President John F. Kennedy played a crucial role in the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, a pivotal moment in Cold War history. The crisis began when the United States discovered Soviet missile installations in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida, which posed a direct threat to U.S. national security. Kennedy's leadership involved crucial diplomatic negotiations and the establishment of a naval blockade around Cuba, known as a "quarantine." He ultimately opted for negotiation over military action, which led to a withdrawal of Soviet missiles in exchange for a U.S. promise not to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey, helping to avert nuclear war.