Born: 13 August 1926 · Died: 25 November 2016 · Age at death: 90
How old was Fidel Castro when he died?
Fidel Castro died aged 90. He was born on 13 August 1926 and died on 25 November 2016.
Cuban revolutionary who overthrew Batista in 1959 and ruled Cuba as a communist state for nearly half a century
Did you know?He currently holds the record for the longest speech ever delivered at the United Nations, which lasted over four hours.
Quick facts
Date of birth13 August 1926
Date of death25 November 2016
Age at death90
NationalityCuban
BirthplaceBirán, Cuba
Occupationpolitician, lawyer, partisan
Editor's Take:
Castro is one of the most divisive leaders of the twentieth century. After overthrowing the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, he turned Cuba into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, just ninety miles from the United States. He survived the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis and, by many accounts, hundreds of assassination plots. Supporters praise the expansion of free healthcare and education and his defiance of a powerful neighbour. Critics point to political prisoners, censorship and the hundreds of thousands of Cubans who fled into exile.
Key Milestones
1953: Leads the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks
1959: Takes power after the Cuban Revolution
1962: Allies with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis
2008: Hands the presidency to his brother Raúl
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2011. He served as prime minister from 1959 to 1976, president from 1976 to 2008, and first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1965 until 2011.
