Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, or Fidel Castro as the world knew him, has died at the age of 90, according to his brother, Raúl.

Castro was born to a wealthy Spanish sugarcane farmer in August of 1926. His mother was a servant for his father's family and Castro was born out of wedlock. As a young man, Castro attended several schools and later studied politics at the University of Havana. While a law student, Castro became interested in politics.

After graduating from college, Castro opened a law firm and planned to run for the Cuban House of Representatives, but that never happened because Fulgencio Batista took control of Cuba before the election could take place. Batista held the position of President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944, and was the dictator of Cuba from 1952 to 1959.

It was in 1959 that Castro and a group of men overtook Batista, and then that Castro took over control of Cuba for 47 years, making him the second longest leader in power, second only to Queen Elizabeth II. In 2008, Castro turned over power to his younger brother Raúl. It was Raúl who announced to the world Castro's death via an address on Cuban Television on Saturday.

Unhappy with Castro, the United States trained about 1,300 Cuban exiles in an attempt to successfully overthrow him, and just three months after United States President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961, he gave permission for the trained exiles to land on Cuba's Bay of Pigs with the hope that the overthrow would be a success. The end result was disastrous with 114 killed and over 1,100 taken prisoner. At the conclusion of 1961, President Kennedy stated that Cuba was a communist state.

Hundreds upon thousands of people fled from while under Castro's rule. The largest number of people to leave happened in 1980, when Castro briefly allowed the relatives of Cuban exiles to leave the country.

The secrets of Castro's private life are held tightly by the government of Cuba, but we do know that Castro leaves behind at least nine known children. Those children are: sons Fidel Angel "Fidelito" Castro Diaz-Balart, Antonio, Alejandro, Alexis, Alexander "Alex", Angel Castro Soto del Vall and Jorge Angel Castro. Also surviving are daughters: Alina Fernandez Revuelta, and Francisca Pupo.

According to ABC News, Castro's funeral will be on December 4th, following a period of public mourning.

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