Che Guevara

Ernesto (Che) Guevara de la Serna-(1928-1967)

Latin American revolutionary leader, who rejected both capitalism and orthodox Soviet communism. Like T.E. Lawrence (1888 1935), better known as 'Lawrence of Arabia', Guevara lived an adventurous life. Guevara's tragic early death in Bolivia created a legend that still lives. He once said that "the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love", but he also wrote influential works of guerrilla warfare.

Nickname "Che" derived from Guevara's habit of punctuating his speech with the interjection che, a common Argentine expression for a friend

Fast Facts:

Birth date: June 14, 1928
1951: Worked as a male nurse for six months
1953: Received a medical degree from the University of Buenos Aires
Met Fidel Castro in 1955 and joined the 26th of July revolutionary movement
Spoke before the United Nations in 1964
Was captured and executed by the Bolivian army in 1967

Brief Background

Che Guevara was born and raised in Argentina. He grew up in a left wing family and was surrounded by an abundance of literature. While still a medical student, Guevara traveled around the continent of South America on a motorcyle and kept a diary of his travels called The Motorcyle Diaries. This record would later be adapted into a movie starring Gael Garcia Bernal. It was during this trip that Guevara noticed the extreme poverty and destitution that was afflicting the continent, leading him to pursue a path of helping the underprivileged.

After moving to Cuba, Guevara met Fidel Castro who was leading the 26th of July revolutionary movement. The two men established a friendship and partnership that would last many years. Guevara became skilled as a military strategist and soldier, who was instrumental in many ways to Castro's success as a leader.

Eventually, Guevara was caught and executed by the Bolivian army while attempting to start a revolution in Bolivia.