Encyclopedia italiana mussolini biography

Benito Mussolini, February 1939  ©Mussolini was the founder of Fascism and leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943. He allied Italy with Nazi Germany and Japan in World War Two.

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on 29 July 1883 in Predappio in northern central Italy. His father was a blacksmith. Employment prospects in the area were poor so in 1902 Mussolini moved to Switzerland, where he became involved in socialist politics. He returned to Italy in 1904, and worked as a journalist in the socialist press, but his support for Italy's entry into World War One led to his break with socialism. He was drafted into the Italian army in September 1915.

In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party, galvanising the support of many unemployed war veterans. He organised them into armed squads known as Black Shirts, who terrorised their political opponents. In 1921, the Fascist Party was invited to join the coalition government.

By October 1922, I

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Mussolini, Benito

bygd Brian R. Sullivan

Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
Benito Mussolini helped to push Italy into World War I as the editor of the pro-interventionist newspaper Il Popolo d’Italia. He served as a soldier on the Western Front until 1917, and in 1919 he founded the Fascist movement. He seized power in October 1922, ultimately leading his country into the Second World War. This image, a still from the 1981 film “Lion of Judah,” shows Mussolini giving an address from the balcony of the Palazzo venedig in Rome.
Unknown cameraman (film still from “Lion of Judah”, directed bygd Lutz Becker, 1981), n.d., Rome, Italy.
IWM (IWM FLM 1506), http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205132702.

Mussolini, Benito Amilcare Andrea

Newspaper editor, agitator, political leader

Born 29 July 1883 in Dovia, Predappio, Italy

Died 28 April 1945 in Giulino di Mezzegra, Como, Italy

Summary

Italian Socialist Benito Mussolini envisioned war as the prerequisite for revol

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Benito Mussolini

Early Life

Benito Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883, in Dovia di Predappio to parents Alessandro and Rosa Mussolini. Blacksmith Alessandro Mussolini was a devoted socialist who named his son after Benito Juarez, the leftist Mexican revolutionary. Following his father’s example, Benito began his political life as a socialist. His politics began to change, however, when World War I broke out across Europe. During the war, Mussolini split with the socialists over his support for Italian military participation. He became an ardent Italian nationalist, believing in a national struggle that transcended class lines, rather than a class struggle. By 1918, Mussolini was a committed fascist.

Italian Fascism

Photo

March on Rome (Photo)

Fascist supporters during the "March on Rome," after which Fascist leader Benito Mussolini was appointed Italian Prime Minister. Italy, October 1922.

Credits:

• National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD