"13 Days of Tension: Cuban Missile Crisis"

1960: Fidel Castro becomes the Prime Minister of Cuba.

1961: The United States invades Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Castro in what is known as the Bay of Pigs invasion.

1962, May: Soviet Union begins secretly installing missiles in Cuba.

1962, October 14: US U-2 spy planes discover the missile sites in Cuba.

1962, October 22: President John F. Kennedy addresses the nation, announcing the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba and imposing a naval blockade on the island.

1962, October 24: Soviet ships carrying missiles approach the US naval blockade, increasing tensions between the two superpowers

1962, October 25-26: Soviet ships stop just short of the US naval blockade and turn back, avoiding a confrontation.

1962, October 26: Soviet Union agrees to remove missiles from Cuba in exchange for a US pledge not to invade Cuba and to remove US missiles from Turkey.

1962, November 20: Soviet ships begin removing missiles from Cuba.

1963, February: US removes missiles from Turkey.

1963, August: The United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which bans nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space.