4. Two doves helped Fidel Castro consolidate power in 1959
The bloody Cuban revolution ended early on New Year’s Day 1959. A week later, the revolutionaries’ leader, Fidel Castro, made his first speech in Havana. He faced the hard task of inspiring Cubans weary after years of civil war. Just as he promised to solve all of Cuba’s problems without shedding a drop of blood, a miracle happened. Two white doves, international symbols of peace, landed on him and the podium! To superstitious Cubans, this seemed a divine sign. Historians are skeptical about how ‘accidental’ this really was. Either way, Castro became Prime Minister soon afterward, and led Cuba until 2008.
