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Day 1
U2 planes fly a spyplane over Cuba to takes photos of the missiles. Before the plane flies over Cuba Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev asked the Cuban President Fidel Castro if he could put the missiles there. -
Period: to
The 13 Days
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Day 2
The photos taken showed evidence of long-range missiles in cube. More photos of the missile sites show that Cuba also has missiles from the Soviets. The missiles sent to vibe from the Soviets are capable of traveling 2,200 miles. -
Day 3
Kennedy meets with Soviet Minister Andrei Gromyko, but does not mention the missiles. Gromyko tells Kennedy that the only help the Soviet Union is giving to Cuba is assistance with growing crops and missiles that are only for defense. -
Day 4
Ex-Comm meets and discusses sending U.S. ships to Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from reaching the island. They are careful to call it a quarantine because a blockade would be an act of war. -
Day 5
Kennedy gives Ex-Comm's recommendation to the president.
After meeting all day and the previous day, Kennedy tells the president that Ex-Comm recommends a quarantine. President Kennedy was in Chicago, but lies about having a cold so that he can return to Washington to deal with the crisis. -
Day 6
Ted Sorenson writes one of the most important speeches President Kennedy will ever give.
Attorney and advisor to the president, Ted Sorenson, writes the speech that Kennedy will give to the nation about the crisis. Informing Americans that the Soviets have missiles in Cuba that are pointed at the U.S. And this will be an important moment in American history. -
Day 7
President Kennedy gives a televised speech to the nation that is carried from stations across the country to inform Americans that missiles have been discovered in Cuba. He tells Americans that he has ordered a Navy quarantine around Cuba and orders the Soviets to remove the missiles. -
Day 8
The Soviet ships on their way to Cuba and are stopped but the U.S. Khrushchev orders Soviet ships on their way to Cuba to stop in the Atlantic about 750 miles away. This prevents a confrontation with U.S. ships that are around Cuba, although Soviet submarines trailed behind the U.S. ships as they moved into place. -
Day 9
Khrushchev refuses to remove the missiles from Cuba. Saying that the U.S. will not intimidate the Soviets. He also accuses Kennedy of putting the world at risk of a nuclear war by ordering the quarantine. -
Day 10
Making no progress with his communications with Khrushchev, President Kennedy orders flights over Cuba to be increased from once to twice per day. Pilots also prepare to begin night flights as the U.S. monitors the Cuban missiles. -
Day 11
The U.S. begins discussions about invading Cuba and being concerned that the Soviets may not remove the missiles from Cuba. Doing this would most likely result in war. -
Day 12
Charles Maultsby, an American pilot, gets lost flying a mission to Alaska and ends up in Soviet airspace. An American jet rescues him and leads him back to the U.S. before the Soviets can shoot the plane down. On that same day Khrushchev says that he will remove the missiles from Cuba if Kennedy promises not to invade Cuba, Kennedy agrees to the proposal. -
Day 13
Khrushchev says that he has agreed to Kennedy's arrangement. The missiles will be removed, Cuba will not be invaded, and the crisis comes to an end.
