Editing 1962 (section)

===October===
{{Main|October 1962}}
* October 1 &ndash; In the United States:
** The first black student, [[James Meredith]], registers at the [[University of Mississippi]], escorted by Federal Marshals to protect him from official obstruction and violent segregationalist protest, the "[[Ole Miss riot of 1962]]".
** [[Johnny Carson]] takes over as permanent host of [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' on television, a post he will hold for 30 years.
* [[October 3]] &ndash; [[Project Mercury]]: [[Mercury-Atlas 8]] &ndash; U.S. astronaut [[Walter Schirra]] orbits the [[Earth]] six times, in the ''Sigma 7'' [[space capsule]].
* [[October 5]]
** The [[French National Assembly]] censures the proposed referendum to sanction presidential elections by popular mandate; Prime Minister [[Georges Pompidou]] resigns, but [[Charles de Gaulle|President de Gaulle]] asks him to stay in office.
** [[The Beatles]]' first [[Single (music)|single]] in their own right, "[[Love Me Do]]"/"[[P.S. I Love You (Beatles song)|P.S. I Love You]]", is released in the U.K. on [[EMI]]'s [[Parlophone]] label.<ref>''[[New Musical Express]]'' September 21, 1962.</ref> This version was recorded on September 4, at [[Abbey Road Studios]] in [[London]], with [[Ringo Starr]] as drummer.
** ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'', the first [[James Bond in film|James Bond film]], premieres at the [[London Pavilion]], featuring [[Sean Connery]] as the hero.
* [[October 8]]
** [[Spiegel affair|''Spiegel'' affair]]: German magazine ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' publishes an article revealing NATO criticism of the ''[[Bundeswehr]]'' (West German defence forces)' poor preparedness; a political scandal erupts.
** [[Algeria]] is accepted into the [[United Nations]].
* [[October 9]] &ndash; Uganda becomes independent of the U.K. within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].
* [[October 11]] &ndash; [[Second Vatican Council]]: [[Pope John XXIII]] convenes the first [[ecumenical council]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] in 92 years.
[[File:Cuban missiles.jpg|thumb|200px| [[October 14]] – Pictures of Soviet missile silos in Cuba, taken by U.S. spy planes]]
* [[October 16]] &ndash; [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] begins when [[John F. Kennedy|U.S. President Kennedy]] is told of photographs (taken from [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] flights) showing Soviet [[nuclear weapon]] installations being constructed on Cuba in the [[Caribbean]]. A stand-off ensues for 12 days between the United States and the [[Soviet Union]], threatening the world with [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear war]].
* [[October 20]] &ndash; The [[Sino-Indian War]], a border dispute involving two of the world's largest nations (India and the People's Republic of China), erupts into fighting.
* [[October 22]]
** Cuban Missile Crisis: In a televised address, U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba and the U.S. naval blockade of the island.
** [[John Vassall]], a former clerical officer in British naval intelligence, is sentenced to 18 years imprisonment after admitting to passing secret material to the Soviet Union.<ref>{{ODNBweb|last=Martland|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Martland|title=Vassall [''later'' Phillips], (William) John Christopher (1924–1996)|year=2004|edition=online|id=64068}}</ref>
* [[October 24]] &ndash; Cuban Missile Crisis: The first confrontation occurs between the U.S. Navy and a Soviet cargo vessel; the vessel changes course.
* [[October 26]] &ndash; [[Spiegel affair|''Spiegel'' affair]]: German police occupy the offices of ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' in [[Hamburg]].
* [[October 27]] &ndash; Cuban Missile Crisis: [[Vasily Arkhipov]], executive officer of [[Soviet submarine B-59|Soviet submarine ''B-59'']], refuses to launch nuclear torpedoes against the U.S. Navy. This event is widely regarded as crucial in averting a worldwide nuclear war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Story of the Soviet Submarine Officer Who Saved the World Is Now an Opera |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-story-of-the-soviet-submarine-officer-who-saved-the-world-is-now-an-opera/ |access-date=2022-09-30 |website=Vice.com |date=2022-09-23|language=en}}</ref>
* [[October 28]]
** Cuban Missile Crisis ends: Soviet Union leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] announces that he has ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. In a secret deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev, Kennedy agrees to the withdrawal of U.S. missiles from Turkey. The fact that this deal is not made public makes it look as though the Soviets have backed down.{{dubious|date=April 2012}}
** A referendum in France favors the election of the president by universal suffrage.
* [[October 31]] &ndash; The [[United Nations General Assembly]] asks the United Kingdom to suspend enforcement of the new constitution in Southern Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe), but it comes into effect on [[November 1]].