September 1960 - Castro addresses the United Nations General Assembly.
April 17, 1961 - A group of approximately 1,300 Cuban exiles lands at Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs). Armed with U.S. weapons, they make an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Castro. Eventually, the survivors are released, in December 1962, in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine.
December 3, 1976 - Castro is elected president of the State Council. This new title replaces the posts of president and prime minister.
March 18, 1977 - President Jimmy Carter ends the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba.
April 21-September 26, 1980 - Some 125,000 Cubans emigrate to the United States. This exodus becomes known as the Mariel Boatlift.
April 19, 1982 - President Ronald Reagan reinstates the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba.
August 19, 1994 - President Bill Clinton announces an end to the U.S. "open door" policy on Cuban refugees, established by President Johnson in 1966. From now on, Cubans intercepted at sea will be repatriated, but those who reach land will be allowed to stay.
June 23, 2001 - Appears ill during a speech and is helped from the podium.
Spring 2003 - Castro cracks down on dissidents, giving long sentences to 75 arrested activists.
October 20, 2004 - After delivering a speech, Castro falls while leaving the podium.
July 31, 2006 - A statement read on Cuban TV announces that Fidel Castro is undergoing intestinal surgery and has provisionally handed over power to his younger brother Raul. The arrangement is expected to last for several weeks while Fidel Castro recuperates.
June 3, 2007 - Castro is shown on Cuban TV standing and greeting a visitor.
October 29, 2007 - Castro publishes his autobiography My Life in Great Britain. The book is made up of a series of interviews done with journalist Ignacio Ramonet. The book is released in the U.S. in early 2008.
February 19, 2008 - Due to ailing health, Castro announces his resignation as president in a letter published in the middle of the night in the online version of Cuba's state-run newspaper, Granma.
December 4, 2008 - In an essay, writes that Cuba would be willing to talk with president Obama's administration.
March 22, 2011 - In an essay published in Cuban state media, Fidel Castro writes that he resigned as head of the Communist party when he fell ill on July 31, 2006, and never tried to resume his position.
February 3, 2012 - Fidel Castro releases a two-volume memoir of his life, Fidel Castro Ruz: Guerrilla of Time, based on conversations with the journalist Katiuska Blanco.
October 22, 2012 - The Cuban government steps up efforts to prove Castro is still in good health. Former Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua claims to have met with Castro and shows reporters a photo of the two of them together. The state-run media also publishes an article under Castro's name where he denounces the rumors.
