Category Archives: Cold War

U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson dares Russian ambassador to deny existence of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 25 1962)

1960s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'CUBA - ROCKET PHOTO'S SHOWN TO UNITED NATIONS - SOUND'

(Thursday, October 25, 1962, evening EST; day ten of the Cuban missile crisis, part of the Cold War) — In a dramatic confrontation today before the United Nations Security Council in New York City, U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II demanded that Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin confirm or deny the existence of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba. Continue reading U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson dares Russian ambassador to deny existence of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 25 1962) →

‘The Manchurian Candidate’ opens in New York City 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 24 1962)

1960s, Cold War, Movies 1960s


Video: 'The Manchurian Candidate' trailer

(Wednesday, October 24, 1962; during the Cuban Missile Crisis, part of the Cold War) — The Manchurian Candidate, an American neo-noir psychological political thriller film about the son of a prominent, right-wing political family who has been brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international communist conspiracy, opened today at the Astor Theatre, 1537 Broadway in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Continue reading ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ opens in New York City 60 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 24 1962) →

U.S. Navy ‘quarantine’ against Soviet ships headed to Cuba goes into effect during Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 24 1962)

1960s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Killer Submarines Sneaking Through the Blockade | The Cuban Missile Crisis | Day 09'

(Wednesday, October 24, 1962, 10:00 a.m. EDT/7:00 p.m. in Moscow Standard Time; during the Cuban missile crisis, part of the Cold War) — The U.S. Navy “quarantine” against Soviet ships headed to Cuba as ordered by President John F. Kennedy went into effect this morning. Continue reading U.S. Navy ‘quarantine’ against Soviet ships headed to Cuba goes into effect during Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 24 1962) →

President John F. Kennedy reveals U.S. spy planes have been discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 22 1962)

1960s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Oval Office Address on the Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy - Oct. 22, 1962'

(Monday, October 22, 1962, 7:00 p.m. EDT; day seven of the Cuban missile crisis, part of the Cold War) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced tonight in a nationally broadcast address that “unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites” had been established in Cuba by the Soviet Union “to provide a nuclear strike capability against the Western Hemisphere.” Continue reading President John F. Kennedy reveals U.S. spy planes have been discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 22 1962) →

Cuban Missile Crisis begins as U.S. President John F. Kennedy is informed that reconnaissance photographs reveal the presence of nuclear missile bases in Cuba 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 16 1962)

1960s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Shall we wipe Cuba off the Map? | The Cuban Missile Crisis I Day 01' (October 16, 1962 at 0:23)

(Tuesday, October 16, 1962, 8:45 a.m. EDT; during the Cuban missile crisis, part of the Cold War) — The Cuban Missile Crisis, a confrontation between between the United States and the Soviet Union that is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war, began this morning when National Security Adviser McGeorge Bundy informed U.S. President John F. Kennedy that a U-2 mission flown over western Cuba two days before had taken photographs of (not yet operational) Soviet nuclear missile sites. Continue reading Cuban Missile Crisis begins as U.S. President John F. Kennedy is informed that reconnaissance photographs reveal the presence of nuclear missile bases in Cuba 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 16 1962) →

South Vietnamese forces recapture Quang Tri from North Vietnamese 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 15 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - Vietnamizing the War [7/11]' (Sept. 15, 1972, at 47:22)

(Friday, September 15, 1972, 5:00 p.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — South Vietnam’s Army of the Republic of Vietnam defeated the People’s Army of Vietnam today at the ancient citadel of Quang Tri, ending North Vietnam’s three-plus month occupation of South Vietnam’s northernmost provincial capital and the Second Battle of Quang Tri. Continue reading South Vietnamese forces recapture Quang Tri from North Vietnamese 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 15 1972) →

American Bobby Fischer dethrones Soviet champ Boris Spassky to give U.S. first world chess title 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 1 1972)

1970s, Cold War


Video: 'The moment when Bobby Fischer was declared the World Champion (1972)'

(Friday, September 1, 1972, 12:50 p.m. GMT; during the World Chess Championship 1972) — American Bobby Fischer single-handedly ended the 24-year Soviet Union’s winning streak in the world of chess today at the Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavík, Iceland, as he defeated defending world champ Boris Spassky, who resigned before the resumption of Game 21. Continue reading American Bobby Fischer dethrones Soviet champ Boris Spassky to give U.S. first world chess title 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Sep 1 1972) →

One million people demonstrate in New York City against nuclear arms race 40 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 12 1982)

1980s, Cold War


Video: ''March For Disarmament' Anti-Nuclear Rally video - New York City, June 12th 1982'

(Saturday, June 12, 1982, protesters were scheduled to converge in Central Park at 1:00 p.m. EDT for a program of speeches and music that ended at 7:00 p.m. EDT; during the Cold War) — In the largest political demonstration in American history, one million people gathered in New York City’s Central Park today to demonstrate against nuclear weapons and call for an end to the cold war arms race. Continue reading One million people demonstrate in New York City against nuclear arms race 40 years ago #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 12 1982) →

Iconic image of naked and severely burned Vietnamese girl fleeing napalm bombing captured 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 8 1972)

1970s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'The Harrowing Story of Napalm Girl'

(Thursday, June 8, 1972, shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — Associated Press photographer Nick Ut took a picture today of a screaming 9-year-old girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc, as she ran naked and severely burned on her back after a South Vietnamese Air Force jet dropped a napalm bomb onto the village of Trang Bàng, which had been attacked and occupied by North Vietnamese forces. Continue reading Iconic image of naked and severely burned Vietnamese girl fleeing napalm bombing captured 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 8 1972) →

U.S. President Richard Nixon asks Congress to approve missile pact with Soviet Union following dramatic return from Moscow 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 1 1972)

1970s, Cold War, U.S. Presidents, Vietnam War


Video: 'WATERGATE AFFAIR BBC DOKUMENTATION 1994' (June 1, 1972, at 49:13)

(Thursday June 1, 1972, 9:40 p.m. EDT, during the Cold War) — U.S. President Richard Nixon returned to Washington tonight from his two-week tour of four nations and told a joint session of Congress that his trip to Moscow had laid the basis for “a new relationship between the two most powerful nations on earth.” Continue reading U.S. President Richard Nixon asks Congress to approve missile pact with Soviet Union following dramatic return from Moscow 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 1 1972) →