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Birth
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in Dovia di Predappio, Italy. Since his father was a devout socialist, he was named after prominent socialist leaders at the time. Going through early schooling, he showed to be an intelligent young man, yet extremely disruptive and boisterous. With the teachings of his father in hand, he learned to disrespect authority, and later joined the socialist party of Italy in 1900 to follow his father's footsteps ("Benito Mussolini Biography"). -
Last Time the Chicago Cubs Won the World Series
The Chicago Cubs is a baseball team representative of Chicago, Illinois. In 1907 and 1908, they won each World Series, but proceeded to not gain another win in recorded history. The team has the longest championship drought of any team, as their last win in 1908 was over 107 years ago. (Grun, 451 - 485) -
Roald Amundsen Reaches the South Pole
Roald Amundsen, sometimes referred to as "the last of the Vikings", was a Norweigan expeditioner and fisherman. After successful crossing the treacherous Northwest Passage and seeing Ernest Shackleton's attempt for the south pole, Roald was inspired. His team set out in August 1910, reaching the pole and raising the Norweigan flag over a year later ("Roald Amundsen: Alone on the Ice"). -
Editor of "Avanti!"
After graduating school, Mussolini served as a schoolmaster for several years, before traveling to Switzerland to escape military drafting. Due to arrests from protesting, he was deported back to Italy and served in the military for two years. Eventually, Mussolini became renown in the Italian Socialist Party due to his various protests and writings, and became the editor of the popular socialist newpaper "Avanti!", elevating the socialist party (Foot). -
Niels Bohr Creates the Atomic Model
In 1913, a Danish scientist by the name of Niels Bohr created the basic structure of the atomic model. The model, sometimes called the Rutherford-Bohr model, depicted the atom as an incredibly small, positively charged nucleus, orbited by even tinier negatively charged electrons. The model was similar to that of the structure of the solar system, except using electromagnetism as the driving force instead of gravity (Grun, 451 - 485). -
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Controversy with World War I
When World War I broke out, the socialist party dissented the idea of Italian intervention. Mussolini agreed with this outlook, but suddenly changed his mind and started writing pro-war excerpts for his newspaper. He was quickly ousted from the socialist party, and founded his own newspaper, "Il Popolo d'Italia", before being drafted into the war. Mussolini was quickly sent back by an injury, however, and returned to his newspaper job (Royde-Smith). -
Spanish Flu Pandemic
In 1918, the H1N1 flu virus (now known as swine flu) spread across the globe, killing three to five percent of the world's population. The virus, unlike normal flus, killed perfectly healthy adults and left the weaker people alive. Most people died not from the virus itself, but from a cytokine storm, which is an overreaction of the immune system that harms the body heavily and usually leads to death or organ failure (Grun, 451 - 485). -
Founding of the Italian Combat Squad (Fascist Party)
After being ejected from the socialist party, Mussolini aligned himself with revolutionary nationalistic beliefs. In 1919, he gained a following, and created the Italian Combat Squad as an alternative to socialism. During a period known as the Two Red Years, the "blackshirts" openly sparred with socialists and other parties in the streets. In 1921, the group became the Fascist Party, and gained enough followers to have seats in government ("1919 - Mussolini Founds the Fascist Party"). -
Founding of Communist Party of China
After World War I, and the birth of Marxism, ideas quickly spread to the east. Marxist ideals were upheld in China, especially after the May-Fourth Movement of 1919, which protested the government's reaction to the Treaty of Versailles (which ended World War I). A communist from Russia named Grigori Voitinsky then traveled to China, and met with Li Dazhao and other reformers. Eventually, the communist party was founded, gaining seats in national legislature (Grun, 451 - 485). -
5th Earl of Carnarvon Dies Discovering Tomb of Tutankhamun
George Herbert, an amateur egyptologist, hired Howard Carter to look for tombs in the Valley of the Kings. After several weeks, he gave up, but found a stone stair carved into the bedrock. Sending a telegram to the Earl, he arrived within two weeks, and they opened the tomb together. Just shortly after, the Earl was bitten by a mosquito, and the bite became infected. This led to the story of "King Tut's Curse", or "Mummy's Curse" (Grun, 451-485). -
The March On Rome
Once the Fascist Party had gained enough followers, Mussolini decided it was time to overthrow the government. He threatened King Victor Emmanuel with an ultimatum - to give up the throne, or it would be taken by force. Terrified, the king agreed, but Mussolini was not satisfied. Wanting to display his violent power, the blackshirts marched on Rome and ousted the King from the throne, making Italy a one-party Fascist state (Archer 42, 44) . -
Lateran Pact
Now the prime minister of Italy, Mussolini began to dismantle democratic institutions through propaganda to make him look like the only one capable of unifying the country. He then signed the Lateran Pact with Pietro Gasparri, settling disputes with the Roman-Catholic Church and making Rome the capital of Italy. This agreement also had a product of the creation of Vatican City, moving the capital of the papacy ("Lateran Pact"). -
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Ethiopian Wars
To strengthen his country, Mussolini began his conquest of Africa for creation of colonies. He wanted to create a New Roman Empire, believing he was a modern Caesar. The Italian Army invaded Ethiopia in 1935, destroying much of the land and killing many of the native people. Thus, the country was integrated into an Eastern-African empire for Italy (Ferraro). -
Pact of Steel
In 1936, Mussolini sent military aid to Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, pushing him closer to Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany. Their early relationship was unstable, so Mussolini adopted the anti-semitic Manifesto of Race in 1938, though disagreeing with it. The following year, the Pact of Steel was signed, solidifying the Rome-Berlin Axis present in World War II ("Benito Mussolini Biography"). -
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Military Shortcomings in World War II
Following Germany's invasion of Poland, Italy was somewhat uninvolved in World War II. Thinking the war was almost over in June of 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France. He then suffered major losses in both Greece and North Africa, showing the overstated military prowess of Italy. After this, Mussolini slowly lost support, and Italy was left susceptible to allied invasion once America joined the war ("Benito Mussolini’s Failed Greco-Italian War"). -
Death
After the allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, Mussolini was ousted from power and arrested. Without his leadership, the Fascist party collapsed, and a truce was signed with the allies. Germany then invaded Italy, and freed Mussolini from captivity. Though wishing to retire, he was made a puppet for a new socialist state, and was then captured by Italian partisans when the allies pushed north. He was executed by firing squad and hung in Milan for all to see ("Benito Mussolini Biography").
