Pancho Villa

1878 – 1923

Francisco "Pancho" Villa, born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula, was a Mexican revolutionary general and one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution that overthrew the dictator Porfirio Díaz beginning in 1911. As commander of the División del Norte he led the major military campaigns against Victoriano Huerta's regime in northern Mexico, and his 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico provoked the U.S. "Punitive Expedition" of General John J. Pershing into Mexico. He retired to a hacienda in Chihuahua in 1920 and was assassinated there in July 1923.

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