Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on July 29, 1883 in Dovia di Predappio a small town in Italy. During the Fascism era, Predappio was known as "Duce's town". People would go out of their way just to see his birthplace. Mussolini was born to Italian parents Alessandro Mussolini and Rosa Mussolini. Benito’s father was a blacksmith and an Anarchist activist. He was a socialist and a republican, but also had some nationalistic views. On the other hand his mother was a school teacher and a very devoted catholic. He was the eldest out his two other brothers, Arnaldo and Edvige Mussolini. Because his father was so into politics he was named Benito after Mexican reformist Benito Juarez. His middle names Andrea and Amilcare were from Italian socialists Andrea Costa and Amilcare Cipriani. As a boy Benito used to help his father with his blacksmith. It is here where he picked up his political beliefs. He was not baptized at birth like most Italians usually are. His parents had many conflicts over religion at that time. On behalf of his mother Mussolini went to a boarding school that was run by Salesian monks. It wasn’t long until he got expelled from there. He was defiant at that school but once kicked out he ended up getting good grades.
    During 1902 Mussolini had some tough times. He moved to Switzerland in hopes of avoiding military service. Here he became a stone mason and studied a whole lot. He studied on people like sociologist Vilfredo Pareto, syndicalist Georges Sorel, Charles Peguy, and Hubert Lagardelle. He later on had a hard time holding onto a job and was arrested for being a homeless. Although he wasn’t having much luck here he did pick up on how to speak French and some German. He then became involved in the socialist movement but this caused him to get deported back to Italy. Once there he decided to volunteer into the military. He served in World War 1 and there became an ally with Cesare Battisto, he was also a politician and journalist....