History glossary
Cuban Missile Crisis
the 1962 confrontation over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba that brought the world close to nuclear war.
- Category
- Cold War crisis
- Region
- Cuba, United States, Soviet Union
- Date range
- October 1962
What it means
The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted thirteen days in October 1962. The United States discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba, leading to a naval quarantine, secret diplomacy, and a settlement that removed Soviet missiles from Cuba and later American missiles from Turkey.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
The Soviets
From revolution to superpower, the Soviet Union rose, struggled internally, and collapsed in 1991.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
From the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba to the secret deal that ended the standoff, this story examines the most dangerous confrontation of the Cold War.
