Che Guevara

In Bolivia - reportedly, Che Guevara is honoured on this day at which he was captured in La Higuera, as '''San Ernesto''', answering prayers for rain.

Christian feast day: Robert Grosseteste Palatias and Laurentia Pelagia (Catholic Church) San Ernesto, Che Guevara as a saint. (Bolivian campesinos) William Dwight Porter Bliss and Richard T. Ely (Episcopal Church (USA)) October 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Argentinian-Cuban physician, author, and guerrilla leader (d. 1967)

el Che Guevara y Alberto Granado inician su viaje por América

The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.

durante el entierro de las víctimas de la explosión de La Coubre (Cuba); el fotógrafo Alberto Korda, toma la famosa fotografía al revolucionario argentino-cubano Ernesto Che Guevara, que sería llamada posteriormente como Guerrillero heroico.

Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. An unknown terrorist fires a mortar shell at the building during the speech.

Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York.

Argentine revolutionary and guerrilla leader (executed) (b. 1928)

Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia.

On October 9, Bolivian President René Barrientos ordered that Guevara be killed. The order was relayed to the unit holding Guevara by Félix Rodríguez despite the United States government's desire that Guevara be taken to Panama for further interrogation. The executioner who volunteered to kill Guevara was Mario Terán, an alcoholic 31-year-old sergeant in the Bolivian army who had personally requested to shoot Guevara because three of his friends from B Company, all with the same first name of "Mario", had been killed in an earlier firefight with Guevara's band of guerrillas. To make the bullet wounds appear consistent with the story that the Bolivian government planned to release to the public, Félix Rodríguez ordered Terán not to shoot Guevara in the head, but to aim carefully to make it appear that Guevara had been killed in action during a clash with the Bolivian army. Gary Prado, the Bolivian captain in command of the army company that captured Guevara, said that the reasons Barrientos ordered the immediate execution of Guevara were so there would be no possibility for Guevara to escape from prison, and also so there would be no drama in regard to a public trial where adverse publicity might happen. About 30 minutes before Guevara was executed, Félix Rodríguez attempted to question him about the whereabouts of other guerrilla fighters who were currently at large, but Guevara continued to remain silent. Rodríguez, assisted by a few Bolivian soldiers, helped Guevara to his feet and took him outside the hut to parade him before other Bolivian soldiers where he posed with Guevara for a photo opportunity where one soldier took a photograph of Rodríguez and other soldiers standing alongside Guevara. After taking him back inside, Rodríguez then privately told Guevara that he was going to be executed. Guevara then responded by asking Rodríguez if he was of American, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin, having noted that Rodríguez did not speak Bolivian Spanish. Rodríguez replied that he was originally from Cuba but that he had emigrated to the United States and was currently a member of the CIA. A little later, Guevara was asked by one of the Bolivian soldiers guarding him if he was thinking about his own immortality. "No," he replied, "I'm thinking about the immortality of the revolution.” A few minutes later, Sergeant Terán entered the hut and immediately ordered the other soldiers out. Alone with Terán, Che Guevara then stood up and spoke to his executioner: "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot. Do it." Terán responded by pointing his M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle at Guevara, but hesitated upon which Guevara angrily spat at Terán which were his last words: "Shoot me, you coward! You are only going to kill a man!” Terán then opened fire, hitting Guevara in the arms and legs. For a few seconds, Guevara writhed on the ground, apparently biting one of his wrists to avoid crying out. Terán then fired several times again, wounding him fatally in the chest. Che Guevara was pronounced dead at 1:10 pm local time according to Rodríguez. In all, Guevara was shot nine times by Terán. This included five times in his legs, once in the right shoulder and arm, once in the chest, and finally in the throat.

se completa el armamento de la guerrilla boliviana asignándole Ernesto Che Guevara la ametralladora 30 a Marcos en la retaguardia, y como ayudantes, los hombres de la resaca.