Benito Mussolini
Italian dictator who founded fascism and led Italy in World War II.
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Benito Mussolini was an Italian politician who founded fascism and led Italy as a dictator from 1922 until 1943.[1][2] He was born on 29 July 1883 in Dovia di Predappio, the son of a blacksmith and a schoolteacher.[3][4] Mussolini was executed by Italian partisans on 28 April 1945.[1][5]
Key facts and history
Mussolini's father named him after Mexican president Benito Juárez and Italian socialists.[3][4] He qualified as an elementary schoolmaster in 1901.[2][3] While in Switzerland, he studied the ideas of Nietzsche, Pareto, and Sorel.[6][4] He founded the Fascist Party in March 1919.[1][7]
After the March on Rome in 1922, King Victor Emmanuel invited Mussolini to form a government.[1][7] He made himself dictator in 1925, taking the title "Il Duce"[7][5] Mussolini was overthrown in July 1943 after Allied troops landed in Sicily.[7][5] Mussolini became a member of the Italian Socialist Party in 1900 and, in 1912, was appointed editor of its publication Avanti![8][9][10]
What the research sources say
The Gentile encyclopedia entry states that Mussolini's mother had him baptized despite his atheist father's wishes.[3] The same source notes that Mussolini lived poorly in Forlì between 1910 and 1912, earning through journalism and translations.[3] The Grolier account reports that Mussolini personally chose all newspaper editors and required journalists to hold Fascist party approval.[2] The BBC History page states that Mussolini's regime was held together by strong state control and his cult of personality.[7]
The Biography.com entry claims that Mussolini carried out an extensive public works program and reduced unemployment.[5] The ThinkQuest page asserts that Mussolini was easy to influence in real life.[10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Benito Mussolini" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)", BBC History (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Benito Mussolini", Grolier.com, 8 January 2008. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
- Gentile, "Mussolini, Benito", Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2012. facts only, no text reused. treccani.it
- "The birth of Benito Mussolini", Italy On This Day, 29 July 2016. facts only, no text reused. italyonthisday.com
- "Benito Mussolini - Quotes, Facts & Death", Biography, 22 April 2021. facts only, no text reused. biography.com
- Wikipedia, "Benito Mussolini" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Delzel, Charles F. Mediterranean Fascism, p. 96; "Mediterranean Fascism 1919–1945", Harper Rowe, 1970, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)", BBC History. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "Benito Mussolini" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gentile, "Mussolini, Benito", Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2012; "Benito Mussolini", Grolier.com, 8 January 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Benito Mussolini" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gregor, "Young Mussolini and the Intellectual Origins of Fascism", University of California Press, 1979 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Mussolini: il duce", ThinkQuest.org, 24 October 2009. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Benito Mussolini (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Benito Mussolini (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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