Category 1: People & Leaders
Who was the U.S. president during the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis?
John F. Kennedy
On what date did the Bay of Pigs invasion begin?
17 April 1961
What was the main goal of the Bay of Pigs invasion?
To overthrow Fidel Castro's government in Cuba.
How many days did the Cuban Missile Crisis last at its most intense stage?
13 days.
In which country did both the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis take place?
Cuba.
Who was the Cuban revolutionary leader targeted by the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Fidel Castro
On what date did a U.S. U-2 spy plane photograph Soviet missile sites in Cuba?
14 October 1962
What did the United States use to discover the Soviet missile sites in Cuba?
U-2 spy planes taking aerial photographs.
Approximately how far is Cuba from Florida?
About 90 miles, or 145 kilometres.
What is the capital city of Cuba?
Havana.
Who was the Soviet leader who placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962?
Nikita Khrushchev
On what date did Kennedy announce the naval quarantine of Cuba?
22 October 1962
What did Kennedy call the action of stopping ships carrying military equipment to Cuba?
A naval quarantine.
Approximately how many Cuban exiles took part in the Bay of Pigs invasion?
Around 1,400.
What was the name of the bay where the 1961 invasion took place?
The Bay of Pigs, also known as Bahía de Cochinos.
Which U.S. intelligence agency helped plan the Bay of Pigs invasion?
The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
On what date did Khrushchev agree to remove Soviet missiles from Cuba?
28 October 1962
What did the Soviet Union agree to do to end the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Remove its nuclear missiles from Cuba.
What was the highest U.S. military alert level reached during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
DEFCON 2.
What was the name of the group of advisers Kennedy used during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
ExComm, the Executive Committee of the National Security Council.
Who was John F. Kennedy's brother who helped negotiate during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Robert F. Kennedy
On what date did the United States end its naval quarantine of Cuba?
20 November 1962
What direct communication system was established between Washington and Moscow after the crisis?
The Moscow–Washington Hotline.
How many years apart were the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis?
About one and a half years, from April 1961 to October 1962.
Complete this famous statement by Kennedy: “We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ____ in our mouths.”
“Ashes.”