Fidel Castro: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Sep. 21, 2026

Also Known As	Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz
Born	August 13, 1926 • Cuba
Died	November 25, 2016 (aged 90) • Cuba
Title / Office	president (1976-2008), Cuba • prime minister (1959-1976), Cuba
Founder	26th of July Movement
Political Affiliation	Communist Party of Cuba
Notable Family Members	brother Raúl Castro
Role In	Bay of Pigs invasion • Cuban Revolution • Cuban missile crisis

It is estimated that the CIA attempted to assassinate Castro 638 times while he was president of Cuba.
Arguing that it affected the sugar harvest, Fidel Castro eliminated Christmas as a federal holiday in 1969.
At the Jesuit school he attended, Castro was snubbed by the other boys because he was not as wealthy as them.
Castro publicly professed himself to be a Marxist-Leninist only at the end of 1961.