Pancho Villa

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Pancho Villa

Q: What was Pancho Villa's early life like?

Pancho Villa was the son of a field labourer and was orphaned at an early age. In revenge for an assault on his sister, he killed one of the owners of the estate on which he worked and was afterward forced to flee to the mountains, where he spent his adolescence as a fugitive.

Q: Where did Pancho Villa go to school?

Pancho Villa lacked a formal education, but he did learn to read and write.

Q: What did Pancho Villa do?

Pancho Villa was a Mexican revolutionary and guerrilla leader who fought against the regimes of both Porfirio Díaz and Victoriano Huerta . After 1914 he engaged in civil war and banditry. He became notorious in the United States for his attack on Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916.

Q: How did Pancho Villa die?

In 1923 Pancho Villa was assassinated amid a barrage of gunfire while traveling home in his car from a visit to Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico .

Mexican revolutionary

Also known as: Doroteo Arango, Francisco Villa

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 21, 2024 • Article History

Pancho Villa

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Category: History & Society

Byname of:: Francisco Villa

Original name:: Doroteo Arango

Born:: June 5, 1878, Hacienda de Río Grande, San Juan del Río, Durango, Mexico

Died:: July 20, 1923, Parral, Chihuahua (aged 45)

Role In:: Battle of Celaya; Battle of Ciudad Juárez; Battle of Columbus; Mexican Revolution; Porfiriato

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Recent News

Mar. 20, 2024, 1:50 AM ET (MSN)

Mexican president praises Pancho Villa for his 1916 attack on Columbus, New Mexico that killed 18

What was Pancho Villa's early life like?

Where did Pancho Villa go to school?

What did Pancho Villa do?

How did Pancho Villa die?

Pancho Villa (born June 5, 1878, Hacienda de Río Grande, San Juan del Río, Durango, Mexico—died July 20, 1923, Parral, Chihuahua) Mexican revolutionary and guerrilla leader who fought against the regimes of both Porfirio Díaz and Victoriano Huerta and after 1914 engaged in civil war and banditry. Villa was the son of a field labourer and was orphaned at an early age. In revenge for an assault on his sister, he killed one of the owners of the estate on which he worked and was afterward forced to flee to the mountains, where he spent his adolescence as a fugitive. ...(100 of 505 words)

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