Half a century after the Cuban missile crisis, historians and average citizens are still examining the facts and considering lessons learned as the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear conflict.

On Sunday, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester commemorated those 13 days in October 1962 with a series of retrospective events that drew more than 300 visitors to hear historians, researchers, journalists, and descendents of world leaders reflect on the crisis.