Benito Mussolini

1883 – 1945

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who founded the original Fascist movement in 1919 and served as Prime Minister of Italy from 1922 until his overthrow in 1943. His regime invaded Ethiopia in 1935—using mustard gas against Ethiopian civilians—suppressed the Italian press and political opposition, allied with Nazi Germany, and shipped Italian Jews to Auschwitz under the 1938 racial laws. Captured by Italian partisans while attempting to flee to Switzerland in April 1945, he was executed and his body hung upside down at a Milan gas station.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM