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1926 Benito Mussolini murder attempt...
1926 Benito Mussolini murder attempt...
Item # 725407
April 08, 1926
CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, April 8, 1926
* Benito Mussolini assassination attempt
* Italian fascist dictator in Rome, Italy
* Irish aristocrat Violet Gibson
The front page has a nice banner headline: "MUSSOLINI SHOT; STOPS RIOT" with subheads and related illustration. (see images) A few related photos are on the back page.
Complete with all 36 pages, light toning and minor wear at the margins, generally nice.
background: On April 7, 1926, the Irish aristocrat Violet Gibson came inches away from altering the trajectory of the 20th century when she attempted to assassinate Benito Mussolini in Rome. As the dictator exited a medical conference in the Piazza del Campidoglio, Gibson stepped through the crowd and fired a revolver at point-blank range; however, Mussolini’s life was spared by a literal twist of fate when he turned his head to acknowledge a nearby band, causing the bullet to only graze the bridge of his nose. Despite her attempt to fire a second round, the weapon jammed, and she was nearly killed by an enraged mob before being taken into custody. While Mussolini projected an air of invincibility by appearing on a balcony with a bandage just hours later, he used the incident to fuel a massive propaganda campaign, tightening his grip on Italy through draconian security laws. Gibson herself was eventually deported to Britain and spent the rest of her life in a psychiatric asylum, her role as a solitary anti-fascist pioneer largely erased from public memory until her story was rediscovered and commemorated in the 21st century.
Category: The 20th Century
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