclear arms race. |
| October 27—U.S., Soviet tanks square off at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. |
| October 30—Soviet Union tests most powerful nuclear weapon ever created—a 50-megaton device. |
| November 24—Inspector General's report blames CIA for misjudging Bay of Pigs issues. |
1962 |
| Early 1962—Now under way is Operation MONGOOSE, a U.S. program to use sabotage, propaganda to undermine Castro. |
| January 21—Meeting in Uruguay, Organization of American States expels Cuba. |
| February 3—Kennedy announces near-total trade embargo on Cuba. |
| Late April–May—Khrushchev plans to put nuclear missiles in Cuba as counterweight to U.S. missiles in European nations, including Soviet Union's neighbor, Turkey. |
| May 20—Khrushchev unveils plan in Presidium presentation. |
| May 30—Castro agrees to accept Soviet missiles. |
| July 15—Soviet ships begin surreptitious shipments to Cuba. |
| August—U.S. intelligence agencies gather first reports of Soviet missiles in Cuba, wrongly assume weapons are conventional, not nuclear. |
| August 16—Miami News reports thousands of Soviet troops are in Cuba. |
| August 20—Maxwell Taylor tells JFK intensive study shows Castro cannot be toppled by Cuban forces alone. |
| August 23—Kennedy asks Pentagon to investigate removing Jupiter missiles from Turkey. |
| August 25—Omsk departs for Cuba with first of 67-foot medium-range missiles, 264 Soviet soldiers. |
| August 30—U.S. U-2 plane strays into Soviet air space. |
| August 31—Speaking on Senate floor, New York's Kenneth Keating claims to have evidence of nuclear missiles in Cuba. |
| September 2—Senators George Smathers, Homer Capehart, Strom Thurmond jointly call for action to halt Soviet buildup in Cuba. |
| September 4—JFK issues statement threatening grave consequences if Soviet Union puts offensive weapons in Cuba. |
| September 6—Khrushchev hosts Stewart Udall at Petsunda retreat, warns United States cannot dominate Soviet Union. |
| September 7—Kennedy asks Congress for authorization to call up 15,000 reservists. |
| September 8—Communist China shoots down U-2 plane over mainland. |
| September 12—TASS calls for end to U.S. provocation over Soviet deployments in Cuba. |
| September 13—In televised news conference, Kennedy states he does not believe Soviet personnel in Cuba represent threat; nevertheless, he repeats warning about offensive weapons. |
| September 15—First medium-range missiles reach island. |
| September 17—Khrushchev gives troops traveling on freighters permission to fire anti-aircraft guns; McGeorge Bundy tells senators only 2,700 Soviet "technicians" in Cuba. |
| September 20—U.S. Senate passes resolution authorizing use of force against Cuban aggression. |
| September 28—U.S. reconnaissance spots crates holding nearly obsolete, unassembled IL-28 bombers on Soviet ships bound for Cuba. |
| October 1—Cuban newspapers report Cubans will not bow to U.S. intimidation. |
| October 3—CIA Director John McCone, who believes nuclear missiles may be in Cuba, criticizes handling of Cuba by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Congress passes joint resolution authorizing use of military force if offensive weapons in Cuba become threat to United States. |
| October 4—First Soviet nuclear warheads reach Cuba. |
| October 8—In House testimony Undersecretary of State George Ball confirms Soviet shipment of surface-to-air missiles to Cuba. |
| October 10—Keating alleges six medium-range missile sites in Cuba. |
| October 14—A U-2 flight over Cuba captures incriminating evidence on film. A Gallup Poll shows most Americans oppose military action against Cuba. |
| October 15—Photo analysts examine film, recognize signs of medium-range missile launch sites under construction. |
| October 16—JFK learns about missiles in Cuba, assembles key advisers in Ex Comm. He orders stepped-up reconnaissance of island. Ex Comm considers surgical airstrike to destroy missiles; air attack on missiles, other Cuban targets; air attacks tied to invasion; naval blockade of Cuba. Joint chiefs put pressure behind broad air attacks. |
| October 17—Military leaders bolster air defenses in southeastern United States. Soviet commander in Cuba, Issa Pliyev, becomes aware of increased U.S. overflights, suspects United States knows about missiles. |
| October 18—Reconnaissance update reveals existence of launch sites for intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Joint Chiefs of Staff recommend air strikes on missiles, other Cuban sites. JFK meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who dishonestly offers assurances Soviet arms in Cuba are purely defensive. Kennedy reads September 4 statement aloud. |
| October 19—Ex Comm establishes separate working groups to explore details of air strike or blockade. Within hours, blockade becomes favored option. Air Force General Curtis LeMay compares possible blockade to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement in 1938 Munich meeting with Adolf Hitler. |
| October 20—Eight Soviet missiles become operational in Cuba. Most Ex Comm members support naval blockade; JFK affirms that decision. Navy alerts Guantanamo to prepare to evacuate civilians. Chinese troops attack Indian troops along shared border. |
| October 21—Commander of Tactical Air Command tells JFK destruction of all missiles unlikely in air strike. JFK calls publishers of New York Times, Washington Post, asks that they withhold articles on crisis until he addresses nation. McNamara approves military's plans for blockade. |
| October 22—Military dependents leave Guantanamo. Strategic Air Command (SAC) puts more B-52s in air. JFK briefs former presidents and current leaders of Congress, who urge stronger action. Kennedy delivers nationally televised address. U.S. military raises alert level to Defense Condition, or DEFCON, 3. Khrushchev braces for military action. Castro announces island-wide mobilization. |
| October 23—Khrushchev responds with alarm to JFK's speech. At UN, Adlai Stevenson calls Cuba "accomplice" in Communist drive for world domination. Cuban ambassador Mario Garcia-Inchaustegui describes quarantine as "act of war," while Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin denies missiles in Cuba. |
| October 24—When quarantine takes effect, most large Soviet ships headed toward Cuba slow, stop, or reverse course. SAC raises alert status to DEFCON 2, just one step away from all-out war. Soviet tanker, Bucharest, crosses blockade line without challenge. |
| October 25—Khrushchev welcomes Acting UN Secretary General U Thant's proposal for temporary halt in arms shipments to Cuba, simultaneous suspension of U.S. quarantine line. Stevenson, Zorin engage in verbal warfare at UN. |
| October 26—Only ship to be stopped by quarantine line is Lebanese freighter, Marucla, which carries no weapons. Khrushchev seeks U.S. promise not to invade Cuba. Fearing imminent U.S. invasion, Castro appeals to Khrushchev in letter apparently endorsing nuclear attack on United States. Castro orders attacks on U.S. aircraft over Cuba. |
| October 27—Six missile sites reported operational. Khrushchev letter places new demand on United States—removal of missiles from Turkey. Soviets down U-2 plane over Cuba. U.S. plane mistakenly strays into Soviet air space, raising fears. JFK decides to offer Khrushchev public no-invasion pledge, private promise to remove missiles from Turkey, Italy. Robert Kennedy delivers deal to Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin. JFK, Rusk pursue fallback plan, requiring UN assistance. |
| October 28—Khrushchev broadcasts a letter to Kennedy. In it, he agrees to withdraw missiles. Castro, who was not consulted, reacts angrily. In United States, sense of relief enwraps nation. |
| October 29—Under pressure from Khrushchev to spell out details of his promise to remove missiles from Turkey, JFK refuses to put anything on paper. |
| October 30—U Thant travels to Havana to work out UN inspection procedures for missile sites, but Castro refuses any inspection of missile removal. |
| October 31—President Kennedy orders renewal of low-level reconnaissance flights to monitor missile removal. |
| November 5—First ship leaves Cuba carrying missiles back to Soviet Union. |
| November 20—Khrushchev agrees to weeks-old U.S. request that IL-28 bombers be withdrawn as well as missiles. |
1963 |
| January 7—Adlai Stevenson, Vasily Kuznetsov send U Thant message that Cuban crisis no longer requires United Nations input. |
| February 6—McNamara shows 400 aerial photographs in news briefing to prove presence of missiles in October, absence of missiles now. |
| June 10—JFK delivers speech at American University, seeking to end demonization of Soviet Union and to promote belief that two superpowers can coexist peacefully. |
| October 7—President Kennedy sign limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with Soviet Union, United Kingdom. |
| November 22—Sniper fire in Dallas kills Kennedy. Police quickly arrest Lee Harvey Oswald, who lived in Soviet Union for three years and has history of crusading on Cuba's behalf. Jack Ruby slays Oswald two days later. As conspiracy theories emerge about JFK's assassination, much speculation focuses on pro-Castro, anti-Castro Cubans. |
1964 |
| October 15—Khrushchev ousted. Perceived defeat in missile crisis is one chink in armor that once protected his position. |