The Cuban Missile Crisis

Tuesday, October 16 marked the 50^th anniversary of perhaps the most dangerous moment in modern history: the Cuban Missile Crisis. The world held its breath for 13 agonizing days between 16 and 28 October 1962, during which political and military manoeuvrings between the United States and the USSR edged the world closer than it’s ever been to a thermonuclear war, in which an estimated 200 million American and Soviet citizens would have perished.

The conflict was eventually diplomatically resolved following last-ditch secret exchanges between US President John F. Kennedy and USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev. However, though the all-out war demanded by some was avoided, the memory of the crisis still resonates today.

Click through the gallery to relive the events of one of the most dramatic incidents of the 20th century.