Russian naval officer who disregarded an order to fire nuclear tipped torpedoes after coming under attack from US submarines. If he had fired that torpedo, it would have likely meant disaster for most, if not all of the Northern Hemisphere. Firing would have almost assuredly led to a violent nuclear struggle, given the fact that we were at about a 33-50% chance at the height of the missile crisis (And this was supposedly Kennedy's greatest moment...), according to the Kennedy administration.