October 16, 1962 – October 28, 1962
A 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles in Cuba brings the world closest to nuclear war.
The US Air Force sprays herbicides, including dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange, over large areas of South Vietnam, with lasting health and environmental effects.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first human in space.
CIA-backed Cuban exiles land at the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro but are defeated within days.
A smaller Viet Cong force repels an attack by South Vietnamese troops with US advisers near Mỹ Tho.
Valentina Tereshkova flies into orbit aboard Vostok 6, becoming the first woman in space.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.