The Cuban statesman Tomás Estrada Palma (1835-1908) first served as president of the provisional government during Cuba's War for Independence and then became the first president of the republic.

Tomás Estrada Palma was born near Bayamo, Oriente Province, on July 9, 1835. He attended schools in Havana and the University of Seville in Spain but failed to obtain a degree because family matters forced his return to Cuba.

As soon as Cuba's Ten-Year War (1868-1878) against Spain broke out, Estrada Palma joined the rebels. In 1876 he was selected president of the provisional government but in 1877 was captured by Spanish forces and exiled to Spain, where he remained in jail until the end of the war. After his release he traveled to Paris, New York, and Honduras. In Honduras he married Genoveva Guardiola, daughter of Honduran president Santos Guardiola, and was appointed director of the postal service...