Ernest Hemingway in Havana Harbor after catching a marlin. Included in the picture are Carlos Gutiericz, Ernest Hemingway, and Sidney Franklin. Others are unidentified. July, 1934
From the Ernest Hemingway Collection of the John F. Kennedy Library
Author Ernest Hemingway’s novel The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitizer Prize for Fiction 60 years ago on May 4, 1953.
On April 17, 1961, 1400 Cuban exiles launched what became a botched invasion at the Bay of Pigs on the south coast of Cuba.
The Cuban-exile invasion force, known as Brigade 2506, landed at beaches along the Bay of Pigs and immediately came under heavy fire.
Cuban planes strafed the invaders, sank two escort ships, and destroyed half of the exile’s air support. Bad weather hampered the ground force, which had to work with soggy equipment and insufficient ammunition. Read More
The declassified Top Secret pages shown here are from the Cuba Security Folder, 1961. It contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy’s secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning Cuba. All 124 pages can be viewed in the digital archive from the JFK Library.
Photograph of the wreckage of the USS MAINE, 1898
From the Series: Court of Inquiry into the Sinking of the USS Maine, 02/1898 - 03/1898
This telegram from the Key West Naval Station forwards word from Charles S. Sigsbee, Captain of the Maine about the destruction of his ship in Havana harbor on the evening of February 15, 1898, a pivotal event leading up to the Spanish-American War. Read More about the legacy of the USS Maine at Prologue…
Closing February 3! To The Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis:
A look back at one of the most dangerous two weeks in modern history, this exhibit closes this weekend at the National Archives before moving on to the JFK Library in Boston.
Can’t make it to DC in time? Check out the “To the Brink” iPad App!
Missiles Missiles Missiles
Doodles Annotated with the Words Missiles, Missiles, Missiles, 10/25/1962
Series: John F. Kennedy Personal Papers: Doodles, 1952 - 11/22/1963
Notes scribbled by President John F. Kennedy during a Security Council meeting on October 25, 1962, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
(via DocsTeach)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
Pages 3 and 4 of Proclamation 3504, authorizing the naval quarantine of Cuba, signed 50 years ago today, October 23, 1962. See the other pages here.
(source: jfklibrary.org)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 23, 1962 — Day 8 of the Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy signs Proclamation 3504, authorizing the naval quarantine of Cuba. The four-page proclamation included this forceful statement in the second paragraph:
“The United States is determined to prevent by whatever means may be necessary, including the use of arms, the Marxist-Leninist regime in Cuba from extending, by force or the threat of force, its aggressive or subversive activities to any part of this hemisphere, and to prevent in Cuba the creation or use of an externally supported military capability endangering the security of the United States;”
Read the full text of Proclamation 3504 here.
(source: jfklibrary.org)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 22, 1962 — Day 7 of the Cuban Missile Crisis
At 7:00 p.m. President Kennedy makes a televised address, revealing the evidence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and calling for their removal. He also announces the establishment of a naval quarantine around the island until the Soviet Union agrees to dismantle the missile sites and to make certain that no additional missiles are shipped to Cuba. Near the conclusion of his speech, JFK says this:
“My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can see precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead—months in which our patience and our will will be tested—months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.”
Listen to JFK’s address and read the full transcript here. Watch a video of JFK’s address here.
(source: jfklibrary.org)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 22, 1962 — Day 7 of the Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy writes a letter to Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union, prior to addressing the American public on live television. In it, he writes:
“I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would, in this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor.”
See the rest of Kennedy’s letter to Khrushchev here.
(source: jfklibrary.org)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 18, 1962 — Day 3 of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Memorandum written by Ted Sorensen following an ExComm meeting in which President Kennedy and his advisers have narrowed their options regarding Cuba to only two: Blockade or invade.
(source: jfklibrary.org)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 17, 1962 — Day Two of the Cuban Missile Crisis
“To start or risk starting a nuclear war is bound to be divisive at best, and the judgments of history seldom coincide with the tempers of the moment…blackmail and intimidation NEVER, negotiation and sanity ALWAYS.” - US Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson in a confidential memo to President Kennedy re: Cuba, 10/17/62
See the second page of Stevenson’s declassified letter here
(source: jfklibrary.org)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 17, 1962 — Day Two: Maps of the Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy scribbled handwritten notes on the first map during early meetings on the Cuban Missile Crisis, marking each missile site with a black X. The second, more detailed map was used by senior military officials and political advisers to catalog the many pieces of Soviet military equipment already on Cuba, including helicopters, transports, and missiles of varying size and range capabilities.
(sources: jfklibrary.org, The Atlantic/Reuters)
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
October 16, 1962 - Day One of the Cuban Missile Crisis
A declassified map of the Western hemisphere showing the full range of the nuclear missiles under construction in Cuba, used during the secret meetings on the Cuban crisis.
(source: jfklibrary.org)
@JFK1962 Live-Tweets the Cuban Missile Crisis
Today marks the first day of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the most perilous moments in American history, and certainly the greatest test of John F. Kennedy’s presidency. To mark this momentous occasion, we will be tweeting archival documents, audio and video clips, and quotes from the Kennedy administration with our historical Twitter account, @JFK1962. Follow every crucial moment from the #13days here!
MRBM Field Launch Site San Cristobal No. 1 & 2, 14 October 1962
On October 14, 1962, United States military surveillance aircraft took hundreds of aerial photographs of Cuba, including these two. Working around the clock, CIA analysts would determine that the photos showed conclusive evidence that a Soviet missile base was under construction near San Cristobal, Cuba, just 90 miles from the coast of Florida. The most dangerous encounter in the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union had begun.
The National Archives’ latest exhibit: “To the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis” covers the 13 days when the world teetered on the brink of thermonuclear war.
