An American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers is shot down over Soviet airspace, leading to his capture by the Soviet Union.
Rudolf Abel, a KGB spy, is arrested in the United States for espionage activities.
Negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union begin for the exchange of prisoners Rudolf Abel and Francis Gary Powers.
The U.S. and USSR conduct a prisoner exchange at the Glienicke Bridge, with Rudolf Abel exchanged for Francis Gary Powers and American student Frederic Pryor.