June 14th 1928: Che Guevara born
On this day in 1928, revolutionary Che Guevara was born in Rosario, Argentina. Born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, he studied medicine at university in Buenos Aires, and soon became interested in the work of Karl Marx. Guevara travelled widely, and became horrified at the extreme levels of poverty he witnessed, which led him to call for armed revolution. In 1955 he met Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro, and the two became leading figures in the successful overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. For his role in the revolution, Prime Minister Castro appointed Guevara high in the Cuban government, which allowed him to pursue policies like land redistribution. His revolutionary fervour did not end with Cuba, however, and in the 1960s Guevara continued to support guerrilla movements in Africa and South America. Inspired by Marxist doctrine, Guevara intended to begin a global revolution to topple the oppressive forces of colonialism and capitalism. In Bolivia, his efforts to aid revolutionaries led to his capture by the Bolivian army, who had the support of the CIA. On October 9th 1967, Che Guevara was executed by army forces.
