Fidel castro biography timeline example

Fidel Castro (August 13, 1926–November 25, 2016) took control of Cuba by force in 1959 and remained its dictatorial leader for nearly five decades. As the leader of the only communist country in the Western Hemisphere, Castro was long the focus of international controversy.

Early Life

Fidel Castro was born Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz on August 13, 1926 (some sources say 1927) near his father's farm, Birán, in southeast Cuba in what was then the Oriente Province. Castro's father Ángel Maria Bautista Castro y Argiz came to Cuba from Spain to fight in the Spanish American War and stayed. Ángel Castro prospered as a sugarcane farmer, eventually owning 26,000 acres. Fidel was the third of seven children born to Lina Ruz González, who worked for Ángel Castro as a maid and cook. At the time, the elder Castro was married to Maria Luisa Argota, but that marriage eventually ended and then Ángel and Lina married. Fidel's full siblings were Ramon, Raúl, Angela, Juanita, Emma, and Agustina.

Fidel spent his youngest years on his father's farm, and at the age of 6 he began school at Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba, transferring to the Colegio de Belén, an exclusive Jesuit high school in Havan

Leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008

"El Comandante" redirects here. For the TV series, see El Comandante (TV series). For other uses, see Fidel Castro (disambiguation).

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (KASS-troh;Latin American Spanish:[fiˈðelaleˈxandɾoˈkastɾoˈrus]; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-partycommunist state; industry and business were nationalized, and socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.

Born in Birán, the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana. After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned the overthrow of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista, launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. After a year's imprisonment, Castro travelled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement, with his brother, Raúl Castro, and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces from the Sierra Maestra. After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's prime minister. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination, economic embargo, and counter-revolution, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. Countering these threats, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, resulting in

Lead-Up to the Cuban Revolution

After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. military directly administered the island until 1902, when Cuba became a republic, with sugar as its main commercial export. After a financial crisis and persistent governmental corruption, Gerardo Machado was elected as Cuba’s president in 1925, pledging reform. Instead, Machado became Cuba’s first dictatorial ruler, until he was ousted in 1933 after a revolt led by Fulgencio Batista, a rising star in the Cuban military.

Various presidents came and went over the next two decades, but Batista remained a constant force. He served as president himself from 1940-44, and ran for a second term in 1952. Facing defeat, he overthrew the government in a bloodless coup and canceled the elections.

Fidel Castro and the 26th of July Movement

Castro, a young lawyer and activist, had been running for Congress as part of the Cuban People’s Party before Batista seized power. Seeking to arm a revolutionary opposition to the Batista regime, he led a raid against the Moncada army barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953. Most of the group was killed; Castro and his younger brother, Raúl, escaped but were later arrested and imprisoned.

Fidel Castro’s trial and imprisonment served to build his reputation as a revolutionary leader. After Batista yielded to international pressure and granted amnesty to many political prisoners in 1955, Castro headed to Mexico, where he began organizing Cuban exiles into a movement named for the date of the failed Moncada attack.

The Cuban Revolution Begins

In November 1956, 82 men representing the 26th of July Movement sailed from Mexico aboard the Granma, a small yacht. Batista’s forces learned of the attack ahead of time, and ambushed the revolutionaries shortly after they landed in a remote area of eastern Cuba on December 2, 1956. Though most of the group was killed, around 20 of them escaped, including Fidel and Ra

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz(audio) (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016) was a Cubanrevolutionary and politician. He was Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and President from 1976 to 2008. He temporarily gave power to his brother Raúl Castro while recovering from surgery in the summer of 2006. On February 19, 2008, he announced that he would not return to power. He was in power for 49 years.

Early life

Castro was born in Birán, Cuba on August 13, 1926. He received a doctorate of law from the University of Havana. He was trained as a military lawyer. He came to power after he and his guerrilla soldiers overthrew the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista.

Political Career

Castro was a communist and he made Cuba the first socialist country of the Americas. During the Cold War he was a friend of the Soviet Union, and he depended on their help until the USSR collapsed. An important moment of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. In October 1962 the United States of America discovered that the Soviet Union was placing missiles on Cuba, close to the United States. After very tense talking, a big nuclear war was avoided between the Soviet Union and the USA.

Some people call Castro a dictator. They criticize him, because they think he has ignored some human rights, for example, torture, murder and oppression of freedom of speech, both at home and in African countries where he sent Cubansoldiers to spread Communism. Other people do not think this is true. For example, Nelson Mandela has spoken in support of Castro and has thanked him for aid to Africa.Amnesty International criticized Cuba's human rights record but noted slow progress in July 2002. Supporters of Castro say he gave Cuba the