The Ultimate Timeline

1962: the world came very close to nuclear disaster.

In response to Khrushchev’s message of 26 October, Kennedy wrote to Khrushchev confirming the deal:

1. the Soviet Union would remove weapons from Cuba (under UN supervision).

2. The US would lift the quarantine and promise not to invade Cuba.

There was no mention in the letter about the US removing missiles from Turkey but this was agreed behind closed doors.

The Cuban Missile Crisis looked to be coming to a close. However, tension escalated further when an American U-2 reconnaissance plane was shot down by a self-defence missile launched from Cuba, killing the pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson.

On the same day - and this information did not transpire until long after the crisis had ended - a Soviet submarine was hit by a small depth charge caused by an American navy vessel trying to signal for it to come up to the surface. The Russian commanders inside the submarine - too deep to communicate with the surface - mistakenly thought war had begun and prepared to launch a nuclear torpedo. However, Vasili Arkhipov, one of the crew on board the Soviet submarine, vetoed the decision to launch, ultimately saving the world from nuclear warfare.

1962: In a letter to Kennedy, Khrushchev made a proposal: the Soviet Union would agree to remove the missiles from Cuba in exchange for the US promising not to invade Cuba and removing missiles in Turkey (within range of the Soviet Union).

Find out tomorrow how the world came extremely close to nuclear war.

1962: US Ambassador Adlai Stevenson gave an anxious address to the United Nations Security Council regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis.

More tomorrow.

1962: the Cuban Missile Crisis continued. Despite heated correspondence between Khrushchev and Kennedy, Soviet ships neared the US blockade line but did not cross it.

More to follow tomorrow.



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1962: the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated. Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, in heated written correspondence to Kennedy, viewed his policy of a naval blockade on all shipments to Cuba as an act of aggression.

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On 1962, President John F. Kennedy revealed to the media that the Soviet Union had arranged for the secret deployment of nuclear weapons in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis was made public. The dangers of the Cold War suddenly seemed real.

When the US government had come to know about this initially, emergency meetings were called, during which military advisors recommended a full scale invasion and strikes on Cuban missile sites. However, Kennedy ended up taking a more careful approach: he announced that the US navy would intercept all shipments to Cuba. Though a more measured approach than a full-scale military invasion, it was not without its risks and a naval blockade was technically an act of war. In an attempt to somewhat soften the action, Kennedy called the policy a “quarantine” rather than a “blockade”.

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1966 was the Aberfan disaster in Wales.

116 children and 28 adults died.

Here is a video summary of the tragedy.

Aberfan remembered: Disaster in the Welsh valleys - BBC News At quarter past nine this morning - 50 years to the moment - silence fell over Aberfan, as the village remembered the disaster that claimed the lives of 116 ...

1803: The US Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

Napoleon was eager to sell the French Louisiana territory in North America. His motives to sell may have been that France desperately needed the money to fund the wars against the slaves revolting in Saint-Domingue and potential British retaliation in Europe. President Jefferson bought the Louisiana territory for 15 million US dollars.

The purchased territory included a significant portion of land west of the colonies and make up at least 15 of today’s States of the US. The size of the United States practically doubled as a result.

Growing numbers of people would migrate to the Mississippi River Valley after the purchase. Some went in search of land and work. Others relocated for social, religious and personal freedoms. Enslaved Africans were brought by force to work in southern cotton plantations, affecting the delicate balance between the slave States.



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Image by Ingi Finnsson from Pixabay

The Ultimate Marriage Alliance: 1469: King Ferdinand II of the Kingdom of Aragon married Queen Isabella I of the Kingdom of Castile, uniting the leading Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula.

They would be referred to as the Catholic Monarchs. By the mid 13th century, the Emirate of Granada had become the last remaining portion of the peninsula that was Muslim-ruled. All other territories had been reclaimed at some point by Christian forces as part of the Reconquista. By the 15th century, the most prominent among all of the separate Christian kingdoms that made up old Hispania were Castile (occupying the northern and central parts of the Iberian Peninsula), Aragon (making up the north-eastern territories) and the Kingdom of Portugal (the far western part). With Aragon and Castile united by marriage, the Catholic Monarchs now set their sights on conquering Granada. Soon all of Spain would be united.

In the Spring of 1492, in what is known as the “Capitulations of Santa Fe”, Christopher Columbus began negotiating with the Catholic Monarchs the conditions of a Spanish-sponsored voyage to Asia by sailing west from Europe (his and his brother’s proposal had been rejected by other European monarchs having previously approached them for sponsorship). In the terms of the Capitulations, it was stated that, upon his return, Columbus would tell the Catholic Monarchs - and only the monarchs - what happened during the voyage. Also, Columbus would receive 10% of all revenue generated from the new lands he could claim for the Spanish crown.



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Image of Valladolid by Juan José Berhó from Pixabay

1748: The War of the Austrian Succession came to an end with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The war started in 1740 when Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI died, leading to a succession crisis in Europe. His daughter Maria Theresa succeeded the Habsburg crown, which sparked controversy due to questions around the legitimacy of royal inheritance by a woman.

Questioning the legitimacy issue, and sensing an opportunity to increase Prussia’s power, King Frederick II invaded the Austrian province of Silesia.

This triggered a full-scale European war between Prussia (allied with France, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony and other states) and the Habsburgs (allied with Great Britain, the Netherlands and Russia among others).

This and more in the Ultimate Timeline book. Available as an e-book or in paperback on Amazon! amzn.to/3hABlRa



Image by Ingi Finnsson from Pixabay

Today is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty:
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International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2021 | Poverty Eradication The COVID-19 pandemic that gripped the world during the past year has resulted in over 3.7 million deaths and is reversing decades of progress in the fight against poverty and extreme poverty. According to the World Bank report on “Projected poverty impacts of COVID-19, ”between 71 to 100 millio...

1968: Black American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, stood on the winner’s podium at the Olympic Games in Mexico, bare-footed, head down and gloved hands raised in protest against the oppression of African Americans back home.

An iconic moment in the civil rights movement, more can be found here: bit.ly/3DwmIXA

Black Power, A Forgotten Ally and the Olympic Games One of the most recognisable images of the 20th Century is the image of Tommie Smith and John Carlos on the first and third steps of the podium, with