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Soviet launch Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik into low Earth orbit on October 4, 1957 in which it orbited for around three weeks. The Sputnik 1 was the the first artificial Earth satellite and was a huge accomplishment considering the tense space race against America. -
Fidel Castro's gain of power
After the Cuban Revolution, Cuban leader Fidel Castro established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. -
Summit in Vienna
On June 3-4, 1961, the Vienna Summit meeting was held in Vienna, Austria between President John F. Kennedy of the United States and Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union. The high hopes of the meeting were destroyed and new Cold War "games" arose. Within months after, Khrushchev built the Berlin Wall and sent missiles to Cuba to threaten America. -
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Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis
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Discovery of Cuban Missiles
A U-2 spy plane flying over Cuba discovered nuclear missile sites under construction. These missiles would have been capable of quickly reaching the United States and were the initial cause of President Kennedy meeting with senior officials to discuss about the missile crisis. -
JFK announces offensive missiles in Cuba
On this day, President John F. Kennedy announced the blockade of Cuba in response to the discovery of Soviet missiles that were being installed on the island on a televised speech to the nation. -
Military forces go to DEFCON 2
From October 16-28, the U.S. Armed Forces were ordered to DEFCON 3 which was meant the increase in weapons readiness and it wasn't until October 24 when the Strategic Air Command (SAC) was ordered to DEFCON 2 which was highest ever and meant that the next step, DEFCON 1, was nuclear war. -
Kennedy sends a letter to Khrushchev
Knowing that the missiles in Cuba were functional and operational, the President personally drafted a letter to Premier Khrushchev urging him again to change the direction of his actions. -
Major Rudolph Anderson
On this day, Major Rudolph Anderson took part of missions flying over the top-secret area of Cuba and had confirmed the existence of operational Soviet missiles. After attempting another run, the U-2 plane was detected on Soviet radar and shortly after two surface-to-air missiles were shot up toward the sky killing Major Anderson. -
Removal of missiles from Cuba
On this day, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev issued a public statement announcing that the Soviet missiles would be dismantled and removed from Cuba. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for the U.S. to respect Cuba's territorial sovereignty thus ending the long lasting Cuban Missile Crisis. -
President Kennedy's Berlin Wall Speech
"Ich bin ein Berliner" or "I am a Berliner" was a speech given by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin regarding the support of the U.S. for West Germany after Soviet occupied East Germany. It is well-known as the best speech of the Cold War and the most famous anti-communist speeches.
