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| 1926 | Birth |  |
| 13th Aug Biran Birth of Fidel Castro |
| 1947 | Partido Ortodoxos | |
| Santiago Castro joins the Partido Ortodoxos which had been newly formed by Eduardo Chib s |
| 1950 | Education | |
| Castro graduates from law school with a Doctor of Laws degree and began practicing law in a small partnership in Havana |
| 1952 | Coup d'Etat | |
| Fulgencio Batista leads a coup d'‚tat, successfully overthrowing the government of President Carlos Pr¡o Socarr s |
| 1953 | Arrest | |
| Castro is tried in the fall of 1953 & sentenced up to 15 yrs in prison |
| 1953 | Coup d'Etat | |
| Castro is tried in the fall of 1953 & sentenced up to 15 yrs in prison |
| 26th July Castro leads the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks, after which he is captured, tried, incarcerated & later released |
| 1953 | Trial | |
| Castro is tried in the fall of 1953 & sentenced up to 15 yrs in prison |
| 1955 | Arrest | |
| May Castro is released due to a general amnesty from Batista |
| 1955 | Exile of Castro Ruz | |
| May Once in Mexico, Castro reunites with other Cuban exiles & founds the 26th of July Movement, named after the date of the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks |
| 1956 | Coup d'Etat | |
| Dec Lands in Cuba at the head of a revolutionary group & begins a campaign against Batista |
| 2nd Dec Sierra Maestra A party of 82 badly trained revolutionaries led by Castro, lands in a yacht named Granma and tries to start an armed resistance movement in the Sierra Maestra |
| 2nd Dec Sierra Maestra Castro's yacht had come from Mexico, where Castro had been exiled to, and where his army was strengthened with the help of Ernesto Che Guevara |
| 1956 | Invasion of Cuba | |
| Dec Organizes, trains & leads for the guerrilla invasion of Cuba |
| 1958 | Battle of La Plata | |
| May La Plata During the battle of La Plata, Castro's forces defeat an entire battalion |
| 1958 | Battle of Las Mercedes | |
| May Las Mercedes During the battle of Las Mercedes, Castro's army comes close to defeat & manages to pull his troops out by opening up negotiations with General Cantillo |
| 1958 | Invasion of Cuba | |
| May When Operation Verano ends, Castro orders 3 columns commanded by Guevara, Jaime Vega and Camilo Cienfuegos to invade central Cuba |
| 1958 | Verano | |
| May Batista launches Operation Verano aiming to crush Castro and other anti-government groups |
| May Castro's guerrilla forces scores a series of victories, largely aided by mass desertions from Batista's army of poorly trained & uncommitted young conscripts |
| May When Operation Verano ends, Castro orders 3 columns commanded by Guevara, Jaime Vega and Camilo Cienfuegos to invade central Cuba |
| 1959 | Committee Defense of the Revolution | |
| The USSR sends over one hundred mostly Spanish speaking advisors, including Enrique L¡ster Forj n, to organize the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution |
| 1959 | Coup d'Etat | |
| 1st Jan Havana Castro's army, having defeated the American-backed Batista government, rolls victoriously into Havana |
| 8th Jan Havana Castro arrives in Havana to cheering mobs & assumes the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces |
| 1959 | Diplomacy | |
| A variety of pacts were signed between Castro & Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, allowing Cuba to receive large amounts of economic & military aid |
| Between April 15th and 26th, Castro & a delegation of industrial & international representatives visit the USAas guests of the Press Club |
| Eisenhower reduces Cuba's sugar import quota by 7,000,000 tons, & in response, Cuba nationalizes $850 million worth of USAproperty & businesses |
| Eisenhower refuses to meet Castro during his visit to the USA |
| The nationalization of private property and businesses to the tune of $25 billion and, particularly, USAowned companies (to an excess of 1960 value of USA$1.0 billions arouses immediate hostility within the Eisenhower administration |
| The USSR sends over one hundred mostly Spanish speaking advisors, including Enrique L¡ster Forj n, to organize the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution |
| USArefineries in Cuba refuse to process Cuban oil, they are expropriated, & the USAbreaks off diplomatic relations with the Castro government |
| Feb Cuba signs an agreement to buy oil from the USSR |
| April Castro flies to Washington DC but was not met by President Eisenhower, who decides to attend a golf tournament rather than meet with the Cuban leader |
| 1959 | Economy | |
| A variety of pacts were signed between Castro & Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, allowing Cuba to receive large amounts of economic & military aid |
| Eisenhower reduces Cuba's sugar import quota by 7,000,000 tons, & in response, Cuba nationalizes $850 million worth of USAproperty & businesses |
| Miami Over one million Cubans migrate to the US, forming a vocal anti-Castro community in Miami, Florida |
| The nationalization of private property and businesses to the tune of $25 billion and, particularly, USAowned companies (to an excess of 1960 value of USA$1.0 billions arouses immediate hostility within the Eisenhower administration |
| Feb Cuba signs an agreement to buy oil from the USSR |
| Feb USArefineries in Cuba refuse to process Cuban oil, they are expropriated, & the USAbreaks off diplomatic relations with the Castro government |
| 1959 | Execution of Batista Supporters | |
| April Summary executions of suspected Batista collaborators and members of the opposition through the "paredones" take place after show trials |
| 1959 | Inauguration of Castro | |
| 16th Feb Mir¢ unexpectedly resigns & Castro is sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba |
| 1959 | Independence | |
| 10th Oct Cuba celebrates October 10th as the first declaration of independence after the day Castro and his army enter Havana, January 1, 1959, as "the triumph of the revolution" |
| 1959 | Legislation | |
| 17th May Castro signs the First Agrarian Reform Law, which expropriates over 1,000 acres of farmlands & forbids foreign land ownership |
| 1959 | Migration Cubans | |
| Miami Over one million Cubans migrate to the US, forming a vocal anti-Castro community in Miami, Florida |
| 1959 | Nationalization | |
| Eisenhower reduces Cuba's sugar import quota by 7,000,000 tons, & in response, Cuba nationalizes $850 million worth of USAproperty & businesses |
| Miami Over one million Cubans migrate to the US, forming a vocal anti-Castro community in Miami, Florida |
| Feb USArefineries in Cuba refuse to process Cuban oil, they are expropriated, & the USAbreaks off diplomatic relations with the Castro government |
| 17th May Castro signs the First Agrarian Reform Law, which expropriates over 1,000 acres of farmlands & forbids foreign land ownership |
| 1959 | Prime Minister | |
| 16th Feb Mir¢ unexpectedly resigns & Castro is sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba |
| 1959 | Reform | |
| 17th May Castro signs the First Agrarian Reform Law, which expropriates over 1,000 acres of farmlands & forbids foreign land ownership |
| 1959 | Resignation | |
| 16th Feb Mir¢ unexpectedly resigns & Castro is sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba |
| 1960 | Bay of Pigs | |
| 17th Mar Cochinos Bay The Eisenhower administration agrees to a recommendation from the CIA to equip and drill Cuban exiles for action against the new Castro government |
| 1960 | Embargo | |
| Havana The USA begins its embargo of Cuba after American wealth in Cuba is nationalized |
| 1960 | Nationalization | |
| Havana Nationalizes the property of wealthy Cubans, Americans & other foreigners |
| 1961 | Bay of Pigs | |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay 1,209 captured exiles are tried, a few executed and the rest sentenced to 30 yrs in prison for treason, after 20 months of negotiation with the USA, Cuba releases the exiles in exchange for dollars & medicine |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay Approximately 1,400 members of a CIA-trained Cuban exile force land at the Bay of Pigs, while the United States deny any involvement |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay Four 2,400-ton chartered transports (named the Houston, Rio Escondido, Caribe, and Atlantico) transport 1,511 Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs on the Southern coast of Cuba |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay Kennedy decides against giving the faltering invasion USAair support (though four USApilots were killed in Cuba during the invasion) because of his opposition to overt intervention |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay President Kennedy withdraws support for the invasion at the last minute by canceling several bombing sorties that could have crippled the entire Cuban Air Force |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay The CIA assumed that the invasion would spark a popular uprising against Castro, however by the time the invasion began, Castro had already executed some who were suspected of colluding with the American campaign |
| 1961 | Constitution | |
| 1st May As hundreds of thousands celebrate May Day, Castro announces Cuba is a socialist nation & abolishes elections |
| 1st May Castro forms a dictatorship & declares himself to be a Marxist-Leninist |
| 1961 | Dictatorship | |
| 1st May Castro forms a dictatorship & declares himself to be a Marxist-Leninist |
| 1961 | Diplomacy | |
| 3rd Jan Eisenhower breaks off diplomatic relations with Cuba |
| 1961 | Economy | |
| 3rd Jan Eisenhower breaks off diplomatic relations with Cuba |
| 1961 | Election | |
| 1st May Havana As hundreds of thousands celebrate May Day, Castro announces Cuba is a socialist nation & abolishes elections |
| 1961 | Invasion of Bay of Pigs | |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay Approximately 1,400 members of a CIA-trained Cuban exile force land at the Bay of Pigs, while the United States deny any involvement |
| 20th April Cochinos Bay Castro succeeds in killing or capturing the Bay of Pigs invaders |
| 1961 | Invasion of Cuba | |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay President Kennedy withdraws support for the invasion at the last minute by canceling several bombing sorties that could have crippled the entire Cuban Air Force |
| 17th April Cochinos Bay The CIA assumed that the invasion would spark a popular uprising against Castro, however by the time the invasion began, Castro had already executed some who were suspected of colluding with the American campaign |
| 1962 | Cuban Missile Crisis | |
| Khrushchev wants to locate missiles in Cuba as a deterrent to a USAinvasion & justifies the move in response to USAmissile deployment in Turkey |
| The USAgovernment views the installation of Soviet nuclear weapons 90 miles south of Key West as an aggressive act & a threat to USAsecurity |
| Oct Khrushchev agrees to remove the missiles in exchange for a USAcommitment not to invade Cuba & that the USAwill remove American MRBMs targeting Russia from Turkey & Italy |
| Oct Soviet field commanders in Cuba are authorized to use tactical nuclear weapons if attacked by the United States |
| 22nd Oct The USAannounce its discovery of missile sites, & implements a quarantine around Cuba that woul intercept & search vessels heading for Cuba |
| 27th Oct Castro urges Khrushchev to launch a nuclear first strike against the United States if Cuba is invaded, but Khrushchev rejected any first strike response |
| 28th Oct Castro demands that the USA evacuate Cuba's Guantanamo naval base |
| 1962 | Diplomacy | |
| 7th Feb The USAimposes an embargo against Cuba |
| 1962 | Economy | |
| 7th Feb The USAimposes an embargo against Cuba |
| 1962 | Embargo | |
| 7th Feb The USAimposes an embargo against Cuba |
| 1963 | Diplomacy | |
| The USAbroadens the embargo against Cuba, including a general travel ban for American tourists |
| 1963 | Embargo | |
| The USAbroadens the embargo against Cuba, including a general travel ban for American tourists |
| 1971 | Diplomacy | |
| 10th Nov Castro visits Chile |
| 1975 | MPLA | |
| Sends 250 instructors to Angola for setting up camps & training the MPLA |
| 4th Nov Castro orders the deployment of Cuban troops to Angola in order to aid the Marxist MPLA-ruled government against the SouthAfrican-backed UNITA opposition forces |
| 1976 | Constitution | |
| 31st Jan Following the enactment of the Socialist Constitution, adopted without following the procedures laid out in the Constitution of 1940, the Republic of Cuba is defined as a socialist state |
| 1976 | President | |
| Appointed President of Cuba |
| Appointed President of the Council of Ministers |
| Appointed President of the Council of State |
| 1976 | Socialist Constitution | |
| 31st Jan Following the enactment of the Socialist Constitution, adopted without following the procedures laid out in the Constitution of 1940, the Republic of Cuba is defined as a socialist state |
| 1980 | Crisis | |
| April Mariel 125,000 migrant Cubans board USAbound vessels at Port Mariel |
| April Havana Dissidents occupy the Peruvian Embassy & Cuba allows a mass exodus from Port Mariel |
| 1980 | Emigration Embargo | |
| Havana The embargo on emigration is temporarily lifted |
| 1984 | Diplomacy | |
| Havana A new airfield is constructed which is viewed by the USAas being for military purposes |
| Dec Havana Cuba agrees to to take back criminals in exchange for Cuban political prisoners |
| 1987 | Invasion of Angola | |
| 26th July Havana Announces Cuba will withdraw its troops from Angola "gradually & totally" |
| 1989 | Invasion of Angola | |
| 10th Jan Cuba begins withdrawing its troops from Angola, more than 13 years after its first contingents arrived |
| 1991 | Economy | |
| After the collapse of the Soviet Union Cuba is left bankrupt & isolated by the disintegration of the Soviet bloc |
| 1992 | Communist Party | |
| Ascribes the role of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) to be the "leading force of society and of the state" |
| 1992 | Constitution | |
| Ascribes the role of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) to be the "leading force of society and of the state" |
| This constitution was replaced by a new Socialist Constitution, which claims to be guided by the ideas of Jos‚ Mart¡, and the political ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin |
| 1992 | Socialist Constitution | |
| Ascribes the role of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) to be the "leading force of society and of the state" |
| This constitution was replaced by a new Socialist Constitution, which claims to be guided by the ideas of Jos‚ Mart¡, and the political ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin |
| 1999 | Diplomacy | |
| 4th Jan A new policy by the USA would let millions more dollars flow to Cubans and allow more direct flights, mail service, and trade |
| 1999 | Economy | |
| 4th Jan A new policy by the USA would let millions more dollars flow to Cubans and allow more direct flights, mail service, and trade |
| 2006 | Constitution | |
| 1st Aug Castro delegates his duties as President of the Council of state, President of the Council of Ministers, First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party and the post of commander in chief of the armed forces to his brother and First Vice President, Ra£l |
| 2006 | Health | |
| 1st Aug Castro hands over power to his brother Raul after undergoing intestinal surgery |
| 2nd Dec Too ill to attend the nationwide commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Granma boat landing, which fueled speculations that Castro had stomach cancer, though Spanish doctor Dr. Garc¡a Sabrido stated that his illness is not terminal |
| 2007 | Health | |
| 31st Jan Footage of Castro meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Ch vez is broadcast, where, according to international media reports, Castro "appeared frail but stronger than three months ago" |
