Vasily Arkhipov (vice admiral), Date of Birth, Date of Death

Vasily Arkhipov (vice admiral)

Soviet naval officer

Date of Birth: 30-Jan-1926

Date of Death: 19-Aug-1998

Profession: sailor, military personnel, submariner

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov (Russian: ??????? ????????????? ???????, IPA: [v?'s?il??j ?l??k'sandr?v??t? ar'xip??f], 30 January 1926 – 19 August 1998) was a Soviet Navy officer credited with preventing a Soviet nuclear strike (and, presumably, all-out nuclear war) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Such an attack likely would have caused a major global thermonuclear response.As flotilla commander and second-in-command of the diesel powered submarine B-59, Arkhipov refused to authorize the captain's use of nuclear torpedoes against the United States Navy, a decision requiring the agreement of all three senior officers aboard.
In 2002, Thomas Blanton, who was then director of the US National Security Archive, said that Arkhipov "saved the world".