Pancho Villa

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Villa told conflicting stories about his early life. According to most sources, he was born on 5 June 1878 and named José Doroteo Arango Arámbula. He was the oldest of five children. He received some education from a local church-run school but was not proficient in more than basic literacy. His father was a sharecropper named Agustín Arango, and his mother was Micaela Arámbula. He grew up at the Rancho de la Coyotada, one of the largest haciendas in the state of Durango. He quit school to help his mother after his father died, and worked as a sharecropper, muleskinner, butcher, bricklayer, and foreman for a U.S. railway company. According to his dictated remembrances, at age 16 he moved to Chihuahua but soon returned to Durango to track down and kill a hacienda owner named Agustín López Negrete who had raped his sister, afterward stealing a horse and fleeing to the Sierra Madre Occidental. On September 22, 1894, he shot Negrete in the foot. He became a member of a bandit band under the name "Arango." In 1898 he was arrested for gun and mule theft. In 1902, the rurales arrested him for stealing mules and assault; he was forcibly inducted into the Federal Army and later deserted. In 1903, after killing an army officer and stealing his horse, he took the name Francisco "Pancho" Villa after his paternal grandfather, Jesús Villa. Until 1910, he alternated thievery with more legitimate pursuits, including working as a miner. His outlook changed after meeting Abraham González, who convinced Villa that through his banditry he could fight for the people and hurt the hacienda owners.

Reader's Guide

Pancho Villa's significance lies in his role as a central figure in the Mexican Revolution. At the outbreak of the revolution in 1910, Villa joined the armed rebellion Francisco Madero called for to oust Porfirio Díaz. Villa captured a large hacienda, a train of Federal Army soldiers, and the town of San Andrés, and beat the Federal Army in Naica, Camargo, and Pilar de Conchos. He met Madero in person in March 1911, and Madero promoted him to colonel. Villa and Pascual Orozco captured Ciudad Juárez in the first Battle of Ciudad Juárez in 1911, forcing Díaz to resign. After Madero's murder during a coup in February 1913, Villa joined the Constitutionalist Army against Victoriano Huerta. After Huerta's defeat in July 1914, Villa broke with Carranza, dominated the meeting of revolutionary generals, and allied with Emiliano Zapata. In late 1914, civil war broke out when Carranza challenged Villa. Villa was decisively defeated by Álvaro Obregón in summer 1915, and the U.S. aided Carranza directly against Villa in the Second Battle of Agua Prieta. Angered at U.S. support for Carranza, Villa conducted a raid on Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 to goad the U.S. into invading Mexico. Despite a major contingent of soldiers and superior military technology, the U.S. failed to capture Villa. When Carranza was ousted in 1920, Villa negotiated an amnesty with interim president Adolfo de la Huerta and was given a landed estate on the condition he retire from politics. Villa was assassinated in 1923. In life, Villa helped fashion his own image as an internationally known revolutionary hero, starring as himself in Hollywood films and giving interviews to foreign journalists, most notably John Reed. After his death, he was excluded from the pantheon of revolutionary heroes until the Sonoran generals Obregón and Calles were gone from the political stage. In 1976, his remains were reburied in the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City in a huge public ceremony.

Did You Know?

• Villa served as provisional governor of Chihuahua from 1913 to 1914.
• At the height of his power in late 1914 and early 1915, the U.S. considered recognizing Villa as Mexico's legitimate president.
• Villa starred as himself in Hollywood films and gave interviews to foreign journalists, most notably John Reed.
• Despite a major U.S. military expedition with superior technology, the U.S. failed to capture Villa after his 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico.
• Villa's remains were reburied in the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City in 1976 in a huge public ceremony.

Roots in the Soil of Morelos

The source does not cover Emiliano Zapata's early life or the village of Anenecuilco. This section is omitted as it is not supported by the source.

The Plan of Ayala and the Fight for Land

The source does not cover the Plan of Ayala or Zapata's agrarian demands. This section is omitted as it is not supported by the source.

Civil War Among the Winners

The source does not cover the Convention of Aguascalientes or Zapata's actions after 1914 in detail. This section is omitted as it is not supported by the source.

A Name That Outlived the Revolution

The source does not cover Zapata's assassination or his posthumous influence. This section is omitted as it is not supported by the source.