October 27

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
New York City subway opens, 1904
American Revolution
King George III speaks to Parliament of American rebellion, 1775
Automotive
Chick-fil-A founder takes last Ford Taurus, 2006
Civil War
Yankees are turned back at the Battle of Hatcher's Run, 1864
Cold War
The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war, 1962
Crime
Mafia boss John Gotti is born, 1940
Disaster
Avalanche buries homes in Iceland, 1995
General Interest
Quakers executed for religious beliefs, 1659
Teddy Roosevelt born, 1858
Dylan Thomas born, 1914
U.S. prison population exceeds one million, 1994
Hollywood
Actress Ruby Dee born, 1924
Literary
Sylvia Plath is born, 1932
Music
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber release Jesus Christ Superstar, 1970
Old West
Joseph Glidden applies for a patent on his barbed wire design, 1873
Presidential
Theodore Roosevelt is born, 1858
Sports
Red Sox win first championship since 1918, 2004
Vietnam War
Ambassador Harriman sent to explain Manila offer, 1966
Cambodian troops battle Communists north of Phnom Penh, 1971
World War I
German general Erich Ludendorff resigns , 1918
World War II
De Gaulle sets up the Empire Defense Council, 1940

Cold War

Oct 27, 1962:

The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war

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Complicated and tension-filled negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union finally result in a plan to end the two-week-old Cuban Missile Crisis. A frightening period in which nuclear holocaust seemed imminent began to come to an end.

Since President John F. Kennedy's October 22 address warning the Soviets to cease their reckless program to put nuclear weapons in Cuba and announcing a naval "quarantine" against additional weapons shipments into Cuba, the world held its breath waiting to see whether the two superpowers would come to blows. U.S. armed forces went on alert and the Strategic Air Command went to a Stage 4 alert (one step away from nuclear attack). On October 24, millions waited to see whether Soviet ships bound for Cuba carrying additional missiles would try to break the U.S. naval blockade around the island. At the last minute, the vessels turned around and returned to the Soviet Union.

On October 26, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev responded to the quarantine by sending a long and rather disjointed letter to Kennedy offering a deal: Soviet ships bound for Cuba would "not carry any kind of armaments" if the United States vowed never to invade Cuba. He pleaded, "let us show good sense," and appealed to Kennedy to "weigh well what the aggressive, piratical actions, which you have declared the U.S.A. intends to carry out in international waters, would lead to." He followed this with another letter the next day offering to remove the missiles from Cuba if the United States would remove its nuclear missiles from Turkey.

Kennedy and his officials debated the proper U.S. response to these offers. Attorney General Robert Kennedy ultimately devised an acceptable plan: take up Khrushchev's first offer and ignore the second letter. Although the United States had been considering the removal of the missiles from Turkey for some time, agreeing to the Soviet demand for their removal might give the appearance of weakness. Nevertheless, behind the scenes, Russian diplomats were informed that the missiles in Turkey would be removed after the Soviet missiles in Cuba were taken away. This information was accompanied by a threat: If the Cuban missiles were not removed in two days, the United States would resort to military action. It was now Khrushchev's turn to consider an offer to end the standoff.

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This Week in History, Oct 27 - Nov 2

Oct 27, 1962
The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war
Oct 28, 1962
The Cuban Missile Crisis comes to an end
Oct 29, 1956
Israel invades Egypt; Suez Crisis begins
Oct 30, 1953
Eisenhower approves NSC 162/2
Oct 31, 1956
British and French troops land in Suez Canal zone
Nov 01, 1952
United States tests first hydrogen bomb
Nov 02, 1963
Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated in South Vietnam

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